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Like most i'm suprised to see so many lightowler's. Didn't you grow up thinking you were the only one! My father Curtis Lightowler researched a family tree. His mother was a Kershaw and he grew up in Bolton and the Isle of white. His research found that Lightowler stems from the village "lightoller" in Lancashire. I dont know if this still exists but has quite some history behind it. I know that his relatives were living in the Bolton, Halifax area and that some moved to the US although if I remeber correctly that they moved under the surname Weeks. Love to hear from any one with the same name and may be able to provide some leads on this family tree. Mark

Mark,
I think the village in Lancashire is Lightowlers. It is at the foot of Blackstone Edge next to Littleborough and is mentioned together with the history of some older Lightowler families in 'The History of the Parish of Rochdale' by Henry Fishwick. In the East window of the parish church of Littleborough there is a stained glass shield bearing the name Lightolers de Lightolers.
The name Lightowler refers to Alder trees and although some say that light means sparse I tend to think that Lightowlers is a corruption of 'lea of the alders' which in local dialect would be pronounced Leetahlers exactly the same as the pronunciation of Lightowlers.
I would be interested to learn more of the Halifax connections of your tree.
Dave