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Beginners => Family History Beginners Board => Topic started by: WWL on Sunday 05 June 11 17:13 BST (UK)
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I would like to trace my ancestors from Stoke on Trent. My grandfather was a potter. The surname is Lancaster. My grandfather, grandmother, father and fathers sister moved south to Surrey in the 1930s. My father went to Hanley High school. He married my mother in 1934 in Dorking. Any info would be greatly appreciated.
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Welcome to RootsChat!
We really need as much information as you can give us, if we are to help you.
Names, dates of birth, marriage & death.
Parents names where possible.
Where they were born.
Anything and everything really! ;D
I assume this is your father's marriage?
September qtr 1934
Surrey South East district (which includes Dorking Vol 2a, Page 1550
Lancaster, William W
Brown, Ruby F
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Thank you for the prompt response to my message. That certainly is my father and mothers marriage cert. I will send for a copy of it immediately. My father died in 1966, I think in Tooting hospital. My parents separated in 1948. My grandmother and grandfather both died in Dorking. They were living at 11 Hampstead Road. Apart from that I know nothing about him or his family.
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The problem is, that I can find 14 deaths of a Lancaster in Surrey SE, between 1934 and 1960!
Do you know the names of your grandparents?
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My grandfather was also named William Lancaster. I think I heard My Grandmother referred to as Polly but I am not certain. I am fairly sure that they outlived my father, I think they died in about the 1970s.
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Something else has come to light. A William Lancaster was born in 1903 Ref BI/05/001 Staffordshire Moorlands. I think this would be too early to be my father although he did talk about WW1 so it could be him. Is it possible to get a birth cert with such scant information, I think they need lots more than the above reference?
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Hi WWL
Is this your father's death...
William W Lancaster
September Qtr 1965
Wandsworth (which includes Tooting) Vol 5E page 415
Age given as 51....which would make birth about 1914
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Hi WWL again...
William W Lancaster born Sept qtr 1914
Mother's Maiden name... Kitching
Wolstanton (which included parts of Stoke-on-Trent) vol 6B page 146
also
William Lancaster married Mary Kitching
Wolstanton
Dec qtr 1913 Vol 6B page 249
this could be your grandparents - Polly is nickname for Mary.
Bill
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Hi WWL, as I see from earlier posts ie the marriage and the death of your father, he had the middle initial "W", then this looks like a possible birth and marriage for William and his parents:-
William W Lancaster Sep qtr 1914 Wolstanton v 6b page 146 Mothers Maiden Name Kitching
Marriage William Lancaster to Mary Kitching Dec qtr 1913 Wolstanton v 6b page 249
As an area of Staffordshire, Wolstanton covered all the main districts associated with the pottery industry.
If you Google Freebmd, you will obtain the site that I and many others use to locate Births, Marriages and Deaths.
All the best in your quest, and I can only hope the above is correct!!
On checking for further births there was a Mary L b 1916 a Walter b 1919 and an Annie b 1920, but in 1919 there was also a marriage of a Lancaster to a Kitching in Wolstanton , so the last 2 above births could be theres.
Keyboard86
Bill SNAP!!
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Hi WWL
yes keyboard86..just beat you to it...great minds think alike!!!....it was, like yourself, the middle 'W' that gave me the links.
the William referred to as being born in Biddulph, Staffs Moorlands appears to be from a mining and not a potters family. - the lancasters of Biddulph were well known.
The william who married Mary Kitching is possibly William b 1891 son of yet another William and Louisa, and living at 16 New Street, Wolstanton in 1901
RG13/2585/66/13 a pottery family....having 8 siblings then at that address.
So another lancaster and Kitching was a possibility.
Mary Kitching may be Mary Inskip Kitching.....born jan qtr 1893 Cheadle Vol 6B page 368 and living in 1901 at 35 Silverdale Rd, Wolstanton RG13/2585/118/7
listed as born in longton which was cheadle district.
(the name Inskip rings bells...the name of a former boss many years ago)
Again the Kitchings were a large family......both these addresses are close to each other and in the Parish of St Margarets,Wolstanton
Bill
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Woa! Information overload here! I can't thank both of you enough for the family connections.
The name Inskip has cropped up in an old dimly remembered way. And I seem to recall that the Lancasters actually owned a pottery.
Also I think the family were in mining and steel works as well as pottery. I heard they moved from Yorkshire to the potteries.
Thanks for the reference to the bmd site. I went there but had no information to base any searches on. Now I have some I will give it another try.
Bill
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Hi again WWL I have amended my post above for the other Lancaster/Kitching marriage in Wolstanton to 1919 and not as I reported 1916, so the Mary L Lancaster b June 1916 Wolstanton, would appear to be the sister of your father William W. The other marriage in 1919 was a Stephen Lancaster to I believe Annie Kitching, Stephen being the younger brother of William, and Annie being the younger sister of Mary, there are other births until 1927 which could be for either/both the couples.
Keyboard86
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Incredible! A few hours ago I knew very little about BMD of my ancestors. Now thanks to RootsChat I can trace right back to my great grandparents. My heartfelt thanks to Keyboard and Bill for their help. Thanks to your guidance I have been on to freebmd (hatches, matches and dispatches) and have started to fill in the gaps.
I am certain the marriage was the one in 1913 between William W and Mary Inskip Kitching. The fact that there were just two children My father and my Aunt Mary. Now to discover their history.
Can you guide me to gain access to the census information please.
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Hi WWL, do you use or have access to either Ancestry or Find my Past, these are the 2 main Genealogy sites for census lookups, my preference due to its user friendlyness for census info is Find My Past, both this sites carry either a pay as you go or on a subscription basis, I believe Ancestry are still offering a 2 week free trial?
Keyboard86
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Many thanks. I will have a look.
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Hi WWL, these are the 2 1901 Census returns you requested via PM, but as I stated, the purchase of William W Lancaster's birth certificate will confirm both the father's Christian name and occupation, and mother's maiden name, which in turn will verify the returns below:-
1901 Census
William Lancaster 37 occ Potter b Burslem
Louisa 36 b Burslem
Emily 16 occ Potters Assistant b Burslem
Ralph 12 b Burslem
William 10 b Burslem
Richard 9 b Burslem
Stephen 7 b Wolstanton
Joseph 5 b Wolstanton
Anne 3 b Wolstanton
Louisa 2 b Wolstanton
Charles 4 months b Wolstanton
Residing at 16, New Street, Wolstanton, Staffs.
1901 Census
Walter Kitching 40 occ General Contractors Labourer b Bradford Yorks
Lily E 33 b Tunstall Staffs
Elijah M 13 b Fenton
Thomas P 11 b Fenton
Mary I 8 b Fenton
Annie 7 b Fenton
Harry 5 b Fenton
Walter 4 b Burslem
Residing at 35, Silverdale Road, Wolstanton, Staffs.
Marriage William Lancaster to Louisa Jones Sept 1886 Wolstanton 6b 141
Marriage Walter Kitching to Lillie Elizabeth Mayer June 1887 Stoke T 6b 247
Keyboard86