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Sorry to join this conversation a couple of years after the last post, but I live just outside Rugeley and I've been doing a bit of local history research, which involves The Talbot Inn.

In 1839 a woman called Christina Collins was murdered on a canal boat, her body was found in the canal at Brindley Bank, just outside Rugeley. Her body was taken to the (you guessed it) Talbot Inn. Initially, I was sure that this must mean the Talbot Arms in Market Street, still existing, now known as The Shrew.

But it seems that, unbelievably, there were indeed 2 hostelries known as "The Talbot", within Rugeley, about quarter of a mile of each other. The Arms, as above, was in Market Street; the Inn was on the corner of Wolseley Road and Anson Street, now the site of a 3 story 1960s cuboid apartment block. They're both listed in the 1830 Pigot's Directory.

The Inn seems to have been a magnet for dead bodies... Collins in 1839 and the disinterred victims of Palmer a decade and a half later.

Not only did the Willis's business suffer from the stigma of the Palmer murders, the Arms was also renamed The Shrewsbury Arms as a direct result. Indeed, I'm sure I've read somewhere that the entire Town of Rugeley petitioned Parliament, unsuccessfully, to rename itself.

Hello,

I'm stuck trying to find traces of my 2xGreat Grandmother, John Ann Grey, (yes you read that right, distinctive isn't it?) before she married Thomas Coxon in 1856. She variously appears on census records as Joan or Johann, but John Ann's the spelling on the Marriage and Death Registry and how she wrote it herself on the parish record of her marriage, so I'm assuming it's correct.

The earliest record I have of her is her marriage at Embleton, and all her census records thereafter up to her death in 1891. The 1871-1891 censuses give her birthplace as Fowberry or Chatton, but the 1861 census lists it as Eckford, which I believe is just the other side of the border near Jedburgh. Her father was William Grey, a shepherd according to the marriage record.

So if anyone has any inspirational pointers, I'm hoping to find her birth / baptism around 1835 or her 1841 / 51 census records to point me towards her parents and / or siblings.

Really appreciate anyone's assistance.
Duncan.

I'm trying to find the parents of my ancestor Joseph Chrisp, born in Eglingham c.1810. According to the marriage record for his 1843 marriage to Isabella Authey, his father was John Chrisp, a shepherd.
I have found a farmer, John Chrisp on the 1841 and 51 censuses for Eglingham, which could be the right man, born c.1782 in Chillingham. Also, I have found a reference to a John Chrisp marrying a Mary Purvis at Eglingham in 1824 (although I do not have sight of the actual record). The census records show John and Mary Chrisp having children born pre-and post-1824, suggesting that John was a widow when he married Mary. Unless, of course, they're all different people.
So: if anyone has convenient access to the Eglingham parish records, would it be possible to check:
1) Was John a widow when he married Mary Purvis in 1824 (Jan 4th)?
2) Is there a record of Joseph's baptism around 1810, and who were his parents?
3) If John was a widow in 1824, is there a record of his previous marriage, or his first wife's burial?
Thanks if anyone can confirm my educated guessery.
Regards, Duncan.

Hello,

I've traced back my wife's Thompson ancestors to Ramsbottom, Lancs, but grind to a halt with the 1871 census and a marriage record.

I have a birth certificate for John William Thompson, born 31st March 1873 at 32 Union Street, Ramsbottom (also his father, the informant's, residence). Parents John Thompson, labourer in a paper mill and Elizabeth Thompson formerly Walter.

I invested in the birth cert having worked back through the 1881 - 1911 censuses - John William became a dental surgeon and his father John was a police constable born in Clitheroe, facts distinctive enough for me to be reasonably confident of the provenance back to 1881 and there's nothing contradictory on the birth certificate other than father John's occupation - I'm hoping he joined the constabulary between 1871 and 1881. Elizabeth appears to be Shuttleworth / Ramsbottom born & bred, I have no other clues as to her maiden name other than the birth certificate. The registrar's handwriting is consistent enough for me to be sure it's Walter rather than Walters or even Walker, although I guess the system wasn't infallible.

But I cannot find a marriage record and I cannot find any census records for them in 1871 or prior for Elizabeth. To be honest, I can't find any census records for the entire town of Ramsbottom at all in 1871, (using a website whose name rhymes with "France's tree") in order to try and find them "long-hand" - perhaps they didn't get transcribed?

Can anyone please nudge me back onto course? Many thanks in advance - Duncan.