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Gobbolino
I must be related to your husband somehow - see my earlier posts. (Margaret) Patience Smith was my great grandmother and her parents - see below, 1861 census) were Francis and Ann (nee Tattersall)
SMITH, Francis Head Married M 38 1813 Farmer Of 60 Acres Of Land
 Norton Yorkshire 
SMITH, Ann Wife Married F 36 1815 Farmer Wife  Coniston Yorkshire
SMITH, Robert Son  M 12 1839 Errand Boy  Elslack Yorkshire   
SMITH, David Son  M 10 1841 Scholar Elslack Yorkshire
SMITH, Elizabeth Daughter  F 6 1845 Scholar  Elslack Yorkshire
SMITH, Patience Daughter  F 4 1847 Scholar  Elslack Yorkshire
SMITH, Mary Daughter  F 2 1849 At Home  Elslack Yorkshire
SMITH, Thomas Son  M 0 (2 MOS) 1851 At Home  Elslack Yorkshire

Dear Lyn,
Thanks for getting back.
On her tombstone in Parbold parish church she is described as `of Fairhurst Hall and Brunswick Villa in Southport`; you will know that having found her or her family, in the various censuses, but it would appear that in 1915 (She died, the inscription reads in January of that year, the 24th I think and so must have been in the locality in that year. It also states that she `suffered greatly in this life, but her end was peace`I wonder if she was what we now describe as bipolar? But perhaps you know? The tombstone is pictured on the `history` section of the parish church website.
One mystery - in 1871 she is described as `brewer`, but her father is `retired solicitor`I had always understood that her money, the money used to build the church, came from a brewing family in Wigan of that name, yet her father would not appear to be in that trade, and it seems curious that a rather eccentric spinster should be.
Ernie

Thanks Christopher. They were Catholics. The information I about the Irish part outlined above, came from church records held in Co. Roscommon archives; they worked on the basis of information on the English part given to them by me and gleaned from records held in England. I know that other Irish sources are not available for that period.

Our main interest is in  the ancestry of Thomas, born, we assume in 1827 certainly baptised on Christmas Day that year in Tunstal Parish Church. He was the son of John Stead, the village shoemaker in Tunstal. We are not sure about his mother's name We transcribed it from the original record in Lancs RO as Margaret We assumed that there must have been a second marriage; censuses show John's wife as Betty. However the Lancashire Parish Clerks' Project
http://www.lan-opc.org.uk/index.html
has the name of Thomas' mother as Elizabeth, which could be the `niceness` of the Curate in charge. He was the notorious Carus Wilson. If Charlotte Bronte's description is at all like the real life parson, it would be consistent with his character to insist on "Elizabeth" even were she always known as "Betty"
There appears to be an elder daughter whose earlier life we have not been able to trace. Her name was Nancy, and it appears that she was born at Wrayton about 1822, who has returned to look after her widowed father by 1861. By 1871 and after his death, Nancy, still unmarried is living in the household of a (retired?) draper, John Mansergh in Slyne-with-Hest for whom she is cook.
Thomas married Agnes Parker and her daughter, described her own son, Fred, born in 1901, as being A typical Stead, a dour lowland Scot Stead appear to be rooted in North Lancashire, Betty was born in Arkhole, in the same area and we always believed Margaret must have been Scottish
Anyone with any information? We would be most grateful