I thought this would be an easy bit - what I thought was an unusual name! How wrong can one be? I have shortlisted my 3x Great Grandfather to 2. A) Joel Crookes born 1804 parents Isaac and Ann and B) Joel Crookes born 1810 parents Benjamin and Nancy. Both baptised Bradfield, abode Oughtibridge.
I settled on the 1810, all the pieces seemed to fit - marriage, daughter, wife’s death 1841 census; until I found someone else on Ancestry settled on the older one, the only good reason I can see for this is the marriage date of 1825. I have found that fathers Isaac and Benjamin are brothers, so at least the 5x Great Grandfather is right.
My problem is I cannot find any more about Joel 1804 other than his Baptism. I have one marriage, one 1841 census, one 1851 census and a death in 1859, all attributed to ‘my’ 1810 Joel (although could be the other one!). I have searched the parish register scan to the end 1812 and found no death, although I found one for a sister to Joel 1804. There is another Joel in the area 1813-1862, who I have ruled out.
Any more thoughts please?