I need a little help, please, and apologies in advance for the lengthy post.
I have a William Stonier, born on the 18th April 1826 in Biddulph to a William Stonier and his wife Martha Pierpoint Watts. He appears to have been baptised twice:
• 18 April 1826, Wesleyan Methodist Chapel, Astbury, Cheshire
• 9 May 1830, St. Lawrence, Biddulph, Staffordshire
He had 7 known children:
• Charles (1857 - ), born Ladderidge with Leek
• Thomas (1859 - ) born Ladderidge with Leek
• William (1864 - ) born Alton, Staffordshire
• Joseph (1866 - ) born Alton, Staffordshire
• Rowland J (1868 - ) born Denstone, Staffordshire
• Nancy (1869 - ) also known as Annie, born Denstone, Staffordshire
• John William (1873 - ) born Okamoor, Staffordshire.
William appears of the following censuses:
• 1841 Biddulph, Staffordshire, England HO107 Piece 986 Book 15 Folio 21 Page 1, with his parents
• 1861 Biddulph, Staffordshire, England RG9 Piece 2612 Folio 61 Page 5 (Schedule 23) with several of his siblings
• 1871 Cheadle, Staffordshire, England RG10 Piece 2890 Folio 99 Page 16 (Schedule 85), with wife Hannah and children Charles, Thomas, William, Joseph and Nancy
• 1881 Cheadle, Staffordshire, England RG11 Piece 2747 Folio 103 Page 20 (Schedule 89), with wife Hannah and children Rowland, Nancy, and John William.
• 1891 Leek, Staffordshire, England RG12 Piece 2187 Folio 34 Page 11 (Schedule 61), with children Annie (Nancy) and John William. Hannah is not present, but William is not listed as a widow.
• 1901 Heaton, Staffordshire, England RG13 Piece 2626 Folio 35 Page 10 (Schedule 57). The head of the household is his son John William. Also in the household is Annie. William is now listed as a widower.
• 1911 Macclesfield, Cheshire, England RG14 Piece 16554 (Schedule 58). William is living with his children Annie and John William. However, the census suggests curiously that he has only 3 children, of whom two are still living.
William died in 1911, and his probate calendar entry reads
STONIER William of Weathercock Farm Heaton Staffordshire died 2 July 1911 Probate London 1 November to William John Joward Stonier boot factor Samuel Mellor brickmaker and Sarah Mellor spinster. Effects 4586 3s. 8d.
William John Howard Stonier is the son of William’s brother Richard.
Charles, Thomas, William and Joseph are only found on the 1871 census. Rowland only appears on the 1881 census. Nancy (Annie) appears on the 1871, 1881, 1891, 1901, and 1911 censuses. John William appears on the 1881, 1891, 1901, and 1911 censuses.
The help I need is, as all my search strategies have so far come up with no results:
• Why the double baptism, unless I have made a mistake?
• There is clearly an 1851 census that I have been unable to track down for William senior.
• I cannot find a marriage for him and Hannah.
• There should be 1861 census entries for Charles, and Thomas. Plus, of course, later census entries for all the children.
• There are no Birth Index entries for any of the children that I can find.
• There does not appear to be any baptisms for any of the children.
• The are no death index entries that I have found for any of the children, yet.
It may be that William’s marriage and the children’s baptisms are non-conformist, and the images or transcriptions are not yet online. I may be that William and Hannah were never married, and therefore the children’s births were registered under the mother’s maiden name. The lack of census entries may be that the children died before reaching maturity.
Following the very substantial increase in fees for wills, I have not yet ordered a copy of William’s will – I have at least 6 other wills for this family that before the price increase I would have had no hesitation in ordering.
Any ideas on how to further this piece of research, where to look, etc., would be very much appreciated.
