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births in Hanford, Staffordshire

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  • births in Hanford, Staffordshire

    I am trying to find information on my great grandfather William Holden. According to 1901 and 1911 census records he was born in Hanford in Staffordshire.

    His father was also William Holden and came over from Ireland just before my great grandfather was born. But other than that I have no more information about him.

    I cannot go further back than my great grandfather as I cannot find a record of his birth, although I have info on his marriage, death and children.

    He is a bit of a mystery to our family.

    He told his children that he was born in Ireland, but the census data says Andford (1901) and Hanford (1911). He also told his children that he was part of a large Romany gypsy family that came over from Ireland. He said that when the family reached Walsall he jumped off the cart and said he was staying. The family carried on travelling, some going to America and some to Australia.

    I cannot be precise about the date of his birth as I do not know his birth date. The only information I have about that is his marriage certificate. He was married in 1900 and the certificate states that he was 22 at the time, it also states that his father was William Holden - deceased and the time of marriage.

    If a child was born in Hanford, Staffs, any ideas where they would be registered?

    Thank you.

  • #2
    Welcome to FTF!

    Have you picked up all the detail from your query on Genes Reunited?

    The obvious "Hanford" is in Dorset. There's also one which is part of Stoke-on-Trent - which is a registration district. (That's just by using Google Maps). Presumably that's the one. ukbmd.org.uk has the GenUKI lists of information about what's in which District. That info usually comes up on Google, too.

    The trouble with info on censuses and certificates is that it's only as reliable as the person supplying it. If someone had an interest in presenting information inaccurately, there was very little to prevent it. And then not everyone got registered - and some people's registrations didn't get out of their county to the GRO index.

    OC is pretty hot on families with names like HOLDEN. She may have some ideas.

    If you look here: http://www.staffordshirebmd.org.uk you can find an 1875 birth reg of a WIlliam HOLDEN in the Stoke-on-Trent area - specifically in Tunstall. Unfortunately, Tunstall is north of Stoke, but Hanford is south.

    In 1901/1911, I reckon it was probably prudent to claim to have been born in England rather than Ireland, so maybe you really should be looking in Ireland for the records you need.

    Christine
    Researching: BENNETT (Leics/Birmingham-ish) - incl. Leonard BENNETT in Detroit & Florida ; WARR/WOR, STRATFORD & GARDNER/GARNAR (Oxon); CHRISTMAS, RUSSELL, PAFOOT/PAFFORD (Hants); BIGWOOD, HAYLER/HAILOR (Sussex); LANCASTER (Beds, Berks, Wilts) - plus - COCKS (Spitalfields, Liverpool, Plymouth); RUSE/ROWSE, TREMEER, WADLIN(G)/WADLETON (Devonport, E Cornwall); GOULD (S Devon); CHAPMAN, HALL/HOLE, HORN (N Devon); BARRON, SCANTLEBURY (Mevagissey)...

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    • #3
      On the 1881 Census living at 166 Queen Street, Walsall Foreign, Staffordshire, there is a William HOLDEN b.1875 with parents William & Ellen Miller HOLDEN. Young William has 8 siblings. There is NO place of birth recorded on this census for ANY of this family. Having no birthplace seems about right for an itinerant family, but am surprised that not even a county was mentioned, so maybe your g.grandfather was telling half a truth.

      William Snr. was born abt.1837 his wife Ellen abt. 1840. Their eldest child was born abt. 1864 so from that we can get a rough idea as to when William and Ellen married.

      Nina


      * Did William Jnr. marry Louisa JOHNSON ?
      Last edited by Inahaystack; 13-01-11, 01:36.

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      • #4
        ********* MARRIAGE *********

        William HOLDEN
        Ellen Miller STEPHENSON
        Dudley
        Sep Qtr . 1861
        Vol.6c Page 73


        This marriage took place at St Thomas's Church. Dudley. and even though it might not be the right marriage , I thought I would add the pic to brighten up the page !

        • St Thomas's Church, Dudley (Top Church)



        Nina
        Last edited by Inahaystack; 13-01-11, 01:28.

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        • #5
          Originally posted by Inahaystack View Post
          Nina


          * Did William Jnr. marry Louisa JOHNSON ?
          Yes Nina, my great grandfather married Louisa Johnson .... they had a child called Harriet in 1902, but she died in 1903. Not long after this Louisa ran off to Manchester with the local policeman and William became involved with Jane Baggott, together they had 2 children, Miriam and my grandad William. Jane died 2 weeks after giving birth to my grandad, so William went to Manchester and found Louisa and bought her home to raise the children - but she was rather a wicked step-mother figure ... Catherine Cookson eat your heart out!!!

          P.S. it may not be the right marriage, but the picture is lovely XXXXX
          Last edited by eljay; 13-01-11, 09:31.

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          • #6
            My oh my , what a family ! ....... How strange that on the 1911 census William is noted as being married, yet Jane (and Miriam) have the name of BOUNDFORD, and poor Miriam has 'illegitimate' tagged to her name.

            If you ever find the correct marriage for William Snr. let me know, if they married in the Black Country, I probably have a pic - I think most of the churches there have hosted either a birth, marriage or burial for my various rellies
            Last edited by Inahaystack; 13-01-11, 10:52.

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            • #7
              To be honest, I do actually think the Irish romany gypsy story is true and that his parents were married in Ireland. My grandfather said his dad spoke with a strong Irish accent and even if he was born in Hanford, Staffs, having Irish parents he would easily learn to speak with their accent, especially if they were romany and didn't stay in one town too long.

              Mystic meg said that I'm going to 'find an exciting connection in a gap' in my family tree this year, so who knows what I might find.

              Do you have Holden relations Nina? maybe we have a common link somewhere.

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