Author Topic: William Charles Williams  (Read 4135 times)

Offline Mauro

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William Charles Williams
« on: Saturday 16 February 08 20:44 GMT (UK) »
Gordon Williams was born in Middlesborough on 16 June 1932 to William Charles & Nora (formerly HANCOCK) WILLIAMS. 

Nora died in North Riding Infirmary on 30 June 1932; she is plausibly the Nora Hancock born 2 qtr 1898 in Radford, Notts.

In 1932, William Charles Williams was "Printer in Newspaper office", and lived at 13 Rodney Street, Haverton Hill, Billingham.  His marriage record has not been found, and neither his date nor place of birth are known (and "William Charles Williams" was too common a name - averaging about 6 occurrences per year - to be able to make a good guess from the available birth records).

I would be very grateful for any information about, and/or help in tracing, William Charles Williams, (or for confirmation or denial of my theory about Nora Hancock's origins).

Mauro

Offline PaulineJ

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Re: William Charles Williams
« Reply #1 on: Saturday 16 February 08 21:14 GMT (UK) »
To confirm. Nora's death is aged 34y Sept qtr 1932. middlesborough.
http://www.northeastbmd.org.uk/ Doesn't appear to have any matching records (other than her death)
Images from the national index are searchable at http://images.freebmd.org.uk/cgi/choose.pl  I'd look for Nora's entry in marriages.

Pauline
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Offline Mauro

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Re: William Charles Williams
« Reply #2 on: Monday 18 February 08 20:04 GMT (UK) »
Thanks for the quick reply, Pauline.  Especial thanks for the link to NorthEastBMD, of which I was previously unaware.

Mauro

Offline madpants

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Re: William Charles Williams
« Reply #3 on: Monday 18 February 08 23:04 GMT (UK) »
I am wondering if they were actually married,

I have looked at every quarter between 1932 and 1915 inclusive and there is not a William with C or not marrying anyone whose name even resembles Nora.

Closest i got were these four,
All William Williams (no C)

Florence M Laycock
Wakefield Sept Q 1928

Emily J Hancock
Meriden Dec Q 1921

Lily Hancox
Ayleham Mar Q 1918

Louie Hircock
Pontypridd Sept Q 1915
GREENWELL - Middlesbrough
TURNBULL - Houghton le Spring, Coxhoe, Spennymoor
DEVEY - Pentonville, Stockton, M'bro
MOHAN/HUN - Stockton on Tees
SCRAFTON - Darlington
BROADBENT - Saddleworth, Ashton Under Lyne
HEMSWELL - Grantham, M'bro
SIMPKINS - M'bro
SIMPKIN - Little Wratting, Suffolk
MALLALIEU - Saddleworth, Ashton U L
GOODWIN - Macclesfield Forest
SUTCLIFFE - Heptonstall, Ashton U L
PLIMMER - Pontesbury, Ashton U L
CAMBRIDGE - Goulborne, Ashton U L
SIDDALL - Ashton U L


Offline Mauro

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Re: William Charles Williams
« Reply #4 on: Tuesday 19 February 08 17:48 GMT (UK) »
Many thanks for your industrious searching.  Unfortunately, it was no more successful than my search for the marriage of Nora(h) Hancock: I found 9 in all of England & Wales between 1917 and 1932, but none was married to a Williams.

I suspect that you're right when you suggest that they may not have been married.  Alternatives are (a) an error in the GRO index; (b) an overseas marriage; (c) marriage (in a non CofE church?), with no regard for the legal requirement of registration...

The 1931 census seems to offer the best prospect for finding out more about William Charles's origins (as well as potentially confirming my tentative identification of Nora's origins) - but - alas! - I doubt if Gordon will live long enough to find out!  I wish that the UK would follow the US example, and make the Census records public after only 70 years.

Mauro

Offline madpants

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Re: William Charles Williams
« Reply #5 on: Tuesday 19 February 08 18:02 GMT (UK) »
I looked at nora too, but you could never be sure if it was hancock and not Hancocks or Hancox  ;D  so I went through Williams too just to be sure  ;D 

One thought (that may NOT be too helpful) could it be a second marriage?  and she's not put her married name on the cert  ;D
GREENWELL - Middlesbrough
TURNBULL - Houghton le Spring, Coxhoe, Spennymoor
DEVEY - Pentonville, Stockton, M'bro
MOHAN/HUN - Stockton on Tees
SCRAFTON - Darlington
BROADBENT - Saddleworth, Ashton Under Lyne
HEMSWELL - Grantham, M'bro
SIMPKINS - M'bro
SIMPKIN - Little Wratting, Suffolk
MALLALIEU - Saddleworth, Ashton U L
GOODWIN - Macclesfield Forest
SUTCLIFFE - Heptonstall, Ashton U L
PLIMMER - Pontesbury, Ashton U L
CAMBRIDGE - Goulborne, Ashton U L
SIDDALL - Ashton U L

Offline Mauro

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Re: William Charles Williams
« Reply #6 on: Tuesday 19 February 08 20:24 GMT (UK) »
I hadn't thought of that - and it's certainly a possibility.

Basically, the only reasonably firm information I have is from:
 (a)Gordon's birth certificate, for which the informant was W.C. Williams, and apparently he told the Registrar that his wife's name was "Nora Williams, formerly Hancock"; and
(b) Nora's death certificate, for which W.C. Williams was again the informant, and on which he stated that he was the widower of Nora Williams, who in turn was stated to have been the "wife of William Charles Williams a Printer in Newspaper Office).

None of which rules out the possibility that (1) they weren't actually married; or (2) that Nora was his second wife (or "wife"!); or (3) that Hancock was her name from a hypothetical first marriage; or that Hancock was her maiden name, but not the name under which was married; or.... who knows?!

Anyway, I appreciate you having spent time thinking about this.

Mauro

Offline PaulineJ

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Re: William Charles Williams
« Reply #7 on: Tuesday 19 February 08 20:51 GMT (UK) »
Hmm,

1931 census was destroyed as it was potentially too useful to the enemy had Britain been invaded in WW2.
I don't know if the electoral roll was preserved from that time (if there were a usual address on the cert?)

Pauline
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Offline Mauro

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Re: William Charles Williams
« Reply #8 on: Wednesday 20 February 08 15:01 GMT (UK) »
Oh well...!  So much for that possibility - it was a pretty remote hope, anyway, since I doubt if either Gordon or I would have lived long enough to have seen the Census even if it had not been destroyed.  Thanks for the information, though.

Yes, there is a 1932 address: 13 Rodney Street, Haverton Hill, Billingham.  But how does one find out about - and gain access to - the electoral roll?

Another slim hope is that William Charles Williams might be found on the employment rolls of some Billingham/Middlesborough area newspaper.  But I'm not optimistic that employment records would go back as far as 1932.  Nor do I have any idea how many newspapers there might have been in that area at that time.  Does anyone know if there's an on-line city directory, as a starting point?

Mauro