Help I've reached the proverbial brickwall

[aggiebagwash]

I'm looking for the birth of William Henry Chapman circa 1823. On the two censuses I've found him on he gives his place of birth as Huddersfield.

On his marriage cert 1846 his name is spelt as Chatmon of full age and  father's name as Charles Chatmon a cloth finisher. On all the birth certs for his children and the censuses it's spelt Chapman so it looks like a deaf Vicar once again. Weren't there a lot about? LOL

I've tried every spelling I can think of to identify either his birth or his parents marriage and not found a thing.

I was wondering if he was brought up in Huddersfield but born/Baptised somewhere else. I would really appreciate another 'eye' on this maybe I'm missing something.


Margaret 

[dobfarm]

Hi Margaret,

Its possible his parents moved after his birth and baptised elsewhere?, its also possible if 1823 is a census age of birth! that he was baptised a lot later later! as some odd but extreme  families seemed to bapt their siblings in batches of 3 to 5 all in one day! every few years and on top of this around Huddersfield there was/were private (Sick child) baptisms and baptised in the church much later.
Odd nonconformist chapels or Small house chapels dotted around the vallies! and their registers have been lost! also some main parish C o E registers like Thurgoland are lost. There is also Workhouse bapts like Homlfirth that had its register at the back of a Land tax book those years you mention (entries not in IGI)

There are ways around this! by trying to find the family groups after marriage of parents producing siblings around 1810/1830 then where the sibling married (1840/1860) and lived in census year 1851. Find the fathers and find their Wills at Borthwick institute York. Places they were buried etc.

[J.R.Ellam]

Hi

I don't recall many Chapman's in the Huddersfield registers so they might have just been travelling through the area when he was born.
Have you found them on the 1841 census, I know it doesn't give you too much information but it might give you a brother or sister you could have better luck looking for.

Regards
John

[aggiebagwash]

I'm once again slowly going through every William and William H I can find on the 1841 just in case I missed him the first time.

On the 1851 his occupation is given as Dresser of Iron Cartridges and on his children's birth certs and a marriage cert it says Millwright or Mechanic. I think he died sometime between 1861 and 1871. If he had a skilled job then he would have had to do an apprenticeship and that's what I've been looking for, any job relating to a Millwright.

I even looked at how he named his children to see if there was a family link but nothing is showing up.

Back to the search.

Margaret 

[J.R.Ellam]

I don't think he was a skilled worker, a dresser would have cleaned the castings.

John

[dobfarm]

Hi


You've a similar link.

http://www.rootschat.com/forum/index.php/topic,472186.0.html

this may help others searching on this thread.

[aggiebagwash]

I thought another look at it would open up a few new idea's,

John I know that being a dresser was unskilled but on all 5 births certs I have for his children and one marriage cert he's a Millwright/Mechanic which was a skilled job. I think he may have just taken the dressers job if he couldn't get work as a millwright.

Back to the search. I'll find him somehow.

Thanks for all your help it's much appreciated.

Margaret.

[dobfarm]

Hi

Funny enough I am a retired Engineer by trade and what you describe is by dresser could be foundry worker that ground or cut off the metal that was connected to the casting from air escape and pouring holes from the sand cast cartridge. Milwright was an apprentice trained job but he would have a Milwright's mate that could have been put as Milwright lab in census. Either way! Milwright was a combined maintainence of machines and cranes also installion work so you should be looking around Foundry works or Mills/engineering works/factories. Colnebridge springs to mind and Aspley to Lockwood in Huddersfield

[aggiebagwash]

When I was at school we visited an iron foundry and that's why I knew what a dresser was. Long memory. LOL

I'm still plodding through the 1841 county by county. There's not been one I could say is a possible although there are a couple born out of county who are Millwright's app.

I've had another look on the certs and this is how his occupation was described on them.

His marriage cert 1846 Millwright.
1851 census Dresser of Iron Cartridges.
His daughter's birth cert 1857 Mechanic.
His son's birth cert 1860 says Mechanic.
William is missing on the 1861 census but his wife is described as married.
1877 his wife's death cert says Widow of a Machine Fitter.
1879 his daughter's marriage cert says Millwright.
1880 his son's first marriage cert says Engine Fitter.
His son's second marriage cert 1886 says Mechanic


Aaargh !