William Smith- weston and wybunbury 1760-1780s

[queenswood 1]

I am trying to establish the correct children born to William Smith in the wybunbury/Weston area.

At the moment I have Robert Smith born 1763, Abigail Smith born 1774, Ralph Smith born 1779.

All are in the correct area but I have since acquired the Probate of William Smith who died in 1818 which is granted to Ralph Smith being the eldest son.

I also know that Robert smith (born as above in 1763) died in 1826.

can anyone please give me some help in sorting this out as I am trying to establish the correct parentage of these three children.

Many thanks

Caroline

[queenswood 1]

Further to my posting, I have now looked at the baptism record for robert smith in 1763 on Wybunbury register and it has a curiosity which seems to indicate that his father william may havwe died before he was born- i can also see a death record for a william smith on 20th Aug 1762.
Can anyone clarify this for me please?
I am trying to find a parental connection between the three smith children I listed ie Robert, Abigail and Ralph.

However, it may now seem that Robert's father died before he was born; ralph's father was certainly also a william smith who died in 1818 - and I would like to knbow how I can work out if abigail smith had the same father as ralph.

help please!

Caroline

[Jayson]

I had a quick look on Find My Past, Caroline, and found the following:

Barthomley Parish:

Baptisms

1776 Sept 1 Ralph s/o William Smith of Ingleshaw brook [Englesea Brook] in the parish of Wybunbury, husbandman

1779 Feb 21 Ralph s/o William Smith of Weston in the parish of Wybunbury

1) In the BTs the father's occupation was given as a labourer but the parish register gave no occupation

Wybunbury Parish

Baptisms

1763 March 16 Robert s/o the late William Smith of Weston, junr

1764 Sept 24 Robert s/o John Smith of Walgherton

1769 May 4 Robert s/o William Smith of Walgherton

1774 Nov 6 Abigail d/o William Smith of Snape

Marriages

1768 May 19 William Smith, of the parish of Wybunbury, husbandman and a bachelor and Hannah Gamble, of the parish of Wybunbury, spinster

Wit. Robt Smith: Ralph Gamble: Jas Hayes

1774 June 26 William Smith, of Wybunbury, husbandman and Ellen Whittaker, of the parish of Wybunbury, spinster

Wit. Jas Hayes: Joseph Hayes: William Salmon

Burial

1778 Sept 10 Ralph s/o William Smith of Snape

[queenswood 1]

Thank you !
I can confirm from knowledge I already have that the baptism on March 16th 1763 of Robert smith son of the late William smith is correct for my research. I have also found a death for the father William Smith in 1762.
Robert goes on to marry Sarah Birchall in 1799 but I understand that no parental information is in the register- are you able to check?

The marriage of a William Smith to Ellen Whittaker in 1774 is interesting as there were property dealings and land rentals between a William Smith and a William Salmon in the early 1800s so that may well add another piece to my jigsaw!
Ideally I am trying to locate where Robert Smith and his wife Sarah lived in Englesea Brook from 1800 to sarah's death in 1822 and Robert in 1826. Robert was a farm labourer who may well have rented their home from someone already renting the property from the owner, as there is no trace of robert in the Tithe lists or rent lists for the area at the time. And so i began to wonder if he was living in a property that maybe belonged to a member of the Smith family, hence the idea of building a family picture to work it out. All I do know is that the home was large enough for small class meetings for methodists and that his wife sarah taught small groups of children from her kitchen.
A william salmon later donated some land for a chapel to be built after sarah's death and i am really trying to establish where Robert and sarah lived- a real puzzle!
Caroline

[Jayson]

There's a marriage of Robert Smith to Sarah Birchall at Wybunbury on 5 Feb 1788 so I'm guessing this is the correct one as I couldn't find an entry in 1799.

The ceremony was by the calling of Banns and performed by the Revd John Swinnerton.  The groom made his mark; the bride signed her name.  Witnesses: Thomas Birchall and Mary Tomkinson or Tomlinson.

Jay

[Jayson]

I found a burial entry (Wybunbury parish) for a William Smith aged 61 years on the 19 May 1818. He was a bachelor. 

[queenswood 1]

Oh my goodness- this is getting more confusing now! The wedding of Robert smith to sarah Birchall is correct- and this I believe is the Robert smith whose father, william smith died 6 months before his birth.
Now I looked at the Probate for the william smith who died in 1818 and it seemed to have been granted to Ralph smith who says he is the eldest son of William- so how does this work if he is listed as a bachelor? Can you see what is going on here ?
I knew this was going to be confusing!!! Really appreciate your help.
Caroline

[Jayson]

Do you have the exact date of death and probate on the will you mentioned?

Here are some more burials from the Wybunbury parish register:

1763 Apr 15 William infant s/o William Smith of Wybunbury

1765 Aug 31 William Smith of Weston yeoman

1768 Jun 30 William infant s/o Anne Smith from Bridgemere

1772 Feb 8 William Smith of Gresty day labourer

1778 Jun 26 Wm s/o Edward Smith of Rope

1779 Jan 10 William s/o John Smith of Checkley

1784 Nov 10 William Smith of the parish of Nantwich

1786 Oct 2 William Smith of Hunsterson, pauper

1794 Nov 6 William Smith of Wrinehill

For whatever reason FindMyPast sometimes fails to find what one is looking for.  For instance I was looking for the exact date of baptism of Charles Bourne Lawton.  He was baptised at Wybunbury in 1772 (I had seen his entry previously) but FindMyPast came back with 'No Matches' which was really rather frustrating so I had to go back to old fashioned methods and get the reel out.

[Jayson]

Just cross checked with the BTs to see if the information agrees with the parish register concerning the marital status of William Smith and it does.

Jay