ShaunJ and Annette7, thank you very much.
ShaunJ – I rather liked the Macclesfield connection, but it may be that Annette7 has a point. I’d looked through the Wybunbury records many years ago (pre-internet!), but didn’t pick this one out. It’s certainly pretty persuasive and an avenue worth following.
The first appearance of William in Nantwch comes in 1815 in the Poor Rate Assessment book. He is the Occupier of No 58 Hospital St (Annual value: £1/13/47; Assessed value 0/16/8). Ditto for 1816.
By 1831, he is married with three children and occupying No 50 - a ‘house and outlet’ – (Annual value: £1/10/0; Assessed value 0/15/0). It seems that he has come into Nantwich for work, plying his trade as a cordwainer. It could be argued that if he’d grown up in Macclesfield, he would have turned to Manchester for work.
Willaston is interesting. In 1840, it housed 19 families, one of which was a fairly large and prominent Cartwright family. Unfortunately, I can find no connection.
A William Cartwright married Mary Foden in 1770. They had 12 children. The first was a girl – Elizabeth. The boys who could feasibly be my William’s father are Thomas 1771, Sampson, 1774, William 1778, and James, 1779. (We can discount Sampson as his first child – William – was born in 1807.) It’s interesting, though, that my William’s first three boys are James, Thomas and Samuel, and his first two girls, Mary and Eliza.
All circumstantial, though, as I cannot find a connection.
Yes, Annette7, your Cartlidge baptism is very persuasive – pretty obviously a transcription error. Also, I’m pretty certain that the larger Willaston Cartwright family baptised their babies at St Mary’s in Nantwich.
And for what it’s worth, I was born in Wybunbury!
Thank you again for your hard work and kindness - I reckon we’ve at last found the right child.
Neil
