Hancock/Smith - Hanley, Stoke upon Trent

[Sherry Campbell]

My grandfather used to say that Captain Edward John Smith was his grandmother's brother but after years of trying to make a connection... I think I may have found that he was confused... Since Captain EJ Smith's mother was Catherine (Marsh) Hancock I'm thinking he assumed that that was the connection to his grandmother, Elizabeth Smith. Today while searching the 1841 Census I found a (K)atherine Hancock with an Elizabeth, Thomas, James, and Catherine Smith... all around the ages that my Elizabeth Smith would have been.

I'm not able to link the census page from ancestry because it's fee based but here is the link to the registry on the family search site.. the info on it is a bit off. Katherine Hancock could be either 45 or 65... the actual page could be either. Margaret Keen in the list says Margaret Karen on ancestry but looks more like Margaret Koen, and the 3 oldest Smith children are all listed as being 15 on the actual page which I doubt.

https://www.familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:MQT4-1LD

If anyone can shed light on who this Katherine Hancock was or who these Smith children belonged to... or anything at all... I would so appreciate it.

Edit: Was hard to find them in the 1851 Census on ancestry because someone transcribed them as Puth... here they are, minus Elizabeth Smith.. in 1851 Census at same place. It says James Smith is the son of Catherine Hancock and the other two Smith children are niece and nephew... and says Margaret Keen is the sister so looks like Catherine was a Keen. Hopefully someone has more information on this family...

https://www.familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:SGLY-NDS

[rosie99]

There is a James Smith baptised 27 Oct 1824 at Hanley - parents Moses & Catherine Smith

Moses Smith married Catherine Keen at Lichfield 30th June 1823   

Marriage Licence for a Catherine Smith (Widow) of Hanley to a Thomas Hancock 28 October 1836

[rosie99]

1841 from familysearch
Elizabeth Smith      15-19   
Thomas Smith      15-19   
James Smith      15-19 bapt Hanley parents Moses/Catherine
Catherine Smith      12   - bapt Hanley parents Moses/Catherine

1841 ages are rounded down to the nearest 5 -familysearch on this record shows them as 15-19 which means they are aged between 15 & 19 (the original will show them as 15.)

As the other Smiths in 1851 are niece/nephew they have got to be children of Moses siblings

[Sherry Campbell]

Oh wow.. thanks. Did you find a baptism for Catherine, aged 12 in that census because she is listed as a niece in the next one... I just thought they were listed that way because the census taker put William Keen in as nephew and just marked the other two the same way.

[BumbleB]

If it's of any interest, Thomas Hancock is said to be an Officer of Excise, a widower and from Burslem, when he marries Catherine in 1836 - information from the marriage licence allegation.

[Sherry Campbell]

If it's of any interest, Thomas Hancock is said to be an Officer of Excise, a widower and from Burslem, when he marries Catherine in 1836 - information from the marriage licence allegation.

It is all of interest and useful... after 20 years of searching it would be really nice to finally find my Elizabeth Smith's family. All we know is she married William Campbell who was from Glasgow and they came to Canada sometime before their son was born in 1858. We've never been able to find a marriage record for them.

[rosie99]

Oh wow.. thanks. Did you find a baptism for Catherine, aged 12 in that census because she is listed as a niece in the next one... I just thought they were listed that way because the census taker put William Keen in as nephew and just marked the other two the same way.

Catherine Smith (niece) in 1851 is age 30 and born Ashbourne, Derbyshire - Thomas Smith age 26  (nephew) also bn Ashbourne.

The Catherine Smith in 1841 is age 12 and daughter of Catherine & Moses Smith.

[rosie99]

To confuse matters even more 

1861  - It does not mention who the proprietor is
RG09 /1931 f10 p13
John Keen - Cousin to the proprietor age 19 bn Chebsey
Catherine Smith age 40 -Sister to the proprietor bn Ashbourne, Derbyshire
Mary Ann Keen age 21 - Cousin to the proprietor bn Eccleshall, Derbyshire
Catherine Sambrook -servant age 19 bn Roden, Shropshire

https://www.familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:MWMN-34B

[rosie99]

Possible marriage for Elizabeth Smith (full age) at Hanley 9 February 1847 to Anthony Keeling.
Her father is named as James Smith occ Tobacconist.  That occupation would tie in with the 1861 family where John Keen is a Tobacco Manufacturer

A James Smith was a witness to the marriage

ADDED She is still in England in 1891 living with Catherine & Richard Ellis (Catherine Smith married Richard Ellis in 1864.)