RootsChat.Com

Hello all
Can anyone spot my elusive 3 x great grandfather in 1861, please?
He was born in Coventry in 1835, parents John Ball and Catherine Matthews, he married Margaret Rowley in Birmingham in 1856.
By trade he was a master baker.
I have him in all the other census till his death in 1911.
1841 - in Coventry with his widowed father John.
1851 - a prisoner in Winson Green, sentenced to 12 months for larceny in October 1850.

Between 1856 and 1880 he fathered 14 children at regular intervals in Birmingham so he can't have been far away!.

1871 -  In Birmingham Ladywood with some of the children (wife Margaret away visiting family)
1881  - In  Birmingham Ladywood with family.
1891  - In Oldbury (Staffs) with son Wesley James
1901  - In Oldbury, boarding without his family
1911 -  retired, back in Birmingham with wife, one son and one grandson.
He died in 1911, December quarter.

I've searched and searched but can't find Thomas in 1861.  Wife Margaret and some of the children are in Ladywood in 1861 but Thomas is not there with them.

Some new eyes would be very welcome.
Thanks in advance
Bev

I've been trying to solve the mystery of my Gilberts for years and have had zero success.  I've come to the conclusion that it's an unbreachable brick wall - either that or I'm missing something - but before throwing my hands up for good I thought I'd have one last try and see if any of the clever Rootschatters can come up with anything.

This is what I know.

My 3 x great grandmother was Martha Gilbert who married Alfred Lloyd in Edgbaston on 27th December 1858 in what appears to have been a double ceremony with her brother William.
Their father is William Gilbert, born on 8th May 1812 to John and Phoebe Gilbert and baptised at St. Philips cathedral in August 1812.  William senior is a clock and watch maker, as is his son and his son-in-law Alfred.  They are well documented in the trade directories of the time, William's business was run from Farm Street, Birmingham.
In 1851 William sr. is a widower (38) living with son William (16) born Handsworth, John Lee a lodger aged 71 and Phoebe Lee a servant aged 38.

In 1861:
William 48, master clock maker employing 1 man and 2 boys
Phoebe Lees 50, clock maker's housekeeper
Alfred Lloyd 24, journeyman clock maker
Martha Lloyd 24  born Handsworth
along with Alfred and Martha's first child.

In 1871:
William Gilbert  58
Phoebe Lees  60
Alfred Lloyd 36
Martha Lloyd 35
plus more children.

William senior dies in 1878

What I don't know despite a lot of looking
- I can't find the family in 1841
- I can't find birth or baptism records for either Martha or William junior.
- I can't find a marriage for William senior or a death for his wife.  Trees on Ancestry have him as marrying one Maria Warburton but this is clearly not correct as that William was a tailor.
- I can't verify the parents of William, John and Phoebe.  There is a marriage in Handsworth in 1794 for a John Gilbert and Phoebe Davis.  But I have only found siblings for William born between 1805 and 1810 (he being the youngest) and a ten-year gap seems impossible.  They both died before 1841.

I've thought a lot about the relationship with Phoebe Lee(s) and wondered if the children were hers, or even if someone somewhere had changed their surname, maybe William's wife was a Lee, but it's all guesswork and I can't find any records at all.

This is a real teaser but if anyone can come up with a bright idea I will be really grateful!
Thank you in advance and sorry for the long spiel.

Bev

Hello all
My 4 x great grandparents Evan Jones and Elizabeth Price married in Castle Frome on 1st March 1788.  They went on to have nine children in Clifford, where Elizabeth died in 1819 (I think) and Evan in 1823:
 
Elizabeth  1789
Catharine  1791 (presumably died young)
John   1794
Mary   1796  (presumably died young)
Thomas  1799
Edward  1802
Mary   1804
James   1807
Catharine  1810

Edward, my direct ancestor, moved to Birmingham and managed to see off four wives.  I can find no trace at all of any of the others.  I'm aware that Jones near the Welsh border is not going to be easy to crack but honestly I haven't got a clue!  Did they all move away?  I would at least have expected the girls to marry in Clifford.
By the way, some records show the children being baptized in Castle Frome and also in Clifford.  I think Castle Frome is incorrect.  Back in the day when you could obtain photocopies of original docs from FamilySearch I ordered all these baptism records.  They could not provide the records from Castle Frome and when I asked, I was told it was a cataloguing error and they did not exist.  The records from Clifford were the correct ones.
Any help gratefully received as a new pair of eyes can work wonders.
Many thanks
Bev

Hello all
My 4xgrandfather was the defendant in a case at the Irish Petty sessions in 1861. 
Can someone confirm what it was that he allowed to wander on the public road?  Was it his ass?   
Thanks
Bev

Good evening to all
My 5 x great grandmother Mary Terry, born approx 1777, probably in the Sheffield area of Yorkshire, died 1862, married twice and I have recently found her first marriage record for 15th November 1803, at Sheffield Cathedral, to one Willowby Lomas.  My problem is that apart from this record I can find nothing at all about this man (who is my direct ancestor).
The couple had two daughters, Mary Ann (1806, Sheffield) and Hannah (1808, Sheffield).  On 1st February 1819 Mary remarried to Joseph Twibell, so it's safe to assume that Willowby died between 1808 and 1819 but I can't find a baptism or a burial for him.  As far as I know, the family never left the Sheffield area (though in 1861 Mary and daughter are wrongly recorded as being born in Lancashire).
A fresh pair of eyes would be very welcome.  I would have thought that an unusual name would make searching easier but no luck, and I'm not very up on Yorkshire registers.  (I have also searched for Willoughby and in the neighbouring counties).
Many thanks in advance for any help.
Bev