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Hi everyone,

The records are complete and are either on Ancestry or FindMyPast (I can't remember off the top of my head). I'll have to check where Daniel Jr was in 1841 but he married Caroline Barker and ended up in Birmingham.  I've come to the conclusion that the death record of a Daniel Hartwell in 1773 is most likely correct and my Daniel is a later child whose baptism record - for whatever reason - is missing.  There's a history of the parents naming later children after ones that have died and I think a missing baptism is more likely than an incorrect burial, especially as all their other children are accounted for after this date.  It also seems unlikely that one of 14 children was baptised somewhere else and there's nothing obvious in neighbouring parishes.  But happy to have your thoughts!

Laura

Looking for some advice from someone who is more of an expert in this genealogy lark than I am and might be able to tell me what's going on in the parish record I'm looking at.

I am researching the Hartwell family who centred around Elford in Staffordshire.  I have a sinking feeling that I may have hung my research from the wrong sibling, there being two brothers (Daniel and John) having sons with the same name born within a year of each other.

My problem surrounds a Daniel Hartwell born around 1773.  There is a Daniel Hartwell in the 1841 census in Elford aged 65 and there's a death record in 1844 of a 70 year old Daniel Hartwell.  Taking into account the usual inaccuracies with age, I assume these are the same person.

In the parish record, there is a Daniel Hartwell born to Daniel and Mary in 1773.  Unfortunately, there is also a death of a Daniel Hartwell in 1773 and he's listed as "son of Daniel and Mary" so I'm assuming he's a child.

Could this be an error?  Elford had less that 500 people in it so it seems an unlikely error.  I considered that the 1773 Daniel could have died very young and his parents' next child was named after him but I can't see another Daniel in the records. 

Any help anyone can give would be enormously appreciated.

Laura

It's been a long time since I posted to this thread.  I've got a lead from the family which says Thomas's father lived in a farm and Thomas's mother lived in a farm opposite.  I now know that the father we're talking about is Thomas Lyle Henry who lived at Maddydoo Lower in 1901. 

I've checked the census in 1901 and the only person who remotely fits the bill is an Eliza Tweed.  However, she's 56 to Thomas Lyle's 42 and it seems unlikely that he'd be having an illegitimate child at age 19 with a woman 14 years his senior.  Added to this, Thomas Henry's school admission in 1887 lists him as an orphan.  Interestingly, there is a Boyd family also in the townland.  The name Boyd appears as the middle name in Thomas Henry's son so I wonder if she's part of this family.

Does anyone know if there is any way to check who was living in a particular place in the 1880s? 

Laura

Hi everyone,

I have done a lot of research into the Hartwell branch of my family from Elford but I'm struggling to fill in some of the death dates.  This is a big ask, but I was hoping someone could take a walk round the churchyard and send me the details of any Hartwells buried there.  I have been to the church quite a while ago and I'm sure I found two, but I just stumbled upon them so have no idea if there are any more.  It would be most helpful if you could send photos or transcripts of the headstones so I can get all the information off them, including "wife of" or "husband of" etc, which will help to tie them into my tree. 

Thanks in advance,

Laura

By the way, he was quite high up in the Orange Lodge - i don't know whether they have records available?