Joseph Dutton (b. 16 Feb 1840 in Minshull Vernon) was the son of Joseph Dutton and Rebecca Preston, and the certificate only indicates that his father Joseph Dutton was a labourer.
Regarding the letter, unfortunately it was never kept. My cousin regrets this as his daughter has been trying to dig up this genealogy for years, as have I. I've had much more success than her, but we share all our info with each other. I don't quite understand the whole situation, as it would seem with the father being a labourer, I wouldn't imagine he would have some sort of estate for anybody to inherit or take over. But this cousin of mine is still alive (age 76) and I have no reason to doubt the story.
I didn't ask for 1871 as I figured I'd need to start with 1841/51/61 and move forward. I'm uncertain when Joseph Dutton (father) and his wife Rebecca passed away. If they are the individuals who married in 1819, then they were probably born 1790s-1800 and are possibly not around in the 1881 census. (1881 census has no Jos Duttons b. between 1795 and 1805, and only one Rebecca Dutton born 1803 but it's not her) I figured if I could find them in 1841, etc. I'd have an idea of how old they are so I can skim death records for Cheshire for any possible matches. Also uncertain of Rebeccas place of birth, as somebody indicated on the US census that Josephs father was born in England and mother born in Scotland. But I've learned over the years to use census info as a starting point, but not to accept it as fact (people on both sides of the sea have always been a bit mistrusting of the government wanting to know their business, and census info is only as good as the memory/ knowledge of the person supplying the info to the census taker).
Joseph Dutton (the son) served in the 7th Regiment of Hussey from 20 Jul 1867 until 18 July 1868, enlisting in London and being discharged at Canterbury. Sometime in the next couple of years he found himself in the North Riding of Yorkshire, where he married Sarah Bates on the 26th of August 1872. I've found him and the other Bates families in 1881, and they began emmigrating to the USA shortly after, with Joseph & his family arriving in New York on the 3rd of May 1883. I don't have access to the 1871 census for the North Riding but I'd bet they are all there. (The Bates family originated in Cambridge, moved through Lincolnshire, then settled in the North Riding before some of them came to the US)
It's interesting that you found a Jos Dutton age 11 living away from his parents. What town/village was the farm where he was working? Did you not see a Joseph Dutton with a wife Rebecca in 1851? Perhaps they were both deceased already?
Thank you for your assistance.
D R Spencer