Hi Nancy.
Thanks for offering to help. I've done the obvious, started at the end and tried to work backwards.
I have William's death certificate. He died at 'Coxheath Home' Linton, Kent on 11.6.1930 (aged 65), the death being registered by my grt.Aunt, Ruby. His occupation was given as Traveller in motor accessories.
I know he married Alice Charlotte Marjoram, in 1885 in Maidstone
In 1901 Census he is shown as living with his wife and 2 children in Margate. The two children were William (gran's 'Brother Bill') and Ruby Emma. My Gran (Elsie) was born in Margate but not until Sept. of 1901. Three years earlier they must have been living in Tun.Wells since that was where Ruby was born.
In the 1891 Census they are shown as living in Bank Street, Maidstone. Here William his son, is shown as being 4 and having been born in Middlesex (Bows Park or Wood Green).
Also shown on both the 1901 and 1891 is a son Archibald C. Austen b. about 1890 in Maidstone, of whom I know nothing and of whom neither my gran nor Aunt Ruby ever spoke. It is possible of course that he died. The 1891 Census also lists a further son Henry R. Austen born about 1889 in Maidstone - he too is a mystery.
In 1881 William Austen is living in Tonbridge, aged 17 and working as a Clothiers Apprentice. I'm pretty sure this is the right William as I remember my gran mentioning something about him living in Tonbridge.
My confusion with William - senior - comes (as you see from my original post) about his early life. In every Census he clearly states he was born in Battle, Sussex. However .....
My Gran always maintained her father was born in Brenchley, although I know it's possible he was born in Battle and brought up in Brenchley. She often referred to this 'Castle Hill Farm', and the sister Kate, but I can't find any reference to any William with a sister of that name. Not beyond the bounds of possibility however, that what William told my gran may not have been the truth.
To compound the felony, back in 1974 my Gran was contacted by someone writing a history of the Maidstone & District Bus Company which (in a roundabout way William Austen started). He'd already got quite a bit of information and wrote to my Gran asking for 'background' on her father. He stated that William had been born in Brenchley (on the Kent/Sussex border) in 1863, a fact which my Gran disputed, so between us the author and I attempted to obtain a copy of William's birth/marriage certificate. From Maidstone Registrar's Office I got a reply which stated they had no record of any birth (at Brenchley) in that name and ... no record of the marriage. The author applied for a Birth certificate from the then Somerset House but told me that ".... there was no record available".
The book was subsequently published in 2002 showing William to have been born in 1863 in Brenchley.
As for Henry R. and Archibald C. Austin/Austen - well, who knows?
The only other information I can find on what may possibly be my William is that on the 1871 census, there is a family of Austen's (George and Harriett) living at Ringlets Farm, Battle with 4 sons, one of whom is a William aged 6 - although there is no Kate. If this is the right family, they've disappeared from the 1881 Census (at least I can't find them). I haven't persued this any further back until I could be sure I had the right family, although a brief look at 1861 reveals a very 'iffy' possibility of a George aged 20 at 3rd Depot Battalion, Brompton Barracks as Private of the 81st Foot.
Sorry to ramble on, but that's the who, what, why - all I need is the where's and when's!
Mogsy
