Hi
Thanks for your offer of help. I'm not sure if anyone can definitely find out who my 3 x g.grandparents were.
On the 1841 census, my 2 x g.grandfather John is living with his parents William Benson and Agnes. Unfortunately, all his brothers were born before 1837, so no real way of checking their parents. On the 1851 census, he is living with a Postlethwait(e) family.
On IGI and submitted, but giving a film number, so I can order it and check out the details, a William Benson was baptised about 1791 ( although his age on the 1841 census, would suggest he was born 5 years earlier). There is also a submitted marriage, again with a film number (the same one as for the baptism) which suggests that William's wife is Agnes Posthlewait. I cannot find any baptisms for their children.
Unfortunately, I cannot find William and Agnes after the 1841 census, so I assume they have died as all the children, including the youngest Joseph born about 1836/7 are living at various addresses. There are two deaths registered in the name of William Benson and three in the name of Agnes Benson between 1841 and 1851, but even if I chose the correct one for William, it would only tell me his wife was Agnes, it wouldn't give her maiden name.
There are other Benson families on the 1841 census with sons called John and Joseph, but with different ages. I know I have the correct family as John moved to Hull and Joseph followed him a couple of years later and Joseph's wife was the informant on John's death certificate. The ages of John and Joseph on the later census tie in with the ones of the family i found on the 1841 census.
There is a website
http://www.lan-opc.org.uk/, (I don't know if you know about it), which has transcribed lots of births, marriages and deaths but, unfortunately, there are no marriages between 1728 and 1855 listed for the Dalton area.
Lizzie
