Shelley family

[pimpernel]

Researching the Shelley family that lived in Chipping Norton in the 2nd half of the 19th Century. The records agree that the head of the family William Shelley was born c.1839 (1881 census) or c.1834 (1871 census), in Langford (Oxfordshire/Berkshire), as was his eldest son Albert (b.1859). I can't find any references to the family prior to that date, and no record in Langford of any Shelley. As I live in the Far East I'm currently limited to the internet for research, any pointers or suggestions very gratefully recieved.

John

[DebbieG]

Hi John

As I have transcripts (up to 1880s) for Chipping Norton I had a look for you - but there were no entries for Shelley until the baptism in 1879 of Charlotte Gertrude to Albert & Annie,  Shelley is not a name found much in that area at that time so I tried all sorts of possible (and some impossible) spellings - but still nothing - it seems that William & Jane were either very forgetful or non-conformist (chapel). 

I checked the Free BMD site and found birth registrations for Arthur George, Alfred, Louisa, Agnes and Alice Mary as Shelley but nothing for the elder 3 - though the indexes on this site are not complete yet.  I did find a birth registration for Albert SHIRLEY in March 1859 in the Witney Reg dist (which would contain Langford) - Shirley is a lot more common name in that area and I am wondering if it has somehow got corrupted to Shelley

I have ordered the 1861 census which should cover that area and when it comes I will see if I can find them in that for you - although it seems that they spent some time in Gloucestershire.

Will get back to you

Debbie

[pimpernel]

Debbie that's brilliant. Many thanks!

As Shelley is not an Oxfordshire name it's been relatively easy so far to trace my family during their time in Chipping Norton - it seems William Shelley moved there from Gloucestershire around the time of 1870 following the death of his first wife, and the family stayed there until moving to Birmingham in 1901. However it's the family prior to 1870 which has remained completely illusive. I don't even know the name of William's first wife. My father thinks that they were probably farm workers that moved around the region until settling in Chipping Norton, which doesn't help matters. Nevertheless if both William and his eldest son were born in Langford as the census's indicate, the family were presumably rooted there for some time.

Frustratingly Langford is listed variously as being in Berkshire, Buckinghamshire and Oxfordshire in the census's.

Any help is greatly appreciated!

John

[pimpernel]

I checked the Free BMD site and found birth registrations for Arthur George, Alfred, Louisa, Agnes and Alice Mary as Shelley but nothing for the elder 3

There were it seems four older children - Albert, Shadrack (listed in the 1871 census but not subsequently), Matilda and William 2, the latter born c.1868 in Cirencester. I presume these older children were all born to William's first wife, and he only starting registering births after his second marriage to Jane. It's tempting to suspect that William's first wife died after childbirth, though I can't quite pinpoint when this would be. William 2 was born c.1868, then Arthur George in Mar 1870. Perhaps this was the cause of the mother's death. William re-married in Chipping Norton in June 1871, the following March saw the birth of Alfred. It all seems rather fast paced!

John

[DebbieG]

Hi John

Yesterday I had the help of 2 other rootschatters and we found William and family in 1871, 1881, 1891 and 1901 - see my Shelley 71 & 91 thread under Oxfordshire lookups for what they found - I am still waiting the arrival of the Oxfordshire 1861 census - though due to Shadracks place of birth in 1861 being given as somewhere in Gloucestershire (which we are having trouble reading) it may not do any good.  If all else fails have you thought of applying for the marriage certificate for his second marriage to Jane? - it should have his fathers name and occupation on it - unless we are very unlucky and it just says father deceased as they occasionally do.

We are still trying

Debbie

[PaulineJ]

1861 info at

http://www.rootschat.com/forum/index.php/topic,54595.from1117571990/topicseen.html#msg253593

 Please continue the answers on there.

Pauline