Coley - Dudley and area Staffordshire

[david.coley]

Hello all,
I am researching my family tree, and have traced my family all the way from our current location in Ajax Ontario, through Montreal Quebec, New Brunswick and all the way back to Cradley / Dudley area of Staffordshire/Worcestershire (I wish this area hadn't bounced around districts so much!)

I have hit a road block and trying to grow as big of a forest of Coley's as I can.  I am trying to go as far back as I can before I start picking up the aunts and uncles and cousins I never knew I had (Coley is a very very very rare last name here).

I am stuck at William Coley (about 1807) who married Mary Walker on Feb 3 1828 at St Thomas.  Some great people at another forum were able to find out about the wedding:  "3 Feb 1828 St Thomas Dudley William Coley bach otp Mary Walker otp By Banns both their marks x Wit; Sarah Dillar X John Allen (Clerks)"

I know that they had 6+ children:  Eliza (1831), Maria (1838), Joseph (1841, my direct relative), Benjamin (1844), Phobe (1849), William (1850).

I know that Benjamin and Joseph both had a lot of kids and each had one of them move to Canada.

On my line, Joseph (1841) married Phoeby Price (1843) and 13 more children.  One of which was had Joseph Henry (1876) who married Sarah Ann Walker and moved to Canada around 1904.

I've really hit a dead end here, and trying to see if anyone else has any better luck with these details.   I know Joseph (1841) was a Puddler, and Joseph Henry was a Chain maker while in the UK.   

William Coley in the 1851 census is listed as being a "Road Mender" if I am reading it right and lived at 129 Bucher's Lane in Cradley and listed as being born in "Worcester Cradley" though I don't know how much i can trust that.  In 1861 he has moved with his family to 169 Bucher's Lane and now just a "Road Labourer"

In 1841 he is a "Nailer" who is listed as "No" to being born in same county... and yes for "Wether Born in Scotland, Ireland, or Foregn Parts", living on Canking Row.  I know it is the same William Coley by the exact right wife/childrens name and ages.  In this case Joseph Coley is listed as 7 m.

Any help would be appreciated.   Hopefully someone out there will know the best next step.  I realize I may not get any further back, but I was hoping to make it into the 1700's for some reason.

[trish1120]

Welcome to Rootschat David

Yes there were Coleys in Cradley, Worcs early 1800's.
Sorry I cant look at much right now but here is the link;

www.freereg.org.uk

Also when searching back that far start with Coley and then use soundex for other spellings eg Colley/Cowley will come up.

Trish

[david.coley]

Thanks Trish.

I stumbled upon this site via a search of Coley.  found someone else looking at a different part of the tree.  It seems that "Coley" is very much a regional name to the West Midlands.   While that has made it very easy to track globally (Heck there aren't many of us!) it's made it a night mare once I get into the West Midlands.  The common names in the family repeat for all the branches... they are marrying "close" to the same people at times...

Tonight been a rough night.   Turns out a lead I was following turned out to be a transcription error, and the "William" Coley I was looking at was in fact Thomas Coley who ran a Button Factory and also married a Mary.

I think I'm going to have to create a separate tree just to see if I can get this forest of Coley's figured out.  I very much doubt I can.  The good news is, based on ST.JOHN'S,HALESOWEN PARISH REGISTERS 1717 - 1728 transcript the name goes back to at least 1717

[linell]

Hi David, you wrote <William Coley in the 1851 census is listed as being a "Road Mender" if I am reading it right and lived at 129 Bucher's Lane in Cradley and listed as being born in "Worcester Cradley" though I don't know how much i can trust that.  In 1861 he has moved with his family to 169 Bucher's Lane and now just a "Road Labourer>

The 129 in 1851 and the 169 in 1861 is the Schedule Number not the house number, there were no house numbers as such until later on.

I couldn't find your William Coley in the Cradley Parish Registers, but a lot of them are lost or were never kept.  Do you know if William had any siblings?  Their baps maybe recorded in the Register?  Linell.

[david.coley]

I only know his Children at this point.
There is a Thomas Coley who was born in 1811 in the same general area but I have done no research yet on the family to see if there is a connection.

Sad to hear about the Parish records.   I guess I'll have to start picking at all the rest of the Coley's to see if I can find the links

[bhandley]

My 2nd Great Grandmother was Sarah Coley. She was born in Willenhall, Staffordshire in 1836 to Joseph Coley and Hannah nee Brindley. They married in Wolverhampton, Staffordshire in 1833. They had three children. Hannah and a new baby died in 1841 and a two or three year old boy Joseph died the following year so Sarah was raised by members of the Brindley family. In 1841 the Coley family were living in Staniforth Street, Birmingham and Joseph was an Iron Caster. I have been unable to find Joseph prior to his marriage and after the 1841 census. In 1841 he is described as being 35 years old and not being from Warwickshire. I have seen the Banns for his marriage to Hannah but no clues there as to his family. I have DNA matches to the family of Ephraim Coley and Ann Fisher but despite trying for a long time have been unable to establish the connection. Does anyone have my Joseph in their family? I originally thought he was the Joseph Coley born in 1802 but although probably related it was not him.

[trish1120]

Hi bhandley,

Possible?

Joseph COLEY Baptised 06 Oct 1805,    St Lawrence, Castle Church, Staffordshire
Parents JOSEPH/ANN
Sibling ANN Bapt 18 May 1801, buried 26 Jul 1801, infant

Marriage same Church;
Joseph COLEY of St Marys Stafford to Ann JENNINGS 13 Jan 1799
Witnesses; Hannah/Samuel Sanders

There appear to be no other records for Joseph/Ann in Castle Church after that.

All above on FreeREG

[bhandley]

Thank you for trying to help. I think he may have been a lot older than I thought as it seems like he may have had another family following a marriage to Sarah Garton in Derby in 1802. He may have been in the Royal Horse Artillery and while in it had a couple of sons in Woodbridge, Suffolk. The next son of this marriage was born in Birmingham in 1816. I am only just investigating this new information but am still none the wiser regarding his birth and death. Barbara