Now I am confused! I know there are/were many Tilleys in the Leicester area, but I am basing my search on the information supplied by my cousin, who is an experience genealogist, so my family is also his. He states that Thomas Tilley and Elizabeth
?? marrried, but not when. A man of that name married to Elizabeth Brey had a son William Henry Tilley. Elizabeth was at that time "a widow and fund holder living at 4, South Place, Hackney"according to the 1861 census.The information I have says that Thomas was born in Newport Pagnell in 1785, his son William Henry born Newport Pagnell in 1809, his parents being Thomas and Elizabeth.
This whole thing seems to be getting messier and messier, and could mean that the Leicester trail is quite wrong. I am quite new to this game, but judging by the number of stars by your names, you are not. I don't want to give up, especially as I have traced my mother's' family back to the 17th century, even though her name was a common one.
As my father's family lived in London, I think Suzard's reference to the London christening is most probably the best bet, though his mother's maiden name was Austin and not Brey.W. H. was living in Shoreditch in 1841 with his second wife, Mary Cooper, who was 10 years older than her husband. I have traced, through census returns, their son, John Cooper Tilley, to my father, who was born in Hackney in 1895.
My sincere thanks to you all for your help, as a result of which, I will be doing some more checking, and hopefully, this time will not encounter any more mazes or brick walls,
If anyone has any more helpful suggestion, they would be much appreciated.
Ivory
, but not when
