Author Topic: William Dobson accused of the Murder of Hannah White  (Read 5860 times)

Offline Heather58

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William Dobson accused of the Murder of Hannah White
« on: Wednesday 04 May 16 22:30 BST (UK) »
Good evening, I have a William Dobson born about 1899 in Handbridge, Chester and in 1927/28 he was accused of the murder of Hannah White in Greenway Street, Handbridge. He was married with a couple of children and a bit slow. He was sentenced to death but the people of Handbridge got up a petition and there was 17,000 signatures for his release because some of the witnesses lied at the trial. I think his parents were Peter Dobson and Sarah Ann nee Pay what I would like to know is who did he marry and who were the children?  I did find in 1939 register a William Dobson in a mental institution. I have found a William Dobson's death in 1988 wonder if that was him?
kind regards
Heather
 :)
Warburton, Ackerley, Foxley, Gerrards, Buckley, Totty, Woodworth, Parkes, Bingley, Meredith, Gill, Royle all Cheshire, Pritchard,  Roberts, Caernarfonshire. Ingham, Roberts in Denbigh

Offline philipsearching

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Re: William Dobson accused of the Murder of Hannah White
« Reply #1 on: Thursday 05 May 16 01:02 BST (UK) »
Possibles found on freebmd:

Sep qtr 1898 Chester vol 8a p414 William Dobson birth

Mar qtr 1919 Chester vol 8a p608 William H Dobson married Polly Ledsham
Mar qtr 1922 Chester vol 8a p587 William Dobson married Ethel Welch

Chester - 6 births of Dobson with mother's name Ledsham (1920-28)
Chester - 1 birth of Dobson with mothjer's name Welch (1927)

Hope this helps
Philip
Please help me to help you by citing sources for information.

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Offline garstonite

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Re: William Dobson accused of the Murder of Hannah White
« Reply #2 on: Friday 06 May 16 08:43 BST (UK) »
1901 census has William as born 1897
HOUSEHOLD

ROLE

GENDER

AGE

BIRTHPLACE

Peter Dobson   Head   M   32   Chester, Cheshire
Sarah A Dobson   Wife   F   34   Wrexham, Denbighshire
Thos Dobson   Son   M   12   Chester, Cheshire
John Dobson   Son   M   10   Chester, Cheshire
Ellen Dobson   Daughter   F   8   Chester, Cheshire
Barbara Dobson   Daughter   F   6   Chester, Cheshire
William Dobson   Son   M   4   Chester, Cheshire
Martha Dobson   Daughter   F   2   Chester, Cheshire
Sophia Dobson   Daughter   F   0   Chester, Cheshire

is this the correct family ??
Williams entry
William Dobson
England and Wales Census, 1901
Name   William Dobson
Event Type   Census
Event Date   31 Mar 1901
Event Place   Chester, Cheshire, England
County   Cheshire
Civil Parish   Chester
Ecclesiastical Parish   St Mary Without The Walls Chester
Sub-District   Chester Cathedral
Registration District   Chester
Residence Note   Broad Entry
Gender   Male
Age   4
Relationship to Head of Household   Son
Birth Year (Estimated)   1897
 :)
oakes,liverpool..neston..backford..poulton cum spittal(bebington)middlewich,cheshire......   sacht,helgoland  .......merrick,herefordshire adams,shropshire...tipping..ellis..  jones,garston,liverpool..hartley.dunham massey..barker. salford

Offline garstonite

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Re: William Dobson accused of the Murder of Hannah White
« Reply #3 on: Friday 06 May 16 08:51 BST (UK) »
Re Peters info
a William Dobson married Ethel Welch in 1922 at St Marys church , Chester - if you note the census parish of 1901 they are in St Mary without the Walls - so - same church
the 1919 marriage is William Henry Dobson to Polly Ledsham in St John church,Chester

I would lean towards the Ethel Welch marriage - but if they only had 1 child ??...your post says a couple of children ?...do you know the childrens names of William Dobson ??
oakes,liverpool..neston..backford..poulton cum spittal(bebington)middlewich,cheshire......   sacht,helgoland  .......merrick,herefordshire adams,shropshire...tipping..ellis..  jones,garston,liverpool..hartley.dunham massey..barker. salford


Offline trish18

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Re: William Dobson accused of the Murder of Hannah White
« Reply #4 on: Saturday 07 May 16 01:49 BST (UK) »
Having read newspaper reports on this incident I'm inclined to think it is a very sad story for all concerned.

William Dobson was born on 13th August 1898,  the son of James Dobson, fisherman, of Greenway Street, Handbridge and Sarah Hannah Thornley.

James and Sarah married at St Mary's-on-the Hill, Chester on 12th August 1876. The parish register states that James' father is also named James and a fisherman, Sarah is illegitimate.

The 1911 census states that James and Sarah Ann (she is not using the name Hannah now ) have been married for 36 years and have had 9 children but only 7 are still living.

The newspaper reports state that William had two children. He was sentenced to death but as you said, there was a huge reaction to this by the people of Chester and the sentence was commuted to penal servitude for life. He served his sentence in Maidstone Prison but was released in 1936, after serving only 8 years.

Newspapers reports from 19th June 1936, state that on his release, his wife, children and 80 year old father met him in Liverpool.

'He is now in the Liverpool district with his wife and two children, where he has been found work. His son Jimmie, being only a few months old at the time of the crime. It his birthday this month and he is celebrating it with his father, who he does not remember.'

I agree with Philip and Garstonite that the marriage of Ethel Welch to William Dobson in 1922 is highly likely to be the right match.

Trying to find a match for children born to a Welch/Dobson marriage I think these are a match.

Alice Dobson       born 1923   Chester     - mothers last name Welsh

James Dobson     born 1927   Chester                            "         Welch

John J Dobson     born 1925   Chester   (died 1925)       "         Welsh

Sarah A Dobson  born 1939   Chester   (died 1939)        "        Welsh

James Dobson senior died in 1939. There is no mention in the newspaper report of his funeral of William or his wife attending but it does say his grandchildren, A Dobson and J Dobson attended.

James Dobson Senior made his last will and testament on 7th December 1936. He appointed his sons, James Dobson of 7 Greenway Street, Chester and William Dobson of 7 Greenway Street, Chester (presently residing in Birkenhead) to be his executors.

He left no. 9 Greenway Street to James and no. 7 Greenway Street to William.

I think there is a possible death for William in the Chester and Ellesmere Port district - quarter 1 - 1980.

A couple of interesting links concerning William Dobson below (I hope they work)

http://goo.gl/YWmLxK

http://goo.gl/6lLrcR


Regards

Trish
Carroll - Monmouthshire/Glamorganshire/Cork
Hooley - Tattenhall, Cheshire
Lloyd - Gresford, Denbighshire
Platt - Wrexham, Denbighshire
Sullivan- Monmouthshire/Glamorganshire/Cork

Offline Neptune

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Re: William Dobson accused of the Murder of Hannah White
« Reply #5 on: Saturday 07 May 16 10:41 BST (UK) »
Hi -
There's a marriage on familysearch.org on 27th March 1922 (Chester) for a William Dobson 9 Greenway Street to Ethel Welch. William's father is James.
 
The newspaper reports mention William's sister Mary Jane Davies-a  Mary J Dobson is christened in St Mary's Chester in 1889(parents James and Sarah Anne familysearch) On Free BMD there's
a marriage for Mary J Dobson to Thomas Davies in 1910.

A daughter Mrs W. White is mentioned at the funeral of James Dobson senior - Elizabeth Dobson marries William White in 1901(Free BMD).
Some reports mention his son 'Jimmie' and that William may be released on 29th June 1939 which would be his son's 9th birthday.
In 1939 in Chester a William Dobson is with his wife Ethel and James whose birthday is 29th June 1927.
Also a daughter Sarah Ann born 1939.
 Unfortunately I think some of William and Ethel's children died and seem to be buried with James Dobson (William's father in Overleigh cemetery Chester). You can search by surname or grave number. Interestingly Hannah White and John James White are also buried there.

http://archivedatabases.cheshire.gov.uk/cms/LacOverleighCemetery/home.aspx

I would tend to agree with what everyone has found and that William probably married Ethel Welch and his father is  James.

Hope this helps

Regards

Neptune

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Offline Heather58

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Re: William Dobson accused of the Murder of Hannah White
« Reply #6 on: Tuesday 04 October 16 09:53 BST (UK) »
Sorry for the delay in replying to you all.  Thank you everyone for helping me with this given a lot of food for thought. 

thank you
 :)
Kind regards
Heather
Warburton, Ackerley, Foxley, Gerrards, Buckley, Totty, Woodworth, Parkes, Bingley, Meredith, Gill, Royle all Cheshire, Pritchard,  Roberts, Caernarfonshire. Ingham, Roberts in Denbigh

Offline rubygemstone

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Re: William Dobson accused of the Murder of Hannah White
« Reply #7 on: Wednesday 28 December 16 12:30 GMT (UK) »
Hello Heather,

I've not been on here in a good while due to bad health.

I'm a direct descendant of the family through my mom & thought you maybe interested in this piece of news also, that the family for over 300yrs have suffered from one form or another of Porphyria which is genetic, it's the 2nd largest family to have the disease and these murders etc plus behaviour was found out by many doctor's getting involved.

I think you would find the book very informative on the family & other members who carry the same line as myself.

This link opens the book up below.

https://books.google.co.uk/books?id=wOIoumC_aOcC&pg=PA21&lpg=PA21&dq=the+dobsons+of+chester+with+porphyria&source=bl&ots=voSjwF6gMV&sig=F5y7vurS55jAMNxW8IE3B7gw614&hl=en&sa=X&ved=0ahUKEwjMq_KK8JbRAhUJK8AKHXOgAJYQ6AEINzAF#v=onepage&q=the%20dobsons%20of%20chester%20with%20porphyria&f=false

http://shop.rcplondon.ac.uk/products/dobsons-complaint-the-story-of-the-chester-porphyria?variant=6337298245

Happy new year everyone for 2017  :)
Duncombe's, Dobson's, Davies's & Saunders.
All from the Staffordshire Area.

Offline Heather58

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Re: William Dobson accused of the Murder of Hannah White
« Reply #8 on: Thursday 29 December 16 06:03 GMT (UK) »
thank you for getting back to me, I have heard of that I went many moons ago to a talk in Handbridge I think someone in the Royle family had it.  Do you know what happened to William?


Regards
Heather
 :)
Warburton, Ackerley, Foxley, Gerrards, Buckley, Totty, Woodworth, Parkes, Bingley, Meredith, Gill, Royle all Cheshire, Pritchard,  Roberts, Caernarfonshire. Ingham, Roberts in Denbigh