Hi All,
I'm looking to find out what became of William Empson, born in 1854 in Leafield, Oxfordshire, and his son, William John Empson, (b. 1876 Chilson, Oxfordshire).
William snr was born to John Empson and Harriet Siford. He appears with his parents in 1861 and 1871 in Leafield. In 1875 he married Fanny Bishop at Shorthampton, Oxfordshire.
It appears Fanny died in 1879. In 1881 their only son William John is found with his grandparents, John and Mary Bishop, and again in 1891. In 1901 he is found as a boarder with some distant relatives in Tipton, Staffordshire, and then in 1911 he is found at Bruern Abbey working as a groom.
I can't find William snr in any further census, and neither can I find a death record for him. I can't find a criminal conviction, I can't find him on a passenger list anywhere, nor can I find him in any Scottish, Irish, Canadian, Australian or US records. He does not appear to have a military record. He doesn't appear in any newspaper articles that are currently searchable at the British Newspaper Archive.
Put bluntly, I have no idea what happened to this man.
As for his son, I can't find any likely death record for him either, nor find him in the 1939 Register.
Any help in working out what happened to William or his son would be greatly appreciated.
Many thanks,
Chris
