Hello,
This is a follow on from a previous thread I posted in the Somerset forum but with a slightly different focus so please forgive the cross posting.
I am in search of the family of William Dyer, a tailor, born in Bath in 1811. Census records give these details consistently throughout the years so I am certain of the time and place. The only record which even remotely matches is for William Dyer Lee baptised 2 June 1811 at St Swithin, Walcot, Bath, a son of William and Maria Lee. This is a possibility for his family as all of William Dyer's children, born in Bristol, for an unknown reason, have the middle name Lee. (This includes a couple of the eldest children named William Lee Dyer and Maria Lee Dyer). On William Dyer's second marriage in 1857, he names his father as William Dyer, tailor.
I have traced William and Maria Lee (nee Pulman) to a marriage in Stoke Damerel on 29 May 1798. They were both of this parish. They had a son James Pulman Lee baptised here in 1800.
I think I have found James (now James Dyer) in the 1841 census in Bath St James, a tailor, living with William Dyer, also a tailor, aged 65 (so born c1776). James appears in 1851, and gives his birthplace as Stonehouse, Devon.
I have used all online record sources I can get my hands on (Ancestry, Find My Past, FreeReg, Family Search etc.) but am having a really hard time unravelling this one. It seems to check out, though I'd like some real proof that I am on the right track. I can't find anything else about William (Lee) or Maria his wife. Why would they drop the name Lee for Dyer?
Would anyone have a connection to these people, or be up for a challenge?
Any advice would be most gratefully received.
With thanks