John Thornley of Burslem, Staffs

[ChrisWd]

I have a John Thornley, a colliery worker, who married Catherine Matthews on 22 Jan 1872 at Holy Trinity church in Burslem.  They had 5 children: Thomas (1872, Longton), Mary Ann (1875, Burslem), Catherine (1881, Burslem), John (1883, Burslem) and Margaret (1885, Haydock in Lancashire).

John Thornley died in 1885 in Haydock, apparently as a result of a mining accident.  His age at death was 38.  According to the marriage certificate his father's name was Thomas Thornley, a farmer.

I've found his wife in 1891 & 1901 census returns.  She married a chap called Matthew Littler in 1897 and died 1907.

I can't find John Thornley in any census returns so can't determine his birthplace or details of his parents.  I would greatly appreciate any help/suggestions for tracing him in the records.

Regards,
Chris

[rosie99]

Catherine Junior was born in June qtr 1880 Wolstanton RD so should be with the family in 1881 

[ChrisWd]

Yes, I've tried searching for the various members of the family but can't locate any in the 1881 census.

Chris

[trish1120]

I cant find them 1881 either.

Thornley is a common name in Lancs so maybe he was from there originally.

[ChrisWd]

I'm just surprised that John & Catherine Thornley had a daughter born the year before the 1881 census and a son born two years after, both births in Burslem, yet there doesn't seem to be any sign of the family in the town at the time of the census.  I'm gradually working my way through the Burslem census sheets just to check there wasn't a transcription error.

I've just recently seen a reference to the mining accident report which was produced by the inquiry following his death and that indicates he was 32 years old when the accident happened, not 37 as given in his death index.

Chris

[rosie99]

His marriage in 1872 gives his age as 24 (born c 1848)

[ChrisWd]

Yes, the marriage record and death index are consistent in terms of his implied birthyear.  At the moment I'm assuming the inquiry report is most likely in error.

[BumbleB]

You may have to purchase Catherine junior's birth certificate to find their address at least in 1880.  There are no baptism entries currently available via FindMyPast for Catherine or John to ascertain their address.

[ChrisWd]

I think that's probably a good idea as I've now checked through the complete set of Burslem census sheets for 1881 and the family are nowhere to be seen.  I don't know whether the existing Burslem census for 1881 is complete but I didn't see any obvious gaps as I worked through.

Chris