Hi,
On 31 October 1756 in St Mary Le Strand, Mary Tong spinster of this parish married Henry Todd bachelor of St Clement Danes by licence. A succession of children was christened to them in St Clement Danes, starting the following year and including my ancestor George (christened 15 Jun 1760). Two others Griffith Henry (christened in St Martin in the Fields 28 Feb 1773) and Frances (St George Hanover Square 28 April 1776) are probably also theirs. (Westminster parish records available on FindmyPast.)
The witnesses at their wedding were both called William Tong, possibly the bride's father and brother.
William Tong of Chelsea in the parish of St George Hanover Square (presumably the brother) wrote a will dated 5 September 1797 which was proved in the Canterbury Court on 10 March 1804. (He was buried in St Mary Le Strand on 7 March 1804.) The will is fairly long and difficult to read but it mentions among others, his nephews George and Griffith Todd, his sister Ann wife of John Saunderson (they married at St Martin in the Fields on 12 June 1774), John Saunderson of Penrith, Cumberland, son of John Saunderson, William Saunderson also son of John Saunderson the father, the testator's late brother in law Griffith Williams (and two of the late Griffith's faithful clerks) and Frances Williams, daughter of the late Sir Hugh Williams of somewhere that might read Beaumaris North Wales (on Anglesey).
Assuming that this reading is correct, Sir Hugh Williams would have been the baronet/MP described here
http://www.historyofparliamentonline.org/volume/1754-1790/member/williams-sir-hugh-1718-94 who died in 1794. He had a daughter Frances Emma christened in Beaumaris on 10 Oct 1765 who may well have been the Frances mentioned in the will.
Apart from a James Saunderson christened in St Martin in the Fields in June 1789 to parents John and Ann, I am struggling to find other records of the family - anything else on the Saundersons, birth and death records of Mary nee Tong and husband George Todd, their marriage licence, a birth for William Tong in the will, anything on William Tong the father, anything sure on Griffith Williams or anything to clarify the relationship between the Saundersons and the Williamses.
This is essentially a continuation of an earlier thread on the Todds (here
http://www.rootschat.com/forum/index.php?topic=745934.msg6437514#msg6437514). Rootschatters were then very helpful in clarifying other parts of the Todd family, although at that stage we did not find the Todd/Tong marriage or related christenings. As I explained in the earlier thread, FamilySearch, following a pedigree prepared by a cousin George William Todd, had the wife of Henry Todd and the mother of George and Griffith Henry as Frances Williams. It also showed her descent from John of Gaunt via Sir Griffith Williams (wikipedia here
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sir_Griffith_Williams,_1st_Baronet - 1st Baronet in the line in which sir Hugh was the 8th) whose name was said to be the source of the christian name Griffith which appears throughout the Todd family tree.
I think that the Todd/Tong marriage and subsequent christenings show that this pedigree was wrong, but the presence of a Frances Williams, a Griffith Williams and a Williams baronet in William Tong's will suggest that there might have been an element of truth in it.
I would love to uncover the real relationship between the Todd, Tong and Willams families and would be very grateful for any help that Rootschatters might be able to give.
Many thanks,
Alan Watson