A larger look at Littlers

[PAK]

Excuse the pun on the subject line! I mentioned this on another thread “Wybunbury & Audlem parish records” but thought I would start afresh as the story is complicated.

My great-great-great-grandfather John Mulliner married Ann Littler on 28.12.1802 at Acton, near Nantwich. I’ve seen the register and the inscriptions are clear and unambiguous. I know that they had 11 children, born between 1803 and 1822. The first was born in Gresty, near Shavington. The other were all born in Hatherton and Stapeley, which are adjacent parishes, so possibly the same address throughout. John and Ann are recorded in Shavington in 1841 together with their 10th child, a son named Joseph who died the following year.

The question is – who was Ann Littler (my great-x3-grandmother)? She is shown as aged 70 when she died in 1849 and 60 in the 1841 census, which of course is rounded, so this should put her birth as 1776-86, probably c1779.

A witness at their wedding was a Margaret Littler, and it seems reasonable to assume that was either her mother or sister. So after searching various websites (Ancestry, Findmypast and FamilySearch) I thought that she must be the daughter of William Littler of Peckforton, near Bunbury. She was baptised in 1779 and had a sister Margaret baptised in 1882.

I spent some time working on that family (of 11 children) but then I found an Ann Littler married to Samuel Dodd in 1806 at Bunbury.

If this is the Ann Littler that I originally recorded as ours, and as they are both in the Bunbury area, then who is the one married to John Mulliner in Acton in 1802? She is shown as a spinster so not previously married.

I’ve flogged through all the records I can find and found nothing conclusive. There are quite a few Littlers elsewhere in Cheshire but nothing that links them to the southern end of the county i.e.within 10 or so miles of Nantwich, Bunbury and Acton. So at present this is as far as I can take this person and her line - unless there just might be someone on Rootschat who specialises in this branch of the Littler family? Well I can always hope!

[garstonite]

the only one I could find born the right time according to death -- next nearest is 1785

https://www.familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:F3VP-K6K

Witton Cum Twambrooks is 17 miles from Acton by road - 

[Jo Harding]

The Littler family is prominent in Cheshire. They are a farming family but have other branches. On Freereg there are two baptisms for Littler children in Harthill which isn't too far from Acton. I know that they are to be found in areas such as Huxley, Hargrave, Tarporley and Tarvin as well as many others places around there. These are quite near to Acton. I looked at Genes Reunited to find that someone by the name of Sarah has an Ann Littler from Acton born 1781. There is another Ann Littler born 1779 but it shows just Cheshire. I think you may need to ask someone to search the parish registers for Ann in Acton, 1781.

Jo

[PAK]

I had a good look at the suggestion about "Sarah" but haven't been able to find anything. That includes a check of the baptism records at Acton from 1780 to 1782 inclusive. Eventually I had a look to see what the source of information was on Genes Reunited. Sarah is the name of the tree owner, not Ann's mother. So that was something of a waste of time, I'm afraid. But thanks for the thought.