Little Staughton Parish Register - WILES

[burrito]

Hello,

I've seen in the Bedfordshire Archives online that they have the Little Staughton Parish Register, but no indication if this is indexed. In their catalog I'm able to pull up marriage license records from that parish but am not finding baptisms. Through FamilySearch I find some baptisms, so should I assume that all baptisms from that register can be found there? In FindMyPast I find marriages and burials but no baptisms.

I'm looking for any children born to William and Ann Wiles in the range 1785-1800, and know they were married in Little Staughton in 1785, but I can't find any records of children in the area. The next location I find them is Little Catworth (Huntingdonshire) in the 1841 Census.

Thank you.

[johnP-bedford]

From the Little Staughton PR transcript.... the marriage on 14 Feb 1785 was for William Wyles, bachelor of Eaton Socon to Ann Lugsdin, by licence..... The marriage licence transcript dated 9 Feb 1785 has William Wiles farmer of Eaton Socon aged 21&above and Ann Lugsden of LS, minor, daughter of  William Lugsden, farmer; surety by William Lugsden, farmer.

Ann was baptised at LS on 13 Mar 1774 aged 7, daughter of William & Mary Lugsden along with 3 siblings. I have the Lugsden family in my family tree & that William Lugsden married Mary Sumpter in 1764, but I have no info on any children of William & Ann Wiles. Perhaps they were born in Eaton Socon?

[burrito]

Thank you for your reply and for sharing this information.

I did email the Bedfordshire Archives and received a reply that they find no records of any children of William and Ann in Little Staughton, but there was an entry under Colmworth for a child, 7, buried (unbaptised) in 1798, with parents of those names. It may suggest there were other children not baptised, if this is indeed the same couple.

[burrito]

Further searching reveals much more, now that I have the Colmworth location. In the monumental inscriptions of Colmworth, I found William and Ann's dates, and also their son William's burial, which mentions 9 children who died in infancy.

Also, there is a 1792 will of William Lugsden mentioning three children of William and Ann Wiles: Elizabeth, James, and William.

johnP: I know you are a Lugsden researcher, but have you any idea of the parents of this William Wiles, husband of Ann Lugsden? I am looking for the William who was born to Thomas Wiles (of Eaton Socon) and Mary Maxey who were married in Great Staughton in 1754. They had an infant William who died in 1757, and then I think there was a second William who may be the one baptised at Southoe in 1760. Unfortunately there are several people named William Wiles living within a short radius of Eaton Socon at the same time and I'm having a hard time differentiating them.

[johnP-bedford]

I did email the Bedfordshire Archives and received a reply that they find no records of any children of William and Ann in Little Staughton, but there was an entry under Colmworth for a child, 7, buried (unbaptised) in 1798, with parents of those names. It may suggest there were other children not baptised, if this is indeed the same couple.

The Colmworth PR transcript has this burial on 9 Jan 1798 of daughter (unbaptised aged 7 years) of William & Ann Whiles. The transcript has an note entry made in 1803 "Mr Whiles farmer has had 10 children buried without service here and one at Wyboston Eaton Church"

Suggests to me that the Wiles were dissenters/non-conformists, as were the Lugsdens, so would be baptised in the baptist church rather than the Anglican church.

I have seen the Colmworth MIs & burials as per the Colmworth & Neighbours History Society website. As well as William & wife Ann buried 1843/1842 and their son William buried 1814, also buried is daughter Mary Airey in 1831 aged 35.  William Airey, bachelor of Colmworth married Mary Wiles, spinster of Colmworth married at Colmworth on 8 Oct 1817 by licence.

I have not researched the parents of William Wiles, however I've seen some trees of Ancestry that have him as son of Thomas Wiles & Mary Maxey but have not verified any of them.   

[burrito]

Thanks for this information. Yes, in the Colmworth Burial Register, 1814, it says William (son of Wm. and Ann) was "a dissenter, unbaptised, without the attendance of a minister". Yet still buried at St Denys.

The William who was the son of Thomas Wiles and Mary Maxey was bapt. 1760, yet the stone of William (husband of Ann Lugsden) says he was 87 at the time of his death in 1843, so would have been born about 1755-6. The difference in years makes me doubt they are the same.

[johnP-bedford]

Also, there is a 1792 will of William Lugsden mentioning three children of William and Ann Wiles: Elizabeth, James, and William.

Have you had the will of William Lugsdin transcribed for you by the Beds Archives? or are you relying on info from it found on the internet. It seems to be dated 9th April 1792 but not proved until 17th Nov 1801. I've not found a burial of William Lugsden. The three children mentioned Elizabeth, James & William must have been born by April 1792 & any other children of William & Ann Wiles have not been born at that time.   

I suspect that the un-named unbaptised daughter buried in Jan 1798 aged 7 is Elizabeth born 1791.
William is the one buried aged 21/23 in Feb 1814 so born c1792
James possibly married an Isabella around 1808 & they had 5 children baptised 1819 in Colmworth, and then when aged 34 (born 1788) was found guilty of horse stealing in July 1823 and shipped off to Australia as a convict.

We know that William & Ann had daughter Mary who married William Airey in 1817 & she died in 1831 aged 35 -so born 1796.
There is another daughter Dinah who married William Emery in Apr 1818 by licence where she was a minor & licence info has her father as William Wiles.

As well as the above there are 9 other unbaptised children buried between 1785 & 1801 !
         

[burrito]

For William Lusgdin's will I was going by information posted to another genealogy chat site 15+ years ago, where I also read about James who was sent to Australia.

I didn't know about Dinah who married William Emery, but she must be the mother of Maria Emery (rounded age 20) who appears with William and Ann in the 1841 Census. Thomas Wiles and Mary Maxey had a daughter also named Dinah. Not that this proves anything.

[johnP-bedford]

Seems Maria Emery married Ekin Smith on 12th Oct 1843 at Raunds Northants, on the marriage cert she has William Emery, Glazier as her father. I cannot find them on 1851 or later censuses.

On 1841 census in Raunds is William Emery age 45 Plumber & (wife) Dinah aged 40 plus children Mary 15, William 15, Louisa 10, Ann 6 & Elizabeth 3 months.

Thomas Wiles of Wyboston, Eaton Socon died 1817 and there is a copy of his will on Ancestry (Prerogative Court of Canterbury) where he bequeaths stuff to wife Mary & children named Dinah, Thomas, Richard, William, Mary & Susannah.