Thank you very much to RootsChat’s experts for previous help in researching my book, ‘Village’, based in Willoughton, Lincolnshire. I wonder if you can help me find records for an elusive Willoughton child?
On 12 September 1862, The Lincolnshire Chronicle included this in the section of births reserved for the wealthy: ‘On the 31st ult, at Willoughton, the wife of John Wm Richardson, of a daughter.’ Presumably the birth was on 31 August 1862?
John William Richardson was a large-scale farmer. There are records of a previous child born to him and his wife Harriet[t]. Their son, also John William Richardson, was registered in the national Civil Registration Birth Index in 1855. Willoughton Parish registers include his baptism on 21 July 1855. The Death Certificate shows that, sadly, the baby died the same day, of convulsions at 4 days old. His father registered the death a month later, bringing a doctor’s certificate.
But I can find no official record of the Richardsons’ 1862 daughter. I cannot find a national birth record (via Ancestry, Findmypast or FamilySearch) for a female Richardson July – Sept 1862 in the Gainsborough area (which includes Willoughton).
I cannot find Parish birth registers for Willoughton after the end of 1858. I have not found a possible death record. Her father John William Richardson died in 1869, her mother Harriet[t] died on 6 March 1873. Neither mentions a child in their Will. Willoughton Parish Burial Registers are available between January 1862 and March 1873. I can find no record of a child called Richardson.
I’d be most grateful for any records you can trace, or thoughts about this poor elusive child, please!
