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William Smith, sawyer, upper Marshall street 1851 census
- Thread starter Brotog
- Start date
Thank you so much for trying! Really appreciate it!That's a tall order as the 1852 directory lists over 50 people living in Birmingham called William Smith. I can't search by address on Ancestry and any name search brings up all the children named William Smith as well.
He has a wife called Sarah and a child aged 6 named Hannah. All born Kenilworth. These I know for certain. Although born in Kenilworth, Hannah was baptised in Birmingham in April 1845
brummy-lad
master brummie
Thank you so much. I was very sceptical about the information provided by AI….it seems I was right to check this….this is what it gave me….all sounded very plausible!
Attachments
brummy-lad
master brummie
That would be a tremendous research tool if it gave the correct results, I've searched on findmypast for the family in Birmingham in 1851 but had no luck yet.
I started by asking why a child born in Kenilworth might be baptised in Birmingham instead of Kenilworth. It explained that almost certainly the family would have moved for employment possibilities. It then offered to search for the family, so I offered the information of the sawyer’s name. This is what it came up with. 1851 and 1861 entries from the census. It was such a detailed reply that I became suspicious.
I had searched for this family for decades….and had discounted the Birmingham baptism because I knew the family had lived in Kenilworth in 1845 when Hannah, the daughter, was born. All of my searches had been in the Kenilworth/Leamington area. Thanks for commenting!
brummy-lad
master brummie
Thank you for showing this….I was quite interested in this family for a long time and followed it through the years of census returns because the child Hannah’s age seemed to fit with that of my great grandmother…..but the father was a bricklayer in every census, and never a sawyer….so I could never be certain I had the right family. Thanks again for your help!
pjmburns
master brummie
It says it for that person found by AI but I wanted to know why he is convinced the bricklayer in post 13 isn't the right person. I wondered if there was some other evidence.
On Hannah’s marriage certificate of 2nd. October 1865 in Holy Trinity, Coventry it states profession of father: Sawyer. The Leamington William Smith never deviates from bricklayer on every census return. I find it difficult to believe that she could be mistaken. Thank you for going to so much trouble for me!
brummy-lad
master brummie
Another thing that started me looking towards Birmingham as being very likely was that I had discovered that her husband to be, Alfred Wells Cantrill, born in Foleshill near Coventry, was actually working in Birmingham in a drapery shop according to the 1861 census. Their meeting at some point in Birmingham before 1865 would seem more likely if they both lived there.
Thanks so much for your efforts….this is the first time I’ve seen evidence of a sawyer named William Smith anywhere! I could look into this to see if it’s a possibility of him having remarried. Thanks again!
Pedrocut
Master Barmmie
This is very interesting to me….thanks so much for going to all that bother to help me. This really could be a breakthrough….the fact that his mother was an Hannah…the name later given to his daughter…could be significant. Perhaps I should try to find if he was in Kenilworth around 1845.
Thanks very much for sending that….I do actually have a copy of it, but it’s so thoughtful of you to look that up and to send it!
I can’t believe how super helpful everyone is on this forum! Thank you so much for that extra information. This really is looking more and more like an interesting avenue to explore. If only I can find that this William Smith, sawyer, lived in Kenilworth in his former life around 1845 when my great-grandmother Hannah was born!
MWS
from Bham
All I can come up with now is a bit of speculation.
On the 1921 census Hannah's birthplace is listed as Bham.
I assume the baptism you've seen for Hannah is on the 21 Apr 1845, with a dob of 31 Mar.
There is a birth reg. for a Hannah Smith Jun qtr 1845 Aston. Mmn is listed as Wilkinson.
There is a marriage for a William Smith and a Sarah Wilkinson 13 Oct 1833 in Kenilworth. (William Smith that married Esther Oliver was bap. 1814).
On the 1921 census Hannah's birthplace is listed as Bham.
I assume the baptism you've seen for Hannah is on the 21 Apr 1845, with a dob of 31 Mar.
There is a birth reg. for a Hannah Smith Jun qtr 1845 Aston. Mmn is listed as Wilkinson.
There is a marriage for a William Smith and a Sarah Wilkinson 13 Oct 1833 in Kenilworth. (William Smith that married Esther Oliver was bap. 1814).
MWS
from Bham
And on the 1851 census there is a Hannah (as Hanah) Smith b1845 in Aston, the daughter of a William and Ann.
William is about the right age and his birthplace is listed as Fazeley, could easily have been misheard and be Haseley. Occupation is not right but people do change jobs.
William Smith (aged 34) married Ann Bradburn 24 May 1849, Bordesley. He is listed as widowed and his father is Thomas.
There are a couple of possibilities for a death for Sarah but can't tell if they are hers.
William is about the right age and his birthplace is listed as Fazeley, could easily have been misheard and be Haseley. Occupation is not right but people do change jobs.
William Smith (aged 34) married Ann Bradburn 24 May 1849, Bordesley. He is listed as widowed and his father is Thomas.
There are a couple of possibilities for a death for Sarah but can't tell if they are hers.