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william john dawson 1878 cannock

S

sunriser40

proper brummie kid
I was wondering if anybody could help as I have hit a brick wall. I am new to genealogy but have joined ancestory.co.uk and have started a family tree. I have got stuck trying to find out what happened to a William John Dawson. I believe he may have left England to immigrate to Canada leaving his young son behind but I am not 100% sure (just word of mouth). William John Dawson was born in 1878 and lived in Price's Buildings, Mill Street, Cannock. He married Jane Elizabeth Horton in 1916 and they had a son later in 1916 called Joseph Henry Dawson. I believe that Joseph was brought up by relatives and not his parents. I can track William John Dawson living with his sister in a census search at the age of 32 and then I have drawn a complete blank after that. Jane Elizabeth Horton may have gone with him to Canada although possibly they may have divorced and she re-married with the surname Tomlinson. As I say I am new to this and really struggling. Any advice you could give would be greatly appreciated.
 
A slight worry possibly.

I can see a William Dawson with his sister Mary Bowen in 1911.

However, on Mary's marriage her father is listed as a William Dawson, innkeeper, whilst on William John Dawson's marriage to Jane Elizabeth Horton his father is listed as a Stephen John Dawson, Bricklayer. Also his age is listed as 22, making his birth year 1884ish.

So possibly the William who married Jane is not the William who was with his sister in 1911.
 
Also think that Jane Elizabeth Horton possibly married a William Eli Dowen in 1921. So it may be that William Dawson (Jane's husband) died in the war.

They may have emigrated to Canada, there is an outgoing passenger record for a Jane E Dowen in 1928.
 
The 1921 for a Joseph henry Dawson.

12 Willenhall Road ,Darlaston

Joseph Henry Horton age 46 yr 3mth
Edith Eliza Horton age 45/3 (her name on marriage was Eva eliza.)
Elizabeth Watkins 76/1mth
Joseph henry Dawson 4yrs/11mth, grandson, b darlaston ,(both parents alive)

They appear to say this on 1921 census entries when children are not with parents.
 
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i have now changed the thread title to include the name and also moved the thread to our surname interests of the forum

lyn
 
Thank you everyone for your replies - they were much appreciated. I think I need to restart the family tree again as I have to confess to being very confused . My tree started with Kenneth Joseph Dawson who was born on 19th January 1949 in Rowley Regis and died on 11th August 2011 at Russell’s Hall Hospital in Dudley. His father was Joseph Henry Dawson who was born on 22nd July 1916 in Walsall and died on 9th September 1989. Joseph was brought up by relatives and not his parents. His father I understand was William John Dawson born on 16th June 1868 in Staffordshire and I thought had married Jane Elizabeth Horton. In turn his father was also called William John Dawson born in July 1856 and died in 26th December 1903 who was married to a Jane Greatrex. All the family seem to have remained living in Staffordshire area although I can find no trace of William John Dawson (born 1868) since he turned 32. I never realised how confusing genealogy could be but I am not going to give up . Thank you all once again x
 
MWS said:
A slight worry possibly.

I can see a William Dawson with his sister Mary Bowen in 1911.

However, on Mary's marriage her father is listed as a William Dawson, innkeeper, whilst on William John Dawson's marriage to Jane Elizabeth Horton his father is listed as a Stephen John Dawson, Bricklayer. Also his age is listed as 22, making his birth year 1884ish.

So possibly the William who married Jane is not the William who was with his sister in 1911.
Click to expand...
Thank you for your reply. So I think I possibly have gone wrong then? William’s father was also called William John Dawson so that doesn’t match the name on the marriage certificate. I think as a newbie I have relied on other people’s family trees on ancestry which all showed Jane Horton as his wife. It’s certainly a learning curve . Thank you so much for your response to my request.
 
Joseph Henry's birth in 1916 is reg in Walsall with mmn Horton.
The birth cert will confirm his Father's name
 
sunriser40 said:
Thank you everyone for your replies - they were much appreciated. I think I need to restart the family tree again as I have to confess to being very confused . My tree started with Kenneth Joseph Dawson who was born on 19th January 1949 in Rowley Regis and died on 11th August 2011 at Russell’s Hall Hospital in Dudley. His father was Joseph Henry Dawson who was born on 22nd July 1916 in Walsall and died on 9th September 1989. Joseph was brought up by relatives and not his parents. His father I understand was William John Dawson born on 16th June 1868 in Staffordshire and I thought had married Jane Elizabeth Horton. In turn his father was also called William John Dawson born in July 1856 and died in 26th December 1903 who was married to a Jane Greatrex. All the family seem to have remained living in Staffordshire area although I can find no trace of William John Dawson (born 1868) since he turned 32. I never realised how confusing genealogy could be but I am not going to give up . Thank you all once again x
Click to expand...
bit confused now as in your first post you put that william john dawson was born in 1878 but now you say he was born in 1868 could you confirm which year he was born please..maybe it just a typo error if so dont worry...thanks

lyn
 
Astoness said:
bit confused now as in your first post you put that william john dawson was born in 1878 but now you say he was born in 1868 could you confirm which year he was born please..maybe it just a typo error if so dont worry...thanks

lyn
Click to expand...
I am so sorry it should have read 1878. Thank you noticing x
 
sunriser40 said:
Thank you for your reply. So I think I possibly have gone wrong then? William’s father was also called William John Dawson so that doesn’t match the name on the marriage certificate. I think as a newbie I have relied on other people’s family trees on ancestry which all showed Jane Horton as his wife. It’s certainly a learning curve . Thank you so much for your response to my request.
Click to expand...
Couple of bits of advice:
  • Use Ancestry trees as a guide but don't add anything to your tree unless there is evidence. Many of those trees will have copied info from othere trees based solely on a name.
  • Be prepared to spend some money buying certs (birth or death digital images from GRO are £3 and give info about parents names and the name of the informant - which may give a relative).
  • Always check original documents - don't rely on transcripts - you would be amazed at the errors.
 
There is a marriage of a William John Dawson to a Jane E Horton in 1916 which seems to fit but as MWS says that gives William's father's name as Stephen but the address is 12 Willenhall Road which matches the 1921 census so the Stephen could be an error.
1738831975973.png
 
Looking at the census records it seems William's Father is more likely to be another William but this needs checking. I am not convinced this is the one you want. I think the marriage is for the parents of Joseph but can't, at the moment, trace William any further back.

The William living with his sister Mary in 1911 definitely seems to be the son of a publican so may not be your William. As Mary (and some of her siblings) stated on the marriage record.
 
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From post 1 the Jane who married and became Jane Tomlinson is the Jane who was married to the publican - ie the Mother of the Mary on the 1911 census married and who has her brother William living with her.
 
MWS said:
Also think that Jane Elizabeth Horton possibly married a William Eli Dowen in 1921. So it may be that William Dawson (Jane's husband) died in the war.

They may have emigrated to Canada, there is an outgoing passenger record for a Jane E Dowen in 1928.
Click to expand...
The address for the Jane Dowen going to Canada is Wednesbury.
 
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Reactions: MWS
So the person we're looking for is the father of Joseph Henry Dawson b1916 Walsall who is with his grandparents in 1921?

Which means he is not the William John Dawson b1878 who is with his sister in 1911.

Looking at the marriage certificate between Jane Dawson and William Dowson would be a good start. First it would confirm if this Jane is the correct woman and if so then her status (widow/divorced) would give a clue as to what happened to her first husband.

Also you could check the WWI pension records for William Dawsons to see if any mention Jane or Joseph.
 
Agree and the most likely birth for Joseph has mmn Horton and in 1921 Joseph is with the Horton family as a grandson.

I will double check WW1 records but some are now only on Fold3.
 
Other thing referred to earlier. The Wiliam who married aged 22 in 1916 would have been born about 1894 not 1878. Too big a gap.
 
Thank you all so much for all your comments and help. I cannot thank you enough. As a newbie to this I had never heard of GRO before and had not got a clue that you could apply for certificates etc., ☺️. I have just downloaded Joseph Henry Dawson’s birth details and Jane Horton was definitely his mother.
 

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Glad you are picking up some new skills.

That is the address on the marriage record in post 18 and also where Joseph is with his grandparents on the 1921 census.
 
Thank you pjmburns and MWS for your help. Are you able to tell me how to find marriage records like the one in post 18? Thanking you in advance.
 
The one in post 18 came from

Search Query | FreeREG

Search your ancestry with FreeREG. FreeREG provides free online access to transcriptions of birth, marriage and burial records from Church of England and Church of Scotland registers. You can also use FreeREG to discover: non-Conformist records from England, Scotland and Wales, Municipal...
www.freereg.org.uk www.freereg.org.uk

But it doesn't have all records.
Some certs are on Ancestry but it depends if it was a church wedding and if Ancestry have the parish records.

You can buy marriage certs from GRO but it has to be a full certificate and that, I think is, £12.
Search on Ancestry first and see if you find anything.
 
According to 1921 census William was 43 and Jane 25.
I will be interested to see how Jane describes herself on the marriage cert.
 
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