That is a very very kind offer, Mike but I cannot prove the connection. George Milner married Ann Partridge, a widow at St Martins 27.12.1825. I am currently trawling through St Martins registers, a slow job, to see if I can find the burial of a Partridge prior to 1825 with a spouse called Ann. I do not even know if Partridge was Ann's maiden name or married name. The reason I suspect there is a link is because both Milners & Partridges had West Bromwich & Aston connections and Ann's sons became a retail brewer in William St & a publican in Blews St. My thinking is that as so many Partridges were publicans they may have passed the expertise to the Milners.
My research starting point is the St Martins registers. I spent 5 hours on them yesterday and barely scratched the surface. West Bromwich transcripts gave no clues at all even though their eldest son was born & baptised there 15.10.1826.
I have to accept I may never find the Milner & Partridge roots and never discover the social links between the 2 families, but I am not giving up yet.
Once again, thank you. If I ever do find the link I would like to get back to you.
Shirley