I am working off of some notes left by my great grandmother, Maria Hevenor Colman. In particular trying to find information on Colman family. In her notes she wrote that her husband Charles Colman Sr was christened and attended "Parish Church Sheffield" ... Based on a drawing of a postcard of the church this fits the image on Sheffield Cathedral pictured here.
Charles Colman was born in 1842 in Wisbech, Cambridgeshire, England, the son of Mary and William. William was born born April 4, 1808. Additional notes indicate that William was the warden of this church for thirty years. He died in October 1881
I seem to be unable to do searches as coming up with zero results. I am hoping that you can assist with any information you may have or any leads to research deeper. I have very little information about this period and the family. In a year and a half my sister and I hope to travel to England and visit family homesteads.
Appreciate any help you can provide.
Sincerely,
Cheryl Leach
Minneapolis, MN, USA
Cheryl, The birth registration of Charles in Wisbech in 1842 can be found on the website FREE BMD.As its name implies, it is free. The death registration of William Colman age 73 can be found on the same website, Q4 1881 ALSO IN WISBECH.
The website GROIndex confirms the same info and adds two more details. Charles mother maiden name was TUCK, and Charles appears to have been the only child of that mother. The GROIndex is free to use, though you have to sign up.
Given that Charles was born in Wisbech and his father died in Wisbech 39 years later it seems unlikely that Charles would be baptised in Sheffield, or that his father would be church warden of a church in Sheffield.
Presumably Charles and his parents will be on the censuses of 1851,1861 1871 etc to 1911 so you can trace them that way. The censuses can be searched on Ancestry website or Find my Past website. They are fee paying websites, but you can sign up without paying and do reasonable searches to get good info. If you then want to see all the details of the original documents you will need to take out a short membership (a month is possible for a few pounds)or buy credits.
Dave