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The subject emigrated to Kansas 1876 & married Lydia Crapper bn 1856 Storrs who is well documented. George however is a ghost, 1900 US census gives Aug 42 & possible match is publican Barkers Pool 1871 bn Damflask with wife Mary bn abt 1829 Woolwich, Kent & servant amelia Hague. 1881 census shows George bn 1820 Bradfield, same'wife' & servant, poss father, maybe same widower of Porter St 1861. Geographically & socially it makes sense that this is the family of Robert Wilson of Damflask / Ughill in a tight knit community. A George Wilson of Loxley fathered an illegitimate child of Sally Helliwell 1840 who retained the mothers name raising the possibility of the same 1842 (per Bradfield archives). Thanks to Elaine Pickard at Indexers for the help, now looking for open thoughts please
According to the b@stardy bond the illegitimate child of Sally Helliwell was female!!
Dave
Glad to see you posted to the Forum Terry and I see DaveT has started to check out your research. He's a whiz with Bradfield archives.
Just to add a little from my findings.
Many of the Wilsons from Dam Flask were Carpenters which helps with the baptisms
that we have in our database.
Terry believes that George Wilson 1820 is a child of Ann and Robert Wilson(1790) of Dam Flask. He(1820) in turn is the father to George 1842??
George 1820 Baptised 2 July St Nicholas.He had five other siblings Two with the names of Violetta (1826) & Zackariah (1823) making them easy to follow.
On the 1851 census I found a Joseph Wilson wife Ann at Howden House who was a Game Keeper to the Duke of Norfolk. They have a 13 year old son George but that would have him born in 1838. Question is Howden Reservoir the same as Dam Flask. Would seem to be two different Reservoirs but just for my own peace of mind thought I would ask.
As I am a George Wilson researcher in the past I know how many there are of them. LOL.
George (1842) moved to Vernon Cowley Kansas in 1877 as per the USA census 1900
Lydia (Mary) who was a Crapper prior to marriage followed him out there in 1878.
Lydia's parents are buried In Loxley Congregational Cemetery. CWS #23. They were Thomas Crapper & Jane nee Tricket.
I also spotted...... George Wilson & Martha Crapper marriage 5 June 1811 @ St Nicholas Bradfield.
Was George 1842 a cousin to Lydia.He is 14 yrs her senior.
The problem as Terry has stated is the 1842 George Wilson........
When Malcolm and I transcribed Bradfield registers there were some entries that we were unable to read due to the quality of the fiche we were reading. Could we have missed this George Wilson????
Thats my two cents worth.
Elaine in Ottawa.
Howden is a separate reserviour a few miles west near the Hope Valley. To add to the publican connection the servant amelia/Emily Hague may well have been from the Bradfield Hagues, it all revolving around a small area. The age difference is significant as the descendants suspect an earlier marriage for George of 1842 or something other of that ilk as George & Lydia never made any contact with UK family & strenuously refused to talk about forebears to their descendants. 'Wife' Mary is as yet an unknown but is recorded as such to both George's in the 1871 & 81 census. Best guess, Woolwich born maybe connected to Hillsbro Barracks.
Hi Elaine,
There are some newspaper reports of a George Wilson of Holdworth who won prizes in the same agricultural shows as Mrs Crapper of Storrs. That seemed interesting because a) they would have known each other, and b) the George who went out to Kansas was a farmer. Anyway, the George Wilson who lived in Holdworth was born ca. 1822/23 Bradfield according to the 1861/71 census, so he was old enough to have had a child in 1842. I couldn’t locate him and his wife Ruth in 1851 though, FMP wasn’t throwing them up.
A couple of questions - how do we know that Lydia and George knew each other before she moved out to the US? Census didn’t give his place of birth, it only says England, and it looks like he was in the US for a whole year before her. And did anyone find their marriage details?
Heths
The US family have well documented memoirs & the couple are recorded in a State record of immigrants expanding on their stories, together with multiple news cuttings which made it clear that George sent for lydia once established, she following on bravely, alone, via liverpool, New York & rail to the newly acquired tribal lands of Kansas with money sewn into the hem if her skirt. Very much pre planned. They were married within days of their reunion in Kansas. The family did hire a genealogist some time ago tracing shipping records etc & found him born Yorkshire but did not narrow it down. I have done previous work on the Crappers for a freind & know much of their marital links, very much keeping liaisons in the community, often neighbours, to such an extent that Storrs remained the hub. A US census gives year & month of birth, & much has been passed down by mouth & diaries. That they knew each other is not in question, but how is unclear.
Brilliant forum this, thanks to all
The child Sarah Helliwell had was called Kezia. In the 1841 census Keziah is living in DAMFLASK with Thomas Helliwell 50 (Joiner), Rachel 45,Charles 25, and some younger children. Kezia must be the granddaughter of Thomas and Rachel. No sign of Sarah.
SIGNIFICANTLY, living next door to this family is a Robert Skelton and family, AND 19 yr OLD George Wilson (apprentice) He must be the father of Keziah, so as Heather indicated he was born in 1922
Keziah Hellewell, 11 (b Locksley) is on the 1851 census in Greystones, Ecclesall Bierlow. She is with her mother SALLY Hellewell 30, said to be widow,b in Bradford. Sally is housekeeper to Ebenezer Marsden,68 (Farmer) and there is another illegitimate child Mary Hellewell, 2, b Greystones.(checks out on GRO index)
Sally (who must be Sarah) must have been at least 21 in June 1840. Otherwise there would not be a b@stardy order.
Dave
Heths,
Quote:
George Wilson who lived in Holdworth was born ca. 1822/23 Bradfield according to the 1861/71 census, so he was old enough to have had a child in 1842. I couldn’t locate him and his wife Ruth in 1851 though, FMP wasn’t throwing them up.
Ancestry has them in Holdworth in 1851. They have a 1 yr old son Ruben (but no other children).
The marriage of George Wilson and Ruth (Kay) was 1845 Rotherham and is on FMP.
George was 25, BACHELOR, a Smith, whose father was George, a farmer.
Reuben Wilson born 1849 mmn Kay is on Gro Index.
Dave
Hi Dave & Heather,and Terry of course.
Could this baptisms have a bearing.
Wilson, George (of Stannington, born ~).
Baptised May 5, 1822, by Jno Fletcher at St Nicholas, Bradfield.
Parents name(s) are Martha & George (Wheelwright).
That could be the couple who married in 1811. Butttttt.
Elaine.
Where is Lydia in 1871?
Heths
Some sources say George Wilson, husband of Lydia Crapper, died 29 May 1914. Tried to find an obituary at https://chroniclingamerica.loc.gov/
No luck. The Topeka state journal. May 29, 1914 has: George Wilson, a well known farmer living eight miles northwest of Winfield, was killed by a shorhorn bull Thursday when he went to the pasture to drive in the cows ... He is survived by a wife and four children.
Newspapers.com has an obituary but I don't have a subscription.
I should clarify a few things to focus enquiries. The one constant throughout is that George gives his birth year as 1842, gives August as the month in the 1900 census which recorded nationality but not county.on the ship manifest out of Plymouth(dont yet know why not Easier from Liverpool),same age & occupation merchant,a non specific term used on the manifest covering a range of such. On arrival age confirmed & in the Cowley County Heritage Book the same & ' family in yorkshire'.
This is the same George who was gored to death on his farm 1914. Obits confirm previous but add nothing.The original destination was California but stopped in wild Kansas where he bought a farm in the Kellogg Community on what had recently been tribal lands. So eliminate following a religious community. This was raw sparsley populated USA, literally cowboys & Indians, & reflected in record taking. They married in the 1st Methodist Episcopal church, Wichita, became very successful farmers, important members of the presbytarian community, George also director of the 1st National Bank, children Martha, Ellen,George Heber, IRA, John,Alfred & Thomas. Family tree on Ancestry Kansasroots. He is said by later generations of possessing numerous skills consistent with someone brought up in the Loxley Valley,wood & metal working & highly capable farmer.Lydia is not at Storrs 1871 but may have been in service, unconfirmed. George may have been from any of a few lines & the old Bradfield Parish is likely. The Crappers in general married within their social & geographic circles, often neighbours,at times cousins.everything post emigration confirmed by descendant with whom I have contact. Are there still existing records of poorhouse occupants, *******y records of births in latter part of 1842?
Hi Heather, Just realised I have no record of Lydia on the 1871 census. However, I will continue to follow this post with interest, as Lydia`s grandfather, Elias, married into the Gosling family, from Holdworth. My grandfather was a Gosling.
Please bear with me if you feel I am flogging a dead horse here.
I wonder.........
Could one of the daughters of George & Martha Wilson (Crapper) have had a child but brought him up as their own.
George 1842 first two children were Martha E (1876) & George E (1881)
Elaine in Ottawa.
Bradfield Archives has all sorts of `B`Bonds`. Viewable on line.
DaveT is an expert with these.
Elaine in Ottawa.
Interesting thought but how would the legislation of 1838 concerning the requirement to register births & death have effected it. It's worth me having a look thanks.
Hi Terry,
Many did not register their children until 1878 ish.Which drives us crazy. I believe it was up to the REGISTRAR to find the new births of his area.That changed at a date but I dont recall it. DaveT I am sure will set us straight.
I still feel his baptism which many thought was as good as registration is lurking somewhere.
Elaine in Ottawa.
Births had to be registered within 42 days. There were plenty of birth registrations in Q3 and Q4 1842 for boys called George Wilson.
Keeping it local I narrowed the search to just West Yorkshire and Derbyshire.
In Q3 there were just 3 of them, in Goole, Dewsbury and Settle.
In Q4 there were another 2 in Dewsbury, one in Tadcaster and one in Ecclesall Bierlow.
The one in EB had MMN Gray. Did you already look at that guy?
Heths
Further information on Civil Registration. (GRO)
In 1837, the government in England and Wales required all births, marriages, and deaths to be recorded. Initially, up to 15% of events were not recorded, but that did not last long. By 1875, registration was mandatory and there were penalties for non-compliance. Most events since 1875 are registered.
Elaine in Ottawa.
PS. I have three people in my three in the 1960's that were not registered until years after their births.
Not sure if this is the one married Angelina Downing bn 1844, file cutter, She is shown as widowed 1881 . I need to go back thanks
The one with MMN Gray should have had parents John and Ann. The one who married Angelina had father George.
Heths
Hi Elaine don't know if this is any help to Terry!
George Wilson born Bradfield 1820 is my 2x Great-uncle, Zacharia Wilson born 1824 is my 2x Great Grandfather. George and wife Mary are living at 10 Wood Road, Ecclesfield in 1891.
Are there any Male descendants you know of for DNA purposes, I could not find any beyond later 1900's
Hi Will,
Terry as you saw will answer your questions re this family.
Just wish it was my Ecclesfield Wilson line. LOL.
Robert & Ann of Dam Flask had six children of which George 1820 & Zachariah 1823
were two of them. Is that what you have in your tree?
BUT it's trying to connect the 1842 George Wilson from Bradfield to parents that we are trying to do.
Elaine.
Can't help you there Terry! Don't know of anyone in my Wilson line that has taken a DNA test.
H, I dont locate this G or family on Ancestry, if I did look at him as one of many I dont recall. Interesting as you point out about the 42 days which could put him around the August 42 mark of Kansas G. Can you tell me anything more on this one as I'm still very much a learner on Indexers
Thank
T
Thanks Will, I had a look at Zachs descendants trying to trace a Male line but found
it dwindling in the last century. However if we find any positive link to Damflask George 1842 the Kansas line would want to know. I would be grateful if you would let me know how you are descended from Z as there are many of you on Ancestry. Best contact is email t.anderson@btinternet thanks
T
The idea that the correct George Wilson was born in Bradfield in 1842 has no supporting evidence. There is no Birth Reg, and there is no supporting evidence in the 1851,61 or 71 censuses.
The 1861 Census for the Crapper family in Storrs shows that they were educating their children to age 12 so Lydia Mary would probably leave school in 1868 and start some sort of job somewhere,
She is clearly missing from the family in 1871 (she would be 14) and the next sighting of her is 1877 on a boat to New York from Liverpool (to join and marry George). She was just 21 (though she said 25).
The first positive sighting of George (a MERCHANT) is on a boat from PLYMOUTH in 1866 to New York.
Try this scenario:
It is most likely that Lydia first met George between 1868 and 1875 and by 1876 they wanted to marry and emigrate but her parents would not permit her to marry. Until she was 21 in June 1877 they could prevent the marriage.
So George went ahead to USA when she was 19/20 and she followed about a year later and they married.
In all the published info (Ancestry Tree) I can see no hard evidence of where George was born (other than England). (Yes his descendants said in 1990 that he had family in Yorkshire but it is easy to see how that could be an error)
You need to go back to square one on George.
As a Merchant he may have travelled anywhere in England, wherever his roots.
Did he go to his family in 1876 to say goodbye before CONVENIENTLY travelling to PLYMOUTH for his Atlantic crossing?
Dave
PS, Q2 1876 was a traumatic time for the Crapper family of Storrs, Lydia’s sister Ruth (26) died and her sister Naomi (24) gave birth to illegitimate twin girls.
I like the general scenario but do have a George 30yrs publican bn Damflask in the 1871 census at Barkers Pool, & while the year appears 'out' this could be error or 'rounding up'. Reference to the Cowley County Heritage Book, a contemporary account of migrant families compiled between 1882 & 1901 indicates his 'family in Yorkshire'.
That together with family memories, verbal & written, seems to corroborate the few facts we have. As for saying goodbye to family en route to Plymouth is highly unlikely given what the descendants know of the embittered attitude to their forebears.
Unfortunately we have always been at square 1 on George, the Damflask line only being a good prospect based on geographic & social links,together with what we know of the Crappers insular marriage liaisons. There is also the influx of navvies & clayminers to consider which at this time is impractical. I also like the Holdsworth & Ecclesall Bierlow possibilities, but like you say, square 1.
Thanks
Hi Elaine
That`s the correct family Elaine! Robert was one of ten children born to Thomas & Fanny Wilson(nee ibbotson)
Zachariah(b1823)& Ann Wilson(nee Crawshaw) move their family over to the southside of the city to work for John Camm at his brickyard on Meadowhead.
Will
Terry,
Where did George get his money from to be able to buy the Farm?
The 1871 census page for George is a mess.
It states his place of birth as Sheffield/Bradford & finally Bradfield.
with a wife Mary. He is listed as a Licensed Victualler.
I never did follow through with my own Licensed Victuallers...... so there could be more info on that GW.but where.
I was beginning to think that when it was stated that they had relatives in Yorkshire they could have been mistaken and it was just the CRAPPER line.
BUT George does say that in 1877 when he went to the States. Something fishy going on I would like to bet.
Was George Still married to someone else.
Elaine.
The 1871 Census George Wilson 30, Publican (b Damflask) + Mary 42 (b Woolwich) are together in the 1881 census in Sheffield viz George 61 Licensed Vic b Bradfield + Mary 54 b Woolwich.
I explain the age mix up as the enumerator in 1871 misreading his notes and putting 30 instead of 50.
In UK censuses the only time rounding was done was 1841, and that was rounding DOWN to final digit 5 or 0
However you explain the 31 year age change in 10 years the George Wilson, publican in Barkers Pool 1n 1871 was still in sheffield in 1881, while the correct George was in Kansas.
Dave
It would appear that 'all is not well within the state of Bradfield', errors, mix ups ifs & buts etc leaving us with conjecture & little more pre emigration on this ghost. I think E is quite right on the fishy undertones, interesting. Onwards & upwards for me then. Many thanks.
T
In answer to Elaines query:
"Where did George get his money from to be able to buy the Farm?"
The answer is he did not need money. He would get the land free under the Homestead Act of 1862.
On GRO index there is a George Wilson birth reg q3 1842 in CHARD (covers parts of east Devon), MMN Pyke.
He can be found on the
1851 census in YARCOMBE (son of David Ag Lab and Mary) and born in Yarcombe,
1861 census in MEMBURY, a servant to a FARMER (but with shoe repair skills).
1871 census he is married and living in Stockland (Axminster Devon) with wife Elizabeth. They have been married since 1864 and no children. His widowed mother Mary is visiting with them.
I can find no later trace of George or Elizaberth.
His mother is back at her long term address in Yarcombe in 1881.
Seems like a potential contender for a George Wilson born August 1842 who may travel to USA from Plymouth and become a farmer.
Worthy of further investigation!!
Dave
Good morning & thank you. Homestead act most interesting & will look at Chard G for the missing links. Just a quick update, the father of my contact, still living, knew IRA, one of the 1st generation migrants from whom much of their knowledge comes.
Heths
Where did you locate EB George, looks very interesting but I cant locate
He is on GRO Index, as is his death shortly after birth.
WILSON, GEORGE GRAY
GRO Reference: 1842 D Quarter in ECCLESALL BIERLOW UNION Volume 22 Page 105
WILSON, GEORGE 0
GRO Reference: 1842 D Quarter in ECCLESALL BIERLOW UNION Volume 22 Page 63
Dave
One less thanks. Have you anything on Thomas Wilson, near neighbour to the Crappers at Greenhead, bn abt 1820 living with wife Eliz 1851/ 61, children Fred & Thomas later (nephews)living with Mallisons of Dungworth. Census say Ecclesfield. Would that be specific or the larger parish. Looks like Eliz was Bradfield bn but his family? Also wondered if this was Elaine's line she referred to.
Hi Terry,
Geography was not my best subject at school but here goes.
St Nicholas Bradfield was a Chapelry of Ecclesfield until 1868.
The centre of Bradfield to the centre of Ecclesfield is roughly 4-5 miles.
Stopps/Loxley would be 3-4 miles.
I can see NO link between my Ecclesfield Wilson's and the family in Bradfield.
I will have a look at Thomas Wilson. I did look before at the father (Thomas) of Robert 1790-1874 & Zachariah 1794-1844.
I have been thinking of your dilemma and came up with the following.......
Neither George or Lydia nee Crapper are to be found on the 1871 census. I wonder
if George and Lydia were already together without benefit of clergy. (LOL) That would certainly cause a family problem not to be talked of taking into account that Lydia was 14 years younger than George.
She would have needed her parents consent to wed which were probably not being given. Outcome they decided to leave England but she had to wait until she was 21 to be able to wed without parental consent.
Now to the USA Marriage. Do you have the marriage certificate. I was under the impression that there was much more info on them than the English ones. It should surely give the fathers names.The Canadian ones do.
I will check Thos out and if I find anything that is pertinent will let you know.
Elaine.
PS.. Have you spoken to Malcolm Nunn at Bradfield Archives yet?????