Genealogy Chat

My ancestor William Harwood is listed in the 1851 census as a visitor aged 6 in Ware Herts.
By 1861 he was still in Ware listed as a nephew of William Stamp. On most censuses he was born in 1845 in Brick Lane, Shoreditch Middlesex although one has him born in Herts. I seem to be stuck as there was more than one William Harwood born in these areas in 1845. Any suggesations please

On the 1851 census it gives his place of birth as Stanstead, Herts.

This is the only birth that comes up on FreeBMD in the Ware district (which covers Stanstead):-

Name: William Thomas Harwood
Year of Registration: 1845
Quarter of Registration: Apr-May-Jun
District: Ware
County: Hertfordshire
Volume: 6
Page: 571

Kath. x

Thanks Kath,
Its a possible, but why do the later censuses say Brick Lane? I suspect he may have been illigitimate or his parents were so poor he never lived with them. I've tried following the Stamps back to see if they link to Harwoods but no luck.
Kate

Are you sure you have the correct William in the later census? Could this be your man in the 1861 census:-

Name: William Harwood
Age: 17
Estimated Birth Year: abt 1844
Relation: Son
Father's Name: William
Mother's Name: Susannah
Gender: Male
Where born: Welwyn, Hertfordshire, England

Civil Parish: Welwyn
County/Island: Hertfordshire
Country: England

Street address:

Occupation:

Condition as to marriage: View Image

Registration district: Hatfield
Sub-registration district: Welwyn
ED, institution, or vessel: 1
Neighbors: View others on page
Household schedule number: 120
Household Members: Name Age

Alfred Harwood 7
Ann Harwood 12
James Harwood 10
John Harwood 2
Richard Harwood 15
Susannah Harwood 47
William Harwood 46
William Harwood 17

Source Citation: Class: RG9; Piece: 826; Folio: 14; Page: 21; GSU roll: 542707.

Welwyn isn't too far from Stanstead.

Kath. x

I have him in the 1901, 1881 and 1871 censuses with the right children in Hornsey -always the same street but different numbers. They all say Brick Lane, as does the 1861 census where he's with an uncle or aunt.

Can you get his marriage cert which may help you find him with dads name.

Thanks for your interest Heather. His wife is variously listed as Maria or Marian, but I don't know when or where they married.
Kate

Have you tried searching for the marriage on freebmd, starting a couple of years before the first child was born? If you put his wife's first name in the relevant box it will cut down on results.

Just noticed she is listed as Maria or Marian, so enter Maria* as her name.

Only one marriage on freebmd in reasonable time-scale........

Marriages Jun 1866 (>99%)


GARRETT Maria Ware 3a 272
Harwood William Ware 3a 272
Scales Mary A Ware 3a 272
Watson George Ware 3a 272

Reg

Hi Potty,
I seem to be missing something. Couldn't find a box for putting the wife's name so got 80+ results. The original record listed the man's name only so none the wiser.
Kate

On freebmd..........enter the man's name in full..then just the first name of potential spouse...........just above the DOB box


Reg

You need the box marked Spouse first name(s); when the results come up, if you click on the page no (that's 272 in the marriage that Reggie found), it will bring up the possible partners. Hopefully, there will only be one with the right first name!

You can also cut down the number of results by selecting the county you think they were married in BUT they may not have married where you thought. My great grandparents were born and lived all their lives in Shropshire but they were married in Worcester - only 10 miles away but a different county - took me (and others) years to find them.

Thanks so much Reg & Potty
I've been linking to freebmd instead of going direct so didn't get all the search boxes. Now I've found it I'll do a load more!
There only seems to be one marriage that fits the bill so I hope its the right one. I'll double check with later censuses to make sure this William and Maria weren't somewhere else.
You've made my day!
Kate