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Please can anyone help me to find my great grandfather's death .William was the son of John and Elizabeth born at Wolverhampton in 1832.Married Maria Banks in 1855 at Stafford.Deserted from the Staffs Militia whilst in Ireland in 1860.Is not on any censuses after 1851.Elizabeth Raynes(nee Steadman)

Have you found his wife Maria in any of the census?

Have you looked for a possible death?

http://www.freebmd.org.uk

I note that Maria continued having children until 1875 but notes herself as widow in 1871. Have you confirmed who the father of the later children was?

Yes, I see what you mean Astra - still "married" in 1861 but a widow thereafter, but more children with each census.

Wonder if William was still around, but never recorded (it was a hanging offence to desert, or at least meant deportation) so he may have dodged the records to avoid them catching up with him. Or then again, he could have died and she had a friendly neighbour! ;-)

Interestingly though, Maria and Ellen were christened with William as father:

Maria Stedman
Gender: Female
Christening Date: 30 Aug 1872
Christening Place: Stafford, Staffordshire, England
Father's Name: William Stedman
Mother's name: Maria

Ellen Stedman
Gender: Female
Birth Date: 11 Apr 1874
Christening Date: 18 Jul 1875
Christening Place: Stafford, Staffordshire, England
Age at Christening: 1
Father's Name: William Stedman
Mother's name: Maria

Hi Elizabeth, which of their sons are you descended from? Just trying to eliminate fact from speculation as I can see 3 possible sons, William c1857, George c1860 and John c1869 - if we have the right family.

http://www.staffordshirebmd.org.uk/index.php

(above has below, if fits)

1856 STEADMAN William Stafford Newcastle-Under-Lyme BANKS

Chris :)

Hello Elizabeth and welcome to the Community boards.


There seem to be a couple of other members on this site who have William in their tree. If you click on Search (above) and then on Search All Trees and fill in the details, you will see what I mean.

You have the option of contacting the tree owner for any further information. Cx

Thankyou everyone for your replies and observations.I am descended from George who was born at The Curragh Camp in Dublin 6months before William deserted.I have been in touch with The Staffs Regt.who were most helpful but weren't able to add to the information that I already have.Apparently the Militia was stood down in July 1860 and I am not sure that the same rules applied to the Militia as the Regular Army because it was more like the TA;the Regular Army would have been serving in the Crimea at this time.He reached the rank of Colour Sergeant, which was practically unheard of for an ordinary working man in such a short space of time.I am aware that two other researchers have William and George on their family trees but I have tried to contact them several times without success;I would dearly like to know where they fit into my family tree but without their cooperation I fail to see what moe I can do.Kindest Regards to all of you who have taken the time to try and help me.Elizabeth Raynes(nee Steadman)