William Stirling1
#24080, (c 1845 - 1912)
| Father | Isaac Stirling1 (c 1804 - 1869) |
| Mother | Sarah Gallagher1 (c 1814 - ) |
Children of William Stirling and Elizabeth Lewis |
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Life Events | |
| Overview | * * * * * A 16-year old living with his family in St. John's, Birkenhead, in the 1861 Census of England and Wales. He was described as a Bellhangers Apprentice. A whitesmith throughout his working life. A copy of the Marriage Certificate, from the Registrar General, shows that William Sterling (or Stirling) was apparently living in Liverpool at the time of his marriage to Elizabeth Lewis. The marriage was solemnized at St. Nicholas' Church, the Parish Church of Liverpool, on September 30th 1878, after Banns and by the Curate - John Francis. William was described as a 29 year old bachelor and a whitesmith, Elizabeth was described as a 27 year old spinster. Both gave their addresses as Great Homer Street. The witnesses were Sarah Marshall and Thomas Evans, only Evans was able to sign the Register. William's father was recorded as Isaac Stirling, a painter, while Elizabeth's father was given as David Lewis, a stonemason. From the Marriage Certificate William Stirling's approximate year of birth was established as 1849. Armed with this knowledge, an examination of the St. Catherine's Birth Indexes was carried out. This showed six possible matches for William in England (none in Wales) in the period 1847-51, with none in 1849. The number of possible matches considerably reduced the likelihood of a successful application to the Registrar General for a Birth Certificate - additional data was needed, from the decennial Census Returns. A search of the 1881 Census for George Street, Ivy Street, and Adelphi Street, three Birkenhead addresses which had been tentatively associated with the family, failed to uncover the whereabouts of the STERLING family. A general search of the entire 1891 Census Returns for Birkenhead, containing an official total of 99,857 names and held on micro-fiche at Ellesmere Port Library, was then carried out. A total of thirteen STERLINGs and STIRLINGs were found, but no trace of the right family. However, one entry was for a Wm Stirling boarding at 63 Dacre Street, in the central Argyle Ward. The return shows he was married, aged 42, a whitesmith, and in employment. Despite the absence of any family, it was beyond any reasonable doubt that this was Edith Mary's father. Some fifteen or more years later William's wife and two children were found in the 1891 Census, they were not living in the same house but were well within walking distance! This lack of Census data also made the search for children from the marriage of William and Elizabeth much more difficult. Of the Sterling/Stirling births listed in the St. Catherine's Indexes, there were six feasible (but not all practicable) matches occurring in the Merseyside area after the 1878 marriage and before Mary Edith's birth in 1881. These births were all registered in West Derby and, clearly, more than one family was responsible. It has not been possible to establish if any were the children of William and Elizabeth. On the assumption that Mary Edith's birth in Birkenhead in 1881 established the family in that town, a further six births were potentially identified. These were registered in Birkenhead after Mary Edith's birth, and in the period up to the end of 1891. With the help of the Birkenhead Superintendent Registrar, Mr D Broadhead, one of these births was found to belong to William and Elizabeth Stirling, four were found to be sisters from a different family, while the sixth was from a third family. This second child of William and Elizabeth was William James Stirling, the only known sibling of Mary Edith. He was born on February 14th 1885 at 39 Ivy Street in Birkenhead. The birth was registered on March 28th by his mother, she gave her address as 25 Adelphi Street, Birkenhead. The Birth Certificate records that the father was (still) a whitesmith. Nothing else is known of William James or, indeed, of the later lives of his parent's William Stirling and Elizabeth Lewis. William's place of birth had been duly recorded in this 1891 Census and, by some chance, instead of merely giving 'Ireland' (the norm for people not born in England and Wales was 'Scotland', 'Ireland' or 'Foreign'), the entry gave 'Londonderry - Ireland'. Whether this reference was to the City or to the County was, regrettably, unclear. Later access to the on-line 1901 Census with its Index gave the following at 2 Paterson Street, Birkenhead (which was found with some degree of difficulty as the surname had been transcribed as STRILING): William Stirling/Head/M/53/Whitesmith/Ireland Elizabeth Stirling/Wife/M/47/----/Wales, Swansea Edith Stirling/Dau/S/19/----/Cheshire, Birkenhead William Stirling/Son/S/15/----/Cheshire, Birkenhead In an on-line transcription of the 1911 Ceqnsus for England and Wales William Stirling was a Workhouse inmate (Church Road, Tranmere) and a 65 year old former engine fitter. A death for William Stirling aged 60 was registered in Birkenhead in 1912. * * * * *1 |
| Birth | William Stirling was born circa 1845.1 |
| (with Parents) 1851 Census | William appeared on the 1851 Census of Birkenhead, Cheshire with his parents. He was 7 years old, a scholar, and born in Ireland.2 |
| (with Parents) 1861 Census | William appeared on the 1861 Census of Birkenhead, Cheshire with his parents. He was 16 years old, a Bellhanger apprentice, and was born in Ireland.3 |
| (with Mother) 1871 Census | William appeared on the 1871 Census of Birkenhead, Cheshire in the household of his widowed mother. He was 25, a Whitesmith, and born in Ireland.4 |
| Marriage | He married Elizabeth Lewis on 30 Sep 1878 in St Nicholas' Church, Liverpool, Lancashire.1 |
| 1891 Census | Wm Stirling appeared on the 1891 Census of Birkenhead, Cheshire, at 63 Dacre Street. He was a boarder, married, age 42, employed as a White Smith, birthplace Ireland, Dondondery [sic]. The head of household was Eliz Lightford (32, wife of stoker at sea), very likely his sister.5 |
| 1901 Census | William and Elizabeth appeared on the 1901 Census of Birkenhead, Cheshire, at 2 Paterson Street. The family lived in 4 rooms. William was 53, a WhiteSmith, and was born in Ireland. Elizabeth was 47, born in Swansea Wales. Their children were Edith (19) and William (15), both born in Birkenhead.6 |
| 1911 Census | William Stirling appeared on the 1911 Census of Tranmere, Cheshire, at the Union Workhouse in Church Road. There were 1195 inmates there at the time. He was 65, married, formerly an Engine Fitter, and was born in Birkenhead Cheshire.7 |
| Death | William died in 1912.8 |
| Last Edited | 28 Nov 2013 |
Citations
- [S2843] Colin Bendall, Stirling, Scotland, research carried out in the period 1994-2012.
- [S932] 1851 Census for England & Wales, HO107/2175 folio 317. Image viewed at Ancestry.
- [S875] 1861 Census for England & Wales, RG9/2643 folio 74. Image viewed at Ancestry.
- [S875] 1861 Census for England & Wales, RG10/3747 folio 122. Image viewed at Ancestry.
- [S572] 1891 Census for England & Wales, RG12/2879 folio 74. Image viewed at Ancestry.
- [S744] 1901 Census for England & Wales, RG13/3390 folio 99. Image viewed at Ancestry.
- [S2443] 1911 Census for England & Wales, RD 452 SD 2 ED 48 Union Workhouse. Image viewed at Ancestry.
- [S387] FreeBMD. William Stirling, age 60, Dec Q 1912, Birkenhead RD.