Events
Date of Baptism: uncertain.
Place of Baptism: Stone, Staffordshire, England (St Michael’s).
William was baptized 18 November 1724 in Stone if his parents were William and Elizabeth, or 14 August 1728 in the chapel of Fulford if his parents were Thomas Degg and Jane. The parish registers and bishop’s transcripts of the parish registers record the baptisms.
Date of Burial: 10 March 1804.
Place of Burial: St Michael's, Stone.
The burial entry gives his age as 80 and gives his place of residence as Longhedge nook, which makes it very likely this is the correct burial.
Relationships
Father: uncertain.
Mother: uncertain.
(See the Commentary section. Possibilities are Thomas Degg and Jane Harvey, or William Degg and Elizabeth, the widow of someone surnamed Parker, but the evidence does not support definite conclusions.)
Spouse: Mary Davill. Married 10 June 1747 in Chebsey, Staffordshire (All Saints).
The marriage is recorded in the parish register.
Children:
(Complete source citations for facts about the children on this page are currently outside of the scope of this project.)
Jane Degg (baptized 10 June 1749).
Mary Degg (baptized 16 June 1751).
William Degg (baptized 31 December 1752).
Hannah Degg (baptized 7 March 1756 - died 21 June 1831) married Matthew Creswell 26 January 1783 in Stone, Staffordshire.
Phillip Degg (baptized 11 February 1759) married Sarah Alcock 5 April 1779 in Trentham, Staffordshire (St Mary and All Saints).
Lydia Degg (born 7 November 1763, baptized 4 December 1763 - buried 18 November 1827) married John Alcock 23 September 1782 in Stoke-upon-Trent, Staffordshire (St Peter ad Vincula).
Samuel Degg (born 9 November 1765, baptized 10 November 1765 - buried 27 November 1818) married Esther Brassington 2 August 1787 in Stoke-upon-Trent, Staffordshire (St Peter ad Vincula).
Thomas Degg (baptized 17 July 1768).
Ann Degg (baptized 24 March 1771 - buried 30 April 1816) married James Bradshaw 20 October 1793 in Dilhorne, Staffordshire (All Saints).
Evidence
From the parish registers of St Michael’s, Stone:
Gulielmus filius Gulielmi & Elizabethe Degg baptizatus Decimo octavo die [November 1724] [at Stone]
Gulielmus filius Thomae Degg & Janae uxoris ejus de Hedg nook baptizatus Augusti 14. 1728 [at Fulford chapel]
Jane D.r of William & Mary Degg of Longhedge nook was bap.d June 10th [1749, at Fulford chapel]
Mary Daughter of William & Mary Degg was bap.d June 16th [1751, at Fulford chapel]
William Son of William & Mary Degg of Olton was bap.d Decr 31st 1752 [at Stone]
Elizabeth Daughter of William & Jane Degg of Longhedgenook was bap. Oct.r 20th [1754, at Fulford chapel]
Hannah Daughter of William & Eliz.th Degg of Longhedgenook was bap. March 7th [1756, at Fulford chapel]
Phillip Son of William & Mary Degg of Longhedge Nook was born Jan.y 24th and baptized February 11th. [1759, at Fulford chapel]
Lydia Daughter of William & Mary Degg was born Nov 7th bap.d Dec.r 4. [1763, at Fulford chapel]
Samuel Son of William & Mary Degg was born November the 9th & baptized Novr the 10th [1765, at Fulford chapel]
Thomas Son of William & Mary Degg was baptized July the 17th [1768, at Fulford chapel]
Ann Daughter of Will.m and Mary Degg was baptized March 24th [1771, at Fulford chapel]
William Degg, of Stone, was buried September the 27th. (77) [1801]
William Degg, of Longhedge nook, was buried March the 10th (80) [1804]
Information from the marriage bond:
At Chebsey June 10.th 1747 William Degg of the Parish of Trentham a Batchelor aged twenty two appear’d & pray’d a Licence to be granted for the solemnization of a Marriage between the said Will: Degg & Mary Devile of the same place spinster aged twenty one in the Parish Church of Chebsey w.h Licence was decreed accordingly -
Oath being made before me W.m Walker Surrogate
Date: 10 June 1747
Bound: Tho.s Degg of the Parish of Trentham & County of Stafford & John Masheder of Chebsey in the same County
To be married: William Degg & Mary Devile both of the Parish of Stone
Signatures: Tho. his mark X Degg; John Masheder; W.m Walker; Mary Walker
Commentary
There is some uncertainty surrounding the parents of William.
I have located three baptisms Williams in the right area in the right time period.
23 February 1717 in Stone, father William. This William was buried 17 June 1718 in Stone.
18 November 1724 in Stone, father William, mother Elizabeth, no place of residence given.
14 August 1728 in Fulford chapel, parish of Stone, father Thomas, mother Jane, residence Hedge nook.
There were several marriages of a William Degg:
(a) 9 February 1745, in Stone, to Margaret Bouncer. Both resided in Stone at the time of the marriage. They had two children, Elizabeth and Catherine. The couple still resided in Stone at the time of the baptisms.
(b) 10 June 1747 in Chebsey, to Mary Devile. In the marriage bond, William is described as a bachelor, aged 22, of Trentham and Mary is described as a spinster “of the same place” (presumably Trentham). Bound were Thomas Degg of Trentham and John Masheder of Chebsey. William Walker and Mary Walker were witnesses. They had several children: Jane (1749), Mary (1751), William (1752), Phillip (1759), Lydia (1763), Samuel 1765), Thomas (1768), Ann (1771). The residence is given as Longhedgenook in 1749 and 1759, and Olton in 1752.
(c) A William Degg and Jane had a daughter Elizabeth baptized in 1754 in Stone.
(d) A William Degg and Elizabeth had a daughter Hannah baptized in 1756 in Fulford, residence Longhedgenook. It is possible that “Elizabeth” is an error here for “Mary”. I am descended from William and Mary’s daughter Ann, and I share 13 cM of DNA with a paper-trail descendant of Hannah.
(e) 31 March 1757 in Burton on Trent, to Sarah Biddulph. William was a bachelor, a pot carrier, aged 25, residing in Longhedgenook, and had lived in the house of Jane Degg of Longhedgenook for at least the previous 4 weeks. The witnesses were Wm Painter and Ann Turner.
(f) 30 March 1761 in Stone, to Elizabeth Thompson. Both were of Stone. They had a son Adam baptized in 1762.
Burials:
(i) 27 September 1801, William Degg of Stone, aged 77.
(ii) 10 March 1804, William Degg of Longhedgenook, aged 80.
Marriage (b) is of the William Degg of this page, but it is not perfectly clear to me whether his baptism is (2) or (3) or neither. Here is the argument for baptism (3) being the correct one:
Place of Residence.
The parents of the William Degg baptized in 1724 probably resided in Stone (That is the place of residence given in the baptism records of two of this Williams older siblings.) The William of marriage (a) lived in Stone, and so did the William buried in 1801 (i).
The parents of the William Degg baptized in 1728 lived in Longhedgenook. This is where the William of marriage (b) (1747) and the William of burial (ii) (1804) lived.
Age. Burial records (i) and (ii) both give ages consistent with baptism (2), but the place of residence for (ii) is a better fit with baptism (3). The age of the William in marriage (b) fits better with baptism (2) than (3), but it is possible that the age is a few years off: the age of the bride in that marriage, Mary Devile, is probably given as 4 years older than her real age. There may have been an incentive to make both of the couple’s ages about 4 years older than they were, in order to make it seem more likely that the bride was really 21 years old.
DNA. I am a paper-trail descendant of William, and I share 22 cM of DNA with a paper-trail descendant of Thomas Degg and Jane Harvey. There does not appear to be a more plausible path to expain the shared DNA, but it is impossible to rule out its existence.
Onomastics. The name Jane given to the eldest daughter of marriage (b) can be explained by it being the name of the mother of the William of baptism (3). (The mother of the wife in marriage (b) was probably named Mary.)
Here are some reasons that this suggested relationship may be incorrect:
The mother in baptism (2) was of Chebsey, which is where the wife of marriage (b) was from. The connection is suggestive. (Chebsey is about 5 miles from Stone and and about 10 miles from Longhedgenook.)
The age given for the William of marriage (b) is consistent with the 1724 baptism, as is the age (80) given for the 1804 burial.
The baptisms for the Williams of marriages (c) - (f) are not accounted for. Particularly puzzling is that the William of marriage (e) was living with the mother of baptism (3) at the time of his marriage, although his age at marriage is not consistent with that baptism. It may simplify things to assume that the names of the mothers in baptisms (2) and (3) are in error, but it seems more likely that there is simply more going on than it is possible to make sense of with the current evidence.
All in all, the evidence does not seem to allow positive conclusions to be drawn with any confidence.
On Hannah Degg:
I am including Hannah Degg as a child on this page although her mother is recorded in the register as “Eliz.th” rather than Mary. The abode, Longhedgenook, matches the family of this page, and I share DNA with three descendants of Hannah through two of her children, William (12 cM, 12 cM) and Mary (14 cM).
References
Diocese of Lichfield and Coventry marriage allegations and bonds, 1636-1893. [Digital image on Findmypast.co.uk]
Stone, Staffordshire, St Michael’s, bishop’s transcripts of the parish registers. FHL film 421597. Family History Library, Salt Lake City, Utah.
Stone, Staffordshire, St Michael’s, parish registers [digital images available for a fee at Findmypast.co.uk].
"England Marriages, 1538–1973 ," index, FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org/pal:/MM9.1.1/V5V8-MCB : accessed 12 Apr 2014), William Degg and Mary Devill, 10 Jun 1747; citing Chebsey,Stafford,England, reference ; FHL microfilm 0873641 IT 3, 426523.
Will of Hannah Creswell, widow of Walsall Wood, Staffordshire, proved 24 September 1831 in the Consistory Court of Lichfield and Coventry.