Events
(possible) Date of Baptism: 25 June 1769.
(possible) Place of Baptism: Upper Arley, Worcestershire.
The baptism is recorded in the parish register. I give the baptism as "possible", as my only reason for supposing that this is the correct baptism is that it is in the right neighbourhood and the date agrees with the age at death given in William's possible burial record.
(possible) Date of Burial: 30 December 1831.
(possible) Place of Burial: Kidderminster, Worcestershire (St Mary's).
The burial is recorded in the parish register.
Relationships
Father: uncertain.
Mother: uncertain.
See the Commentary section below.
Spouse: Mary.
Mary is named in baptism records of her children. See the Commentary section below.
Children:
(Complete source citations for facts about the children on this page are currently outside of the scope of this project. All baptism were in Kidderminster.)
Thomas Guest (baptized 18 February 1795 in Kidderminster - died 30 June 1853) married Sophia Millichip 30 October 1826 in Kidderminster (St Mary’s).
John Guest (baptized 1 July 1797 in Kidderminster - buried 22 March 1871 in Kidderminster) married (1) Maryan Nott 21 March 1820 in Kidderminster, Worcestershire; married (2) Mary Ann Goode 29 February 1832 in Ribbesford, Worcestershire.
Mary Guest (baptized 15 June 1801 in Kidderminster - buried 8 November 1814 in Kidderminster).
Samuel Guest (born 17 December 1803, baptized 4 January 1804 in Kidderminster - buried 18 January 1889 in Kidderminster) married (1) Ann Brooks 18 June 1827 in Kidderminster (St Mary’s); married (2) Mary Ann Meal or Hyde in 26 January 1862 in Old Swinford, Worcestershire.
Elizabeth Guest (born 24 March 1806, baptized 7 April 1806 in Kidderminster).
Frederick Guest (born 2 September 1809, baptized 20 September 1809 in Kidderminster).
Joseph Guest (born 18 March 1812, baptized 3 April 1812 - buried 21 June 1864 in Kidderminster) married Charlotte Swingall 28 January 1839 in Worcester (Bedwardine-St John).
Evidence
(possible marriage)
Old Swinford parish register:
1791
Willm Guest of this Parish Bachelor, and Mary Barns of this Parish Spinster were Married in this Parish by Banns this thirtieth Day of April in the Year One Thousand seven Hundred and ninety one By Me J Cumming Curate
This Marriage was solemnized between Us William Guest
The mark of Mary x Barns
In the Presence of John Perkin Sarah Walker
From the Register of Duties Paid for Apprentice’s Indentures:
6 Aug 92 62 Wm Guest Kidderminster C. of [Worcester] Silk weaver Geo. Straine
Baptisms of children (Kidderminster, St Mary's)
February 1795 [Baptized]
18 Thomas son of William and Mary Guest
July 1797
Baptized 1 John son of William and Mary Guest
[June 1801 Baptized] Mary Daughter of William and Mary Guest Born 3.rd Instant June Foreign
[January 1804] Baptized 4 Samuel Son of William and Mary Guest Born Dec.r 17.th 1803 Foreign
[April 1806 Baptized] 7 Elizabeth Daughter of William and Mary Guest Born March 24.th 1806 Foreign
[September 1809 Baptized] 20 Frederick Son of William and Mary Guest Born 2.nd Ins.t September Foreign
[1812 April Baptized 3] Joseph of Willm & Mary Guest - Born Mar: 18.th-
probable Burial (Kidderminster, St Mary's, 1831)
Name: William Guest
Abode: Hoo Lane
When Buried: December 30th
Age: 62 yr
By whom the Ceremony was performed: T. Cook
In the baptisms of the children of William’s son Samuel, Samuel’s residence was recorded as:
1828: Hoo Lane
1830: Callow’s Lane
1833: Hoo Lane
1836: Hoo Lane
1841: Bromsgrove Court
1841 Census (Kidderminster, Hoo Lane)
Thomas Guest 45 [occupation illegible] yes [i.e., born in Worcestershire]
Sophia D[itto] 35 yes
Elisee D 15 yes
Herbert D 8 yes
1841 Census (Kidderminster, Blackwell Street)
Samuel Guest 38 MS y[es]
Susannah Hughes 19 FS y
William Guest 60 Weaver y
Thomas Kings nk n
John Ashmore nk n
Samuel Rowland nk n
1851 Census (Kiddermisnter, Hoo Lane)
Thomas Guest Head Mar 56 Chelsea Penisoner [born in Kidderminster]
Sophia Do Wife Mar 46 [born in] Elmley Lovett
Herbert Do Son U 17 Forgeman Firer [born in] Stone
Eliza Do Daur U 23 Dress Maker [born in] Kidderminster
According to the Chelsea Pension papers, Thomas was born in Kidderminster. He enlisted at Kidderminster in the 62nd Foot Regiment on 19 March, 1814, at the age of 19. He served in the Army for 11 years 103 days (19 March 1814 to 29 June 1825). He was in the East or W. Indies from 30 July 1815 to 22 July 1819. He was discharged in consequence of "Pulmonic affliction(?) & opacity of the Cornea of Right Eye". He had been 2 (or 8?) months in hospital at the time of his discharge. His general conduct as a soldier was "irregular".
In the 1862 marriage entry for his second marriage, the occupation of Samuel Guest’s father William was recorded as “weaver”.
Commentary
William’s identity
I am not certain whether the William of this page was the man buried in 1831 in Kidderminster, or the man appearing with Samuel in the 1841 census.
With respect to the man buried in 1831:
-The age at death, 62, lines up with other evidence. The implied birth date of about 1769 is reasonable for someone who took on an apprentice in 1792 and whose eldest child was baptized in 1795.
-The residence, Hoo Lane, is as expected. William’s sons Thomas and Samuel were both recorded as living in Hoo Lane in the period.
With respect to the man appearing in the 1841 census with Samuel:
-It is not completely clear that the Samuel who is the head of the household is the son of the William of this page, but it is likely. Samuel’s wife and children appear without him on another page in the census.
-William’s occupation, weaver, lines up fairly well with other evidence: in the 1862 marriage entry for his second marriage, the occupation of Samuel’s father William was recorded as “weaver”. However, in his son Joseph’s 1839 marriage record, William’s occupation was recorded as “maltster”. (Joseph’s own occupation was maltster.)
-William’s age, 60, is somewhat younger than expected. Ages in censuses were often inaccurate. In this case, the informant was probably Samuel, who is listed as the head of the household. Ages in the 1841 census were usually rounded down to the nearest multiple of five, giving an implied birth date for this William of about 1775-1781. The earlier part of this range is possible for someone whose eldest child was baptized in 1795, but is impossible for someone who was a master silk weaver in 1792 (Masters were at least 21 years old.) It is possible that the William in the apprenticeship record is a different man.
-A plausible burial for this William does not appear in the GRO indexes.
I don’t see a way to resolve this conflict without further evidence.
If the 1831 burial is that of the William of this page, then he was probably the William baptized in 1769 in Upper Arley, in which case his parents would have been William Guest and Ann Humphreys.
William’s wife
The most likely marriage that I can find for William is to Mary Barnes in Old Swinford in 1791. There does not seem to be another marriage of a William Guest to a Mary in the area in the preceding five years, and there also does not seem to be another William Guest and Mary having children in the area in the 10-year period following that marriage. The Mary Barnes in that marriage was probably baptized in Kidderminster. However, I would need more evidence to be very confident that this marriage is in fact correct.
References
Kidderminster St Mary's parish registers. Digital images on FamilySearch, accessed 16 Febuary 2018.
Old Swinford parish registers. Digital images on FamilySearch, accessed 17 February 2018.