Events
Date of Birth: about 1802.
Place of Birth: Whitmore, Staffordshire, England.
See the Commentary section.
Date of Baptism: 10 June 1802.
Place of Baptism: Whitmore, Staffordshire.
The baptism is recorded in the parish register.
Date of Burial: 14 March 1878.
Place of Burial: Fenton, Staffordshire.
The burial is recorded in the parish register (Name: William Harper; Adode: Stable Yard, Manor Street; Age: 74).
Relationships
Father: William Harper.
Mother: Sarah Peake.
See the Commentary section.
Spouse: Sarah Bradshaw (1801 - 1838). Married 22 February 1829 in Fulford, Staffordshire.
The marriage is recorded in the parish register.
Spouse: Ellen Alcock (about 1812 - 1854). Married 1840.
The GRO index gives the marriage.
Children (by Sarah Bradshaw):
(Complete source citations for facts about the children on this page are currently outside of the scope of this project.)
Ann Harper (born 31 December 1829; baptized 17 July 1831, Methodist New Connexion, Longton Circuit - died 1897) married George Castle 27 March 1853 in Stoke on Trent (St Peter ad Vincula).
William Harper (born 15 July 1831; baptized 17 July 1831, Methodist New Connexion, Longton Circuit - died 1895) married (1) Rose Ann Harris 22 December 1851 in Kidderminster, Worcestershire; married (2) Jane Guest 6 August 1856 in Old Swinford, Worcestershire.
Ann Harper (born 21 April 1833; baptized 7 May 1833 in the Wesleyan Chapel of Fenton).
Charles Harper (born 8 July 1834; baptized 9 September 1834 in the Wesleyan Chapel of Fenton; died 1886) married Mary Ann Perry in 1876.
Children (by Ellen Alcock):
John Harper (baptized 8 August 1841 in Fenton, Staffordshire - Church of England) married Jane Ford in 1862.
Elizabeth Harper (baptized 11 August 1844 in Fenton).
Thomas Harper (baptized 8 March 1846 in Fenton - died 1897) married Frances Elks 6 June 1865 in Edensor, Staffordshire.
Ellen Harper (baptized 3 March 1850 in Fenton) married Robert Powell 23 December 1871 in Fenton.
Jane Harper (baptized 27 June 1852 in Fenton) married Sampson Rowley in 1875.
Edward Harper (baptized 2 July 1854 in Fenton).
Evidence
Baptism (Whitmore, Staffordshire, 1802):
William S. of William & Sarah Harper Baptized June 10th
from Marriages solemnized in the Parish of Stone & Chapel of Fulford in the County of Stafford in the Year 1829:
William Harper of this Parish Labourer & Bachelor and Sarah Bradshaw of this Parish Spinster were married in this Chapel by Banns with Consent of [blank] this Twenty Second Day of February in the Year One thousand eight hundred and Twenty nine
By me Wm Oliver Perpetl Curate
This Marriage was solemnized between us William Harper’s mark X Sarah Bradshaw’s mk +
In the Presence of Thomas Harper’s mk + Ann Harper’s mk +
See Sarah Bradshaw's page for the baptisms of the children William had with her.
Stoke at Fenton Church register:
When Baptized: 1841 Aug.st 8.th
Child’s Christian Name: John
Parent’s Name: William & Ellen Harpur
Abode: Pear Trees Fenton
Quality, Trade, or Profession: Labourer
By whom the Ceremony was performed: R.B. Baker
When Baptized: 1844 August 11.th
Child’s Christian Name: Elizabeth
Parent’s Name: William & Ellen Harpur
Abode: Fenton
Quality, Trade, or Profession: Labourer
By whom the Ceremony was performed: W Soltis
When Baptized: 1846 March 8.th
Child’s Christian Name: Thomas
Parent’s Name: William & Ellen Harpur
Abode: Fenton
Quality, Trade, or Profession: Labourer
By whom the Ceremony was performed: W Soltis
When Baptized: 1850 Mar: 3.rd
Child’s Christian Name: Ellen daughter of
Parent’s Name: William & Ellen Harper
Abode: Fenton
Quality, Trade, or Profession: Carter
By whom the Ceremony was performed: W. Murray
When Baptized: 1852 June 27.
Child’s Christian Name: Jane
Parent’s Name: William & Ellen Harper
Abode: Fenton
Quality, Trade, or Profession: Labourer
By whom the Ceremony was performed: Hy. J. Knight Curate
When Baptized: 1854 July 2nd
Child’s Christian Name: Edward
Parent’s Name: William & Ellen Harpur
Abode: Fenton
Quality, Trade, or Profession: Carter
By whom the Ceremony was performed: W. Soltis
1841 census of England (Fenton Vivian, Staffordshire)
Pear Trees
William Harper, 35, Labourer, Yes [“Yes” indicates born in Staffordshire]
Eleanor [Harper], 25, Yes
Anne [Harper], 11, Yes
William [Harper], 9, Yes
Chales [Harper], 6, Yes
1851 census of England (Fenton Vivian, Staffordshire)
Manor St.
William Harper, Head, Mar, 48, Labourer, [born Staffordshire] Whitmore
Ellen [Harper], Wife, 39, [born Staffordshire] Buckwall
Charles [Harper], Son, 16, Warehouseman, [born Staffordshire] Fenton
John [Harper], Son, 9, [Warehouseman], [born Staffordshire Fenton]
Elizabeth [Harper], Daur, 6, Scholar, [born Staffordshire Fenton]
Thomas [Harper], Son, 5, [Scholar], [born Staffordshire Fenton]
Ellen [Harper], Daur, 1, [born Staffordshire Fenton]
1861 census of England (Fenton, Staffordshire)
6 Side of Manor Street
William Harper, Head, Widr, 57, Potters Waggoner, [born Staffordshire] Whitmore
Charles [Harper], Son, Un, 26, [Potters] Millman, [born Staffordshire] Fenton
Thomas [Harper], Son, Un, 15, [Potters] Handler App, [born Staffordshire Fenton]
Ellen [Harper], Daur, 11, Scholar, [born Staffordshire Fenton]
Jane [Harper], Daur, 8, Scholar, [born Staffordshire Fenton]
1871 census of England (Fenton, Staffordshire)
Manor Street
William Harper, Head, Mar, 68, Potters Labourer, [born] Staffordsh Whitmore
Charles [Harper], Son, Un, 36, [Potters Labourer], [born Staffordsh] Fenton
Ellen [Harper], dau, [un], 21, [Potters] Warehousewoman, [born Staffordshire Fenton]
Jane [Harper], Daur, 18, [Potters] Paintress, [born Staffordsh Fenton]
Commentary
William’s date and place of birth:
Here is the evidence from the censuses and William’s burial record:
1841 census (taken 6 June): age 35, born Staffordshire (Ages in this census were normally rounded down to the nearest multiple of 5.)
1851 census (taken 30 March): age 48, born [Staffordshire] Whitmore
1861 census (taken 7 April): age 57, born [Staffordshire] Whitmore
1871 census (taken 2 April): age 68, born Staffordsh Whitmore
Burial (14 March 1878): age 74.
The consistent place of birth and relatively consistent ages make clear that William must have been the William Harper baptized 10 June 1802 in Whitmore, parents William and Sarah Harper. There are no other baptisms in the Whitmore area that are consistent with the above information.
William and Sarah had other children baptized in Whitmore or Madeley:
Thomas (baptized 1806 in Whitmore)
Sarah (baptized 1808 in Madeley)
John (baptized 1810 in Whitmore)
There were probably others whose baptisms have not been found.
Thomas shows up in censuses living in Fenton:
In 1851 he is living in Pear Trees (now called Manor Street), aged 44, an agricultural labourer, born in Whitmore.
In 1861 he is still living in Pear Trees, aged 53, a potter’s labourer, born in Madeley.
In 1871 he is living in nearby Kent Street, aged 63, a carter, born in Madeley.
I have not found later evidence for Sarah or John.
The fact that a Thomas Harper born in Whitmore/Madeley in about 1806 turns up later in Fenton corroborates that the 1802 baptism for William in Whitmore is the correct one.
William’s parentage:
William’s parents appear to have been the William Harper and Sarah Peake whose marriage banns were read at Eccleshall, Staffordshire, 8 January 1797. The evidence for this is indirect.
I have not located any definite record of the elder William Harper after the baptism of John in 1810.
The following records appear to refer to Sarah [Peake]:
A.
In the 1841 census, a Sarah Harper, aged 65, is living, presumably as a boarder, with the family of James Poole in Welch Street, Penkhull, Staffordshire. Listed below her are Jane [Harper], aged 20, potter; and William Woodfi[eld], 15, [potter]. Sarah is listed as not born in the county, and Jane and William as born in the county.
B.
In the 1851 census, we find at 7 Rome Street, Stoke on Trent:
George Dawson, head, married, 26, fruit dealer, born Stoke on Trent
Ann [Dawson], wife, married, 33, born Stoke on Trent
Sarah Harper, mother in law, widow, 80, born Eccleshall
William Woodfield, nephew, married, 19, potter’s oven man, born Stoke on Trent
Ann [Woodfield], niece, married, 26, house servant, born Stoke on Trent
C.
A Sarah Harper, age 79, was buried 8 December 1851 at St Peter ad Vincula, Stoke on Trent.
The Jane Harper of the 1841 census was the same person as the Ann Dawson of the 1851 census, as shown by the 31 May 1846 marriage in Bucknall, Staffordshire, of George Dawson and Jane Harper. (Jane’s father is recorded as William in the marriage record.)
William Woodfield was the son of Sarah’s daughter Elizabeth. (Elizabeth Harper married Richard Woodfield 20 July 1830 in Stoke on Trent. William was born 26 June 1831 and baptized 10 July 1831 at the Wesley chapel in Stoke on Trent. Elizabeth Woodfield was buried 10 December in Stoke on Trent.)
It appears that the Harpers moved from the Whitmore area to Penkhull sometime after 1810. The William Harper born in 1802 is described as being of Penkhull in the 1831 baptism record of his eldest son, and [his mother] Sarah is living in Penkhull in 1841 with her daughter Jane/Ann. The latter, as “Ann Harper”, appears to have been one of the witnesses of the 1829 marriage of her brother William, along with William’s brother Thomas.
Overall, the evidence seems to fit together well enough:
The place of the 1797 marriage, Eccleshall, matches Sarah’s birthplace in the 1851 census.
Sarah’s husband in 1797 is William Harper. The father of Sarah’s daughter Jane/Ann is recorded as William Harper in Jane’s 1846 marriage record. The parents of the William and Thomas born in Whitmore in the early 1800s were William and Sarah Harper.
Sarah was living in Penkhull in 1841. The William Harper born in Whitmore in 1802 was living in Penkhull in 1831.
The witnesses to the 1829 marriage of William Harper and Sarah Bradshaw were Thomas Harper (presumably the Thomas born in 1806 in Whitmore and recorded as living in Fenton from 1841 on) and Ann Harper (presumably later George Dawson’s wife, recorded as “Jane” in 1841 and 1846 and “Ann” in 1851).
References
"England Marriages, 1538–1973 ," index, FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org/pal:/MM9.1.1/NKZ9-89K : accessed 12 Apr 2014), William Harper and Sarah Bradshaw, 22 Feb 1829; citing Fulford,Stafford,England, reference ; FHL microfilm 426546, 435859.
Fenton, Staffordshire, parish registers, digital images available for a fee on Findmypast.co.uk (accessed 16 January 2015).
GRO index, Marriages Mar 1840, Stoke On Trent, Volume 17, page 179. General Register Office. England and Wales. Civil Registration Certificates. (London, United Kingdom: General Register Office).
Whitmore, Staffordshire, parish registers. [Digital images on Findmypast.co.uk, accessed 7 November 2015]
William Harper household, 1841 census of England. Staffordshire, Stoke upon Trent, Fenton, Stoke upon Trent; HO107, piece 990, book 6, folio 11, page 15, in Census Returns of England and Wales, 1841. Kew, Surrey, England: The National Archives of the UK (TNA): Public Record Office (PRO), 1841; digital image Ancestry.com (accessed 12 April 2014).
William Harper household, 1851 census of England. Staffordshire, Stoke upon Trent, Fenton, ED 9b, piece 2006, folio 455, page 4, in Census Returns of England and Wales, 1851. Kew, Surrey, England: The National Archives of the UK (TNA): Public Record Office (PRO), 1851; digital image Ancestry.com (accessed 12 April 2014).
William Harper household, 1861 census of England. Staffordshire, Stoke upon Trent, Fenton, ED 4, piece 1940, folio 86, page 19, in Census Returns of England and Wales, 1861. Kew, Surrey, England: The National Archives of the UK (TNA): Public Record Office (PRO), 1861; digital image Ancestry.com (accessed 12 April 2014).
William Harper household, 1871 census of England. Staffordshire, Stoke upon Trent, Fenton, ED 4, piece 2872, folio 109, page 47, in Census Returns of England and Wales, 1871. Kew, Surrey, England: The National Archives of the UK (TNA): Public Record Office (PRO), 1871; digital image Ancestry.com (accessed 12 April 2014).
GRO index, Deaths Mar 1878, Stoke upon Trent, Volume 6b, page 167. General Register Office. England and Wales. Civil Registration Certificates. (London, United Kingdom: General Register Office).
Marriages solemnized in the Parish of Stone & Chapel of Fulford. Digital images on Findmypast.co.uk accessed 11 March 2018.