The first step was to do a ‘blanket search’ for Mary born c1828. There was another Mary Wilcox of a similar age recorded in the 1841 census, however this one was recorded with her parents, so I was able to rule out any record for this daughter of William and Jane Wilcox.

I found a baptism record for Mary of the correct age – born 22 October 1828 (baptised 1832), daughter of snaffle maker John Wilcox and his wife, Mary. This means she was 12 at the time of the 1841 census which matched up neatly with the Mary Wilcox recorded with the Thomasons. But another clue lay in where she was baptised – the ‘Independent’ Bridge Street Chapel, Walsall. This was the same place Hannah Craddock and her brother Samuel had been baptised about two decades before. Samuel Craddock was also a snaffle maker, indicating a possible family trade.

But where was the Craddock link?

I searched for the marriage of John and Mary and… BINGO! There was a marriage on 1 November 1824 at West Bromwich of John Wilcox and Mary Craddock. (Unfortunately there was no image.)

I was unable to find a baptism record for Harriet Wilcox, but did find her with parents John and Mary in the 1841 census. This supports my theory that the  Harriet Wilcox, also with the Wheeley family on the 1851 census, was the sister of Mary Wilcox.

So, there we are – minor mystery solved:

Mary Wilcox was the niece of Hannah Wheeley (nee Craddock); daughter of Hannah’s sister Mary Wilcox (nee Craddock).

We will probably never know if Lydia Thomason (nee Walton) was introduced to Samuel Craddock by Mary or vice versa – but we at least know that connection was there.

However, another minor mystery has emerged…

Mary’s sister, Harriet Wilcox, went on to marry miner James Pearson in 1855 – was he related to Mary’s fellow servant, Sarah Pearson, in the 1841 census? I think I’ll leave that one for ‘another day’.

The post Mary Wilcox – A Minor Mystery Solved appeared first on Geneageek.

As I worked backwards through the censuses, Mary kept cropping up.  In 1851, 1861, and 1871, she was recorded with Thomas Henry’s parents, Thomas and Hannah Wheeley. In 1851, she was recorded as a 22-year-old japanner and servant to Thomas Wheeley (as was a 17-year-old Harriet Wilcox). 

However, in 1861 and 1871, her relationship was recorded as ‘niece’. 

In my experience, relationships to the head of the family, can refer to either the head or his wife, so this Mary Wilcox was the niece of either Thomas Wheeley or his wife, Hannah Craddock – great, good to know – and basically she was put in the ‘for another day’ pile.

Well, that day has arrived!

While extending the Wheeley branches, Mary Wilcox popped up AGAIN in an unexpected place.

Hannah’s brother, Samuel Craddock, married Lydia Thomason (nee Walton) in 1853. Lydia was the widow of Charles Thomason. In the 1841 census Charles and Lydia Thomason were living with their two young children at Potters Lodge (near Full Brook), Walsall. Also there, was 20-year-old japanner Sarah Pearson and 12-year-old servant, MARY WILCOX.

Does this mean Mary was actually related to Lydia? Or had Lydia met her next husband Samuel via Mary’s relationship to him? Or was this a completely different Mary Wilcox altogether?

Who was Mary Wilcox?

Next post: Mary Wilcox – A Minor Mystery Solved

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