William Stringer
ID # 6052, (1802-)
| Birth | William Stringer was born in 1802. |
| Marriage | He married Eleanor Burns. Sure information for the marriage of William Stringer and Eleanor/Ellen Burns has not been found, but there is a record that is probable. See Vital Records of Upper Canada/Canada West, Volume 1, Part 4, Niagara District, 1820-1869, compiled by Dan Walker and Fawne Stratford-Devai, Global Heritage Press, 2000 & 2013, page 102. This particular record appears under Holy Trinity Anglican Church, Chippawa, Register A, Marriages, 1820-1835. The entry of interest reads as follows: William Stringer to Helen Burns, both of Crowland, 19 Mar 1822, by banns. If this is indeed William and Eleanor and the no doubt handwritten entries have been transcribed correctly, then since daughter Deborah was not born until 1829 it seems likely that there were children born prior to Deborah. That this particular William and Helen were indeed married in 1822 receives further support which is to be found in OGS publication C011. This was published by the Niagara Branch of the Ontario Genealogical Society under the title Holy Trinity Church Register A 1820-1837, Baptisms, Marriages, Burials, Niagara Falls, Stamford Township, Welland County. An associated map makes it clear that the location was at Chippawa. The village is on both sides of Chippawa Creek which places it in part in Stamford Township and in part in Willoughby Township. The transcription for this effort was performed by Donna Campbell and this shows the same date information. The one piece of information to be added is that the marriage was performed by William Leeming of Chippawa. That the Stringers were married in an Anglican church does not necessarily mean that at the time they were Anglicans. The Anglican and Roman Catholic churches were the official churches of the day and marriages were legally required for at least a time to be held in these churches. (There were circumstances that allowed for marriages to be performed by justices of the peace.) No Stringer baptisms are listed in the record as presented in the OGS publication and while hardly a solid inference, this would seem to at least mitigate against the couple being Anglican. As an added note, these same pages record the marriages of John Stringer and Euphemia Dawdy, both of Pelham, in Stamford on 11 March, 1823, by Rev. Leeming, and Aaron Stringer and Mary Hunt, abodes not given, who were married in Pelham on March 15, 1831, again by Rev. Leeming. It is possible that John and Aaron were William Stringer's brothers, but evidence supporting this has yet to be found. |
| Note | The 1851 census in Woodhouse Township, Norfolk County, shows William and Eleanor Stringer as Methodists. Just precisely what branch of Methodism they were at the time is difficult to say. It may be that they were Episcopal Methodists at the time of the 1861 census, though the page entries are vague on this point. None of which would matter to any degree except for the problem presented by the Wesleyan Methodist baptism record for their (so far as is known) first three children: Deborah, Robert, and William. Ida Reed has done great work transcribing these baptisms and her efforts are to be found on the web pages of Bill Martin of Thunder Bay. Here is the problem as presented in these pages: Deborah's baptism entry appears in Volume 1, page 194, District - Niagara, Township - Willoughby, residence and birthplace Willoughby, date of birth 1829-10-26, date of baptism 1851-11-16 at Willoughby, by Rev. J. Baxter. Son Robert's baptism entry appears in Vol. 1, page 213, Dist. Niagara, Township Pelham, residence and place of birth Pelham, date of birth 1832-05-05, place of baptism Walpole 1851-11-16, by Rev. J. Baxter. Son William's baptism entry appears in Vol. 1, page 141, District Talbot/London, township Woodhouse, residence and birthplace Woodhouse, date of birth 1834-08-08, date and place of baptism 1851-11-16 Walpole (Haldimand County). The family may well have moved around in the years prior to the 1851 census, and an 1851 adult baptism for the first three children, while unlikely all on the same day, isn't out of the question. That the baptisms were conducted on the same day in 1851 in Willoughby and Walpole just isn't reasonable. The baptism date of November 16, 1851, for all three children, at a guess, represents a very late entry, either on the part of Rev. Baxter, or perhaps his successor. The dates of birth as shown for the three children are at least reasonable based on approximations to be found in the 1851 census and so are shown as presented in the baptism records. The places of birth as shown for Deborah and Robert do receive some support that is to be found in the book Men of Upper Canada, Militia Nominal Rolls, 1828-1829, Elliott, Walker, and Stratford-Devai, Toronto Genealogical Society, 1995. Page 133 shows a William 'Stringner' in the 2nd Regiment of Lincoln Militia. The authors state that correspondence found suggests that the regiment's roster had to do with residents of Stamford, Thorold, and Pelham. Page 138 shows a William Stringer in the 3rd Lincoln Militia, the members of which were drawn from Bertie, Crowland, Humberstone, Wainfleet, and Willoughby. Unlikely as it seems that the two entries represent the same person, it isn't out of the question. Apparently when these sedentary militias turned out once a year for drill the roster records seem to show family-related members arriving in a group. Only occasionally are the records presented alphabetically. Neither regiment's record for William Stringner or William Stringer is presented alphabetically, but neither is there anything in the record to show that they have a connection with anyone whose name is listed immediately before or after theirs. A certain marriage record for William and Eleanor, betimes shown as Ellen in other documentation, has not been found. See, however, probable information under marriage notes. |
Children of William Stringer and Eleanor Burns |
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| Last Edited | 28 Nov 2017 |