William Church
ID # 771, (1829-1903)
| Father | William Church (1805-) |
| Mother | Clementine Sheldrake (1801-1885) |
| Birth | William Church was born in 1829. |
| Baptism | He was baptized on 23 February 1835 at Kenton, Suffolk. |
| Marriage | He married Sarah Davey, daughter of Thomas Davey and Harriet Smith, on 17 September 1848 at Kenton. On their marriage registration in England, Application number W148610, they were married, by banns, in the Church at Kenton. William was 19 and Sarah 'full age'. He was a labourer and she a servant. His residence at the time of marriage was Ashfield and hers was Kenton. Their fathers are named on the marriage registration and both were labourers. They were married by Henry B. Pickering, Curate. The witnesses were Samuel Church and Harriet Backham, or possibly Rackham. |
| Death | He died on 25 April 1903. |
| Burial | He was buried at McKillop Cemetery, Dunwich Twp., Elgin County. |
| Note | The birth year of William Church is shown here as 1829. This is a guess. It works fairly well with his age as given on his marriage registration. The 1901 census shows his birth year as 1828. As to his baptism year, 1835, this is the year as provided in an index by Familysearch.org. The information presented here is that his parents are William Church and Clementine Sheldrake, so we have him in the correct family. Given that young William's siblings were probably baptized in infancy (not certain), then William's baptism date as shown in 1835 may be a mistranscription of the image. When this is made available we may be able to make another interpretation. The 1901 census says that the family came to Canada in 1856. The death dates for William, and children, Amelia, William and Louisa, are taken from gravestone transcriptions at McKillop Cemetery, Dunwich Township, Elgin County. It seems reasonable that George Coleman met Harriet Church when the Churches lived in Ancaster Township, though, from their marriage registration, it is evident that she was living in one of the Flamboros. William and Sarah were present in Ancaster in the 1871 census. Later, they went to Dunwich Township in Elgin County. The 1871 census adds a name, Emma, and amends a couple of others. So far as can be determined, William, as he so appears in the 1881 census, is Thomas W. in the 1871 census. Amelia, as she appears in the 1881 census, is Lisa E. in the 1871 census. The rest of the childrens' names make sense. The handwriting on the 1871 Ancaster page isn't completely legible and the eldest listed, Emma, age 18, is an interpretation. There is room for error here. Amelia in the 1881 census is likely the Lisa E. that appears in the 1871 census. The age given would be about right. The family has not been found in the 1861 Ancaster census. County directories for Wentworth, 1867-68 and 1868-69, have been checked. Farmers in Ancaster Township are listed, but the name Church isn't mentioned. Further research lends to the view that some records have the ages of Church children mixed up. The 1901 census for birthdates has been used wherever possible and whenever logic is not done too much violence. Some notes for William Church and his parents. William, age 11, appears in the 1841 census at Kenton, Suffolk, with his parents William Church, age 36, and Clementine Church, age 40. This page is badly creased, faded and toned and illegible on some points. It is possible to see that William Sr. and Clementine have with them a daughter Sarah age 12, and son William age 11, who we take to be William the husband of Sarah Davey. Page tabulation suggests that they also list two more sons, ages 8 and 5, and it is possible that a child is listed on the next page. These names are quite unreadable, however. We are able to deduce a son George for William and Sarah. He was present in Kenton with the family and his marriage registration in 1872 in Canada makes it clear that he was a son of William and Sarah. Also in Kenton is a John Church, age 55, who could be any relationship at all to William Sr., but seems likely to be an older brother. The logic to support this is that there also in Kenton a John Church, age 80, apparently living with no family members. He is likely the father of John, age 55, and possibly the father of William, age 40. This remains to be confirmed. It is now evident that a James Church, from Kenton, came out the same year as George Church, 1856. This information is from the 1901 census. James Church remained in Flamboro. He also had a son George. They all came from Kenton and no doubt they were family members. Add to this, a Mary Church of Kenton married a William Bannister, also born Kenton, and the story is that they came to Canada around 1836. This places them in Canada prior to available English census information. It seems likely that Mary was a sister of James Church and either a sister or aunt of William Church, husband of Sarah Davey. This remains to be sorted out. Note: William Church and his wife Sarah were in Galt as of the 1901 census. Sarah died in Galt in 1907. A death registration for William has not been found. We take his date of death from his gravestone in McKillop Cemetery in Dunwich Township of Elgin County, but his place of death is unknown. He may well have died in Galt. |
Children of William Church and Sarah Davey |
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| Last Edited | 10 May 2021 |