William Johnson (bef. 1823)

Born before 24 Jan 1823 in Parwich, Derbyshire, England

Ancestors

Husband of Ellen (Beresford) Johnson — married 21 Apr 1849 in St Peter's, Parwich, Derbyshire

Descendants

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Biography

William Johnson was christened on January 24th 1823 at Parwich. He was the eldest child of Joseph and Barbara Johnson. His father was an agricultural labourer.

William was living with his parents in 1841.

William married Ellen Beresford on April 21st 1849 at Parwich. She was the daughter of William Brindley; she had a two-year-old illegitimate daughter, Sarah Ellen.

Sarah Ellen was living with them in Parwich in 1851, aged four. William was working as an agricultural labourer.

By 1861, they were living with William's parents, and William was farming a 7-acre farm, probably belonging to his father. They had four more children - William (aged 8), Sarah E (aged 6), Joseph (4) and Samuel (1). However the supposedly 6-year-old Sarah E Johnson is very likely actually the 14-year-old Sarah Ellen Beresford and the enumerator has misunderstood about her age.

William's father died in 1864, and his mother in 1867.

By 1871, William and Ellen were still living in Parwich, and William was still a farmer, so had probably inherited some or all of the land from his father. There were two sons - Samuel (11) and John (7).

By 1881, they seem to have separated - Ellen had moved to the city and was lodging with her daughter Sarah Ellen (Beresford) Dutton in Wolstanton, Stoke on Trent, as was her son Samuel. William was still in Parwich, with John (aged 17 now). There was a housekeeper, 47-year-old Jane Bent from "on the Mersey" to cook and clean for them. She was a widow, and there's no way to tell from the record whether their relationship was strictly a business one or they were also lovers.

By 1891, William was still farming in Parwich; his farm's name was given as Ballidor Moor. Ballidon Moor Farm dates back to the 18th century according to its current owners, and they run a campground there, so photos can be viewed.^[1] William was 69, and had a widowed housekeeper Jane aged 65, but her surname is given as Boyl. Despite the discrepancy in surname and age, which may be due to transcription errors, I suspect this is the same housekeeper he had 10 years previously - her birthplace is described as "on ship board" which is very compatible with the "on the Mersey" of the 1881 housekeeper.

It's not clear what happened to William after 1891. There wasn't a good match for him in the later censuses, he wasn't living with his son John, and there's no death registration matching his age in Ashbourne district between 1891 and 1901, though there was a death registration for a 45-year-old William Johnson there in 1900.

Sources

1. ↑ https://www.ballidonmoorfarm.co.uk/

• Baptism "England, Derbyshire, Church of England Parish Registers, 1537-1918," database with images, FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:QGK8-TWMN : 16 January 2018), William Johnson, 24 Jan 1823; citing 24 Jan 1823; citing Christening, Parwich, Derbyshire, England, United Kingdom, Derbyshire Record Office, England.

• Marriage "England Marriages, 1538–1973 ," database, FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:NVWN-9TF : 10 February 2018), William Johnson and Ellen Beresford, 21 Apr 1849; citing Parwich,Derby,England, reference , index based upon data collected by the Genealogical Society of Utah, Salt Lake City; FHL microfilm 1,041,107.

• "England and Wales Census, 1841," database with images, FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:M73M-ZXL : 13 December 2017), William Johnson in household of Joseph Johnson, Parwich, Derbyshire, England; from "1841 England, Scotland and Wales census," database and images, findmypast (http://www.findmypast.com : n.d.); citing PRO HO 107, The National Archives, Kew, Surrey.

• "England and Wales Census, 1851," database with images, FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:SGD4-3H1 : 21 October 2017), Ellen Johnson in household of William Johnson, Parwich, Derbyshire, England; citing Parwich, Derbyshire, England, p. 8, from "1851 England, Scotland and Wales census," database and images, findmypast (http://www.findmypast.com : n.d.); citing PRO HO 107, The National Archives of the UK, Kew, Surrey.

• "England and Wales Census, 1861," database with images, FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:M7F8-CFD : 9 December 2017), Joseph Johnson, Parwich, Derbyshire, England; from "1861 England, Scotland and Wales census," database and images, findmypast (http://www.findmypast.com : n.d.); citing PRO RG 9, The National Archives, Kew, Surrey.

• "England and Wales Census, 1861," database with images, FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:M7F8-CFJ : 9 December 2017), Ellen Johnson in household of William Johnson, Parwich, Derbyshire, England; from "1861 England, Scotland and Wales census," database and images, findmypast (http://www.findmypast.com : n.d.); citing PRO RG 9, The National Archives, Kew, Surrey.

• "England and Wales Census, 1871", database with images, FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:VBXK-SYK : 11 December 2017), William Johnson, 1871.

• "England and Wales Census, 1881," database with images, FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:Q27K-YRJQ : 12 December 2017), William Johnson, Parwich, Derbyshire, England; from "1881 England, Scotland and Wales Census," database and images, findmypast (http://www.findmypast.com : n.d.); citing p. 8, Piece/Folio 3425/7, The National Archives, Kew, Surrey; FHL microfilm 101,774,999.

• "England and Wales Census, 1891," database with images, FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:461G-7PZ : 11 December 2017), William Johnson, Parwich, Derbyshire, England; from "1891 England, Scotland and Wales census," database and images, findmypast (http://www.findmypast.com : n.d.); citing PRO RG 12, Derbyshire county, subdistrict, The National Archives of the UK, Kew, Surrey.

The civil registration index, and the England and Wales censuses, are Crown Copyright.