The Week 48, 52 Ancestors in 52 Weeks Challenge, is Next to Last. Suggestions for this theme were the next to last ancestor you found or the next to last ancestor on a printout of your ancestors. I chose to do next to last child.
Week 48 – Next to Last
Aaron Walker was my third great grandfather, born in Willenhall, Staffordshire on 12 May 1867 to Henney and Jonah.1 For years I believed him to be the youngest child as Henney had died just prior to the 1871 Census and he was the last child I had recorded. However, between the 1861 and 1871 Census the following events occurred:
1861 Census – Henney and Jonah were married and had two children, Sarah and George.2
1871 Census – Jonah was a widow and had two children, Catherine and Aaron.3
To date, I have not been able to find out what happened to Sarah and George, who would have been 13 and 11 years respectively in 1871. They have common forenames coupled with the surname of Walker it has been difficult to narrow down. In searching for death (or other records for them) I came across Anna Maria who was born in 1865 and died in 1866.4,5
13 March 1871 – Henney died of unknown cause.6
However, a break in the case came when I finally established Henney’s maiden surname was Foster. I searched for her parents in the Census records and found them on the 1871 one. Living with them was a granddaughter, Harriet Walker who, after further searches, I found was baptised on 27 February 1870, her parents were Jonah and Henney.7,8 I would assume that Jonah was struggling to raise three children and Henney’s parents took the baby. It would have been hard in those days, a single father, with an 8 year old, 3 year old, and a baby.
This makes Aaron second to last not the youngest I had always thought.
Who is next to last in your family? Did you find someone, as I did, who you thought was the youngest but they weren’t? Leave a comment below.
Bibliography
- 1. Birth Certificate of Aaron Walker, Born 18 April 1867, General Register Office, 89/1867.
- 2. Findmypast, Census Record for Jonah, Henney, Sarah, George Walker, ‘1861 Census England, Wales & Scotland, Bow Street, Willenhall, Wolverhampton, Staffordshire’, Accessed 15 March 2015.2
- 3. Findmypast, Census Record for Jonah, Catharine, Aaron Walker, ‘1871 Census England, Wales & Scotland, Bilston Street, Willenhall, Wolverhampton, Staffordshire’, Accessed 7 March 2015.
- 4. Findmypast, Baptism of Anne Maria Walker, baptised 26 February 1865, St Stephen, Willenhall, ‘Staffordshire Baptisms’, Accessed 7 March 2015.
- 5. Death Index, ‘Ann M Walker’, England & Wales Deaths 1837-2007, 1866 June Quarter, Vol.6B, P.382, Wolverhampton.
- 6. Death Certificate of Henney Walker (nee Foster), Died 13 March 1871, General Register Office, 101/1871.
- 7. Findmypast, Census Record for Sarah, Charles, Aaron, Elizabeth Foster and Harriet Walker, ‘1871 Census England, Wales & Scotland, Froysell Street, Willenhall, Wolverhampton, Staffordshire’, Accessed 15 March 2015.
- 8. Findmypast, Baptism of Harriet Walker, baptised 27 February 1870, St Giles, Willenhall, ‘Staffordshire Baptisms’, Accessed 25 April 2016.
