LILLEY OF DUDLEY AND KINGTON

 

John Lilley of Kington, Herefordshire, was born at Dudley in Worcestershire. His monumental inscription at Kington, showing his death in 1863, states that he was “Upwards of 50 years in the employment of MESSRS MEREDITH Ironmongers of this Town”, which indicates that John moved to the Kington area no later than 1813.

 

Whilst various records showed that John Lilley (d 1863), nailer, husband of Sarah, had three children born at Kington (John about 1821, Joseph on 25 January 1823, and Eliza about 1824), no record could be found of the baptisms of these children under the name Lilley or a variant. However, they are in fact recorded in the Kington parish registers under the surname Woodward. John, son of John Woodward, nailer, and Sarah his wife, was baptised on 12 July 1820; Joseph, son of John Woodward, nailer, and Sarah, was baptised on 16 February 1823;[1] and Eliza, daughter of John Woodward, nailer, and Sarah, was baptised on 5 September 1824. There does not seem to be any trace of these individuals in the census returns under the name Woodward, and given the excellent fit of the details, there seems little room for doubt that they are the same people.

 

The reason for the use of different surnames is not clear but a factor may be the birth of Henry, illegitimate son of John Woodward and Jane Phillips, who was baptised at Kington on 16 April 1820.[2] In any case, the name is suggestive of a connection with Thomas Lilley and Mary Woodward who were married at Dudley in 1765.[3] Indeed, a John, son of Thomas and Mary Lilley, was baptised at St Thomas, Dudley, on 14 November 1779, and this would seem to be the baptism of the John Lilley who later lived at Kington.[4] There was also a John Lilly, son of John and Susanna, baptised at Dudley on 5 October 1777,[5] but the parish registers show the burial of John, son of John and Susanna Lilley, on 28 April 1779.[6]

 

The marriage of John Lilley and Sarah Turner at Kingswinford on 5 January 1802 was witnessed by a Matthew Lilley, evidently the one of that name baptised at Dudley in 1767, son of Thomas and Mary and brother of John (1779-1863), so it appears that the marriage relates to the same John.[7] There is some support from DNA test results that Sarah Turner was the mother of both Thomas Lilley of Kington (b ca 1803) and Eliza (Lilley) Harrison (bap 1824). As mentioned below, Derek Vincent Davies, a descendant of George and Eliza (Lilley) Harrison, has a 29 cM DNA match with a descendant of Thomas Lilley. Derek and the descendant of Thomas Lilley have a match in common (size 21 cM with Derek) who has no traced Lilley ancestry but who descends from Sylvia Turner, baptised at Dudley in 1807, daughter of Thomas and Mary (Oakley) Turner.

 

The known details of the family of John and Sarah (Turner) Lilley between their marriage in 1802 and the baptism of their son John at Kington in 1820 are somewhat fragmentary. They may have been the parents of John Lilley, baptised in 1804 at Dudley and buried the next year, and also of Mary Lilley, buried at Dudley in 1810. However, a John Lilley and Sarah Sparry were married in 1796 at Kingswinford and it is not certain whether this was an earlier marriage of the same John or whether the bridegroom was a different man.

 

One son of John and Sarah (Turner) Lilley seems to have been Thomas Lilley of Kington. It appears from the 1871 census returns that Thomas was born about 1803 on Porters Field, Dudley.[8] The migration from Dudley to Kington along with Thomas’s age make it likely that he was an older son of John and Sarah. The parish registers of St Thomas, Dudley, show that a Thomas, son of John and Sarah Lilley, was baptised on 25 December 1801, but Thomas son of John and Sarah Lilley was buried there on 19 September 1802. Register abstracts also show a Thomas “Tilley” baptised there on 20 February 1803, son of John and Sarah. Derek Vincent Davies, a descendant of George and Eliza (Lilley) Harrison, has a 29 cM DNA match with a descendant of Thomas Lilley of Kington, which lends support to Thomas and Eliza being closely related.

 

Edward Lilley of Ludlow, Shropshire, born about 1810, can also be placed in the family. The parish register entry for Edward’s marriage to Sarah Sanders in 1853 gives his father as John Lilley, a nailer. Census returns show that Edward was born at Dudley or, in the case of the 1861 returns, at Kington, Herefordshire. It seems clear from this combination of places that the John Lilley in question was the one who was the father of Eliza (Lilley) Harrison. Moreover, Eliza Lilley and George Harrison were married in Ludlow, so there was certainly a connection with the area.

 

Another Lilley in Kington was James Lilley who married Ann Walter there on 4 August 1825. On 24 October the same year, Ann Lilley was buried at Kington aged forty-two years, and on 31 May 1827 James Lilley, widower, married Mary Roberts. The baptism entries for two sons of James and Mary Lilley show that James was a nailer.

 

The Wesleyan registers for Hereford show the baptism on 21 June 1831 of James, son of James Lilley of All Saints, Hereford, nailer, and his wife Mary, daughter of William and Mary Walwin. In 1835, a James Lilley of All Saints, Hereford, widower, married Ann Stubbs at Kington. The 1851 census returns[9] show that James Lilley of All Saints, nailer, 57, born at Bromsgrove, Worcestershire, was married to Ann, 47, born at Kington, and had children Ann and Thomas. A James Lilley, son of James and Sarah, was baptised at Bromsgrove in 1794.

 

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LILLEY

 

1        THOMAS LILLEY of Dudley, Worcestershire, was born ca 1742 and buried on 23 May 1819 at St Thomas, Dudley.[10] He married on 15 December 1765 at St Thomas, Dudley, MARY WOODWARD,[11] who was born ca 1745 and buried on 8 January 1832 at St Thomas, Dudley.[12]

 

             Children of Thomas and Mary (Woodward) Lilley:

                  i       MATTHEW LILLEY of Dudley, nailer, bap 15 Mar 1767, St Thomas, Dudley,[13] bur 21 Jul 1832, St Thomas, Dudley;[14] m 23 Sep 1821, St Martin, Birmingham, MARY (MARSH) CARTWRIGHT.[15]

                  ii      THOMAS LILLEY, bap 5 Mar 1769, St Thomas, Dudley.[16]

                  iii     SARAH LILLEY, bap 3 Dec 1771, St Thomas, Dudley.[17]

                  iv    BETTY LILLEY, bap 11 Dec 1776, St Thomas, Dudley;[18] m 4 Feb 1798, Kingswinford, JOSEPH WESTWOOD.[19]

             2   v     JOHN LILLEY alias WOODWARD (1779-1863); m SARAH TURNER.

                  vi    JOSEPH LILLEY, b 9 Aug 1783, bap 26 Dec 1788, St Thomas, Dudley.[20]

                  vii   JAMES LILLEY, bap 26 Dec 1788, St Thomas, Dudley,[21] bur 11 Nov 1792, St Thomas, Dudley.[22]

 

2        JOHN LILLEY, alias WOODWARD, of Kington, Herefordshire, nailer, was born at Dudley,[23] baptised on 14 November 1779 at St Thomas, Dudley[24] and died on 6 December 1863 at Kington.[25] He married on 5 January 1802 at Kingswinford, SARAH TURNER,[26] who was born ca 1783 at Dudley[27] and died on 25 October 1855 at Kington.[28]

 

             Children of John and Sarah (Turner) Lilley alias Woodward:[29]

                  i       THOMAS LILLEY of Kington, whitesmith, b ca 1803, Dudley,[30] d 3 Aug 1877, Kington;[31] m 31 Dec 1829, Presteigne, MARY EVANS.[32]

                  ii      EDWARD LILLEY of Ludlow, nailer, b ca 1810,[33] bur 20 Jul 1884, Ludlow;[34] m(1) SOPHIA;[35] m(2) 29 Dec 1853, Ludlow, SARAH SANDERS.[36]

                  iii    JOHN LILLEY of Kington, nailer, b Kington, bap 12 Jul 1820, Kington,[37] bur 16 Jun 1883, Kington.[38]

                  iv    JAMES WOODWARD, bap 13 Jul 1821, Kington,[39] bur 8 Feb 1822, Kington.[40]

                  v     MARY WOODWARD, bap 13 Jul 1821, Kington,[41] bur 12 Aug 1821, Kington.[42]

                  vi    JOSEPH LILLEY of Kington, nailer, b 25 Jan 1823, Kington,[43] d 21 Mar 1904.[44]

          vii   ELIZA LILLEY, b Kington, bap 5 Sep 1824, Kington,[45] d 26 Feb 1891, Kington;[46] m 11 Nov 1841, Ludlow, GEORGE HARRISON[47] (see here).

 

     Illegitimate child of John Lilley alias Woodward and Jane Phillips:

          i       HENRY PHILLIPS of Beaufort, Breconshire, stone mason, b Kington, bap 16 Apr 1820, Kington,[48] d 1911;[49] m(1) 10 Jun 1847, Tredegar, SARAH ANN RICHARDS;[50] m(2) 26 Apr 1853, Aberystruth, ELIZA SCRINE.[51]



[1] In the case of Joseph Lilley, we have his exact date of birth as given on his monumental inscription (25 Jan 1823). There were only two Josephs recorded as baptised in 1823 in the Kington parish registers. One was Joseph, son of John and Sarah Woodward, on 16 Feb 1823, and the other was Joseph, son of Joseph and Mary Parton, on 1 Aug 1823.

[2] Kington parish registers (Society of Genealogists, Mf 2134).

[3] St Thomas, Dudley, parish registers (Society of Genealogists, Mf 2797).

[4] St Thomas, Dudley, parish registers (Society of Genealogists, Mf 2798).

[5] St Thomas, Dudley, parish registers (Society of Genealogists, Mf 2798).

[6] St Thomas, Dudley, parish registers (Society of Genealogists, Mf 2797). A submitted entry in the IGI shows the baptism of a John Lilley, son of John and Susanna, at Dudley on 28 Apr 1779. However, the St Thomas parish registers have no baptism entries for 28 Apr 1779 and this appears to be an error for the burial on that date.

[7] The other witness was Elizabeth Westwood, probably the Elizabeth Lilley who married Joseph Westwood at Kingswinford in 1798 and apparently another sibling of John and Matthew. No other Matthew Lilley has been found who could plausibly be the witness in 1802. The name Matthew may have come from the Woodward family as a Matthew Woodward, widower, married Catharine Fullwood, widow, at Dudley in 1770.

[8] 1871 census returns, Kington (National Archives, RG 10/2722, fol. 74).

[9] 1851 census returns, Hereford (National Archives, HO 107/1978, fol. 67).

[10] St Thomas, Dudley, bishop’s transcripts (online at www.ancestry.com). He may be the Thomas Lilley baptised on 21 Nov 1742 at St Thomas, Dudley, son of Thomas and Joan. However, there was also a Thomas Lilley baptised at Rowley Regis on 1 Feb 1740/41, son of Thomas and Esther. A Thomas Lilley married Sarah Bloomer at Halesowen on 17 Jun 1764.

[11] St Thomas, Dudley, parish registers (Society of Genealogists, Mf 2797). There was a Mary Woodward baptised at Halesowen on 15 Jun 1746, daughter of Thomas and Sarah. The Aston bishop’s transcripts show the marriage of “Thos Woodart & Sarah Harvey of Handsworth” on 24 Nov 1745. Also, a Thomas Woodard and Sarah Greves were married at King’s Norton in 1724.

[12] St Thomas, Dudley, bishop’s transcripts (online at www.ancestry.com).

[13] St Thomas, Dudley, bishop’s transcripts (online at www.ancestry.com).

[14] St Thomas, Dudley, bishop’s transcripts (online at www.ancestry.com).

[15] St Martin, Birmingham, parish registers (online at www.ancestry.com). This identification would make Matthew around 54 years old at the marriage but I have not been able to find another individual of the same name who is likely to be the one married in 1821. Matthew and Mary had children baptised at Dudley between 1822 and 1831, and then in 1832 is recorded the burial of Matthew Lilley, aged 65. Mary was recorded as a widow at the marriage in 1821. The 1841 census returns for Dudley (National Archives, HO 107/1196/5, fols. 12-13) show her family living with Edward Marsh (aged 79), Rebecca Cartwright (aged 20) and Joseph Cartwright (aged 1), helping to identify her as the Mary Marsh who married Joseph Cartwright at Kingswinford in 1810.

[16] St Thomas, Dudley, parish register abstracts (www.freereg.org.uk/search_records/600ef28ff493fd7762e8882b).

[17] St Thomas, Dudley, parish register abstracts (www.freereg.org.uk/search_records/600ef404f493fd7762e898cb). She was perhaps the Sarah Lilley who married Isaac Granger at Kingswinford on 13 Jan 1799, although there was more than one Sarah Lilley of similar age in the area. Derek Vincent Davies, a descendant of Eliza (Lilley) Harrison, has a 14 cM DNA match with a descendant of Sarah (Lilley) Granger.

[18] St Thomas, Dudley, parish register abstracts (www.freereg.org.uk/search_records/600ef58cf493fd7762e8a9f4).

[19] Kingswinford parish register abstracts (www.freereg.org.uk/search_records/5ff4fd9df493fda0cd7c7eef).

[20] St Thomas, Dudley, parish register abstracts (www.freereg.org.uk/search_records/600f65d9f493fd5130aff231).

[21] St Thomas, Dudley, parish register abstracts (www.freereg.org.uk/search_records/600f65d9f493fd5130aff221).

[22] St Thomas, Dudley, bishop’s transcripts (online at www.ancestry.com).

[23] 1851 census returns, Kington (National Archives, HO 107/2492, fol. 290).

[24] St Thomas, Dudley, parish registers (Society of Genealogists, Mf 2798).

[25] Death certificate.

[26] Kingswinford parish register abstracts (www.freereg.org.uk/search_records/5ff4fdf4f493fda0cd7c8a13). The marriage of William Turner and Mary Waile at Kingswinford on 20 Aug 1809 was witnessed by Sarah Lilley, which may be a clue to Sarah (Turner) Lilley’s ancestry.

[27] 1851 census returns, Kington (National Archives, HO 107/2492, fol. 290).

[28] Death certificate. Her monumental inscription at Kington states that she died on 2 Oct 1855, but the Kington parish registers show her burial on 28 Oct, so the date on the inscription appears to be an error.

[29] For John, Joseph and Eliza, see also the 1851 census returns for Kington (National Archives, HO 107/2492, fol. 290), and the marriage certificate of George Harrison and Eliza Lilley. In the 1841 census returns (National Archives, HO 107/423/5, fol. 24), Eliza Lilley and George Harrison were living in the same household as John and Sarah Lilley and the brothers John and Joseph Lilley.

[30] 1871 census returns, Kington (National Archives, RG 10/2722, fol. 74).

[31] Death certificate.

[32] Radnorshire Marriages, 1813-1838 (online at www.ancestry.com).

[33] 1861 census returns, Ludlow (National Archives, RG 9/1835, fol. 91). He may have been the Edward, son of Sarah Lilley, who was baptised on 31 Jul 1810 at St Thomas, Dudley. The father is not named in the abstract of the entry (www.freereg.org.uk/search_records/5817c3d5e93790eca3d59579), but the date is the same on which Mary, daughter of John and Sarah Lilley, was buried (www.freereg.org.uk/search_records/5818c03ee93790de6a0506b5).

[34] Ludlow parish registers (online at www.findmypast.co.uk).

[35] Death certificate of Sophia Lilley (d 23 Dec 1850, Ludlow).

[36] Ludlow parish registers (online at www.findmypast.co.uk).

[37] Kington parish registers (Society of Genealogists, Mf 2134); 1851 census returns, Kington (National Archives, HO 107/2492, fol. 290).

[38] Kington Cemetery burial register (searched on my behalf by Dianne Foster of Gwystre, Powys).

[39] Kington parish registers (Society of Genealogists, Mf 2134).

[40] Kington parish registers (Society of Genealogists, Mf 2078).

[41] Kington parish registers (Society of Genealogists, Mf 2134).

[42] Kington parish registers (Society of Genealogists, Mf 2078).

[43] Monumental inscription at Kington Cemetery; 1851 census returns, Kington (National Archives, HO 107/2492, fol. 290).

[44] Monumental inscription at Kington Cemetery. His will was dated 18 Mar 1904 and proved on 15 Apr 1904.

[45] Kington parish registers (Society of Genealogists, Mf 2134); 1851 census returns (National Archives, HO 107/2492, fol. 291).

[46] Death certificate.

[47] Marriage certificate.

[48] Kington parish registers (Society of Genealogists, Mf 2134); 1851 census returns, Beaufort (National Archives, HO 107/2490, fol. 119).

[49] Civil registration indexes; 1911 census returns, Cwmcarn (National Archives, RG 14/32043).

[50] Tredegar parish registers (online at www.findmypast.co.uk).

[51] Aberystruth parish registers (online at www.findmypast.co.uk).