Find Ancestors

I have my great great grandparents marriage certificate and have been able to trace my G.G Grandmother from it, however i seem to have hit a huge brick wall when it comes to my G.G Grandfather.

Edited to add: William died sometime between 1906 (daughter's birth) and 1924 (daughter's marriage.)

The information i have from certificate is:
William Riley (25 years) Dock Labourer, married Bridget Earley (22) in Seaham, Durham.
His address is Green Street, Seaham Harbour.
William's father is given as Henry Riley, Coal Miner (Deceased.)
The witnesses are John Riley and Mary Higgens.

I know nothing more about this family. My great grandmother (William and Bridget's daughter) used to tell her children that she was bought up in an orphanage in Ireland, but it seems that this was very unlikely, as i have traced her mothers birth and her birth to Sunderland.

Thanks for any assistance you may be able to offer.

Marriage was 1902 in Seaham, Durham (Sorry, forgot to add that in post!)

what year was the marriage
william was 25 in which year?

When did they marry?

Could this be william & family.

1891

Name: William Riley
Age: 15
Estimated Birth Year: abt 1876
Relation: Son
Father's Name: Henry
Mother's Name: May
Gender: Male
Where born: Sunderland, Durham, England

Civil Parish: Harton
Ecclesiastical parish: St. Simon
Town: Harton
County/Island: Durham
Country: England

Street address:

Occupation:

Condition as to marriage:

Education:

Employment status:

View Image

Registration district: South Shields
Sub registration district: Westoe
ED, institution, or vessel: 52b
Neighbors: View others on page
Household Members:
Name Age
Henry Riley 40 ireland (coal miner)
May Riley 35 ireland
William Riley 15
Thomas Riley 13
Henry Riley 17
John Riley 7
David Riley 5
James Riley 3
Mary Riley 4/12

Oops, Sorry! Marriage was in 1902 in Seaham, Durham.

jjl ~ Thanks for you input. I suspect that the family did originally come from Ireland (I have traced the Earley family back to there.), but apparently Great Grandma had a habit of exagerating stories!

Richard ~ Thanks, that does look like a possibilty. And interesting that his wife was from Ireland too.

There are two baptisms in Easington District ( which Seaham comes under) to a William and Bridget Riley and they are William 1902 and Mary 1904

1901 Seaham ............but where's William ????
Mary Riley 49
Henry Riley 27
Thomas Riley 22
John Riley 17
David Riley 15
James Riley 13
Mary Riley 10
Jane Riley 7

Thanks Seaham Lass, those are pretty likely to be my great grandmothers siblings.
She was Annie Riley, born 1906 in Sunderland.

Where did you find those? I am awaiting the 1911 census to find out her siblings names at the moment, since there are far too many Riley Births for me to wade through any other way.

death.
William Riley c1877 died 1909 Sunderland dec qt gro ref 10a 390

Quinsgran ~ Thanks, that death certainly seems like a good posibility.

Seaham Lass ~ Cross posted last time. That does seem like them in 1901...
The last two daughters being born in South Shields also make this death a possibilty for Henry:
Henry Riley (45 years) M.1894 South Shields.

They come from "durhamrecordsonline" which is a pay per view site BUT... you can play around on the site without spending anything ........until you really want to know the specifics.

If you put on the search form just these details........
Surname : Riley..........
Fathers name in Parish records ...............William
Mothers name in Parish records................Bridget
Press Search and it will bring up the names of children baptised to William and Bridget Riley

If you decide to spend any money for the records then baptisms will almost always give you the name of the father and mother but NOT her maiden name (unless it's a really old parish record)

Buy a marriage record then you will get the date, the church, bride, groom and the name of both of their fathers (if you're lucky you'll get an occupation)

Fortunately, as my family finally settled in the Easington / Seaham District this site has saved me a fortune in buying certificates, especially marriage certificates as this site will give you the details for between about 96p and £1.25p, depending on how many credits you want to buy.
Minimum purchase is (about £5 for 4 credits)
(Sounds like I'm plugging the site but honestly - I don't work for them - but heavens - I've spent a small fortune on the site but have saved a bundle too)
Also, if you buy a record then it's sent straight to your email address - no waiting for the postman !!!

Thanks, id found that site before while looking into another line of my tree (where i followed a completely incorrect line thanks to a family story of someone we were related to!) but had completely forgotten about it. I have a lot of (genuine) family members from the Durham area so it will no doubt prove very useful.

A shame it isnt free like Cornwall Parish records, but it does seem quite reasonably priced.

I''ll leave you to work this one out........?????
This will be free.....makes a nice change !!
If you do to "durhamrecordsonline" and put on the search form
Baptisms (from the drop down list)
Surname ; Riley
Name of father in parish records : Henry
name of Mother in parish records : Mary
Press search and up pop..............
David 1885
James 1887
Michael 1889
Thomas 1875
WILLIAM 1877
Seems to be a close match ( sort of) with the 1891 census

Others appear and they are....
Margaret 1896
Norah 1899
Nora 1900
William Edward 1903
BUT it's possible that Henry Riley (jr) married a lady called Mary too and these are their children.
Confused..............me too !!!!

I can' t find (on Ancestry) the William REILLY that the afore mentioned website lists as appearing on the 1881 census and his birth place is County Durham in 1879......nothing on the LDS site either....just thought that this might have been worth taking a look at

There is a marriage of a Henry Riley to either Mary Ann Armstrong or Mary Isabella Wilkinson in S.1896, Easington.
My Henry is still listed as Single and living with his mother on the 1901 census, so i dont think it is him that married.

Michael Riley (1889) doesnt appear on census with my family, but i have found an 1889 death of a Michael (age 0) in Houghton le spring, which isnt that far away.

Intersting that you mention the 1881 because i believe i have found the family, with some odd places of birth for Mary and Henry and also missing William...certianly something to look in to.
(1881 to follow in next post)

Thanks

Possibly 1881:
Name: Mary Riley
Age: 28
Estimated Birth Year: abt 1853
Relation: Wife
Spouse's Name: Henry
Gender: Female
Where born: Lancashire, England
Civil Parish: Seaham
County/Island: Durham
Country: England
Street address: 32 Henry St
Registration district: Easington
Sub registration district: Easington

Henry Riley 30
Mary Riley 28
Catherine Riley 9
Henry Riley 7
Thomas Riley 2

~Mary and William's places of birth are not as expected, but the ages and children (minus William and plus a Catherine) are as in 1891?

~I have found a burial of a Catherine Riley in 1882 in Easington, so possibly she died?




I wonder if this could be my William in 1881:
Name: William Riley
Age: 4
Estimated Birth Year: abt 1877
Relation: Visitor
Gender: Male
Where born: Hetton, Durham, England
Civil Parish: Monkwearmouth
County/Island: Durham
Street address: 2 North St
Occupation: Miners Son
Registration district: Sunderland

Daniel Cawfield 35
Mary Cawfield 28
William Riley 4
John Cagen 37
James Judge 31

Gemma
. www.durham.gov.uk is also very good it gives the names of spouse not just possibles.

For instance the Henry Riley marriage in 1896. Spouse is Mary I Wilkinson. Free to search

Possible marriage.......
Henry Riley to Mary Burke, 1870, East Durham
Durhamrecordsonline also have a record of a marriage for Henry Riley to a lady called Mary in 1870, Seaton Colliery, Seaham.

Quinsgran ~ Thanks for the link. I must be missing the obvious though as i cannot see where you got that information from on that site!

Seaham Lass ~ Thanks, i think it may be worth me getting hold of a copy of that marriage record. I had assumed i would be looking for a marriage in Ireland so hadnt even thought to look for one in Durham....that will teach me not to make assumptions!