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Good grief! At least he was acquitted! Many thanks for looking at the parish records - my Ancestry subscription doesn't stretch that far. I haven't asked for a look up as such with Shropshire FHS or on Rootschat, but can do so if you are pressed. Best wishes.

This may not be your Thomas Kay/Key, but you never know:-

Name: Thomas Kay
Age: 24
Estimated birth year: abt 1813
Date of Trial: 18 Mar 1837
Trial Year: 1837
Location of Trial: Shropshire, England
Sentence: Acquittal
Crime: See Image
Date of Execution or Release: See Image

Degree of Instruction: Imp. (imprisonment)
At what sessions tried or Discharged without trial: 18th March
Offense: Manslaughter
Acquittals: Not Guilty

Parish records can be searched on (familysearch.org.uk), but it is by no means complete so if you don't find what you are looking for on there, it doesn't mean it doesn't exist.
ancestry.co.uk also has some parish records but you need to have a subscription to do look ups.
Sometimes local family history groups will do look ups for you, but this changes from county to county and from town to town, and I see you have already tried that route.

Sorry but I'm not having much luck with my parish records search for this thread but I will continue looking when I have the time.
Regards
Catherine

Yes that's part of the fun isn't it? A basic question, but would you know how I can take this further? How do I get to the pre 1837 marriage records? I suppose the other option is to try and track down Thomas Keay/Key's death/imprisonment - but it won't be very certain. He might just have upped sticks I suppose!

Possible birth for the William Woolham in 1841 census?

WILLIAM WOOLLAM - International Genealogical Index
Gender: Male Christening: 13 OCT 1805 Welshampton, Shropshire, England
Father: EDWARD WOOLLAM
Mother: SARAH


these would be possible siblings:-
JOHN WOOLLAM - International Genealogical Index
Gender: Male Christening: 30 OCT 1796 Ellesmere, Shropshire, England
SARAH WOOLLAM - International Genealogical Index
Gender: Female Christening: 23 JUN 1799 Ellesmere, Shropshire, England
EDWARD WOOLLAM - International Genealogical Index
Gender: Male Christening: 03 JUL 1803 Welshampton, Shropshire, England
MARY WOOLLAM - International Genealogical Index
Gender: Female Christening: 21 FEB 1808 Welshampton, Shropshire, England
Death: 26 JUL 1810
THOMAS WOOLLAM - International Genealogical Index
Gender: Male Christening: 26 JUL 1810 Welshampton, Shropshire, England

..........maybe one of the girls married Thomas Key?


EDIT:- ....the idea about him being Mary's illegitimate son was that she fell pregnant and Thomas Key died before they could marry, but she gave him his father's name anyway, or that she was too young to marry but he recognised the child and so gave him his name, or maybe I've just got an overactive imagination?
Oh dear, you could write a book couldn't you!

Hi Catherine. Again thank you for your efforts! I may be putting too much weight on this, but if a Joseph Keay aged 2 in Wem is living close to Woolhams too, then perhaps it is more likely to be a marriage between a female Keay and a male Woolham, and both meet an untimely end???? Surely an illegitmate birth from a Woolham would have given William that surname rather than Keay? All a bit confusing! Heading off now, but will be back tomorrow Dv.

Hi Cathnl, will have another look!

1841 census doesn't give reliable dates of birth so I've been having a look at Mary Woolham in the other census records to see what she gives as her date of birth in them:-

1851:-
Name: Mary Wootham
[Mary Woolham]
Age: 30
Estimated birth year: abt 1821
Relation: Servant
Gender: Female
Where born: Welchampton, Shropshire, England

Civil parish: Tushingham
County/Island: Cheshire
Country: England

Occupation: General Servant

Registration district: Nantwich
Sub-registration district: Bunbury
ED, institution, or vessel: 15
Neighbors: View others on page
Household schedule number: 5
Household Members:
Name Age
John Large 65
Elizabeth Large 71
Robert Large 40
Henry Large 36
William Henry Large 7
George Cartwright 17
William Ellson 14
Mary Wootham 30


1861
Name: Mary Woolham
Age: 40
Estimated birth year: abt 1821
Relation: Servant
Gender: Female
Where born: Welshampton, Shropshire, England

Civil parish: Tattenhall
County/Island: Cheshire
Country: England

Occupation: Dairymaid

Registration district: Great Boughton
Sub-registration district: Tattenhall
ED, institution, or vessel: 6
Neighbors: View others on page
Household schedule number: 36
Household Members:
Name Age
Charles Rider 30
Thomas Boote 16
Thomas Brookes 14
Mary Woolham 40
Elizabeth Rawlinson 14

...........I wanted to see her age as I had a feeling that William just may have been her illegitimate son but she still gives her date of birth as 1821 which would mean that she would have been 13/14yrs. old when she gave birth. That's a bit young even for those days.
Back to the drawing board.

Hi Catherine. Sarah's father was Thomas too and also a a labourer. I think I have been able to track her family back quite a way. Mother Ruth, based around Huntington and Brockton Staffs. Some overlap too with existing Ancestry trees.
So the early years of William Keay/Key/Kay are the last questions I have on this side of the family, A part of me suspects that William just gave the same answers as Sarah re his father - so not sure what weight to put on his father details in the marriage certificate! Thank you for your continued interest and help.

Hello again!

Now that you know the maiden name of Sarah was Hill, then this would seem to be their marriage:-

Marriages Sep 1864 (>99%)
Bird Catherine Liverpool 8b 426
Giovanni John Liverpool 8b 426
xxxx Hill Sarah Liverpool 8b 426
xxxx Key William Liverpool 8b 426


If you have the cert. then who was the father of Sarah?

I promised an update and sorry for delay - GRO takes a long time to send certificates abroad!. In brief. I would still welcome advice on how to track down WIlliam;s birth and ([possible) linkage to the Woolham family. It's a bit of a challenge I'm afraid!

Thanks to GR help here, I have William in 1851 in Whitchurch and now have him in 1861 in Liverpool under William Hay - lodger. Lucy's birth certificate gave her mother as Sarah Hill. So my questions are now about his early life and the story behind the 1841 census entry.

William's marriage certificate gives his father as Thomas Key, labourer (spelling seems to have altered from Keay to Key to Kay during Williams's lifetime). Despite hunting through the census amd free BMD, I still feel no closer to knowing why William might have been boarding with the Woolhams at the age of 9. (Incidentally, it also looks as if a possible brother Joseph might have been boarding with another branch of the Woolhams). Was Thomas his father in jail or dead??

'Ive tried the Shrohpshire Family HIstory Society, but no obvious answer there. And enquires to Woolham researchers on Ancestry remain unanswered. I wondered if anyone out there could establish a family link between the Ke(e)ys and the Woolhams inyjr1830sor 40s. Apologies for a really involved question and thank you for any further help you can give.

Thanks again to you all. I've ordered Lucy's certificate (before having seen that Catherine had possibly tracked down Sarah's). So hopefully that will take me a stage further.

Here's a possible for Sarah Ann Kay:-

Births Sep 1865 (>99%)
Kaye Sarah Ann Liverpool 8b 233

Here you are ..... Lucy's birth certificate


Births Mar 1874 (>99%)

KAY Lucy Frances Liverpool 8b 214




sylvia

Catherine Thanks. Yes I think I will try again. I have had no luck in tracking down my ggrandmother's birth certificate (Sarah Ann Kay in Liverpool in ca 1866). But I can try with one of her siblings instead.!

Best regards

The best way to find the correct marriage cert. is to first of all buy the birth cert. of one of their children. In this way you will find the maiden name of the mother, then you can find the marriage cert. with more certainty. Costs money, but if you want to be absolutely certain of what you have found then it's well worth paying.
The marriage cert. should give you his father's name and occupation, if known, so you can confirm any info. found.

Possible record for Mary Woollam, in case there is a connection:-

MARY WOOLLAM - International Genealogical Index
Gender: Female Christening: 11 FEB 1821 Edstaston, Shropshire, England
Father: JOHN WOOLLAM
Mother: MARTHA


possible siblings:-
1. SAMUEL WOOLLAM - International Genealogical Index
Gender: Male Christening: 13 MAR 1819 Edstaston, Shropshire, England
2. ANN WOOLLAM - International Genealogical Index
Gender: Female Christening: 09 FEB 1823 Edstaston, Shropshire, England
3. HANNAH WOOLLAM - International Genealogical Index
Gender: Female Christening: 30 DEC 1832 Wem, Shropshire, England
4. THOMAS WOOLAM - International Genealogical Index
Gender: Male Christening: 28 DEC 1817 Edstaston, Shropshire, England
5. JOHN WOLLAM - International Genealogical Index
Gender: Male Christening: 10 APR 1825 Edstaston, Shropshire, England
6. JOHN WOOLAM - International Genealogical Index
Gender: Male Christening: 25 DEC 1825 Edstaston, Shropshire, England

Many thanks to you all for these leads. I am amazed how quickly you have come up with the information. I'm afraid I don't have his marriage certificate - there seemed to be too many possibities on BMD to go down that route at this stage.

Thank you again for all the help.

Possible 1841:-
Name: William Keay
Age: 9
Estimated birth year: abt 1832
Gender: Male
Where born: Shropshire, England

Civil parish: Welsh Hampton
Hundred: Pimhill (Ellesmere Division)
County/Island: Shropshire
Country: England

Street Address:

Registration district: Ellesmere
Sub-registration district: Ellesmere
Neighbors: View others on page
Household Members:
Name Age
Sarah Woolhouse 70
William Woolhouse 30
Mary Woolhouse 20
John Beawdor 13
William Keay 9


1841 for the Charles and Sarah birth:-
Name: William Key
Age: 6
Estimated birth year: abt 1835
Gender: Male
Where born: Shropshire, England

Civil parish: Coreley
Hundred: Stottesden (Cleobury Division)
County/Island: Shropshire
Country: England

Occupation:

Registration district: Cleobury Mortimer
Sub-registration district: Cleobury Mortimer
Neighbors: View others on page
Household Members:
Name Age
Richard Davise 7
Charles Key 35
Sarah Key 30
Elizabeth Key 8
William Key 6
Mary Key 4
Charles Key 2


and the George and Elizabeth birth:-
1841
Name: William Keay
Age: 6
Estimated birth year: abt 1835
Gender: Male
Where born: Shropshire, England

Civil parish: Ercall Magna
Hundred: South Bradford (Wellington Division)
County/Island: Shropshire
Country: England

Registration district: Wellington
Sub-registration district: Ercall Magna
Neighbors: View others on page
Household Members:
Name Age
George Keay 35
Elizabeth Keay 40
Charlotte Keay 13
Hannah Keay 12
Mary Keay 10
William Keay 6

This may be him in 1841.....there is a Mary Woolham in this household and a Mary Wollam of around the same age living with him in 1871.

1841 England Census
about William Keay
Name: William Keay
Age: 9
Estimated birth year: abt 1832
Gender: Male
Where born: Shropshire, England

Civil parish: Welsh Hampton
Hundred: Pimhill (Ellesmere Division)
County/Island: Shropshire
Country: England

Street Address:

Occupation: View image

Registration district: Ellesmere
Sub-registration district: Ellesmere
Neighbors: View others on page
Household Members: Name Age
Sarah Woolhouse 70....Farmer ....Woolham on image.
William Woolhouse 30....Ag Lab
Mary Woolhouse 20
John Beawdor 13
William Keay 9

All born in County.