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Arthur Gordon Torkington was born circa 1893 (information obtained from his marriage certificate).
Arthur was the son of William Edward Torkington (a barrack sergeant).
I am unable to locate details of Arthur's whereabouts on the 1901 census.
Can anyone please offer any suggestions? ........

where was he born?

I don't know - I have found an Arthur Torkington registered at Oldham in 1892, that is possibly him but unsure .......

I don't know - I have found an Arthur Torkington registered at Oldham in 1892, that is possibly him but unsure .......

I have not yet found him on the census. Whereabouts is he from, do you know? There is an Arthur Torkington born during March qr 1892 Oldham registration district.

http://freebmd.rootsweb.com/

Yes, that is the only Arthur Torkington's birth which may fit .....
Unfortunately I have no idea where Arthur Gordon Torkington was born - no mention on marriage certificate.

Forget that Arthur; he is in 1901 with parents John and Hannah.

Arthur Gordon Torkington 's occupation in 1913 was given as Stoker/Petty Officer at Portsmouth.
The information for William Edward Torkington may mean Arthur was not born in England .................

You could try civil registrations for Ireland in the Mormons' site -

http://pilot.familysearch.org/recordsearch/start.html#p=collectionDetails;t=searchable;c=1408347

Thanks for suggestion ...
I have found a William Edward Torkington whose birth was registered at Bolton in 1853 ........... that could possibly be Arthur Gordon's father but once again I am unable to find any further details on the census returna.

I cannot find either William Edward Torkington nor Arthur Gordon Torkington on 1911 census - they both appear to have vanished!!!!!!

Shifting over from the Eliza Jane Webber thread ...

http://www.genesreunited.co.uk/boards.asp?wci=thread&tk=1162013

I tend to think the Ireland possibility may be most probable.

But there's an interesting thing about that Arthur Torkington born in Oldham in 1892.

He may have siblings:

Births Dec 1885
Torkington Mary Esther Oldham 8d 614

Births Sep 1898 (died following year)
TORKINGTON Elizabeth Ellen Oldham 8d 621

Births Jun 1900
Torkington John Oldham 8d 629


There aren't a lot of Torkington events in Oldham.


I can't find a marriage or death for Mary E/Esther Torkington, or find her or John in the 1891 or 1901 census.

Likewise, I can't find this guy:

Deaths Jun 1892
Torkington John Yates 52 Oldham 8d 445

in 1891, when one would expect to find him in that area.


I think I might get the 1892 birth certificate to see what it says about the father.

Oh. Here he is in 1911.


TORKINGTON ARTHUR 1892 19 Oldham Lancashire


... living with father John and sister Mary Esther.

So he's a doubtful. ;)

In 1911 for Turkington born in Ireland, we have:


TURKINGTON W M 1871 40 Liverpool Lancashire
living with
TURKINGTON ANNIE 1873 38 Liverpool Lancashire


I suspect that "W M" is actually "Wm". But of course that's the wrong age for the 1901 William.

Hi Janey,
Thanks for investigatory work into Arthur Gordon Torkington ...
I'm afraid I've drawn a blank with Arthur but I've PERHAPS found a 'twig' on William Edward Torkington (Arthur's father) ...
Arthur's marriage certificate shows William Edward as a Barrack Sergeant (military??).
A William Edward Torkington (born Burnley, Lancs) was killed in action on 2nd September 1916 - this gentleman was in 2nd battalion of Cameronians (Scottish Rifles). Maybe relevant, maybe not!!!!!
I entered William Edward on free bmd and the only feasible person was William Edward Torkington registered Bolton in June 1853 but unable to find him on the census returns.

could the father (and possibly son) have been born in Scotland if the William Edward you found was in 2nd bn of Cameronians (Scottish Rifles).

Had no luck with Scottish census colletions nor bmd searches .....

This is the WET born in Burnley, in the 1901 census:

Name: William Ed Tarkington
[William Ed Torkington]
Age: 15
Estimated Birth Year: abt 1886
Relation: Son
Mother's Name: Alice
Where born: Burnley, Lancashire, England

Civil parish: Burnley

Alice Tarkington 66 - head, widowed
Mary Alice Greenwood 39
Sarah Jane Greenwood 36
William Ed Tarkington 15
Alix Sharries 32 (lodger)


He is undoubtedly the one who was killed in 1916.

Births Dec 1885
Torkington William Edward Burnley 8e 181

It seems rather unlikely that he is the son of Alice -- but the correction notes (see below) refer to her as his mother.

The Greenwoods are both daughters of Alice Torkington, and both are shown as married. William is a House Joiner's Apprentice.


The correction notes for William say:

Corrections for William Ed Tarkington - 1901 England Census
Surname: Torkington
Correction Type: Transcription Error
Explanation: Original is written quitr clearly TORKINGTON as is his mother Alice
Contributed By: ___ ( Contact this person via Ancestry's anonymous Connection Service )
Contributed On: 26/09/2005


I would definitely contact him. The coincidence of relatively unusual names is enough to at least suggest a connection with the William Edward Torkington named as Arthur's father.

Marriages Jun 1852
Ingham Alice Burnley 8e 239
Torkington Samuel Burnley 8e 239

Marriages Sep 1881
Greenwood Edward James Burnley 8e 323
Torkington Mary Alice Burnley 8e 323

There isn't another Torkington-Greenwood marriage, so perhaps Sarah Jane in 1901 was Mary Alice Torkington Greenwood's sister-in-law. ... Or the Greenwood surname for SJ is an error in the original:

Marriages Mar 1883
Grimshaw Thomas Burnley 8e 296
HANSON Ellen Burnley 8e 296
> Torkington Sarah Jane Burnley 8e 296
WESTWELL Walter Burnley 8e 296


This was a rather huge family. In 1871:

Samuel Tarkington 38
Alice Tarkington 36
Martha Tarkington 20
Samuel H Tarkington 18
Alfred Tarkington 16
James Tarkington 14
Rawlinson Tarkington 11
Mary A Tarkington 9
Sarah J Tarkington 6 - Greenwood?
Walter Tarkington 3
Joseph W Tarkington 1
Minnie Tarkington 1

-- surname corrected by the same person.

1881:

Samuel Torkington 56
Alice Torkington 48
Samuel H. Torkington 28
Mary A. Torkington 19
Sarah J. Torkington 16
Walter Torkington 13
Joseph W. Torkington 11
Edwin Torkington 9
Fredrick W. E. Torkington 16 - other relative

Checked that FWET:

Births Jun 1863
TORKINGTON Frederick William Ernest Burnley 8e 183


I can't find them in 1891 for the life of me.

This is the only Samuel death in Burnley, but the age is a decade off:

Deaths Mar 1901
Torkington Samuel 68 Burnley 8e 169

This would be the marriage of that WE Torkington -- surely the one killed in WWI -- anyhow:

Marriages Mar 1905
TORKINGTON William Edward Burnley 8e 309

... Well, except that there are Torkington births with mother Wigglesworth (one of the brides on that page) in Burnley up to 1921 ...


So ... maybe what I've just proved is that the WET who died in 1916 was *not* the one born 1885 in Burnley - always a useful thing to know!

Name: William Edward Torkington
Birth Place: Burnley, Lancashire
Residence: Burnley
Death Date: 2 Sep 1916
Rank: Private
Regiment: Cameronians (Scottish Rifles)
Battalion: 2nd Battalion.
Number: 14038
Type of Casualty: Killed in action
Per CWGC:
Grave/Memorial Reference: VI. E. 9.
Cemetery: VERMELLES BRITISH CEMETERY

from WWI medal rolls:

Name: William F Torkington (it says "William E" on image)
Regiment or Corps: 2nd Scottish Rifles
Regimental Number: 14038


Anyhow. I'd still get in touch with the person related to the Burnley Torkingtons who has made the name corrections at Ancestry.

Still trying to discover whereabouts of Arthur Gordon Torkington on 1901 and 1911 census records.

I now know Arthur Gordon Torkington was born circa 1885 (unknown location) and he died in Woking, Surrey in 1947 (aged 62 years).

Arthur Gordon was the son of William Edward Torkington whose occupation in 1913 was a barrack sergeant.

I am unable to trace Arthur or his father on either 1901 or 1911 census records.

Can anyone offer any suggestions?

Kind regards
Sue