ORME brickwall in Macclesfield

[lizone]

Hello - firstly, apologies for the following long and rambling story! I've been researching William Orme and his family for several months and have reached a dead end. William Orme was born abt 1811 in Macclesfield or Prestbury and entered the Army in 1827. He turns up in Bradford, Yorkshire with his family in the 1851 census, having retired from the Army (I have his army records). He died on 14 Dec 1868. As William seems to have no recorded connection back to his family in Cheshire, there was no obvious way to find his parents and any siblings. So I spent two days looking through the parish records at Macclesfield Library and the Cheshire Archive, coming up with a not entirely plausible 'fit' for his parents - I could only find one 'William Orme' within about 20 years. It doesn't help that Orme is a relatively common name in the area! However, almost by chance, I found his burial recorded in the Scholemoor Cemetery Burial ledger at Bradford Library and this shows his parents as Richard and Hannah Orme. Looking back through my research, I can find no Richard and Hannah at all... It would be great if anybody recognises my Ormes ...

[lizone]

I hope no-one minds me restartng this thread, but I have dipped my toe back into this one recently after getting nowhere and I really wanted someone's opinion.

William Orme married twice, firstly to Martha Sugden in Shipley, West Yorkshire on 26 Feb 1832 and secondly, to Sally Metcalfe in Bradford on 22 Oct 1867. On the first marriage, he is recorded as being a 'Weaver' although by this date he was a corporal in the army. Could this be a mistake on the part of the records or was there some reason William would disguise his occupation? Apart from the problems with William, Martha Sugden and her family are equally difficult - could they have been trying to hide something?

On his second marriage his occupation is 'Gentleman', which seems to be one of the relatively common descriptions for a Chelsea Pensioner (he was pensioned out in 1850) and his father is shown as 'Richard Orme - Attorney'. The confirmation of Richard as William's father matches the burial records, but from what I can see, there is only one Richard Orme in Prestbury/Macclesfield area in the early 1800s and he was a Tailor and was married to Elizabeth/Betty Macquire in 1807, not Hannah. Tantalisingly, they have a gap in their family where William would fit very well! But frustratingly, once William and his family returned to England, there seems to be no connection with Cheshire.

Could William have been guilty of not being entirely straighforward about his connections and could this be related to his time in the army or am I barking up the wrong tree?

Liz

[Kerrywood]

On the first marriage, he is recorded as being a 'Weaver' although by this date he was a corporal in the army. Could this be a mistake on the part of the records or was there some reason William would disguise his occupation?

A side-issue, but his WO 97 service record describes him as a Weaver by trade, so that in itself seems straightforward.

EDIT: Forget that, I'm looking at the wrong service record, sorry.

[lizone]

Actually Kerrywood, you do have a point. He was indeed a Silk Weaver before he entered the Army, but that was five years before he got married.

However, being a 'Weaver' in Shipley was extremely common, so I wondered if it was just a default occupation ...

Liz

[Kerrywood]

Was he in the militia, or the regular army?

It's obviously not my day, but I can't see his service record online.

[lizone]

He is in WO97 - he was indexed at TNA as Willaim Orme, if that helps! He was a regular soldier, 56th Regiment of Foot, entered 1827, retired 1850 as a Sergeant Major. I have the full record, if it doesn't appear on FMP.

Liz