William Bland, Trinidad, 1830s?

[Pigling]

My gt gt grandfather Willam BLAND, a millwright, married Eliza SUGDEN in Otley, West Yorkshire, in 1816 and they had 2 children, John (1817) & William (1819), before their Dad went to seek his fortune in Trinidad, leaving his family behind. William's father was not mentioned on the marriage certificate and the marriage was "with parents consent".

According to letters sent to England from Trinidad, William Sr. made his fortune & was about to return when he died of Yellow Fever, was buried the same day & his secretary, John CLARK, made off with all the money.

I have had this information for 21 years but I have no way of knowing who his father was & so I cannot move any further back! Any ideas?

Malcolm BLAND

[Waitabit]

I'm guessing the Family were convinced of the truth of the letters from Trinidad? Was there any formal announcement of the death/burial?

A possiblity for the birth of William may be in the Christening of a 'William Bland,' 20th Nov. 1797 Upper Chapel Independent, Idle, Yorkshire. Born 28th Sep. 1797
Parents John & Elizabeth.C088571 batch no.

Only 5.6 miles from Guiseley where the boys Christening took place.
3-4 miles Guisley to Otley. via Google maps.

An Elisabeth Sugden was Christened in Idle, father John. Jan 23 1793 batch no.C108182

Extracted records ..just a possiblity.

Another William -Father John Christened in Bingley -.C007373.. 2nd Oct 1796.

[Pigling]

Hello Waitabit

The report of the letters is in a short family history written by Amy BLAND, William's granddaughter, born 1881. William Bland's wife had died in 1870 (choked on a cherry stone) but her son, John BLAND (b. 1817) died in 1903 so Amy could well have heard these stories from him of Amy's mother who died in 1913. I cannot comment on the truth or even the existence of these letters. Indeed, I have often wondered who sent the letter that William had died and all his money gone! Surely not John Clark!!

I was aware of the Idle connection but not aware that Elisabeth Sugden was also born there. This is food for thought. I have relied heavily on the 'Millwright' status, so my knowledge that a John SUGDEN, Millwright, lived in Otley (where my William married Eliza SUGDEN) led me to conjecture that William BLAND might have been apprenticed to John SUGDEN and married his daughter 'with parents consent'.

The Millwright status also led me to look towards Addingham which is only about 6 miles from Otley (as the crow flies) and where several BLAND millwrights and Mill owners could be found at that time. However, your information about the christening of Elisabeth SUGDEN in Idle at about the right time, is giving me cause to re-think this whole problem!

What I was hoping for, from this posting, was that someone in Trinidad would have access to the Port of Spain Journal and might find a report of a death of William BLAND, late son of.... But these things only happen in my dreams! To be honest, I wondered if William had fallen in love with a Trinidadian beauty and got someone to send a letter reporting his death!

I wonder if we can find a marriage for the Elisabeth SUGDEN b.1793 or for the William BLAND b.1797? However, William would only have been 19 at the time of his marriage. Could he have become a fully-fledged Millwright at that age?

Very many thanks for your input. Food for thought! If you are still interested and contact me at BlandTree@aol.com I can send you the family history which Amy BLAND wrote and other material which I have found since.

In the meantime,

Thank you for this excellent suggestion!

Malcolm (Bland)

[Waitabit]

Elizabeth Sugden married William Bland 18th Sept. 1816 in Otley according to the IGI extracted records batch no.M009352

Just found this as I was trying for something else. I only chose the mentioned Elisdabeths birth in Idle because it had relative merit. Not necessarily correct. liked the date too in case they were both under age. now we have the marriage date Wiliam s birth may bob up too.

Don't give up on anything yet, it's amazing how items can be picked up by people net-surfing at a later date.
Just checking for births for William, I found a submitted entry for the William born 'Upper chapel, Idle 1797 suggesting his wife was Mary & he died in 1868. If correct it's one to dsiscount, there are still others out there. He may have been christened late.