Ravenscroft, Joseph of Stone, Staffordshire

[ravogirl]

Joseph Ravenscroft 1796-1841 married to Sarah Hilditch 1802-1883

I have been researching my family tree for several years now and have hit a brick wall with my 4th great grandfather Joseph.

I know that he married Sarah in 1821, have records for his many children (I am descended from his oldest son John and wife Theresa Withington)and have him on the 1841 census which was taken just before he died. His occupation ranges from post boy to coachman and ostler.

I have not been able to locate any details of his birth / parentage; his eldest children are recorded as being born in Woore and they were christened in Mucklestone, although he married Sarah in Stoke on Trent and is recorded as living in Stone, Staffs. Being a postboy / coachman he would have been accustomed to travelling and therefore could originate from anywhere.

I have checked and searched on Ancestry and other genealogy websites, checked hundreds of Ravenscroft family trees and have been unable to find anything. Through Ancestry I have also contacted distant family members and to date, we are all stuck at the same point.

I'd be happy to hear if there are any Ravenscroft branches out there who might have a similar anomaly with a male Ravenscroft born around this date who may link into Joesph's heritage.

Many thanks

Joanne Ravenscroft

[suemalings]

Joseph Ravenscroft 1796-1841 married to Sarah Hilditch 1802-1883

I have been researching my family tree for several years now and have hit a brick wall with my 4th great grandfather Joseph.

I know that he married Sarah in 1821, have records for his many children (I am descended from his oldest son John and wife Theresa Withington)and have him on the 1841 census which was taken just before he died. His occupation ranges from post boy to coachman and ostler.

I have not been able to locate any details of his birth / parentage; his eldest children are recorded as being born in Woore and they were christened in Mucklestone, although he married Sarah in Stoke on Trent and is recorded as living in Stone, Staffs. Being a postboy / coachman he would have been accustomed to travelling and therefore could originate from anywhere.

I have checked and searched on Ancestry and other genealogy websites, checked hundreds of Ravenscroft family trees and have been unable to find anything. Through Ancestry I have also contacted distant family members and to date, we are all stuck at the same point.

I'd be happy to hear if there are any Ravenscroft branches out there who might have a similar anomaly with a male Ravenscroft born around this date who may link into Joesph's heritage.

Many thanks

Joanne Ravenscroft

There is a baptism on Ancestry on 13 August 1786 in Daresbury, Cheshire, parents Jonathan and Mary. A possibility Cheshire is close (next door I think) to Shropshire.

[ravogirl]

There is a baptism on Ancestry on 13 August 1786 in Daresbury, Cheshire, parents Jonathan and Mary. A possibility Cheshire is close (next door I think) to Shropshire.

Thank you for the quick response, this Joseph appeared to have died before 1798 according to research on https://ravenscroft.one-name.net/get...ee=Ravenscroft

I use this site to check out possible leads as the owner has done a lot of research. I will double check though to be sure!

I've also used Family search to extract records of all males born around his possible birth date and am working through them to see if I can come up with anything.

Many thanks

Jo

[Lesley Robertson]

Welcome to the British Genealogy Forum.
Do you know what sort of coachman he was? Single family, public transport, something else? They would each have different movement patterns.

[ravogirl]

Welcome to the British Genealogy Forum.
Do you know what sort of coachman he was? Single family, public transport, something else? They would each have different movement patterns.

Hi Lesley, I don't know to be honest and tried to find out by contacting Royal mail archives but they hd no record of him. I can only pick up what I know from various certificates - such as the birth and marriage certificates of his children and of course his marriage and death certificate. It varies form postboy, coachman, ostler and at times also labourer.

I have identified that the Crown Inn near to where he lived in Stone was a major staging post at the time he was a coachman and they had horses in stables to the rear which can still be seen. His death was reported by a lady who lived right next to this Inn, and as he died of an effusion on the brain and his occupation is recorded as ostler at the time of death, I am wondering if he was taken ill whilst tending to the horses and as she lived on the spot she was with him when he died. I have also found an image of the Crown Inn with the various postal routes that it was part of drawn underneath, and will use this to locate clusters of Ravenscrofts in these areas. It feels like a laborious task but as I have drawn a blank on records it's the only way I can see to go next!

Many thanks

Jo

[Lesley Robertson]

He could certainly have been driving the mail coaches! As you say, they could be based around a mail "hotspot" such as a coaching inn. Some adverts give the impression that some mail coach drivers were employed by the Postal service - they say things like "the mail coach calls at the "Whatever Inn" on these days at those times. He could even have been self-employed. It doesn't sound as though he was a coachman to a landed family - their families were often kept at one place, often the estate in the country or its service village.