[Colinaffleck]

Hello All
Brand New to the Forum so this is my first Thread. If it's in the wrong spot or incorrectly formatted, please let me know, at your convenience.
Right then. Time to come clean and throw myself to the mercies of those who know what they're doing. I have been chewing on this for weeks now and have gotten exactly nowhere. Details below, but to summarize, I'm looking for a 4G grandfather (is that how it's written?) who resided in South Cheshire in the mid 1700s. Name of William Dod. However, looking for a William Dod in that place and time is like looking for a particular piece of coal in Newcastle. There are scores of William Dod's scattered in every village and hamlet. Some places have two or three of them. I have attacked this using every census and record I can find (as an amateur, I probably missed some) but have just become more confused.
Any advice on where I might turn to next greatly appreciated. In fact, with Christmas coming, I'll drink your health.

Name: William Dod

Date and place of birth: Unknown

Names of parents: Unknown

Date and place of baptism: Unknown

Details of each of his or her marriages: He may (may!) have married a Mary Foden (b. 10 Nov 1754 at Brereton-cum-Smethwick) in 1774 at Brereton-cum-Smethwick. If that's him, he then moved to Harthill where he and Mary had Philip (1774), Mary (1776, Elizabeth (1779 and Joseph (1781). Please note that in Harthill at the same time, like so many other local places, there was at least one other couple named William and Mary Dod. Also there were a smattering of Samuel, George and John Dod's living in Harthill, any of whom might have been Williams father or brothers or uncles. He is not listed as having died in Harthill but instead disappeared. More correctly, he has, by melting into all the other William Dod's in the area, effectively become invisible.

Occupation(s) - Unknown but probably a bondsman (which I gather falls somewhere between a serf and a tenant).

Addresses where they lived (including county if in UK):Possibly Brereton-cum-Smethwick and possibly Harthill, both in Cheshire.Other places in South Cheshire are assumed but unknown. Censuses checked include the British 1841 Census, the 1851 Census, Family Search, Ancestry.Com and the National Archives. I have also touched on others, also of no help, which I did not record.

Date, place and cause of death: Unknown

Date and place of burial: Unknown

Details of will / administration of their estate: Unknown

Memorial inscription: Unknown (but should be "Cum Out, ye olde ******!")