William Dod

[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 ******!")

[Merry]

Hello Colin, welcome to the forum..

He is not listed as having died in Harthill but instead disappeared

This might be him:

Burial in the parish of Harthill, Chester

William Dodd of Bickerton buried 31st Jan 1816 aged 86.

The image of the parish register entry is on findmypast.

[Merry]

There are a couple of possible matches for Mary. One in 1789, and another in 1817. The 1789 Mary was of Bickerton.

Do you know if Bickerton was mentioned for the children's baptisms?

[Merry]

I just looked at the bap for Philip (because there were less of those!!) and they were of Bickerton too.

Which of Wm and Mary's children is your 3xg-grandparent?

[Merry]

Hmmm, I just realised when I scanned your initial post looking for the marriage date of Wm and Mary my eyes went to 1754 (her birth date) rather than 1774. Maybe that William who died in 1816 was older than I would have liked. Do you know his status at marriage?

[Merry]

You said there was more than one family in Harthill with parents Wm and Mary. I have seen these - children of Wm and Mary of Bickerton:

Martha 1766
John 1767
Hannah 1769
Mary 1771
James 1773
Philip 1774
Elizabeth 1779
Joseph 1781

That's all the baptisms in that time frame except for one, an additional Elizabeth in 1773 (a month after James, above) where the address isn't Bickerton, but Burwardsley.

So, might your William have married a different Mary? (Not saying he did, just wondering!)

[Merry]

The above leads me to a different marriage:

St Oswald's, Malpas, Cheshire

William Dodd and Mary Lewis both of Bickerton in this parish married by banns 18 Nov 1765. William signed and Mary made her mark. Witnesses Nathaniel Wainwright and Thomas Ellis (both signed). Thomas Ellis is a serial witness.

Malpas is right next door to Harthill.

[Merry]

The name Philip doesn't seem to be particularly common in that area, but there is a will for a Philip Dod of Harthill proved in 1648. I wonder if he is an ancestor or other relative of your William?

[Colinaffleck]

That Philip 1648 could be, certainly. But I am not there yet and so have no real idea. More text to follow.

[Colinaffleck]

This is a true possibility. What prevents me from embracing it is the gap between the marriage (1765) and the first child (1774). Not impossible, I grant you, but unusual for the time and given the other children followed in relatively quick succession.