Father of Abijah Hill Pears

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My MMMFF
See my post on Abijah Hill Pears for most details.
The first name of Abijah's father may have been William, or possibly Thomas.

Abijah was born in 1799, and an older son, William Hill Pears, was born in 1794, and died in 1838, buried at Holy Trinity, Coventry, the same parish that Abijah listed on his marriage certificate in 1834. (There is a bankruptcy record also for William Hill Pears from 1838, not sure if it was before or after he died).

Abijah's mother's maiden name was Hill, and evidence points to her first name being Mary. I plan to add a post on her as well. It may well be that her father was a Joseph Hill, of Attleborough, Nuneaton, Warwickshire.

Abijah was a ribbon manufacturer in Coventry, and a family record states that he succeeded his father in that business. I have not been able to verify this.

[Merry]

There's a William Pears, ribbon manufacturer listed in the UK, Register of Duties Paid for Apprentices' Indentures (on Ancestry), 1710-1811 as a master between 1796 and 1800 (three entries).

FMP has this:

Leicester Herald 28 November 1827

On Sunday last, in his 73d year, after a few days' illness, Mr. William Pears, of Well Street, Coventry, ribbon manufacturer.

Also:

Morning Herald (London) 19 September 1821

PARTNERSHIPS DISSOLVED

John Finch Holding, William Wornham and William Pears, of Newgate Street, London and Coventry, ribbon manufacturers.

William's will is here: England & Wales, Prerogative Court of Canterbury Wills, 1384-1858 (Ancestry). Signed 9 Jul 1825, probate granted 10 Mar 1828.

Bequests go to:

Wife Mary
dau Mary wife of Richard Booth
son William Hill Pears
dau Martha Caporn
dau Elizabeth Pears
grandson William Pears Caporn
son Joseph Hill Pears
son Abijah Hill Pears

Thee are more grandchildren listed and I'm not saying I've not missed anyone having very quickly read through the first half of the document. It needs closer examination as some parts have rather low contrast!

[Merry]

Ancestry has this transcription:

Name: William Pears
Gender: Male
Death Age: 72
Birth Date: abt 1755
Birth Place: France
Residence Place: Well-Street
Death Date: Abt 1827
Death Place: Black Swan
Obituary Date: 23 Nov 1827
Obituary Place: Coventry, West Midlands, England
Newspaper Title: Coventry Herald and Weekly Advertiser

However I've looked at the Coventry Herald for 23 Nov 1827 on FMP and the death notice is the same as the one I typed out in my last post. References to the Black Swan and France etc are not his death notice, but for other people!!

[Merry]

The image of the PR for the marriage of Wm and Mary is on FMP:

Parish of Bedworth, Warwickshire

William Pears otp and Mary Hill of the parish of Nuneaton

married by licence 1 Jul 1777 both signed.

Witnesses Saml Pears and Wm Court (Wm Court was a serial witness)

[Merry]

William's burial record is on Ancestry in the England & Wales, Non-Conformist and Non-Parochial Registers, 1567-1936 (image).

Buried: 22 Nov 1827
Reference to graves: 16 by 13 and 16 by 12
Money paid for diggings: 3s 6d and 2s 6d
Ground bought 10 feet deep
Money received for ground: £1 17s

I looked for Mary in the same dataset, but don't see her.

[Merry]

There's a recording of a birth (not a baptism) in the parish register of Wappenbury, Warwickshire (image on FMP). It reads:

William Pears was born June ye 12 1755.

This suggests his parents were non-conformist and the C of E vicar was keeping tabs on non-attendees in his congregation.

There may well be similar entries for any siblings etc, but I don't have any more time now!

[Merry]

Possible? GRO index:

PEARS, MARY aged 86
GRO Reference: 1844 J Quarter in THE CITY OF COVENTRY Volume 16 Page 257

1841 census Hill Street Place Coventry

Mary Pears 80 Ind Yes
Elizabeth Pears 40 Ind Yes

1 female servant

[Merry]

Read from page 122 onwards:

https://books.google.co.uk/books?id=...cturer&f=false

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Thanks, Merry. That is very complete, and gives a very full sense of who he was. I especially like the evidence he gave to that committee. According to that, his father had also been in the ribbon making business, so that information and his birth place may make it possible to go back another generation or two.

This also places William's wife Mary in Nuneaton, which adds credence to the information that her father was Joseph Hill, and that she had a brother named George who was buried at Holy Trinity, Attleborough in 1857. That gives me more to go on before I post a new thread for her.

But I will soon post a new thread to ask for help on the parents of the Bray family (Elizabeth my MMMM who married Abijah, and her brother Charles, who was also a ribbon maker before becoming a writer and radical thinker).