Carey Willis married Joseph Furnival on 16th February 1873 in Holy Trinity, West Bromwich. Joseph was 21 and his father was also a Joseph. Carey was 20 and gives her father as David Willis. Carey being 20 in 1873 would give a birth year of 1873 +or- 1 year On the 1881 census RG11, Piece 2843, Folio 12, Page 17 Carey says she was born in Walsall The only birth I can find is:- WILLIS, CAREY Mother's maiden name: ------- GRO Reference: 1852 S Quarter in WALSALL Volume 06B Page 465 There are a few David Willis's living in Staffordshire but none that I can find have a Carey in the household. She should be on the 1861 and 1871 census somewhere. With no mothers maiden name was she illegitimate. Was David Willis just a made up name or was she brought up by her grandparents and thought that her grandfather was her father? I have sent for her birth certificate to see who her mother was.
That will be her, thank you MM, on the marriage cert her fathers profession is Holloware Turner. This will probably be the marriage of her parents. Marriages Dec 1852 David WILLIS and on the same page Caroline LIGHTWOOD, Walsall 6b, 772 Someone has added a postem Married St Matthews Walsall 25.10.1852 Caroline age 20 sp New St d of William shoemaker married David Willis wit William Lightwood and Maria Sheldon
See seems to have vanished in 1871 (not with family), there is a tree on Anc with lots of info on the family, including some in 'Andrews Newspaper Index Cards' set (not come across this set before so have no idea exactly what they are), but the one I looked at was hand written and gives plenty of family details.
I have only ever seen these once before and connected to this family, it was for a marriage in Devon or Cornwall for Kellaway.
I wonder if this is Carey in 1871 enumerated as Clara, working as a servant for the Hill family in West Brom. RG10/2984/31/1 She is born Walsall, and I have had a cursory look at the births, and cannot find a reg for a Clara 1853 +/- 2years in Walsall (there is one in 1850 though)
On that 'Andrews Newspaper Index Cards' can you make out the address where david died in 1886 - 45 ? lane
From the blurb on the Andrews Newspaper Index Cards on Ancestry - This unique card index was compiled in England from the 1790s until about 1970 and features a collection of notices from newspapers and various official sources, such as the London Gazette. Approximately 250,000 cards include announcements of births, marriages, obituaries, and deaths abroad; notices of wills, unclaimed estates, and filings under the Colonial Probates Act of 1892 (which recognized probates from courts in British possessions); and advertisements for missing persons and people seeking next of kin. The original newspaper clippings on the cards sometimes include annotations referring to additional information from other sources. The cards can have content on both the front and back. The Institute of Heraldic and Genealogical Studies notes that the index can be “useful for locating information about individuals who seem simply to disappear.”
The PDF certificate arrived today. They have not put mothers maiden name even though her surname is there. Born: 19th August 1882, Church Street, Walsall Name: Carey Father's Name: David Willis Mother's name: Caroline Lightwood (NOT formerly, as they weren't married till the next quarter) Father's profession: Hollow Ware Turner Informant: Caroline made her mark. Registered: 29th September (wonder if they were married by then)