Worsley

By combining notes and documents found in Canada and England, we find that William's life was tragic. By the age of 29, he had emigrated to America, married, become a naturalised american citizen, fathered 4 children, had his american dreams shatterred, returned to England, and been widowed. He then seems to have drifted from one job to another (dock labourer in 1991, Jeweller in 1911). Perhaps more can be discovered from the public record.

Liverpool Notes: He emigrated to America as part of a party with either his own father, or the father and family of his new wife's. This father owned a sawmill in which William worked.

He met and conceived a child by Margaret before marriage, in 'the blue bell wood, Eastham'. After this they joined the party going to America, where he and Margaret were married. They had four children of whom three survived to adulthood.

He abandoned his american life at his wife's request, and the return coincided with a further pregnancy.

William had not completed his affairs when his wife left for Europe, and caught the next boat three weeks later. He arrived expecting to find his wife and family, but landed to the dark news of her death. [Broken hearted], he arranged for the children (who had accompanied their mother) to go to his mother in Stoke-on-Trent, and deserted them - going to the fishing fleet in Fleetwood.

Although little is known of his life in Fleetwood, two items of evidence exist from this period: a couple of phographs with a maker's name in Fleetwood, and the notation on the wedding certificate of his daughter Lizzy showing his occupation as jeweller. Also, he is known to have lived with an Eric and Constance Brown.

Canadian Notes: He was very friendly with WilliamChadwick and his wife Harriet who were witnesses to his marriage to Margaret Scragg in Green Prairie. He has been traced to a census in 1885, where he lived at a homestead of a prominent citizen Frank Hall, with his wife and two children.

There is a copy of his Naturalisation record. He went before the county court in Minnesota and swore on oath to denounce all allegence to his former country and Queen on the 8th November 1882.

There is a copy of a land grant to a William Lucas, dated 1874/5. This raises problems. Would a boy of 14 or 15 be given a grant of land, and if not then is the date on the certificate wrong or was there another William Lucas.

Possible Interpretation. The most likely explanation is that this land was granted to this William's father. Although we have no knowledge of the names of of the parents of this William, it is reasonable to assume that he was given his father's name, and it makes sense of the cicumstances which took him to America, given above. Further, he and his family would be unlikely to be living in the homestead of Frank Hall (census return of 1885) if he had been granted land ten years previously. During these years he would be expected to have built his own homestead.

Further research of the census records on both sides of the Atlantic is required, plus cemetary records.

This certificate includes on the inside, a list of children and their baptisms