My grandmother was named Ada Richmal Heap.  I had always been curious about my grandmothers middle name but only remembered that it had been a family name. Apparently she was named for both her grandmothers, Ada for her mother’s mother and Richmal for her father’s mother. I discovered who Richmal actually was when researching the Heap Family line. It was the marriage record that revealed her maiden name. (Click on images to enlarge.)

Also listed on the record was her father.

Samuel Hall,  Moulder.

With a common name of Samuel Hall in England’s Cheshire/Lancashire area of Ashton -under Lyne, I really appreciate these helpful bits of information . Knowing he was an (iron) moulder narrowed the field down to a single individual. When looking for the Parish records for Richmal’s baptism I thought it would be straight forward because of her unusual first name. It became a little confusing to discover two Richmal Halls baptized in two different parishes just a few months apart.

The above baptism in the Parish of Aston-under Lyne show the parents of Richmal as Samuel and Sarah Hall, living in Newton, and Samuel’s trade as “Iron Moulder”.

The other Baptism for a Richmal is 6 July 1834 in the Parish of Bury, the parents are James and Richmal Hall of Redvales, and James’ trade is “Weaver”.  Richmal’s birth is listed as March 25, 1834.

This brought to mind how my mother named her son David and about 6 months later and 200 miles away her sister-in law also had a boy and named him David. Could this be what happened here? Are the two Richmal’s cousins?

So now that I have Richmal’s parent as Samuel and Sarah, but who was Sarah?

I found that Samuel Hall, a Bachelor, marries a  Sarah Marland on 10 May 1818 in the Parish of Stockport in Cheshire, England. The lesson here is once you find the information that fits do not stop looking because that may not be the end of the story.

In 1820 Samuel Hall, a Widower, married Sarah Coe on 2 January. Note that both of these records indicate Samuel Hall is an Iron Moulder.

Therefore Samuel married Sarah Marland in 1818 and by January of 1820 Sarah has died and Samuel remarries a Sarah Coe.

 

In the 1841 UK Census for Cheshire Dunkenfield, Samuel is listed as 40 and an Iron Moulder, his wife is listed as Sally also 40. What happened to Sarah?

 

Included in the household are John 20, Ann 22, Julia 15 a Bonnet maker,  Charles 15 , Ann 14, Martha 12, Ricahmal 7, Sarah 5, and Fanny 10 months.

I have been unsuccessful in locating Samuel, an Iron Moulder, in the 1851 UK Census. Lots of Samuel Halls in both Dunkenfield and Ashton-under Lyne, but none that have the right trade or family members. Looking for the sons in the 1851 census has not been fruitful either.

Again in the 1861 UK Census Samuel is shown alone with Sally. Who is Sally?

From the Probate index above we see that John Hall is Samuel’s son. In the 1841 census we can verify that John and Richmal (Richmal Baptised 18 Jan 1835) are the children of Samuel and Sarah Coe. There is a Charles Hall baptized  15 May 1825 at St Michaels in Aston-under Lyne to a Samuel and Sarah Hall. The Charles listed in the 1841 census is 15 making his birth about 1825 or 26. This gives me a reasonable assumption that Charles listed in the 1841 census is also Samuel and Sarah’s child.  There are two Ann’s listed in this census one being 22 and the other 14. Is Ann wife to John?If Samuel’s wife Sarah died prior to 1841 then some members of the household may be Sally’s children from a previous marriage. And depending on when Sarah died will indicate if any of the children could be from a third marriage of Samuel and Sally.

I will continue to look for baptismal records for children born to Samuel and Sarah. I still need death records for both Sarah Marland and Sarah Coe. In the meantime I can look to see if Samuel remarries in St. Michaels to a Sally. Or I may find a death record for a Sally Hall wife of Samuel. As usual while I have the answer to my initial question I now have half a dozen new questions.