Keith Wilson (2009)
Mathew Wilson 1726-1802
George Wilson 1758-1830
Mathew Wilson 1790-1873
George Wilson 1818-1903
William Wilson 1855-1941

SECTION 3
Title 1
Title 2
Title 3
Title 4
Title 5

It was in March 1998 that I embarked on research into the Wilson family history. I began to type out all the information I already had, which was a fair amount, thanks to my Dad – Colin Wilson – who had made a name for himself in the extended family as being someone who had a lot of knowledge about the family, as well as a good collection of old photos. A love of record keeping would appear to be a family trait, as Colin’s father Harold also had the habit – whether it was keeping a diary while he was in the trenches, or recording the local weather from day to day.

The existing knowledge went as far back as my great-grandfather, William Wilson, and his wife, Elizabeth, who had twelve children.  This led me very easily into some successful research, as a useful place to begin is the 1881 census. In April, I visited the local Mormon church, and started my search for William. It was lucky that I did have some facts to go on, as there were thousands of William Wilsons to be found! However, I found the right one, William Wilson, born in Shipton in 1855. I discovered that on the night of the census, William was in York, at the house of his brother, James. William was a butcher, and unmarried, aged 25. His brother was 30 years old, described as a cellarman, and married to Mary, 31, who was born in Huby. They were living in Spurriergate in the parish of St. Michael, Spurriergate. These few facts were very exciting, and made William seem more like a real person. I had not expected him to be in York at that time. Was he visiting his brother, or was he lodging there and working in York?

My investigations, in May, led to more questions. I decided to look for Elizabeth Hodgson, and found that she, too, was in York on the night of the census. She was 23 years old, described as a dressmaker, born in Huby, and a visitor in the house of John Wilson, 42 years old, a joiner, born in Huby. Also in the house, 13, Eldon Street, were John’s wife, Mary J. Wilson, 40, and their two sons, Harry, 6, and Thomas, 1 year old.

This entry surprised me, and for a long time, I assumed that JohnWilson was a relation of William’s. The mystery was solved some time later, when I discovered that Elizabeth’s mother had been a Wilson before she was married, and so John was Elizabeth Hodgson’s uncle, and not related to William at all.