11.6 4xgreat grandfather William Moorhouse Stoney: A timeline from Leeds to London?

 My 3x great-grandmother names her father as William Moorhouse Stoney, Gentleman, on her marriage certificate of 1849. When William Moorhouse Stoney married Mary Ann Rowney (nee Pearce) in 1825, he was a widower, and research indicates that he had been convicted of fraud and held on a Prison Hulk for four years. He was also at least twice in debtors’ prison, and may have been convicted of fraud for a second time in 1836.

His given age (year of birth) variously ranges across records from 1765 to 1778. The only indication of his birth place is on his prison record of 1819 (Kettlewell, Yorkshire) and the 1851 census (Shipton/Skipton, Yorkshire). He may have been born illegitimately to Mary Stoney, whose son William Stoney was baptised in Kettlewell on 31^st December 1776 (date of birth not given), and who may be the same William Stoney apprenticed to a Grocer in Leeds in 1793, and named in Mary Stoney’s half-brother’s will proved in 1808. His first marriage may have been in 1800/1801 to Mary Eyre, when he was a Grocer in Leeds.

There are so many potential records that the table below tries to set out what I have found, which might help highlight anomalies and sift the data from what might be evidence, or surmise.  Is this one man, two men, or several?? And which records can be attributed to my 4xgreat-grandfather William Moorhouse Stoney?

Name	Record date	Age/DoB	Place	Occupation	Record	Source
William Stoney	31 Dec 1776	31 Dec 1776	Kettlewell	Natural son of Mary Stoney	Baptism	FindMyPast
William Stoney	1793	-	Leeds	Apprenticed to Josh Smith, Grocer of Leeds	Apprenticeship	Britain, Country Apprentices 1710-1808 at FindMyPast
William Stoney See signature	21 Nov 1800	23 (1777)	Leeds	Grocer of Leeds	Marriage Bond – Mary Eyre	Ancestry
William Stoney See signature	31 May 1801	-	Leeds	-	Marriage record – Mary Eyre (NB records say 1800/1801/1808)	Ancestry
William Stoney	Dec 1803	-	Leeds	With John Smith, Grocer Co-partners in Trade, Dealers and Chapmen, Declared bankrupts	London Gazette – Notice to creditors of bankrupts	London Gazette at FindMyPast
William Stoney	4 Jan 1808	-	Kettlewell	Nephew William Stoney [of Leeds in the County of York Grocer]	Proof of Will of Jonathan Stoney, Yeoman of Kettlewell possibly William’s uncle, his mother’s half-brother. Appeared personally.	Borthwick Institute.
William Stoney	4 Nov 1814 [and 1815]	-	Marshalsea Prison London	-	Marshalsea Commitment and Discharge books	Ancestry
William Stoney	Feb 1819	-	Surrey County Assizes (Lent)	Tried for fraud. No prosecution	England & Wales Criminal Registers.	Ancestry
William Stoney	8 Oct 1819	-	Mansion House	Case heard for fraud, prisoner remanded. ‘Had been here before’	Account of hearing in The Morning Chronicle, Fraud against John Campbell, published 8/10/19.	BNA at FindMyPast
William Moorhouse Stoney	27 Oct 1819	-	The Old Bailey	Tried and convicted of fraud, Sentenced to 7 years transportation	Proceedings of the Old Bailey of 27th October 1819. Trial of William Moorhouse Stoney for fraud against John Campbell.	The Proceedings of The Old Bailey Online
Wm. Moorhouse Stoney	27 Oct 1819	1778 (aged 41)	London – Newgate Prison. Born at Kettlewell, Yorkshire	Grocer. 5’11 ½”, Dark complexion, dark hair, hazel eyes, stoutish made.	Newgate Prisoners for Trial. Obtaining by false pretences from Mr Campbell with intent to defraud him. 15th December 1819 – to Retribution Hulk Sheerness	Newgate Prison Calendars from HO77 at Ancestry.
William Moorhouse Stoney	Oct 1819	1778 (aged 41)	London -Newgate Prison	Under sentence of transportation for 7 years (Hulks)	Prisoners on Orders. London.	Newgate Prison Calendar from HO77. FindMyPast (also at Ancestry)
Wm. Moorhouse Stoney	3 Nov 1819	1778 (age 41)	London – Newgate Prison.	Grocer. Committed by the Lord Mayor for Obtaining by false pretences from Mr Campbell £5 with intent to cheat him. Sentence 7 years transportation.	Newgate Calendar of prisoners for trial.	Newgate Prison Calendar from HO77. At FindMyPast (also at Ancestry)
Wm. Moorhouse Stoney	15 Dec 1819	1778 (age 41)	Retribution Hulk at Sheerness	Grocer.	Newgate Calendar of Prisoners for Trial (see 27/10/19 above – same record).	Newgate Prison Calendars from HO77 at Ancestry.
William Stoney	4th Sept 1823	-	Retribution Hulk at Sheerness	-		Correspondence and Warrants from HO13 at FindMyPast
Wm. M. Stoney	6th Sept 1823	1778 (age 41 at conviction 1819)	Retribution Hulk	no.3536 on first page	UK, Prison Hulk Registers and Letter Books, 1802-1849: King’s pardon granted.	At Ancestry
William Moorhouse Stoney See signature	26th Dec 1825	-	St Giles Camberwell	Widower	Parish marriage register entry - to widow Mary Ann Rowney after banns. Witnesses Amy Pearce, William Pearce	London England Marriages & Banns – At Ancestry
William Moorhouse Stoney	27th April 1828	-	Sion Place, East Street – St Mary Newington	Coal Merchant	Parish baptism entry for William Moorhouse Stoney, son of William Moorhouse and Mary Ann Stoney b. 9/1/28	London England Births & Baptisms at Ancestry
Catherine Alice Stoney	? 1829	-	St Mary Newington?	-	Baptism record not found. 1841-1861 census = birth 1829
William Moorhouse Stoney (sued as William Stoney)	10th April 1829	-	Formerly of Zion Place, Walworth	General Commission Agent and Dealer in Coals in co-partnership with William Loader	London Gazette Notice of petitions of prisoners in the Court for Relief of Prisoners for Debt	London Gazette
William Stoney	1831	-	Sion Place	-	Newington Rate Payers 1831.	Southwark Rate Books at FindMyPast
William Stoney	5th Jan 1836	1767 (aged 69)	Surrey Assizes	Sentenced to six months in prison for fraud	Criminal Registers for indictable offences Surrey 1836	Criminal Registers at Ancestry
Wllm Stoney	30th Jun 1841	1771 (age 70)	Sion Place, St Mary Newington. Not born in county	Agent	1841 Census: with Mary Stoney (dressmaker, 50), William Stoney (13),Cath Stoney (12), Alice Pearce (Independent, 75)	1841 census at Ancestry and others.
William Moorhouse Stoney	17th May 1843	-	Horsemonger Lane Gaol. Late of No.6 Sion Place, East Street, Walworth	Commission and General Agent	London Gazette notice of  orders made on the possession of estates and effects on the people listed in the court for relief of insolvent debtors (17th May) on their own petitions.	London Gazette published 19th May 1843.
William Moorhouse Stoney (sued as W.M. Stoney)	10th July 1843	-	Late of No.6 Sion Place, East Street, Walworth	General Dealer, and Commission, Discount, and General Agent, twice a Prisoner for Debt in the county Gaol for Surrey, Horsemonger  lane, my wife a Dress Maker	London Gazette notice of 16th June 1843 of order for prisoners listed for insolvency to present themselves at Court, Portugal Street, Lincolns Inn	London Gazette published 16th June 1843.
William Moorhouse Stoney	21st April 1849	-	St Giles Camberwell	Commercial Traveller	Marriage of son William Moorhouse Stoney, Commercial Traveller, to Elizabeth Bridget Kennedy, of Grove Rd, Camberwell	London England Marriages at Ancestry and certificate from GRO
William Moorhouse Stoney	19th Nov 1849	-	St John the Evangelist, Lambeth	Gentleman	Marriage of daughter Catherine Alice Stoney to Aaron Wales, Saddler. Both of Waterloo Road, Lambeth	London England Marriages at Ancestry (and certificate from GRO)
William M Stoney	30th Mar 1851	1763-1768? (Age 83-88?)	1 Cottage Row, Newington. Born Shipton [Skipton?], Yorkshire	Retired Grocer	1851 census: with wife Mary Ann (57) Dressmaker, Emma A Stoney, ‘daughter’, (30), Hat Trimmer [actually his step-daughter]	1851 census at Ancestry and others
William Moorhouse Stoney	17th Jan 1857	1768 (age 89)	1 Cottage Row, Locks Fields, Walworth	Commercial Traveller	Death certificate: cause – apoplexy, certified. Informant Elizabeth Stoney, 11 Swan Street. [daughter-in-law]	Death certificate from GRO.
William Moorhouse Stoney	25th Jan 1857	1768 (age 89 years)	Cottage Place, Walworth	-	Burial record from London City and Tower Hamlets Cemetery	Cemetery Register at Ancestry

The only records that link William Moorhouse Stoney to daughter Catherine Alice Stoney are her marriage record of 1849, and her appearance with him, mother Mary Ann and brother William Stoney in the 1841 census. There are other links (marriage witnesses, death informants and addresses that indicate this is the ‘right’ family for Catherine Alice Stoney. But I am still not sure if all the records prior to the marriage of William Moorhouse Stoney and widow Mary Ann Rowney are for the same man, nor whether the marriage to Mary Eyre was his first marriage – and if so, what happened to Mary and any children of the marriage?

For the sources mentioned in bold, see blogpost: MyRoots: Lesly's family history: Sources and resources: A quick view