William Edward Matthews/Elizabeth F Blanch m Bedminster, Bristol, Glo, 1857
My ggf William Edward Matthews Jr. married Elizabeth Frances Blanch 25 Mar 1857.Trouble is, he already had at least 3 children by EFB, the last having been born 12 Mar 1856, and the first, born 2 Nov 1848.After a confusing search, this family was found in the 1851 UK census, living under the name William Edward Baker in Keynsham, Somerset.Turns out that in 1848, William was still married to another woman (Emily Jane Reade) who lived until February of 1856.He had married Elizabeth sometime between 1844 and 1848 under the name Elizabeth Wilson, and the first three children were christened under the surname Baker.
I am trying to establish contact with any living descendants of William and Elizabeth:they had 5 children--1)Fanny (b 1848) who married first Frank Dickenson in Ralls Co, Missouri, with whom she had dau Blanche (Little) and later married William R. Norton also in Ralls Co, with whom she had a son, Ulysses M--both children lived in Illinois--Chicago and Rock Island; 2)Dr. Oscar William (b 1853), who married Elizabeth Harris and had 4 children--Edith (Burnside), Harry Oscar, Grace (Groom), and William Howard--these lived variously in Tacoma, Washington, Los Angeles, California, Denver Colorado, and Des Moines, Iowa; 3) Kate Eva (b 1856), who married Sylvester Bede Howard and had 3 children--Fred, Sylvester, and Fanny (Stouder)--these lived in Hannibal, Missouri, Portland, Oregon, and Newton, Iowa; 4) Compton Sydney (b 1858), who married Alvessa Asbury and had 7 children--Ada (Keilman/McClung/Chassar), Rudolph, Oscar, Blanche (DeVaney), Kate (?), Evelyn, aka "Venus" (?) and Thomas--these lived mostly in the San Antonio, Texas and Corpus Christi, Texas areas; and 5) William Howard (my gf) who married first Minnie Crosson and had 3 children--Hazel May (Wilkinson), Wilfred Ernest, and Gertrude Blanche (Herman/Sundquist)--these lived in the San Francisco, California, bay area, and in Los Angeles, California.William Howard later married my gm, Lizzie Arminda Reed and they had my father, Bennie Howard Matthews.
If there are any descendants of any branch of this family out there, please contact me!William Edward also had two sisters, Mary (Penning) and Matilda Sophia (Rabbitts).Elizabeth Blanch had 6 siblings--William Leopold, Sophia Louisa (Pollard), James George Ersketh, Sarah Selina (Abel), Thomas John, and Mary Victoria (Price) and I would love to make contact with any descendants of any of these as well. So far as I know, the William Edward family were the only ones to emigrate to America; all the rest stayed in England.