Any suggestions, please? I'm stuck!?

Question:I have traced my 4x grandfather, John Willington (born c.1788), to Aberffraw, Anglesey where he was a school master. In the 1840 census it states that he was born in Brecon. I found a marriage in 1786 between John Willington, writer and Elizabeth Prosser (in Brecon) and assume these are his parents. I have been stuck ever since.

I believe John Willington Snr came originally from the Warwickshire or Staffordshire area and I have found yet another John Willington, born 1727 (who may be his father) but just cannot make a link.

I would therefore appreciate any help you can give me as to what I should do next.

Best Answer - Chosen by Asker: I have traced my 4x grandfather, John Willington (born c.1788), to Aberffraw, Anglesey where he was a school master. In the 1840 census it states that he was born in Brecon. I found a marriage in 1786 between John Willington, writer and Elizabeth Prosser (in Brecon) and assume these are his parents. I have been stuck ever since.

I believe John Willington Snr came originally from the Warwickshire or Staffordshire area and I have found yet another John Willington, born 1727 (who may be his father) but just cannot make a link.

I would therefore appreciate any help you can give me as to what I should do next.

1851 Wales Census
Name: John Willington
Age: 63
Estimated Birth Year: abt 1788
Relation: Head
Spouse's Name: Gwen
Gender: Male
Where born: Brecon, Breconshire, Wales

Civil Parish or Township: Aberffraw
Town: Aberffraw
County/Island: Anglesey
Country: Wales
Registration district: Anglesey
Sub-registration district: Llangefni
ED, institution, or vessel: 9a
Household schedule number: 119
Household Members: Name-- Age
Ann Willington-- 27
Elizabeth Willington --14
Gwen Willington --59
John Willington --63
John Willington-- 25
Walter Willington --17

Name: Gwen Willington
Birth: abt 1792 - Aberffraw, Anglesey, Wales
Residence: 1861 - Aberffraw, Aberffraw, Anglesey, Wales
Spouse: John

(I could find all kinds of listings for the name Willington, dating back to like 1136--most named John, of course. The name changed in spelling from WYLYNGTON to WILINGTON to WILLINGTON as time came forward. Some were named So-and-so AT Willington or OF Willington. Here is the origin of the surname :
.Willington
Origin: English
Spelling variations of this family name include: Willington, Wilington, Wilentona,Wilenton and others.
First found in Burton, Yorkshire, where early records, including documents from the Burton Chartulary record Nicholas de Wilentona, in 1251.(Think I saw his name listed).

That is the sad--and hard--part when listings go back that far: figuring out which father/son go together, especially when they have the same name!! With the John Willington born in 1788, the one married to Elizabeth Prosser should be born about 1768 or so , because you go back about 20 years per generation. So, between him (1768 +/-), there would be another born circa 1747-48, and then your John W. born in 1727. There's 3 generations .If we had spouses names other than Elizabeth Prosser (I saw ones like Mary, Bridget, etc), we could look them up instead. I also saw some listings for Thomas Willington, Nicholas, etc. If you find any more, let me know and I'll be glad to help. :)

I assume you are in the U.K. however, you should have a group there (as here in the U.S.) called RAOGK - Random Acts of Genealogical Kindness. This is a group of volunteers who will assist you in your searches and because you already have some good information, they should be happy to help or advise you. Google and see if you can locate a group there.

http://search.yahoo.com/bin/search?fr=yb...

Have you tried searching for the wills of the two John Willington Sr's? If you find those, you should be able to tell whether one (or neither) is the correct ancestor.

See this site for a guide on searching for wills in England:
http://www.genuki.org.uk/big/eng/Probate...