A tale of Immigration - William Ings and Lydia Cooper

This is part 5 of a 5 part research blog.  Please read part 1 here, part 2 here, part 3 here, and part 4 here.

William Ings and his wife Lydia Cooper never moved to the United States, choosing to live their lives out in England. However, their son Walter Ings and his wife Marian made several trips home for what we can assume were family visits.

Ordnance Survey Open Data. County boundaries and GB coastline. National Geospatial-Intelligence Agency. 23 November 2010. 

Lydia Cooper was baptised on 28 November 1830 at St. Edmunds on Church Street in Wesleyan, Salisbury, Wiltshire, England.[i] She was the daughter of Ralph Cooper, who was an agricultural labourer,[ii] and Mary Chalk.  Until her marriage, Lydia lived with her parents and siblings in Downton, Wiltshire, England.[iii]  William Ings was also from Wiltshire.  He was baptized on 29 August 1824 in Downton, Wiltshire, England[iv] and was the son of James Ings, who was a sawyer,[1] and Diana Griffin.[v]   

They were married on 1 June 1848 at Downton, Wiltshire, England in the local parish church.[vi]  William was 24 years old and Lydia 18. I located seven children in the records born to this couple.  On the 1851 England Census[vii] William and Lydia resided at 112 Morgan’s Vale Downton, Wiltshire, England.  Their first son Alfred was 2 years old and William was employed as an agricultural labourer.  Ten years later[viii] the family lived at 8 Church Street in Shirley, Hampshire, England. William was employed as a sawyer, the same occupation as his father, and their family had grown again.  It now consisted of four boys and one girl.  The three youngest children, including Walter, were all born in Shirley, Hampshire.

Census. 1851. England. Downton, Wiltshire. Piece: 1846. Folio: 222. Page: 27. http://www.ancestry.com : accessed June 10.

William and Lydia’s family still resided in the same town on the 1871 England Census, but were at 18 Station Road.[ix]  Another son was born during the intervening years and the oldest two children were no longer at home.  Lydia and William continued to live in their home located in Hampshire until their deaths.  The only exception was the 1891 Census where William, Lydia and their three
youngest children lived next door to George Chalk on Cemetery Road. The area appeared to be near a brick works in Weston Common, South Hampton.[x]  We could assume a relationship between Lydia and Mr. Chalk since her mother’s maiden name was also Chalk, but no relationship was shown on the record.  William was not employed but “living on own expenses.” Perhaps they visited the family during the time frame the census was taken.  The 1901 census confirmed William’s status as retired.[xi]  It listed him as a “retired builder.”  They still lived on Station Road in Shirley just a few doors down from their son Erwin.

Census. 1901. England. Downton, Wiltshire. Piece: 1072. Folio: 167. Page: 11. http://www.ancestry.com : accessed June 10.

Lydia died at the age of 80 in 1911[xii] after the 1911 census as she was shown on it with William at their home on Station Road in Shirley.[xiii]  According to his probate record William died a few years later at his home, aged 88, on 24 January 1913.[xiv]  His sons Edwin (or Urwin) and Alfred were the executors of the will.[xv]

Testamentary Records. England. 24 January 1913.  INGS, William. Administration. Southhampton. National Probate Calendar Index.  http://ancestry.com : accessed 10 June 2017.

Full Pedigree chart for the project:

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[1] Someone who saws timber

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[i] Baptisms (PR) England. St. Edmunds, Salisbury, Wiltshire.  28 November 1830. COOPER, Lydia. Ancestry transcript. http://ancestry.com : accessed 10 June 2017.

[ii] Census. 1841. England. Downton, Wiltshire. Enumeration District: 4. Folio: 56. Page: 23. Line: 6.  http://www.ancestry.com : accessed June 10.

[iii] Census. 1841. England. Downton, Wiltshire. Enumeration District: 4. Folio: 56. Page: 23. Line: 6.  http://www.ancestry.com : accessed June 10.

Census. 1851. England. Downton, Wiltshire. Piece: 1846. Folio: 219. Page: 20. http://www.ancestry.com : accessed June 10

[iv] Baptisms (PR) England. Donwton, Wiltshire. 29 August 1824. INGS, William. Ancestry transcript. http://ancestry.com : accessed 10 June 2017.

[v] Census. 1841. England. Downton, Wiltshire. Enumeration District: 3. Folio: 35. Page: 10. Line: 18. http://www.ancestry.com : accessed June 10.

[vi] Marriages (PR) England. Chippenham, Wiltshire. Wiltshire and Swindon History Centre. 1 June 1848. INGS, William and COOPER, Lydia. Image. http://ancestry.com : accessed 10 June 2017.

[vii] Census. 1851. England. Downton, Wiltshire. Piece: 1846. Folio: 222. Page: 27. http://www.ancestry.com : accessed June 10.

[viii] Census. 1861. England. Millbrook, Hampshire. Piece: 683. Folio: 52. Page: 2. http://www.ancestry.com : accessed June 10.

[ix] Census. 1871. England. Millbrook, Hampshire. Piece: 1199. Folio: 60. Page. 14. http://www.ancestry.com : accessed June 10.

[x] Census. 1891. England. Shirley Millbrook, Hampshire. Piece: 923. Folio: 96. Page: 18. http://www.ancestry.com : accessed June 10.

[xi] Census. 1901. England. Downton, Wiltshire. Piece: 1072. Folio: 167. Page: 11. http://www.ancestry.com : accessed June 10.

[xii] Deaths Index. (CR) England & Wales. RD: South Hampton, Hamptonshire. 3rd Q., 1911. INGS, Lydia. Vol. 2c. p. 71. http://ancestry.com : accessed 10 June 2017.

[xiii] Census. 1911. England. Shirley, Hampshire. Piece: 5996. Schedule Number: 246. http://www.ancestry.com : accessed June 10.

[xiv] Testamentary Records. England. 24 January 1913.  INGS, William. Administration. Southhampton. National Probate Calendar Index.  http://ancestry.com : accessed 10 June 2017.