Pte Richard Pearson, South Staffordshire Regiment, Reg. No. 9054

[Sallyjane]

If anyone has any info regards Richard Pearson I would be pleased to know. I am trying to verify he is in fact a relative. Info so far looks like it's possible. 

So far I have found the following on Ancestry.co.uk:

• Soldiers died in WWI -  born West Bromwich, Staffs. Enlisted Brierley Hill Staffs. 1st 5th Battalion (Territorial Force). Killed in action 13 Oct 1915. 
• Pension card - mother Mary Anne Pearson
• Soldiers Effects - father William Pearson

I can't find any other service records.

Could anyone help?

Many thanks.

Sallyjane

[Matlock1418]

4 hours ago, Sallyjane said:

Pension card - mother Mary Anne Pearson

Western Front Association / Fold3 [Ancestry] - As Mary Ann Pearson - has two Pension Index Cards and a Pension Ledger Index Card for her dependant's claim

Her address was given as: 12 Hurst Street, Tipton and also as 181 Bloomfield Road, Tipton

Ancestry have his MIC and the related Medal Rolls.  CWGC have his commemoration. Sort of presume you have seen those.

:-) M

[Mark1959]

If you are trying to establish him as an ancestor we need to trace back from you. 
with the common name one has to be careful. If you happy to please name your parent and grandparents then we may be able to confirm. Years of birth would help.

Richard was unmarried. No sign of a pension claim for a child. If I have the right person from the 1911 census he only seems to have had one surviving sibling William. If one Ancestry family tree is correct William’s daughter only died in 2019. However, that and other apparently relevant family trees have some pretty obvious mistakes in them. 

[Sallyjane]

On 17/07/2021 at 13:04, Mark1959 said:

If you are trying to establish him as an ancestor we need to trace back from you. 
with the common name one has to be careful. If you happy to please name your parent and grandparents then we may be able to confirm. Years of birth would help.

Richard was unmarried. No sign of a pension claim for a child. If I have the right person from the 1911 census he only seems to have had one surviving sibling William. If one Ancestry family tree is correct William’s daughter only died in 2019. However, that and other apparently relevant family trees have some pretty obvious mistakes in them. 

Thanks for the offer of help.

Grandfather: William Carless Pearson b 1889 – d 1950

Grandmother: Dora nee Middleton b 1893 – d 1970

Mother: Kathleen Joyce Griffiths nee Pearson b 1931 – d 1992

My mum had two siblings, Harold William (1926-2010) and Lois Mary (1917-1997). no-one died in 2019.

Many thanks.

SJ

On 17/07/2021 at 00:02, Matlock1418 said:

Western Front Association / Fold3 [Ancestry] - As Mary Ann Pearson - has two Pension Index Cards and a Pension Ledger Index Card for her dependant's claim

Her address was given as: 12 Hurst Street, Tipton and also as 181 Bloomfield Road, Tipton

Ancestry have his MIC and the related Medal Rolls.  CWGC have his commemoration. Sort of presume you have seen those.

:-) M

Thanks for the info. I'll check out the addresses.

SJ

[PRC]

The soldier who died on the 13th October 1915 has no obvious soldiers will or civil probate, and no age or additional information on his Commonwealth War Graves Commission webpage, and no missing person enquiry received by the International Committee of the Red Cross, so looks like all there is so far is that his father was William, his mother was Mary Anne, and he was born West Bromwich. Mother and fathers' connection to Tipton occurs at a time unknown.

There is no clear match on the 1911 Census of England & Wales, but on the 1901 version there is a 4 year old Richard Pearson, born "Westbromwich", who was recorded living at 87 Cannock Road, Heath Town, Staffordshire. This is the household of his parents William, (aged 39, a Forge Pig Weigher, born Netherton, Worcestershire) and Mary Anne, (aged 36, born Tipton, Staffordshire). The couple have one other child, a son William, aged 11 and born Tipton.

On the 1911 Census of England & Wales William, (49, Forge Pig Weigher, born County of Worcester) and 'MaryAnn' Pearson, (47, born County of Stafford), were recorded living at Ravenscroft Villas, High Street, Moxley, Bilston, Staffordshire. The couple state they have been married 23 years and have had 4 children, of which 2 were then still alive. Only one was still living with - the 15 year Richard Pearson, an Iron Presser working for a Motor Car Body Manufacturer, who was born County of Stafford.

The most likely marriage of the parents was that of a William Pearson to a Mary Ann Pugh recorded in the Dudley District of Staffordshire in the January to March quarter, (Q1), of 1888.

And there is the birth of a Richard Pearson, mothers' maiden name Pugh, which was registered with the civil authorities in the West Bromwich District in the January to March quarter, (Q1), of 1897. As well as West Bromwich itself, the West Bromwich Civil Registration District included the Civil Parish of Wednesbury. https://www.ukbmd.org.uk/reg/districts/west bromwich.html May be a co-incidence but the baptism of a Richard Pearson, fathers' name Richard, mothers' name Mary Ann, took place at Wednesbury on the 22nd December 1896. Then, as now, you had 42 days after the event to register the birth, with the quarterly report from the General Registrars Office showing quarter registered, which isn't automatically the same as quarter born. Therefore the baptism date and the quarter of registration is not incompatible. https://www.familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:JQ8F-NMR

Also there is the birth of a William Carless Pearson, mothers' maiden name Pugh, which was registered with the civil authorities in the Dudley District in the April to June quarter, (Q2), of 1889. The Dudley Civil Registration District included the civil parish of Tipton. https://www.ukbmd.org.uk/reg/districts/dudley.html
The baptism of a William Carless Pearson took place at Wednesbury, Staffordshire on the 30th April 1889. Parents were William and Mary Ann. https://www.familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:NYMD-6PT

FreeReg takes it a step further - the baptism of a William Carless Pearson, born 12th April 1889, took place at Leabrook Primitive Methodist Church, Wednesbury on the 30th April 1889. His father was William, a Stock Taker, and his mother was Mary Ann. The family were then living at Ocker Hill. https://www.freereg.org.uk/search_records/58989045f493fd73c315cc12/william-carless-pearson-baptism-staffordshire-wednesbury-1889-04-30?locale=en

The baptism of a Richard Pearson, born 26th November 1896, took place at Leabrook Primitive Methodist Church, Wednesbury on the 22nd December 1896. Parents were William, a Pig Weigher, and Mary Ann. The family were then living at 102 Holloway Bank. https://www.freereg.org.uk/search_records/589c7b58f493fdd07e5f6495/richard-pearson-baptism-staffordshire-wednesbury-1896-12-22?locale=en

Leabrook Primitive Methodists Church is still apparently active. From studying other men who were Methodists I know many such congregations produced regular news letters during the Great War period with updates on what was happening to the far flung members of the congregation. Many also had a Great War Memorial \ Roll of Honour. As I can't see a Richard Pearson remembered on the Bilston War Memorial, the Tipton War Memorial, (or the excellent Tipton Remembers website), that might tend to suggest that the man in the civil records and the soldier are two different individuals. However there is the possibility that Leabrook might have an archive and be able to provide details that confirm either he is one and the same, or provide an alternative fate for your Richard. Nearest I could find to contact details is here :- https://www.sandwell.gov.uk/directory_record/2778/lea_brook_methodist_church

Although the website address given doesn't appear to be valid, there is an e-mail address as well.

Hope that helps
Peter

Edited 22 July , 2021 by PRC
Typo

[Sallyjane]

10 hours ago, PRC said:

The soldier who died on the 13th October 1915 has no obvious soldiers will or civil probate, and no age or additional information on his Commonwealth War Graves Commission webpage, and no missing person enquiry received by the International Committee of the Red Cross, so looks like all there is so far is that his father was William, his mother was Mary Anne, and he was born West Bromwich. Mother and fathers' connection to Tipton occurs at a time unknown.

There is no clear match on the 1911 Census of England & Wales, but on the 1901 version there is a 4 year old Richard Pearson, born "Westbromwich", who was recorded living at 87 Cannock Road, Heath Town, Staffordshire. This is the household of his parents William, (aged 39, a Forge Pig Weigher, born Netherton, Worcestershire) and Mary Anne, (aged 36, born Tipton, Staffordshire). The couple have one other child, a son William, aged 11 and born Tipton.

On the 1911 Census of England & Wales William, (49, Forge Pig Weigher, born County of Worcester) and 'MaryAnn' Pearson, (47, born County of Stafford), were recorded living at Ravenscroft Villas, High Street, Moxley, Bilston, Staffordshire. The couple state they have been married 23 years and have had 4 children, of which 2 were then still alive. Only one was still living with - the 15 year Richard Pearson, an Iron Presser working for a Motor Car Body Manufacturer, who was born County of Stafford.

The most likely marriage of the parents was that of a William Pearson to a Mary Ann Pugh recorded in the Dudley District of Staffordshire in the January to March quarter, (Q1), of 1888.

And there is the birth of a Richard Pearson, mothers' maiden name Pugh, which was registered with the civil authorities in the West Bromwich District in the January to March quarter, (Q1), of 1897. As well as West Bromwich itself, the West Bromwich Civil Registration District included the Civil Parish of Wednesbury. https://www.ukbmd.org.uk/reg/districts/west bromwich.html May be a co-incidence but the baptism of a Richard Pearson, fathers' name Richard, mothers' name Mary Ann, took place at Wednesbury on the 22nd December 1896. Then, as now, you had 42 days after the event to register the birth, with the quarterly report from the General Registrars Office showing quarter registered, which isn't automatically the same as quarter born. Therefore the baptism date and the quarter of registration is not incompatible. https://www.familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:JQ8F-NMR

Also there is the birth of a William Carless Pearson, mothers' maiden name Pugh, which was registered with the civil authorities in the Dudley District in the April to June quarter, (Q2), of 1889. The Dudley Civil Registration District included the civil parish of Tipton. https://www.ukbmd.org.uk/reg/districts/dudley.html
The baptism of a William Carless Pearson took place at Wednesbury, Staffordshire on the 30th April 1889. Parents were William and Mary Ann. https://www.familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:NYMD-6PT

FreeReg takes it a step further - the baptism of a William Carless Pearson, born 12th April 1889, took place at Leabrook Primitive Methodist Church, Wednesbury on the 30th April 1889. His father was William, a Stock Taker, and his mother was Mary Ann. The family were then living at Ocker Hill. https://www.freereg.org.uk/search_records/58989045f493fd73c315cc12/william-carless-pearson-baptism-staffordshire-wednesbury-1889-04-30?locale=en

The baptism of a Richard Pearson, born 26th November 1896, took place at Leabrook Primitive Methodist Church, Wednesbury on the 22nd December 1896. Parents were William, a Pig Weigher, and Mary Ann. The family were then living at 102 Holloway Bank. https://www.freereg.org.uk/search_records/589c7b58f493fdd07e5f6495/richard-pearson-baptism-staffordshire-wednesbury-1896-12-22?locale=en

Leabrook Primitive Methodists Church is still apparently active. From studying other men who were Methodists I know many such congregations produced regular news letters during the Great War period with updates on what was happening to the far flung members of the congregation. Many also had a Great War Memorial \ Roll of Honour. As I can't see a Richard Pearson remembered on the Bilston War Memorial, the Tipton War Memorial, (or the excellent Tipton Remembers website), that might tend to suggest that the man in the civil records and the soldier are two different individuals. However there is the possibility that Leabrook might have an archive and be able to provide details that confirm either he is one and the same, or provide an alternative fate for your Richard. Nearest I could find to contact details is here :- https://www.sandwell.gov.uk/directory_record/2778/lea_brook_methodist_church

Although the website address given doesn't appear to be valid, there is an e-mail address as well.

Hope that helps
Peter

Thanks so much, Peter.

This is really comprehensive and will certainly help with our research!

I need to read, digest and look at the links.

Best regards,

Sallyjane (SJ)