But first, the headstone remembering him, his wife and his sister in law.

William stands alone in Filey Genealogy & Connections, bereft of parents, wife and children. This morning, the FamilySearch Shared Tree was no more informative. I had to start from scratch to give some context in which the “memory” of his headstone has meaning.

One of the first leads I happened upon was an online family tree that gave William’s parents as Richard SMART and Mary Jane BARRANCE. Their marriage is represented on the Shared Tree.

One of the blue hints gives the ages of groom and bride as 48 and 30. The aforementioned online tree has Mary Jane born in Clayton West, Yorkshire, in 1866 making her thirteen years old when she married.

I found the parish register entry for the marriage and it confirmed the blue hint information, the parents of the couple are given as John Smart and William Barrance.

The GRO Index of Births offers an alternative mother.

1889

SMART, William, Mother’s Maiden Surname: ACKROYD. GRO Reference: 1889 J Quarter in HUDDERSFIELD Volume 09A Page 297.

On Census night 1891, William is with his maternal grandparents, parents and sister Ann in Skelmanthorpe, Huddersfield. Here is the FamilySearch screenshot of the census information.

Arthur married Mary ACKROYD when Mary junior was nine years old.

Marriages Mar 1875  

AKROYD (sic) Mary & WALSHAW Alfred, Huddersfield 9a 437.

Births 1865

AKEROYD, Mary, Mother’s Maiden Surname: WOODCOCK. GRO Reference: 1865 J Quarter in WORTLEY Volume 09C Page 191.

Further research revealed Arthur’s first marriage to Ann STEAD and Mary senior’s to Richard ACKROYD. There are still some missing pieces but I have enough now to put the Smart stone on the Shared Tree as a memory.

Path 161 · New Cliff Path