Person:William Linney (1)

William John Linney was born in 1858 at Leighton Buzzard in Bedfordshire, son of a plaiter named Eliza Linney, formerly Hickinbottom, and her husband John Linney, an agricultural labourer. William appears to have been the youngest of the couple's seven children. He appears in the 1861 census living with his parents and siblings at Parrotts Piece, a lane just north of the Market Place in Leighton Buzzard. The family was still there ten years later for the 1871 census, by which time twelve-year old William was working as an agricultural labourer.

William's father John died later in 1871. William's mother Eliza married again in 1875 to a shepherd named George Biley. By this time a number of William's older siblings had moved a few miles to the east to the town of Luton. William followed them, and was married at Luton in 1876, aged just 18, to Ann Odell, who was 27 and already had a son and a daughter. William and Ann had a daughter in 1879, called Caroline, but sadly she died the following year. They do not appear to have had any more children.

The 1881 census finds William, Ann and her two children living at 47 Hitchin Road in Luton. By this time, William was working as a bricklayer. Some time between 1881 and 1891 the family moved into London, living at Hampstead in the northern suburbs.

Neither William nor Ann has yet been found in the 1901 census. Ann died in 1905 at her daughter's home in Luton, aged 55. Her death was sudden, so an inquest was held. The report of that inquest tells us that Ann and William had been living apart for some time, with Ann having been living in London with her son until about a month before her death when she moved back to Luton to live with her daughter.^[9]

William's next sighting is in the 1911 census, by which time he was living back in Luton at 10 Ashton Street. He had living with him Harriett Hopson (nee Toy), whose husband had died a few months earlier. Shortly after the 1911 census William and Harriett married, and the following year they had a daughter named Marie Florence. By this time William was 53 years old, whilst Harriett was a few days short of her 42nd birthday when Marie was born. They do not appear to have had any more children.

The family later left Luton and moved to Leicestershire, where Marie was married in 1934 in the Barrow upon Soar district. William died in 1937 in the Loughborough district, aged 79. Harriett outlived him by nine years and died in 1946.

1. ↑ Births index, in General Register Office. England and Wales Civil Registration. (London: General Register Office).

   b. William John LINNEY, September Quarter 1858, Leighton Buzzard Registration District, Volume 3b, page 351, mother's maiden name Hickinbottom

2. ↑ England. 1861 Census Schedules for England and Wales, Isle of Man and the Channel Islands. (
   Kew, Richmond, Greater London TW9 4DU, United Kingdom:
   The National Archives (abbreviated TNA), formerly the UK General Register Office.)
   Class RG9; Piece 1005; Folio 83; Page 2, 7 Apr 1861.

   Address: Parrotts Piece, Leighton Buzzard, Bedfordshire
   John Linney, head, married, male, 47 [1813/4], Ag Lab, b. Leighton Buzzard, Bedfordshire
   Eliza Linney, wife, married, female, 45 [1815/6], Plaiter, b. Leighton Buzzard, Bedfordshire
   George Linney, son, unmarried, male, 22 [1838/9], Rail[wa]y Lab, b. Leighton Buzzard, Bedfordshire
   Martha Linney, daughter, unmarried, female, 16 [1844/5], Plaiter, b. Leighton Buzzard, Bedfordshire
   Susan Linney, daughter, unmarried, female, 16 [1844/5], Plaiter, b. Leighton Buzzard, Bedfordshire
   Samuel Linney, son, male, 10 [1850/1], Ag Lab, b. Linslade, Buckinghamshire
   Jane Linney, daughter, female, 5 [1855/6], b. Linslade, Buckinghamshire
   William Linney, son, male, 2 [1858/9], b. Leighton Buzzard, Bedfordshire

3. ↑ England. Births and Christenings, 1538-1975. (FamilySearch, Ancestry.com, Findmypast).

   ch. 3 Dec 1862, All Saints, Leighton Buzzard, Bedfordshire: William John son of John & Eliza LINNEY

   Needs to be confirmed at Bedfordshire Archives.

4. ↑ England. England and Wales. 1871 Census Schedules. (
   Kew, Richmond, Greater London TW9 4DU, United Kingdom:
   The National Archives (abbreviated TNA), formerly the UK General Register Office.)
   Class RG10; Piece 1561; Folio 60; Page 2, 2 Apr 1871.

   Address: Parrotts Piece, Leighton Buzzard, Bedfordshire
   John Linney, head, married, male, 59 [1811/12], Agricultural Labourer, b. Leighton Buzzard, Bedfordshire
   Eliza Linney, wife, married, female, 55 [1815/6], b. Leighton Buzzard, Bedfordshire
   Susan Linney, daughter, unmarried, female, 26 [1844/5], Plaiter, b. Leighton Buzzard, Bedfordshire
   Martha Linney, daughter, unmarried, female, 26 [1844/5], Plaiter, b. Leighton Buzzard, Bedfordshire
   Samuel Linney, son, unmarried, male, 20 [1850/1], Agricultural Labourer, b. Leighton Buzzard, Bedfordshire
   Jane Linney, daughter, unmarried, female, 16 [1854/5], Plaiter, b. Leighton Buzzard, Bedfordshire
   William Linney, son, unmarried, male, 12 [1858/9], Agricultural Labourer, b. Leighton Buzzard, Bedfordshire
   Sarah Jane Linney, granddaughter, female, 3 [1867/8], b. Leighton Buzzard, Bedfordshire
   Ada Linney, granddaughter, female, 3mo [1870/1], b. Leighton Buzzard, Bedfordshire

5. ↑ England. 1881 Census Schedules for England and Wales, Isle of Man and the Channel Islands: . (
   Kew, Richmond, Greater London TW9 4DU, United Kingdom:
   The National Archives (abbreviated TNA), formerly the UK General Register Office.)
   Class RG11; Piece 1650; Folio 91; Page 18, 3 Apr 1881.

   Address: 47 Hitchin Road, Luton, Bedfordshire
   William John Linney, head, married, male, 24 [1856/7], Bricklayer, b. Leighton Buzzard, Bedfordshire
   Ann Linney, wife, married, female, 32 [1848/9], Straw Plait Sewer, b. Leighton Buzzard, Bedfordshire
   Arthur Linney, son, male, 7 [1873/4], Scholar, b. Wolverhampton, Staffordshire
   Mary Jane Linney, daughter, female, 5 [1875/6], Scholar, b. Luton, Bedfordshire

6. ↑ England. 1891 Census Schedules for England and Wales, Isle of Man and the Channel Islands. (
   Kew, Richmond, Greater London TW9 4DU, United Kingdom:
   The National Archives (abbreviated TNA), formerly the UK General Register Office.)
   Class RG12; Piece 112; Folio 10; Page 13, 5 Apr 1891.

   Address: 13 Lowfield Road, Hampstead, London
   2 rooms occupied
   William Lenney, head, married, male, 32 [1858/9], Bricklayer, b. Leighton Buzzard, Bedfordshire
   Ann Lenney, wife, married, female, 44 [1846/7], b. Luton, Bedfordshire
   Arthur Lenney, son, male, 20 [1870/1], Bricklayers Laborer, b. Wolverhampton

7. ↑ England. 1911 Census Schedules for England and Wales, Isle of Man and the Channel Islands. (Kew, Richmond, Greater London TW9 4DU, United Kingdom: The National Archives (abbreviated TNA), (formerly the UK General Register Office.))
   Class RG14; Piece 9003; Schedule 218, 2 Apr 1911.

   Address: 10 Ashton Street, Luton, Bedfordshire
   5 rooms occupied
   William Linney, head, male, 53 [1857/8], widower, Bricklayer, worker, b. Leighton Buzzard, Bedfordshire
   Harriett Hopson, boarder, female, 38 [1872/3], widow, Laundress, worker own account, working at home, b. Newcross?, Kent

8. ↑ Deaths index, in General Register Office. England and Wales Civil Registration. (London: General Register Office).

   d. William John LINNEY, June Quarter 1937, Loughborough Registration District, Volume 7a, page 151, aged 79 [1857/8]

   There is an alternative death registration which might be him:
   d. William LINNEY, March Quarter 1912, Luton Registration District, Volume 3b, page 312, aged 55 [1856/7]
   However, this is considered likely to be the William Linney of about the same age who had been living at Totternhoe (in the Luton district) in the 1911 census. Given that William's wife and daughter both appear to have moved to Leicestershire after 1911 and the fact that the 1937 Loughborough death is the only death index with the correct middle name and age it is considered far more likely to be him.

9. ↑ A transcript of the inquest report is on Ann Odell's page.