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William McCormick (1861 - 1932)

William McCormick
Born in Limerick, Irelandmap
Ancestors ancestors
Husband of — married 1916 in Dudley, Staffordshire, England, United Kingdommap
Descendants descendants
Died at age 71 in Birmingham, Warwickshire, England, United Kingdommap
Problems/Questions
Profile last modified | Created 14 Nov 2011
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Biography

William McCormick was the oldest of five children of John and Ann McCormick (née Clagg). He was born on 19 May 1861 in Limerick, Ireland, where his father was living after his discharge from the British Army in May 1857.

Some time before October 1863, when William was still an infant, his parents moved to Pembroke Dock in southwest Wales, where William was brought up. Four more siblings came along while they were living there: Henry (b. 15 October 1863), Ann (about 1864), Amelia (1865), and Frederick (Christmas Day, 1867). Oddly, the 1871 census has no record of either William (who would have been 10) or any of his siblings (but his parents were listed).

William enlisted with the British Army as a Private on 24 February 1879, aged 17. He joined the 2nd Battalion of the newly-formed Worcestershire Regiment (an amalgamation of the old 29th and 36th Regiments of Foot), and was given the Regimental Number 2153. He was a small man, weighing 140lbs and standing 5ft 7.5 inches tall. He had a dark complexion, brown eyes and dark brown hair, gave his trade as that of a labourer, and his religion as Church of England. He enlisted at Pembroke Dock, and his next of kin is erroneously listed in his service record as his father James.

In July-August 1880, William spent nearly a month in hospital with what was described in his Army records as ‘valve disease of the heart’, but which was most likely iron-deficiency anaemia (which can produce a heart murmur and palpitations). It was the result of a poor diet.

He moved with the regiment to Fleetwood in March 1879, and then to Ireland, where he was to spend just over three years. He started off in Cork (July 1880), and was then transferred to Kinsale (January 1881), where—on 14 April 1883, after service of nearly three years—he was promoted to lance corporal. He was then posted briefly to Kilkenny (April 1883) and Waterford (June 1883), where—on 17 June 1883—he was promoted to corporal . He was routinely on good conduct pay, which was unusual (only about 25 per cent of the rank and file ever was), and his name never appeared on the lengthy lists of soldiers fined for drunkenness that are part of the regimental records.

In October 1883 William was transferred to Jersey. In October 1884 he was posted to Worcester, and on 25 February 1885 was transferred to the Army reserve. He had apparently had little schooling, because he took time while in the Army to prepare for—and take—various tests in reading, writing, and arithmetic.

Following his transfer to the reserves, William began work as a lamplighter for Birmingham Corporation, at a time when the city was lit by gas lamps that had to be turned on and off every day. City of Birmingham records say that he began this job on 23 January 1885 , a month before his transfer to the reserves. His address at the time was given as 4 Sycamores, Stanhope Street, Highgate, Birmingham, and he was 23 years old.

At some point in the late 1880s, William was either married or started living with someone, but little is known about his wife (see later discussion). Her name is listed in records as Ellen, and she was apparently born in Holt, Worcestershire (about eight miles north of Worcester), in about 1864-65. Her first definite appearance was in the 1891 census, which was taken on 5 April that year. William (aged 29) and Ellen (aged 27, so born about 1864-65) McCormick were living in Broom Street, Bordesley, Warwickshire. He was described as a gas lamplighter and as being born in ‘Ireland, City of Limerick’, and she was listed as his wife and as being born in Holt, Worcestershire.

A few weeks before, on 24 February 1891, aged 29 and following a standard period of twelve years of service, William had been discharged from the Army at Worcester. He was described as having ‘regular’ habits, good character, a good conduct record, and a ‘temperate’ manner (meaning, presumably, that he was a non-drinker). The few surviving photographs of him suggest that he was always well dressed and smart, and was probably described by those who knew him as dapper.

Just over a year after William’s military discharge, his father John died (20 March 1892). His mother Ann had been earning an income until then as a dressmaker, supplementing John’s wages first as a labourer and then as an Army pensioner. She now apparently fell on hard times, however, and—remarkably—she spent her last few years in the Pembroke Dock workhouse, where she died of malnutrition on 23 June 1896. To have allowed their mother to have died such an awful death must have meant that there had been some serious falling out within the family.

The 1901 census (taken 31 March) shows William (39) and Ellen (37, so born about 1864-65) McCormick living at 77 Eversley Road, Birmingham. He was described as a lamplighter, born in ‘Ireland’, and she was listed as his wife, and as being born in ‘Worcester—Holt’. So far, so good. But then on 8 July that year, aged 40, William married Helen Murray Brookes (37, so born about 1864-65) in Birmingham Register Office, and was described on the marriage certificate as a bachelor. He gave his address as 18 Carver Street, Birmingham, which was the home address of his brother Frederick. Helen was described as a spinster, gave her address as 16 Hingeston Street, Birmingham (in the Hockley area of the city, west of the centre, about 600 yards from 18 Carver Street), and gave her father’s name as Benjamin (a farm bailiff, deceased ). Are Ellen and Helen the same person, and were William and Ellen/Helen living together for ten years or more before they were married? It is the only explanation that seems to fit the facts.

The 1911 census (taken 2 April) lists William (49) and Helen Maria (sic) (47, so born about 1864-65) McCormick, and notes that they had been married for 11 years. He was a ‘lamplighter to corporation’, born in ‘Limerick, Ireland’, and she was born in ‘Holt near Worcester’. Their address was 4 Sycamores, Stanhope Street, which is interesting—this is where William lived in 1885.

On 14 October 1914, Helen McCormick, wife of William McCormick, listed as a ‘Corporation lamplighter’, died at the age of 52. They lived at 83 Leopold Street, and the cause of death was colon cancer and heart failure.

On 2 April 1916*, at the age of 55 (but the marriage certificate says 52), William was married for a second (perhaps even third) time, to Miriam Davis, a 33-year-old spinster.[1] She was born in Windmill End, Dudley on 17 November 1882*, and was one of 13 children of James Joseph and Miriam Davis (née Bradley). At the time of their marriage, Miriam was living at 127 High Street, Netherton, and John at 83 Leopold Street, Birmingham. The witnesses were Miriam’s older siblings Edith and Walter (both their names incorrectly transcribed as “Davies” on the certificate).

At the time of the 1901 census, Miriam had been working as a domestic servant, and either living with or visiting her uncle John Wesley Cornwell, a 32-year-old boat builder from Rowley Regis. He was living at 12 Bullfield Farm, Springfield Lane, Rowley Regis with his wife Caroline Darby Cornwell (37), their daughters Sarah (7) and Ida (4), and their son Garnet (2). Also at home that day were John’s cousin John Darby (a farmer, aged 38) and Miriam’s sister Lilian (9).

Miriam was still a servant at the time of the 1911 census, working for 56-year-old Yorkshire-born clothing manufacturer named William Roberts who was sharing a home at 137 Pershore Road, Edgbaston, with his sister Laura (aged 49) and his bank clerk nephew Arthur Bain (18). All were unmarried. Miriam was apparently illiterate, because she signed her mother’s death certificate in 1916 with an X. She learned to write later, though.

William and Miriam were married at the Parish Church (St. Andrew’s) in Netherton, and William was described on the marriage certificate as a widower, giving his profession as a lamplighter working for Birmingham Corporation. He was living at 83 Leopold Street (which intersected with Stanhope Street just south of the city centre, and at the time a desirable part of Birmingham) where he lived for the rest of his life. William and Miriam appear on the electoral registers at that address for 1922 and 1930.

Their daughter Winifred Miriam Beatrice was born on 23 August 1917 (when William was 56), and their son William John (my father) was born on 12 April 1920* (when William was 59).

Whether at Stanhope Street, Broom Street, Eversley Road, or Leopold Road, William lived in the same general area of Birmingham—within a couple of miles of today’s Birmingham City Football Club—for nearly 50 years.

William retired from his job as a lamplighter on 29 September 1928, aged 67, after more than 43 years of service. He died on 24 October 1932*, aged 71. He and Miriam had been married for 16 years and had lived the whole time at 83 Leopold Street.

Miriam died at Burton Road Hospital, Dudley, on 7 September 1970* at the age of 87, after nearly 38 years as a widow.

Sources

  1. "England and Wales Marriage Registration Index, 1837-2005," database, FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:26XZ-CWW : 22 May 2014), Miriam Davis and null, 1916; from "England & Wales Marriages, 1837-2005," database, findmypast (http://www.findmypast.com : 2012); citing 1916, quarter 2, vol. 6B, p. 1683, Dudley, Staffordshire, England, General Register Office, Southport, England.




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It may be possible to confirm family relationships with William by comparing test results with other carriers of his Y-chromosome or his mother's mitochondrial DNA. However, there are no known yDNA or mtDNA test-takers in his direct paternal or maternal line. It is likely that these autosomal DNA test-takers will share some percentage of DNA with William:

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McCormick-2676 and McCormick-500 do not represent the same person because: Different geography.

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