William Sloper

[kiterunner]

Name - "official" name and what they were known as William Sloper
Date and place of birth 3 May 1865, Stainton, Urswick, Dalton-in-Furness, Lancashire. Birth registered as William Pears.
Names of parents Simon Sloper and Christiana nee Stephenson
Date and place of baptism - if applicable Not found
Details of each of his or her marriages - if any 31 Mar 1902 Workington to Mary Dawson
Occupation(s) - if any Steelworker then Steam Crane Driver
Military service - if any None as far as I know
Addresses where they lived - and please list which censuses you have or haven't found him/her on.
1871 Peter Court, Moresby, Whitehaven, Cumberland
1881 Udale Street, Workington, Cumberland
1891 8 Pearson Street, Workington, Cumberland
1901 52 Peter Street, Workington, Cumberland
Date, place and cause of death 11 Feb 1908 at 5 Railway View, Workington, typhoid fever 13 days and pneumonia
Date and place of burial / cremation. 15 Feb 1908, Harrington Road Cemetery, Workington, Cumberland
Details of will / administration of their estate - if applicable None
Memorial inscription - if any Don't know

[kiterunner]

Hmmm, I knew that one of William's brothers was down as Simon Pears Sloper on his death registration and probate info, this being another one whose birth registration I could never find. I have just got Simon's exact date of birth from the 1939 Register - 18 May 1872 - and there is a birth registration for a Simon Pears, MMN Stephenson, Apr-Jun 1872 in Ulverston district. Other Pears / Stephenson births registered in Ulverston district: William Apr-Jun 1865, and George Oct-Dec 1874. And George is the other brother whose birth registration I had never found, so these must be them. But there were two sisters who were registered as Sloper in between William and Simon, though in a different district (Whitehaven). Where did the surname Pears come from? :confused:

[kiterunner]

I can't find a baptism in the name Pears, so I've ordered a PDF of William Pears' birth cert.

[kiterunner]

I've also found a possible death registration for one of William's sisters under the name Pears and have ordered that cert too.

[Merry]

Very interesting. I hope you get the PDFs soon!

I presume the other unmarried sister was reg for death as a Sloper?

[Merry]

Were the unmarried sisters Mary Ann and Catherine? Which one was reg as Pears?

[kiterunner]

Catherine and Mary Ann were William's aunts, sisters of his father Simon Sloper. They were all born in Northern Ireland, but I've never got very far with tracing their line back. They were Protestants and the records don't seem to have survived.

But anyway, this is the list of William and his siblings, a lot of whom were named Simon:
(Parents: Simon Sloper married Christiana Stephenson 12 Apr 1860 at Cleator, Cumberland)
1. Simon Sloper born 31 Dec 1860 Dalry, Ayr, Scotland, baptised 4 Jan 1862 Cleator, Cumberland, died 17 Jan 1862 Whitehaven, Cumberland. Death registered as Samuel Sloper.
2. Simon Sloper born 1862 Cleator, baptised 1 May 1862 Cleator, died 1862 Whitehaven.
3. Simon Sloper born 1863 Cleator, baptised 2 Jun 1863 Cleator, died 2 Mar 1867 Whitehaven (there are several newspaper reports about his death.)
4. William born 1865 Dalton in Furness, Lancashire - birth registered as Pears. Info in post 1.
5. Margaret Sloper born 1867 Whitehaven - she is the one whose death may be registered as Pears (1874 Ulverston district, though age is 5 when it should be 6 or 7 if it's her.)
6. Christiana Sloper born 1869 Whitehaven, died 1909 unmarried, death registered as Sloper.
7. Simon Pears Sloper - born 18 May 1872 Askam in Furness, Lancashire, birth registered as Simon Pears in Ulverston district, married Margaret Hall 1919 Whitehaven district (he is just Simon Sloper on the marriage), died 1948, registered as Simon Pears Sloper.
8. George Sloper - born 1874 Askam in Furness, birth registered as Pears in Ulverston district. Married Ann Danson in 1900 in Cockermouth district as Sloper. Died 1906 Cockermouth as Sloper.
9. Thomas Sloper - born 28 Nov 1877 Workington, baptised 1 Dec 1877 Workington. Married Maggie Johnston 1903 Cockermouth district. Died 1940 Cockermouth district.
10. Mary Ann Sloper born 1879 or 1880 Workington (birth registered first quarter of 1880), listed as Mary Agnes on some records, married John Thomas Nelson 5 Dec 1912 Victoria, British Columbia, Canada. Then they emigrated to Australia! She died in Fairfield, Victoria, Australia, in 1954.

On the 1911 census their mother, Christiana, is said to have given birth to 9 children, 3 still living, 6 who had died. Although she didn't need to fill that bit in as she was a widow. It was filled in by her son Simon (i.e. Simon Pears Sloper) so I guess between them they forgot somebody.

[Merry]

Thanks for those details. Pretty unusual to switch back and forth with a name IMHO.

[Merry]

Going back a generation, are Mary, Jane and Agnes Sloper daughters of your Simon Sloper senr? Mary married Alexander Robinson, Jane married William Rusk and Agnes married Robert McRoberts all in Ireland in the 1850s. Agnes and her husband appear on the Irish 1901 and 1911 census records.

[kiterunner]

Their father was a farmer, and "my" Simon sr was a master weaver or muslin manufacturer. Also, "my" Simon had a daughter Mary Ann, whose baptism I have actually found, 20 Jan 1826 at Bangor (Church of Ireland), and she didn't marry and came to England with mother Margaret and siblings. He could have had two surviving daughters called Mary, but not very likely. I think Margaret could be the Margaret Sloper who was renting a house, yard and small garden in the village of Conlig, Bangor, County Down from Alexander Ross on Griffith's Valuation. There is a Simon Sloper on Griffith's Valuation at Donaghadee, who is a farmer, likely the father of Mary, Jane, and Agnes. I'm sure the two Simon Slopers must be related, but not sure how exactly.

[kiterunner]

I have the PDF now, and this is what it says:

Superintendent Registrar's District: Ulverstone
Registrar's District: Dalton
1865 Births in the District of Dalton in the County of Lancaster
When Born: Third May 1865 Stainton Urswick
Name: William
Sex: Boy
Name and Surname of Father: Simon Pears
Name and Maiden Surname of Mother: Christiana Pears formerly Stephenson
Rank or Profession of Father: Engine Driver at Iron ore Mines
Signature, Description and Residence of Informant: Simon Pears Father Stainton Urswick
When Registered: Twenty sixth May 1865.

So it certainly seems that the Slopers called themselves Pears when they were in the Furness area, but why? There don't seem to have been any people of that surname in County Down, where the Slopers came from.

[kiterunner]

And I now have the Margaret Pears death cert, but on the face of it, she is from a different family:

Superintendent Registrar's District: Ulverston
1874 Deaths in the District of Dalton in the County of Lancaster
When Died: Twenty second March 1874 Ireleth Marsh
Name and Surname: Margaret Pears
Sex: Female
Age: 5 years and 9 months
Rank or Profession: Daughter of Thomas Pears Labourer
Cause of Death: Died from Convulsions
Signature, Description, and Residence of Informant: Information received from John Poole Coroner for the Liberty of Furness Inquest held 23rd March 1874.

But I can't see a likely birth registration for this Margaret Pears, so need to make sure she can definitely be ruled out as Margaret Sloper!

[kiterunner]

There is a Thomas Pears who married a Mary Brunskill in Ulverston district in 1864, and they did have a daughter Margaret, but she was born in 1866 in Ledbury district (Herefordshire / Worcestershire) and apparently died in 1886, so the death cert isn't for her. I may have to get the birth certificate of one or both of the other Pears / Stephenson boys to see what those say.

[kiterunner]

I now have the birth certs of the other two boys - Simon born 18 May 1872 and George born 8 Oct 1874 - and both were born at Ireleth Marsh, so I suppose that must have been the right death cert for Margaret. Father on both these birth certs is Simon Pears, engine driver at iron ore mines, so it looks as though Thomas on the death cert was an error.