Thread: James DONNISON

I am trying to find out who the parents of James DONNISON were and where he was born.

My earliest finding of him is from the records of St James, Toxteth Park, 23 May 1803, marriage after banns: James DONISON (sic), bachelor of the parish of Walton on the Hill, Joiner, and Hannah UNSWORTH, of the parish of Walton on the Hill, Spinster. So James was living in Walton on the Hill in 1803 but that is not necessarily his place of birth. I have not been able to find a record of his birth in Walton on the Hill.

After that, James was living in West Derby at time of son James' birth in 1804.

In the England Commercial Directory for 1816 - 1817, under Liverpool, there is a "DONNISON Jas", joiner, at Moira St, London Road, Liverpool. There is also a "DONNISON, James" in Liverpool, occupation Grocer, living at London Road. My James was definitely a joiner, so I am puzzled as to who this other James DONNISON, the grocer, could have been - my James' father?

James died on 3rd February, 1835, in Liverpool, aged about 60. I have a copy of his will and there are no details of his parents or of any siblings. There is no mention of his place of birth.

This means that I am looking for a James DONNISON born around 1775. There is no trace of any DONNISONs in Liverpool according to Gore's Directories of 1766 and 1796. There is a James DONNISON born to Adam Donnison and Margaret Capstaff in Northumberland in 1775 but I have found out that this is not the same DONNISON as the one I am looking for. However, DONNISON is a common name in the north east, so perhaps his family came from there.

I really don't know how to proceed with my research. With nothing other than a rough date of birth and no idea where he came from, I feel that this is one brick wall I will not be able to scale. Any help would be most gratefully received.

Regards,

Carol

Hello

You have done well in your research.

Have you 'page turned' in the Walton on the Hill parish registers to see if you can pick up any further DONNISON's

Have you got the Parish register entry of th 1805 baptism, only I note it sates on the digitalised version b August 1805 bp February 1805...a baptism before a birth

elsabels

Most likely of little use Carol, but Baines' 1825 Lancashire Directory shows James the joiner with (presumably) premises at 17 Phythian St, and still residing in Moira St, at number 6.
No record of James the grocer in same directory.

you prob have these
Name: James Donnison
Gender: Male
Baptism/Christening Date: 17 Feb 1805
Baptism/Christening Place: St. Mary-the-Virgin, West Derby, Lancashire, England
Birth Date: 21 Aug 1804
Father's Name: James Donnison
Mother's Name: Hannah
Indexing Project (Batch) Number: C01856-9
System Origin: England-EASy
Source Film Number: 1468982
Reference Number: item 2
Collection: England Births and Christenings, 1538-1975

Name: Margret Donnison
Gender: Female
Baptism/Christening Date: 09 Nov 1806
Baptism/Christening Place: SAINT MARY THE VIRGIN,WEST DERBY,LANCASHIRE,ENGLAND
Birth Date: 25 Jun 1806
Father's Name: James Donnison
Mother's Name: Hannah
Indexing Project (Batch) Number: C03422-1
System Origin: England-ODM
Source Film Number: 94272
Collection: England Births and Christenings, 1538-1975

Name: Thos. Donnison
Gender: Male
Baptism/Christening Date: Jul 1812
Baptism/Christening Place: ST JOHNS OLD HAYMARKET,LIVERPOOL,LANCASHIRE,ENGLAND
Father's Name: James Donnison
Mother's Name: Hannah
Indexing Project (Batch) Number: C02125-3
System Origin: England-ODM
Source Film Number: 93821
Collection: England Births and Christenings, 1538-1975


there is also this one but mother is ann

Name: Robt. Donnison
Gender: Male
Baptism/Christening Date: 24 Feb 1811
Baptism/Christening Place: ST JOHNS OLD HAYMARKET,LIVERPOOL,LANCASHIRE,ENGLAND
Birth Date: 10 Oct 1810
Father's Name: James Donnison
Mother's Name: Ann
Indexing Project (Batch) Number: C02125-1
System Origin: England-ODM
Source Film Number: 93821
Collection: England Births and Christenings, 1538-1975

Thank you, Elsabels. I have not 'page turned', the records for the period I would be looking for haven't been published, as far as I know, and I guess it would need a trip up to the Lancashire Records Office to do that (I live in Essex). By the way, I have James' birth as 21 August 1804 and his baptism 17 February 1805. But a trip to the Records Office is going to be essential if I am to crack this one. Thanks again for your help.

Thank you for that, Finbar, it is good to be able to find out what other directories say about the Donnisons.

Welshlady, thank you for your research! James had (as far as I know) 3 sons and 2 daughters. Robert's mother was Hannah, I think that "Hannah" is a variation of the name "Ann". The "English Births and Christenings" sounds like a source which is worth me exploring to look for other Donnisons. Thanks again.

Thank you, Rubina. Hannah died in 1847. The James you found in the 1851 census was indeed James jnr (b 1804) and James, Thomas and Robert were his children. Mary was his second wife. I found James (senior) in the 1841 census and "Mum" wasn't living with him then either. It's a shame that the 1831 census wasn't up to scratch, we might have found her there! Thanks again.