Hi there,need some some help tracing this family,,as i have looked and looked and cant seem to find anything that fits..
In 1901 census i have
William williams born abt 1850 Bath sommerset
Jane williams born abt 1851 Ledbury
Thomas williams son born abt 1873 Ross
William williams son born abt 1875 Ross
Henry williams son born abt 1877 Ross
Albert williams son born abt 1871 Ross
Emily williams daughter born abt 1890 Ross
Allen williams son born abt 1884 Ross
James williams son born abt 1886 Ross
Edith williams daughter born abt 1890 Ross

AS i can find no baptism records of the children i believe they moved to this area from somewhere..I have found (THANKS TO THIS SITE) all the childrens marriages ,their children etc etc and have also found another stange thing that later in life they along with their father all seem to have lived in OLD GLOUCESTER ROAD in Ross in different houses....
Any way ive tried finding this family in the 1891 census but unless im missing something i cant find them or anything i can justify as being close..
Can anyone help....thanking you steve

this is part of the answer

1891
Jane Stephens abt 1851 Ledbury, Herefordshire, England Wife Ross, Herefordshire
William Stephens abt 1851 London, England Head Ross, Herefordshire
James Stephens abt 1885 Ross, Herefordshire, England Son Ross, Herefordshire
Edith Stephens abt 1890 Ross, Herefordshire, England Daughter Ross, Herefordshire
Tom Stephens abt 1875 Ross, Herefordshire, England Son Ross, Herefordshire
William Stephens abt 1876 Ross, Herefordshire, England Son Ross, Herefordshire
Henry Stephens abt 1877 Ross, Herefordshire, England Son Ross, Herefordshire
Alben Stephens abt 1880 Ross, Herefordshire, England Son Ross, Herefordshire
Charley Stephens abt 1881 Ross, Herefordshire, England Son Ross, Herefordshire
Emily Stephens abt 1882 Ross, Herefordshire, England Daughter Ross, Herefordshire
Allen Stephens abt 1883 Ross, Herefordshire, England Son Ross, Herefordshire

1881
William Stephens abt 1842 Ross, Hereford, England Head Ross, Herefordshire
Jane Stephens abt 1852 Ross, Hereford, England Wife Ross, Herefordshire
Frederick Stephens abt 1871 Ross, Hereford, England Son Ross, Herefordshire
Thomas Stephens abt 1876 Ross, Hereford, England Son Ross, Herefordshire
William Stephens abt 1877 Ross, Hereford, England Son Ross, Herefordshire
Henry Stephens abt 1878 Ross, Hereford, England Son Ross, Herefordshire
Albert Stephens abt 1879 Ross, Hereford, England Son Ross, Herefordshire
Charles Stephens Ross, Hereford, England Son Ross, Herefordshire

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Ἀριστοτέλης A Gloster & Hereford Boy in the Forest of Dean ><((((*>

Hi slowhands,think you may be on to something there as i see from the burial records that jane and william were also known as stephens,,so i presume that may be her maiden name..Great work thank you will investigate this ...

Hi would anyone have any idea why this family changed their name in the 1881 census they are known as STEPHENS living in what is described as a private house in Over street Ross and in 1891 the are still known as STEPHENS living in Ross,come 1901 the whole family are now known as WILLIAMS ?

Hi slowhands ,i have found a marriage in the parish records of a William Stephens and a Jane williams in Ross 1881,and also 3 of the children were baptised in ross in 1882,do you think this would be the correct marriage to follow on this line,as this would give me the booth surnames in the census,just a mystery as why after 20 years of calling their selves Stephens,they then call their selves Williams

,just a mystery as why after 20 years of calling their selves Stephens

They are not the first family we have seen this sort of "name change" in the Census records, however getting to the truth or facts behind it may be very difficult :-)

a Family baptism

1882 STEPHENS William William Jane Overross S[tree]t Labourer Ross on Wye
1882 STEPHENS Henry William Jane Overross S[tree]t Labourer Ross on Wye
1882 STEPHENS Albert William Jane Overross S[tree]t Labourer Ross on Wye
1882 STEPHENS Charles William Jane Overross S[tree]t Labourer Ross on Wye
1882 STEPHENS Thomas William Jane Overross S[tree]t Labourer Ross on Wye
1882 STEPHENS Emily William Jane Overross S[tree]t Labourer Ross on Wye

seems a good fit

Year: 1881
Month: Feb
Day: 15
Grooms_Surname: STEPHENS
Grooms_Forenames: William
Grooms_Age: 34
Groom_Condition: Bachelor
Grooms_Occupation: Labourer
Grooms_Residence: Ross
Grooms_Fathers_Surname: Stephens
Grooms_Fathers_Forenames: James
Grooms_Fathers_Occupation: Labourer
Brides_Surname: WILLIAMS
Brides_Forenames: Jane
Brides_Age: 28
Brides_Condition: Spinster
Brides_Occupation:
Brides_Residence: Ross
Brides_Fathers_Surname: Williams
Brides_Fathers_Forenames: Tho[ma]s
Brides_Fathers_Occupation: Labourer
Licence_or_Banns: Banns
Date_of_Banns:
Signature_or_Mark: Both mark
Witness_1: Francis Corbett
Witness_2: John Welsh
Other_Witnesses:
Officiating_Minister: R H Cobbold
Event: Marriage
Memoranda:
Notes:
Register_Reference: AG 39/12
Page_Number: 189
Parish_Chapel: Ross on Wye

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Ἀριστοτέλης A Gloster & Hereford Boy in the Forest of Dean ><((((*>

previous thread (my G.Great Grandparents - WICKENDEN/GREEN)

kept their Christian names and place of birth, but changed Surname

http://www.forum.forest-of-dean.net/index.php?id=20201

Thank you M p Griffiths,i understand that you wouldnt change your surname unless you needed to ,but this family stayed in the same area and i would not know where to start looking for a reason,will just have to show in the family tree that the Willams side of the family are really Stephens...

Just had a quite look at Ancestry re William WILLIAMS - lots in Herefordshire.

England & Wales Criminal Register 1791-1892 - Hereford - lists a few William WILLIAMS, but not age quoted. However, it does show how alias names were used .....

2 July 1877, Frank WHITE alias William WILLIAMS - assaulting a Police Constable in the execution of his duty - 7 years

Michalemas - 15 October 1877 - General Quarter Sessions, Hereford
William WILLIAMS - Larceny - 6 months

2 July 1883 - Trinity General Quarter Sessions, Hereford
William WILLIAMS - Misdemeanour - 3 months

13 July 1883 - William WILLIAMS - Larceny - Acquittal

On the 1881 census - William & Jane STEPHENS are listed after (next) a Private House run by

Esther WILLIAMS - Widow - 79, Lodging House Keeper - born - not known
Ann WILLIAMS - unmarried daughter age 43, Laundress, Hereford, Ross
Richard WILLIAMS - Grandson, age 18 - Painter, born Ross ***
Mary WILLIAMS - Granddaughter - age 14 - born Hereford, Ross ***

*** FOD records, Richard WINFORD WILLIAMS - son of Ann - 25 December 1864, Overcross Street, Ross

*** FOD records, Mary Louisa WILLIAMS - daughter of Esther Anne WILLIAMS, Over Cross Street, 10 March 1867

trying to trace this family back, (just to eliminate a connection) as on William STEPHENS (born c 1842 - 1881 census) marriage he states his father name was James

* Steve your previous message mentions Overcross Street

1871 Census, Herefordshire, Ross, Overcross Street

Este WILLIAMS - 66, born Tetsworth, Oxfordshire
Ann - 29 - born Ross
Grandchildren, Edith 10, Richard 7, Mary 4

FOD records

Esther & Stephen WILLIAMS - had these children baptised at Ross

Edy - 1835, Edith 1836, Esther Ann - 1838 and Lydia - 1842

Stephen WILLIAMS died 27 July 1843, age 36 (Overcross Street)

1841 Census Overcross Street

Stephen WILLIAMS - 30 - Cheese Factory - not born in County
Esther - 40 - not born in County
Eleanor - 10 - ditto
Mary - 8 - ditto
Edith 5 - Esther 3 - Beatrice 1 - born in County

FreeBDM

Birth : Sept Qtr 1875 - Ross District

Thomas Alfred STEPHENS (is this Tom c1875) - 1891 Census, before William & Jane's Marriage in 1881)

Thank you for the time you have spent looking at this.I had found the 1881 census and saw the Williams living next door but had discounted these has connected as the head of the house hold would have to be near to 50 when she gave birth to Jane Williams and her unmarried daughter would be to young..Had also noticed the fathers name of booth people on the wedding records and i am working on that,I ve also noticed on ancestry that people who have jane and Williams children as their ancestors are finding it diffacult as they were married under the name of Williams..thank you again steve.
just took another look and esther living next door maybe Janes grandmother..

Year: 1936
Month: Jan
Day: 11
Surname: WILLIAMS
Forenames: Jane
Residence: 24 Old Gloucester Road Ross-on-Wye
Age_at_death: 79
Officiating_Minister: Charles T Cottrell (Assistant Curate)
Event: Burial
Cause_of_death:
Memoranda: Jane Stephens otherwise Williams
Notes:
Register_Reference: BW14/22
Page_No: 54
Parish_Chapel: Ross on Wye

Year: 1930
Month: May
Day: 20
Surname: WILLIAMS
Forenames: William
Residence: 24 Old Gloucester Road Ross
Age_at_death: 78
Officiating_Minister: Morris A Scadding Curate
Event: Burial
Cause_of_death:
Memoranda:
Notes: May be known as William Stephens
Register_Reference: BW14/21
Page_No: 196
Parish_Chapel: Ross on Wye

1911
WILLIAMS WILLIAM M 1849 62 Ross Herefordshire
WILLIAMS JANE F 1851 60 Ross Herefordshire

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Ἀριστοτέλης A Gloster & Hereford Boy in the Forest of Dean ><((((*>

A big thank you to you booth for all the help on these 2 people Jane Williams and William Stephens I now have built up quite a bit of history on these 2 and am now going to concentrate and find their parents and any brothers and sisters they may have to see if that may shed some light on the sort of lives they may have had....thanks again steve