Investigating ancestry of William Wheeler christened 15th September 1863 St.James, Bream. Parents given as Edwin and Sarah. Found reference to burial of Edwin aged 40 on 1st January 1869 and a reference to an inquest and hoping to find out more.
Regards,
Phil

I've now found how to access the inquest information on the site! Much obliged for the information!

Phil

From the parish registers on site we have:

Edwin Wheeler son of Thomas (Blacksmith) & Maria of Lidbrook baptised 20 December 1834 at Walford, Herefordshire

Edwin Wheeler married Sarah Webb 24 May 1863 at Bream

Edwin Wheeler buried 1 January 1869 at Bream (residence Mill Hill)

Thomas Wheeler married Maria Baghen 26 December 1820 at Ross on Wye

Thank you very much Graham. You have confirmed my tentative findings. The fabulous information provided on this site reveals that Edwin was the father of 3 children when he was arrested for a misdemeanour in 1868. Clearly William b.1863 was one of them. Can you tell me who his siblings were and what happened to Sarah?

Thanks again,
Phil

The Glos BMD website tells us that there were 3 children as follows:
Child Surname Child Forename Father Surname Mother Surname Mother's Former Name Year District Office Register Entry
WHEELER Helen WHEELER WHEELER WEBB 1865 Forest of Dean Monmouth, Coleford 20 493
WHEELER Mary Ann WHEELER WHEELER WEBB 1867 Forest of Dean Monmouth, Coleford 23 145
WHEELER William WHEELER WHEELER WEBB 1863 Forest of Dean Monmouth, Coleford 19 142

Both Helen/Ellen and William were baptised at Bream - details can be obtained by searching the Parish Records on this site.

It would appear that Sarah died:
Year: 1867
Month: Dec
Day: 29
Surname: WHEELER
Forenames: Sarah
Residence: Bream Woodside
Age_at_death: 33
Officiating_Minister: Cornelius Witherby Incumbent
Event: Burial
Cause_of_death:
Memoranda:
Notes:
Register_Reference: P57 IN 1/17
Page_No: 73
Parish_Chapel: Bream

Mike

Thank you Shepway! This is excellent information but it is also revealing a family tragedy! I did wonder if this was the case. It explains why Edwin 'of previous good character' had a brush with the law at the beginning of 1868 and it might explain his unfortunate end at the end of the year. Three little children of 5years and under lost both their parents. William goes on to marry Emma Rolfe in 1888 and settle in the Bullwel district of Nottingham. I wonder how he got there!

Thanks again,
Phil

Hi Phil

William goes on to marry Emma Rolfe in 1888 and settle in the Bullwel district of Nottingham. I wonder how he got there!

According to Wikipedia:

"The 1840s were by far the biggest decade for railway growth. In 1840, when the decade began, railway lines in Britain were few and scattered but, within ten years, a virtually complete network had been laid down and the vast majority of towns and villages had a rail connection[citation needed] and sometimes two or three."

So I would imagine your couple went on the Puff Puff!

Regards
Chris

Hi Phil and Chris,
as stated the population became much more mobile after the "railway fever" of the C19th added to the changes already brought about by the Industrial Revolution and increase in associated jobs which were better paying than the traditional ones on the land. Long distance travel was easily available and affordable.
I guess William moved either for work, or perhaps to stay with friends/relatives, maybe studying his and his neighbours' Census records etc might give clues. Was Emma Rolfe originally from the Basford area, when/how did they meet ? Was he a miner ?, this forum often sees miners moving to and from the Forest to all parts of the UK and world in search of work, including to the important Notts coalfield. Bullwell district has a long history of coal mining, also sandstone quarrying, both also worked in the Forest so seems likely to be a link ?.

Much more info abt Bullwell industry may be readily found such as these links;
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bulwell
http://www.nottshistory.org.uk/monographs/bulwell1946/bullwell7.htm

This prior forum post includes an example of Foresters who moved to Bullwell, Notts.
https://forest-of-dean.net/fodmembers/index.php?mode=thread&id=24843

Hope this helps, J