Exmoor england?

Question

i am searching for a william vanstone born in 1824 in exmoor england and worked for a land lord any idea where the best places to begin searching is i have tried the obvious already and i am not having much luck!help

Answer 1

Born in 1824 so when the first English/Welsh census was taken in 1841 he would have been 17 and quite probably still living in the same area that he was born in. Try alternative spelling also , like Venston, Fenston, Fanstone etc.

Answer 2

Exmoor is (at least mostly) in Devon.  The UK takes a census in every year ending in the number one.  So can you access to the 1831 census of Devon?  If you find William there, you sou,d also find the names of his parents and other family members.

Incidentally, P. H. Reaney's A Dictonary of English Surnames (Rev 3rd ed., Oxford, Oxford UP, 1997) says of the name Vanstone (or Vanston, the spelling given first) that it comes from "Faunstone in Shaugh," Devon, and records a James Vanstone in the Hartland, Devon, parish register in 1820, along with John Fanson in 1629 and James Fanstone in 1705.

BTW, anyone with roots in Exmoor should read Lorna Doone!

Answer 3

Is this your William do you think.

1841 England Census

about William Vanstone

Name: William Vanstone

Age: 16  

Estimated Birth Year: abt 1825

Gender: Male  

Where born: Devon, England

  

Civil Parish: Inwardleigh  

Hundred: Black Torrington  

County/Island: Devon  

Country: England  

  

Street address:

Occupation: View Image

  

Registration district: Okehampton  

Sub-registration district: Hatherleigh  

Neighbors: View others on page  

Household Members: Name Age

Ann Vanstone 30  

George Vanstone 5  

John Vanstone 4 Mo  

Mary Vanstone 14  

Sarah Vanstone 2  

William Vanstone 40  

William Vanstone 16

William senior was listed as a carpenter, for William  junior there was no occupation  given.