The family of Samuel COATES

I know I don't post much now - I'm super busy unfortunately but think of my ancestors always. I've not stopped genealogy, but the mysteries I'm left with are of course the most complicated and take the most time and immersion to solve, and I don't have that time at the moment. As someone else once wrote on a blog, 'my ancestors aren't going anywhere', so I can return to them later.

I have not written about my COATES ancestors - they are complicated by spelling, and also complicated because I could never quite track them - they lived in villages very close to the STANILAND family they married into, that sit right on the border of Lincolnshire and Leicestershire (and also Rutland!). But I'm hoping this post will help me unearth fellow descendants.

But most importantly I had some time over the holidays to work at the COATES family and I solved a few mysteries that helped bring things together. Of course, I also created a few more mysteries.

My ancestor Frances COATES (1828 Croxton Keyrial, Leics - 1903 Foston, Lincs) married James STANILAND (1826 Stroxton, Lincs - 1906 Newark, Lincs). I have written of their marriage here: http://thehistoryofmatt.blogspot.com/2007/10/staniland-family-of-lincolnshire.html

So accepting that she was my ancestor, I wanted to learn more about her.

In 1851 (immediately prior to her marriage), Frances was visiting a TINKLER family. There is a LOT of inter-marrying among a small number of families, but as we will see below, this is her maternal family.

Looking back, in 1841 she was in Croxton Keyrial in Leicestershire. In the home were:
Samuel Coates, 65, Farmer, NOT born in county (BIC)
Mary Coates, 55, NOT BIC
Frances Coates, 12, BIC
John Coates, 30, Farmer, NOT BIC
Ann Coates, 35, BIC
Wm Coates, 5, BIC
Edward Coates, 2, BIC

This appears to me as two family units in the house, with Frances and John possible siblings. Looking at parish records I ultimately found the following children of Samuel and Mary.

Marriage:
Samuel COATES and Mary TINKLER at Woolsthorpe, Lincs in 1812:

Baptisms:
1812 - Ann Coates, bapt Woolsthorpe Lincs, 22 Nov 1812, Samuel and Mary
1815 - Edward Coates, bapt Woolsthorpe Lincs, 21 May 1815, Samuel a farmer and Mary
 A BIG GAP
1826 - George Coates, bapt Croxton Keyrial Leics, 19 Fe 1826, Samuel and Mary
1828 - Frances Coates, bapt Croxton Keyrial Leics, 21 Dec 1828, Samuel and Mary

I do not have a solution to the big gap, but I believe (am not certain) the Coates family have multiple farm interests (see below), and a Catherine Ann Coates  was bapt in Godmanchester, Huntingdonshire (quite close by) in 1818 to Samuel and Mary Coates, suggesting a possible move there farming for a time. I'll update this when I have the answer.

BUT there is no John COATES (from the 1841 census). So I read through 100 years of Woolsthorpe parish registers (see comment below there were a few reasons) and in reading found the following in the Woolsthorpe parish registers:

Baptisms 1810
John Natural Child of Mary Tinkler April 20

SO John was born to Mary TINKLER out of wedlock 2 years prior to her marriage to Samuel Coates. John took up his step-father's surname, and when he married Ann SHELBORN in 1836 at Stamford, Lincs he used the COATES name. I have not been able to fund baptisms for Edward and William (their children) in Leics/Lincs, nor have I been able to find the fate of the family after 1841. Loose thread.

Back to Samuel and Ann. After Frances they had no more children (not surprising given their age) and there are some answers here for fate. 

In 1843 he appears to have assaulted his mother-in-law, Ann TINKLER:

Leicester Chronicle - Saturday 05 August 1843

Then in 1850 there are a number of notices related to settling his will, which show he had a sizable farm.

Stamford Mercury - Friday 29 March 1850 

Mary's death was registered in 1847, and his death was registered in 1850. In this context I have found a Will in the Lincolnshire County archives, which I will order:
Will - Coates, Samuel
Reference Name LCC WILLS/1850/86
Name: Coates, Samuel
Place: Croxton Kerrial, Leicestershire
Repository: Lincolnshire Archives [057]

There is also a death duty register for him:
First name(s) Samuel
Last name Coates
Death year 1850
Residence CROSTON KERRIAL
County LEICESTERSHIRE
Court PCC And Country Courts
Record set Index to Death Duty Registers 1796-1903
TNA ref IR27/292
Category Birth, Marriage & Death (Parish Registers)
Subcategory Wills & probate
Collections from United Kingdom

Finally, in searching around I surprisingly found a headstone for Samuel COATES (but apparently not his wife, at https://billiongraves.com/grave/Samuel-Coates/8889785), buried at Croxton Kerrial (Saint Botolph and Saint John) Churchyard, with a stated death date of 6 March 1850.

His age at death is obscured, which makes this frustrating as my next post will show. Also, this is only a partial headstone, so any CROXTON KERRIAL readers feel free to visit the churchyard and send on a higher quality image!

Children. Apart from Frances, I have already stated I can't trace John TINKLER (COATES). Ann married John JACKSON at Croxton Kerrial in 1833, Edward died the year he was born (1815) and George died the year after he was born (1827), both being buried at Woolsthorpe. 

The next post will deal with where Samuel came from - identifying his birth and family connections.