[This is now half of Part 2. I did say it was a long posting! Part 3 will follow.] First, a diversion. Hannah BUXTON's history goes something like this: . Betty BUXTON w/o Francis of Bollington bur 2 Jun 1811 . Francis BUXTON, husbandman, wid'r = Hannah POWNALL wid 30 Mar 1813. . Francis BUXTON, butcher of Bollington, bur 3 Feb 1828 aged 64. . Hannah BUXTON wid = Thomas BROUGH miller of Bollington 23 Jun 1828 It is possible that Hannah may have brought children with her when she married Thomas BROUGH, her third husband. There may have been changes in the last names of the older children as she moved through her marriages. I have not checked. I did check Thomas & Hannah's children mentioned in the 1841 and could not find Robert again. Benjamin was buried on 13 Feb 1843 in Christ Church, Macclesfield but Elias, an ornamental wood carver, can be followed through all the Censuses through 1891 to his death in 1st qr 1899 in West Derby. So back to William and the question of whether he might be a child of an earlier marriage. In 1841 William is living with another Thomas BROUGH and his wife (also Hannah) both of whom were 30 years old. Thomas is a Cabinet Maker and William is also a Cabinet Maker. Are William & Thomas brothers? A Thomas BROUGH married Hannah POINTON in Astbury on 6 May 1833. The Census shows 4 children and a third Cabinet Maker, Joel POINTER, aged 30 living with them. POINTON/ POINTER - close name? I think so. This younger Thomas BROUGH can be followed through the Censuses in Liverpool. He had a thriving business in 1861 but by 1871 he was a chair maker working on his own. In 1871 William, too, is a chair maker. Ruth