I just want to thank all those people who tried to help, it would seem that "my" William Eardley did not emigrate to the States, and I am left with my brick wall! William was born in Tunstall, Staffs,1863, son of Benjamin and Jane (Pope) Eardley, He married Margaret Jenkinson Edge in 1886 Their son, William Edge Eardley, was born, in Tunstall, in 1889. Margaret died in 1895. I cannot find the family in the 1891 census. I can find William Edge in 1901, in Stone, as a visitor, and in 1911 as a boarder, but can find no further trace of William his father, none of the deaths recorded seem to fit the right age. The good news is that William, the son, married and had four sons, which is good for further genealogy Once again, thanks to all Fay