WILLIAM FLETCHER (1889 - 1931) FLETCHER SURNAME This famous northern family name is believed to have derived from the Germanic pre 7th Century personal compound name "Fulcher". The introduction into England was probably by the Normans, and the name translates as "people's army" from "folk", plus "heri", army. The development from Fulcher to Fletcher is both dialectal and academic, and may have arisen as a result of recordings being undertaken by a lay person of limited ability, rather than the original clerks or scribes. The name as Fletcher is normally associated with arrow making: however, this is not always an acceptable explanation, the Fletcher being responsible for the equipping of the bowman, a medieval supply officer. Representative recordings of the family name include John Fletcher, who married Elizabeth Allen at Tettenhall, County Stafford, on December 30th 1606, and Simon Fletcher, baptised at Old Swinford, County Worcester, on September 10th 1659. The Coat of Arms of this branch of Fletcher is given as sable, a cross patonce between four escallops or, on a chief gules, a lion passant and a crescent for difference, both of the second. The first recorded spelling of the family name is shown to be that of Robert le Flecher, which was dated 1203, in the "Assize Court Rolls of Staffordshire", during the reign of King John, known as "Lackland", 1199 - 1216. The Fletcher name is recorded 34,143 times in the 1881 census. By the time of 1998 electoral roll there had been a increase in the number to 41,612. More detailed statistics are shown below. The rate is expressed as Occurrences of the name per million names. On the distribution maps on the next page, the lowest distribution is in white and the highest distribution is coloured dark blue. Frequency 1881 1998 Change Frequency 34143 41012 +6869 Rank Order 94 103 -9 Occurrences per million names 1262 1101 -161 International Comparisons Rate As % of GB rate in 1998 Great Britain Frequency (1998) 43688 100 Great Britain Frequency (1881) 34143 Great Britain Rate (1998) 1101 Great Britain Rate (1881) 1262 Northern Ireland 392.93 36.2 Republic of Ireland 15.64 1.4 Australia 925.53 85.3 New Zealand 913.98 84.2 United States 549.95 50.7 Canada 610.39 56.2 FLETCHER SURNAME Fletcher - 1881 Fletcher - 1998 FLETCHER FAMILY TREE Using the various genealogical resources we have been able to construct a family tree for the ancestors of William Fletcher back to 1750 with the birth of George Fletcher in 1750. The tree back from William’s mother, Hannah Fletcher is speculative as not too much is known about Hannah and until we can see the Workhouse records for Helmsley, there is some uncertainty about the findings. However a detailed analysis of the census records would indicate that we have identified the correct Hannah Fletcher, this analysis is presented later in this chapter. The Pedigree chart has been produced from the Family Tree Maker software (2012 edition) which now synchonises with the Family Tree on Ancestry.com. The individuals on the Pedigree Chart are numbered from 1 for the primary individual through to 31 where there are five generations on the chart. These numbers are then referred to in the Ancestor report, roman numerals refer to children of a couple. FLETCHER FAMILY TREE PEDIGREE TREE FOR WILLIAM FLETCHER ANCESTORS OF WILLIAM FLETCHER Generation 1 1. William Fletcher (son of Unknown and Hannah Fletcher) was born on 27 Dec 1889 in Helmsley, Yorkshire, England. He died in 1931 in Helmsley, Yorkshire, England. He married Adelaide Smith (biological daughter of John Smith and daughter of Annie Simpson) in 1914 in Helmsley, Yorkshire, England. She was born on 08 Jul 1886 in Pickering, Yorkshire, England. She died in 1939 in Helmsley, Yorkshire, England. Generation 2 2. Unknown. He met Hannah Fletcher. 3. Hannah Fletcher (daughter of John Fletcher and Mary Jane Atkinson) was born in 1864 in Bilsdale, North Yorkshire, England. Hannah Fletcher and Unknown had the following children: i John Fletcher (son of Unknown and Hannah Fletcher) was born on 23 Dec 1879 in Stokesley, Yorkshire, England. ii William Fletcher [1] (son of Unknown and Hannah Fletcher) was born on 27 Dec 1889 in Helmsley, Yorkshire, England. He died in 1931 in Helmsley, Yorkshire, England. He married Adelaide Smith (biological daughter of John Smith and daughter of Annie Simpson) in 1914 in Helmsley, Yorkshire, England. She was born on 08 Jul 1886 in Pickering, Yorkshire, England. She died in 1939 in Helmsley, Yorkshire, England. iii Sarah Elizabeth Fletcher (daughter of Unknown and Hannah Fletcher) was born about 1895 in Helmsley, Yorkshire, England. iv Harold Fletcher (son of Unknown and Hannah Fletcher) was born in 1903 in Bilsdale, North Yorkshire, England. Generation 3 6. John Fletcher (son of William Fletcher and Mary Chapman) was born in 1818. He died in 1902 in Bilsdale, North Yorkshire, England. He married Mary Jane Atkinson (daughter of John Atkinson and Mary Atkinson) in 1857. 7. Mary Jane Atkinson (daughter of John Atkinson and Mary Atkinson) was born in 1834. Mary Jane Atkinson and John Fletcher had the following children: i David Atkinson (son of John Fletcher and Mary Jane Atkinson) was born in 1856 in Bilsdale, North Yorkshire, England. He married Mary Jane Wilson in 1882. ii William Fletcher (son of John Fletcher and Mary Jane Atkinson) was born in 1859 in Bilsdale, North Yorkshire, England. iii Mary Fletcher (daughter of John Fletcher and Mary Jane Atkinson) was born in 1862 in Bilsdale, North Yorkshire, England. ANCESTORS OF WILLIAM FLETCHER iv Hannah Fletcher [3] (daughter of John Fletcher and Mary Jane Atkinson) was born in 1864 in Bilsdale, North Yorkshire, England. She met Unknown. She married William Strickland on 31 Dec 1906 in Hawnby, Yorkshire, England. He was born in 1864 in Hawnby, Yorkshire, England. v John Fletcher (son of John Fletcher and Mary Jane Atkinson) was born in 1867 in Bilsdale, North Yorkshire, England. He married Hannah Champion in Jun 1892. She was born in 1871 in Hartoft. vi Elizabeth Fletcher (daughter of John Fletcher and Mary Jane Atkinson) was born in 1869 in Bilsdale, North Yorkshire, England. She married James Easby (son of William Easby and Anne Cornforth) in 1896 in Stokesley, Yorkshire, England. He was born in 1849 in Bilsdale, Yorkshie, England. vii Sarah Fletcher (daughter of John Fletcher and Mary Jane Atkinson) was born in 1872 in Bilsdale, North Yorkshire, England. Generation 4 12. William Fletcher (son of George Fletcher and Jane Scaife) was born in 1777. He married Mary Chapman. 13. Mary Chapman. Mary Chapman and William Fletcher had the following children: i John Fletcher [6] (son of William Fletcher and Mary Chapman) was born in 1818. He died in 1902 in Bilsdale, North Yorkshire, England. He married Mary Jane Atkinson (daughter of John Atkinson and Mary Atkinson) in 1857. She was born in 1834. ii Jenny Fletcher (daughter of William Fletcher and Mary Chapman) was born in 1798. iii Mary Fletcher (daughter of William Fletcher and Mary Chapman) was born in 1801. iv Sarah Fletcher (daughter of William Fletcher and Mary Chapman) was born in 1806. v Elizabeth Fletcher (daughter of William Fletcher and Mary Chapman) was born in 1809. vi William Fletcher (son of William Fletcher and Mary Chapman) was born in 1815. 14. John Atkinson (son of John Atkinson and Susannah Robinson) was born in 1790. He died in 1860. He married Mary Atkinson. 15. Mary Atkinson. Mary Atkinson and John Atkinson had the following child: ANCESTORS OF WILLIAM FLETCHER i Mary Jane Atkinson [7] (daughter of John Atkinson and Mary Atkinson) was born in 1834. She married John Fletcher (son of William Fletcher and Mary Chapman) in 1857. He was born in 1818. He died in 1902 in Bilsdale, North Yorkshire, England. Generation 5 24. George Fletcher was born in 1750. He married Jane Scaife. 25. Jane Scaife was born in 1750. Jane Scaife and George Fletcher had the following child: i William Fletcher [12] (son of George Fletcher and Jane Scaife) was born in 1777. He married Mary Chapman. 26. Thomas Chapman was born in 1719. He died in 1793. He married Mary Hugill. 27. Mary Hugill (daughter of Thomas Hugill and Ann Metcalfe) was born in 1736. She died in 1783. Mary Hugill and Thomas Chapman had the following children: i Mary Chapman [13] (daughter of Thomas Chapman and Mary Hugill). She married William Fletcher. He was born in 1777. ii Thomas Chapman (son of Thomas Chapman and Mary Hugill) was born in 1771. He married Mary Bowes. She was born in 1776. 28. John Atkinson was born in 1765. He died in 1846. He married Susannah Robinson. 29. Susannah Robinson was born in 1775. She died in 1840. Susannah Robinson and John Atkinson had the following child: i John Atkinson [14](son of John Atkinson and Susannah Robinson) was born in 1790. He died in 1860. He married Mary Atkinson. ANCESTORS OF WILLIAM FLETCHER- LOCATIONS The ancestors of William Fletcher as shown on the Pedigree Tree were all born in and around the Bilsdale area of North Yorkshire. Bilsdale North Yorkshire Fletcher Hannah Fletcher John Hawnby Yorkshire Fletcher Hannah Helmsley Yorkshire Fletcher William WILLIAM FLETCHER. [1: Grandfather] William Fletcher was born on 27th December 1889 in the Union Workhouse in Helmsley. Only his mother, Hannah Fletcher, a domestic servant, was listed on his birth certificate, and her residence was also the Union Workhouse in Helmsley. It appears that William didn’t stay in the Workhouse long because by the time of the 1891 census (15 months after his birth) he was living with John and Alice Thompson in Langdale Square which was located at the back of the High Street not far from the Workhouse.