Lily Drusilla Dutton was born on October 7, 1877, in Altrincham, Cheshire, England, the (base born) daughter of Elizabeth Dutton.
As detailed in the article about Lily’s mother and stepfather, prior to marrying William Richard Webb, his wife Elizabeth Dutton had a daughter, Lily. All the information I’ve found suggests that Elizabeth’s maiden name was Dutton. The birth information for Lily suggests that her father carried the same last name: Samuel Dutton.
Baptismal Record (image via Ancestry.com)
In addition to the last name mystery, it is unusual that A) I was unable to find no marriage record for Elizabeth and “Samuel”; and B) Elizabeth is a “spinster” on her marriage certificate with William. All this evidence appears to suggest that Lily was born out of wedlock and potentially “Samuel” is a made up name. Lily’s mother had three more daughters and five sons with her husband William Richard Webb.
Regardless, after years of hitting a brick wall, I have recently discovered that Lily married Samuel Schofield on May 27, 1899 in Hulme, Lancashire, England. Despite the uncertainty about Lily’s name, we can be sure this is the correct marriage registration because Lily’s name is “Lily Drucilla Dutton Webb” and her the father listed on the marriage registration is actually her stepfather, William Richard Webb. Her sister Mary Elizabeth (Polly) and her stepfather appear as witnesses. Lily’s middle name is here spelled with a “c” instead of an “s” as in her birth information.
Marriage Registration (image via Ancestry.com)Samuel Schofield was born on October 8, 1873, the son of Charles Rhodes Schofield (1841-1897) and Sarah Ann (nee Whatmough) (1849-1926). Samuel was baptized at St. Chad’s in Rochdale on May 24, 1874.
Samuel and Lily had three children:
Walter Rhodes Schofield (1900-1974) married Lilian Acton (1899-1974)
Nellie Schofield (1904-?)
Frank Schofield (1906-1990) married Lucy Hitchon (1902-1981)
We find the family on the 1901 English census after the birth of Walter:
1901 England Census (image via Ancestry.com)Samuel’s occupation is an Iron Fitter Mechanic. Lily is using the spelling “Lillie”. The family is living at 4 Lily Street in Rochdale, Lancashire, England (I’m beginning to get frustrated with Google Maps on this – I found 18 Lily Street in Rochdale, but no 4. The street doesn’t seem to reach that far).
By 1911, all three children are born. Samuel is an Iron Turner, Lily is still “Lillie”, and they’re living at 5 Worsley Place in Rochdale.
1911 England Census (image via Ancestry.com)5 Worsley Place, Rochdale (image via Google Maps)
On the 1939 Register, we find Samuel and “Lillie” living at 106 Vine Terrace in Rochdale. Samuel is still working as an Iron Turner.
1939 Register (image via Ancestry.com)
Details related to the passing of Samuel and Lily have been difficult to find. A potential probate record shows a Lillie Schofield of 4 Kirkham Street West in Gorton died on August 26, 1961. Walter Schofield was the administrator of the estate. It could be that this was her son Walter Rhodes Schofield, but the job does not match his job on the 1939 Register. It could also be that it’s just one of the many Lillie and Lily Schofields in the area at the time. If it is her, she lived to 84 years of age.
National Probate Records (image via Ancestry.com)Samuel is a little more tricky—there are at least 5 Samuel Schofields who died between 1910 and 1960, and not one of them fits.
Main image: Drake Street, Rochdale
Fair Use Notice:
This website occasionally includes copyrighted material, such as excerpts from historical newspapers, government records, and subscription-based archives (e.g., Ancestry, FindMyPast). These materials are reproduced here in part for the purposes of historical research, education, and commentary as part of a non-specialist exploration of my personal family history.
While this site may contain advertising, its primary purpose is non-commercial and intended to inform, educate, and engage readers in genealogical inquiry. The use of copyrighted content is believed to fall within the guidelines of fair use (U.S.) and fair dealing (Canada), under provisions for research, private study, education, criticism, and review.
All sources are credited where known. If you are the copyright holder of any content and believe it has been used inappropriately, please contact me and I will gladly review or remove it.
To provide the best experiences, we use technologies like cookies to store and/or access device information. Consenting to these technologies will allow us to process data such as browsing behavior or unique IDs on this site. Not consenting or withdrawing consent, may adversely affect certain features and functions.
Functional
Always active
The technical storage or access is strictly necessary for the legitimate purpose of enabling the use of a specific service explicitly requested by the subscriber or user, or for the sole purpose of carrying out the transmission of a communication over an electronic communications network.
Preferences
The technical storage or access is necessary for the legitimate purpose of storing preferences that are not requested by the subscriber or user.
Statistics
The technical storage or access that is used exclusively for statistical purposes.The technical storage or access that is used exclusively for anonymous statistical purposes. Without a subpoena, voluntary compliance on the part of your Internet Service Provider, or additional records from a third party, information stored or retrieved for this purpose alone cannot usually be used to identify you.
Marketing
The technical storage or access is required to create user profiles to send advertising, or to track the user on a website or across several websites for similar marketing purposes.