The central figure in my father’s maternal family history is Patrick Wyer. Many years ago my father told me that the family came from Birmingham, that Patrick joined the British army, served in India and retired as a captain. There was some mention of an Irish connection though I had the feeling that my father was somewhat sceptical about the claim. At some stage Patrick changed the surname of his sons to Egan-Wyer but my father had no idea why the name Egan was added.
 

Two cousins named Patrick

Click on the images to view in full size

As part of the initial search for Patrick’s origins by my father and aunts several years ago, a baptismal record had been found for a Patrick Henry Wyer, in Birmingham. His parents were Francis Wyer and Sarah Wyer, formerly Taberner and he was born on 26th December 1843.

Of course, they thought that Patrick Henry was our Patrick but my father made enquiries at the Commonwealth Relations Office and received a letter setting out a summary of Patrick’s service record. It is a hand written letter, unfortunately undated.

It gives Patrick’s date and place of birth as 11 February 1840, Birmingham. I puzzled over the discrepancy in the birth dates for some time before realising that there were, in fact, two children named Patrick Wyer in Birmingham.

Aged 10, our Patrick appears on the 1851 census in Birmingham, as P Wyer, born in Ireland, nephew of the head of the household, F E Wyer.

However, Francis and Sarah’s son, Patrick Henry, does not appear on the 1851 census and I discovered that he died in 1844, aged about 5 months. His name was recorded as Patrick Wier.

So Patrick born in Ireland in 1840 and Patrick Henry born in Birmingham in 1843 were cousins.

[This was my first lesson in the difficulties caused to family historians by our ancestors repeated use of the same first names in the same generation. Unfortunately, I experienced the same problem many times over when researching my father’s paternal family and my mother’s paternal family.]

It was only when the baptism records for St Chad’s Cathedral, Birmingham, became available on FindMyPast on 18 October 2017, that I discovered an error on the certificate which had been provided to my father in 1954.

On the Cathedral transcription (as shown above) the mother’s name was given as Sarah Wyer, formerly Taberner but the transcription on FMP gives her name as Sarah Dixon.

However, looking at the image of the actual baptism register available on FMP, it is clear that the person who transcribed the record in 1954 looked at the line above, a totally unrelated entry, when writing the mother’s name, hence Sarah Taberner.

Now an experienced family historian, I am aware that transcription errors happen and, if an image of the original is available, we should always compare it with the transcription. In this case, without actually travelling to Birmingham, this is the first chance that I’ve had to do so and it is clear that the transcription error was actually made by the member of staff at the Cathedral.

Although his army records state that Patrick was born in Birmingham on 11 February 1840, there is neither a baptism nor a birth record for him and I am sure that P Wyer, aged 10 on the 1851 census, is our man and that he was born on 11 February 1840. The year was confirmed by him being recorded as aged 18 when he enlisted in 1858 and aged 33 when he married in 1873.

[Update 31 January 2019: Whilst the 1851 census notes that Patrick was born in Ireland, I am beginning to have my doubts and am, yet again, making a strong effort to establish where Patrick was born.]
 
 

The Wyer Family in Birmingham

Civil registration began in England on 1 July 1837 and reference to the birth indexes on the General Register Office website and all the censuses from 1841 to 1901 shows that his uncle’s family consisted of:

The dates and places of birth suggest that Francis and Sarah moved from Ireland to Birmingham in 1836 or 1837.

Ann Sarah: on the 1841 census as Sarah aged 4, the baptism record is for Ann Sarah, born 25 June 1837, baptised 17 June 1838 at St Chad’s Cathedral, Birmingham, mother named Sarah Dixon. She does not appear with the family on the 1851 census and I can’t see a suitable death record for her.

Mary Elizabeth: on the 1841 census as Mary aged 2, the birth registration in July – September 1839 is for Mary Elizabeth, mother’s maiden name Dixon. There was a baptism for a Mary Wyre in September 1839. Sadly Mary Elizabeth died on 18 March 1853, aged 13 years. She had suffered synocha fever for fourteen days followed by pneumonia for four days. Her father was noted as Francis E Wyer, manufacturer’s clerk.

John Henderson: birth registered as John Henderson Wyre, in October – December 1841, mother’s name Dixon.

Patrick Henry: was born on 20 December 1843, birth registered in January-March 1844. He was baptised on 21 January 1844, son of Francis Wyer and Sarah Dixon. Sadly, Patrick died aged just five months when he suffocated by getting under the bedclothes. The coroner’s verdict was accidental death. His father, Francis, was noted as the manager of a cheese shop.

Robert Peel: on the 1851 census as ‘R’ aged 3, he was born on 29 May 1847, baptised as Robert on 20 June 1847, son of Francis Wyer and Sara Dixon. His birth was registered as Robert Peel, in April to June 1847, mother’s maiden name Dixon.

Elizabeth Amelia: on the 1851 census as ‘A’ aged 1, her birth was registered as Eliza, in April to June 1850, mother’s maiden name Dixson. There appears to be no baptism record for an Eliza Wyer, with any of the variation in spellings of Wyer. Elizabeth Amelia, aged two years, eleven months, died on 23 February 1853 having suffered from synocha, a fever. She died less than a month before her older sister Mary Elizabeth died of the same fever complicated by pneumonia. Francis was noted as a manufacturer’s clerk.

Catherine: born 7 September 1852, baptised 19 April 1853 at St Peter’s Church, Broad Street.

Patrick Joseph: born 19 March 1855, baptised 23 November 1855 at St Chad’s Cathedral.

So Francis had to register the death of three of his children, two from fever and one from a dreadful accident. When Elizabeth Amelia and Mary Elizabeth contracted the fever there must have been great fear that it would spread to the other children.
 
 
The census is taken every ten years and given that it is merely a snapshot of where somebody is staying on one particular night of the year, it is impossible to know if any visitors were staying in the household for a short or long period, were merely on holiday or were there for some other reason.

Plus, we know that ages given on censuses were only as accurate as the person giving the information thought they were. And that the names could be misleading. A child’s official name wasn’t always used within the family and he or she might be known by their second name or even a quite different name. And, of course, it doesn’t help when the enumerator didn’t do the job properly and only entered the initial of the person, not their full name, as happened in this case in 1851.

7 June 1841:

Staying with the family on census night in 1841, at Dale End, Birmingham, was James Wyer, a baker, some 5 years younger than Francis, so born c1806, also in Ireland. Although relationships of those in the household weren’t given in the 1841 census, I think it quite possible that James and Francis were brothers. There is no sign of James after 1841, so did he return to Ireland?

30 March 1851:

By 1851 the family had moved to Cecil Street, Saint Stephens, Birmingham.

Ann Sarah is not listed in the 1851 census. She would have been 14 and, had she survived childhood, she may have been a live-in servant somewhere. However, there is nobody of that name and age on the census in Birmingham or within a reasonable distance. Perhaps she was visiting relatives in Ireland.

Staying with the family on census night in 1851 were A Wyer, aged 46 (born c1805), the unmarried sister of Francis and P Wyer, his 10 year old nephew. Both were noted as born in Ireland, no place named. I considered that it was possible that A Wyer was Patrick’s mother and therefore she was Francis’ sister in-law even though she is noted as unmarried.

[In those days the distinction between siblings and siblings in-law was not always made. And some children were noted as son or daughter of the head of the household when they were actually step children.]

7 April 1861

James Egan and Francis jnr had married in 1858 and 1856 and appear on the census with their own families.

Ann Sarah had not appeared with the family on the 1851 census and by 1861 Mary Elizabeth, Patrick Henry and Eliza had died. So in 1861 we still need to account for the parents, Francis and Sarah plus their children John Henderson, Robert Peel, Catherine and Patrick Joseph.

John was born in late 1841 so he would have been 19 on census night. There is only one John Wyer of that age in Birmingham, a plumber, a visitor. Of course, there is no proof that this was the son of Francis and Sarah.

However, as there is no sign of the rest of the family anywhere in the country (as Wyer, Wyre, Wier or Weir) it seems that they may have been away. Perhaps Francis and Sarah and the younger children had travelled to see their relatives in Ireland, leaving John, who was working, to stay with a friend in Birmingham.

Francis Egan Wyer died in Birmingham in 1865, aged 65. Sarah, his wife would have been about 50. I’m unable to discover what happened to her. Did she marry again? Did she return to Ireland?

The Wyers were tradespeople in Birmingham.

Francis Egan Wyer was a bookkeeper in 1841 and a railway clerk in 1851. However, an entry in the UK Railway Employment Records, 1833-1956, appears to indicate that he was suspended in December 1850 and discharged in July 1851. In 1853 he was listed on his daughter Mary Elizabeth’s death certificate as a manufacturer’s clerk.

James, who we believe was his brother, was a baker in 1841.

Francis and Sarah’s children:

James Egan Wyer was an engraver by 1851 and is listed in the 1862 Corporation Directory for Birmingham and its Environs at 166 Bradford Street. The 1880 Kelly’s Directory of Birmingham lists him as an engraver, at 321 Camden St., Parade. On the same page there is a reference to an engraver’s block maker named Seeley, Samuel, of 21 Newton Street and 38 Whittall Street. By 1884 the entry for Wyer, James, engraver, says “see Seeley and Wyer” so it appears that they entered into a partnership.

James continued as an engraver until the 1891 census when he was also a violinist. By 1903, James Egan Wyer was living at 10 Cavendish Road.

He married Emma Cooke in Coventry in 1858. Their children were: Winifreda Emma (1859), James Lithgoe (1860), Alfred Bernard (1862), Martha Mary (1864), Ann Theresa (1866), Stephen Thomas (1868-1869), John (1869-1869) and Agnes Theresa (1870-1871).

By 1891, James was an engraver and violinst, Emma was a pawn broker, Winifred, Martha and Ann were burnishers, James Lithgoe was a school master and Alfred was a surveyor’s clerk. There appears to be no census for the family in 1901 though we know that, according to the directories, James was living in Cavendish Road in 1903.

Francis Wyer jnr was a glass painter in 1851, a draughtsman in 1861 and 1871, appearing in the 1873 White’s Directory of Birmingham, at Whitmore Street, Hockley. In 1883 and 1884 Francis is listed as a pianoforte tuner, at 209 Park Road, Hockley, according to the Kelly’s Directories of Birmingham.

The 1888 to 1897 directories list Francis as a teacher of music, at the same address. By 1899 he’d moved to 3 The Shrubbery, Coplow St, and is listed there in the 1900 Directory. And the 1891 and 1901 censuses record his occupation as a teacher or professor of music.

Francis married Ann Emson in Birmingham in 1856 but by 1901 Francis was 64, a widower, boarding at 3 Coplow Street.

Francis and Ann’s children were: Bernard Francis (1857), Edmund Joseph (1862), Agnes Anna (1864), Francis John (1866-1867), Francis Joseph (1870). Although the name on the 1861 census was that of Edward, aged three, there is no birth or baptism record for him. However, ten years later, the name on the 1871 census is Bernard Francis, aged 13, for whom there is a baptism and birth record. So it seems that the enumerator for the 1861 census mis heard the child’s name. The baptism record for Agnes Anna names her father as Francis John, the only reference to his second name.

John Henderson: John H appears on the censuses from 1871 onwards. In 1871 he was a glazier, living as a boarder with another family. In 1881 he was a stained glass painter. By 1891 he was a fret lead worker.

By 1881 John was living with Ellen Ingram (no marriage record found yet). They had a daughter named Catherine Elizabeth in 1880 and a son named Thomas Ingram in 1882.

Staying with John and his family in 1881 was his sister Catherine.

Robert Peel: there is no sign of Robert as an adult in the censuses until 1911. He was then aged 64, a brass finisher, married but staying, at least on census night, with his sister Catherine, who was then 58 and single, a shop keeper. I’ve not found a marriage record for Robert.

Catherine: There is no sign of Catherine in 1861 or 1871 but in 1881 she was 28, a dressmaker, staying with her brother John Henderson and his family. There is no sign of her in 1891 or 1901 but in 1911 she was aged 58, single, head of the household, a shop keeper grocer. Her brother Robert, married but without his wife, was staying with Catherine.

Patrick Joseph: Patrick J Wyer, born in Birmingham, parents Francis E Wyer and Sarah Dixon, married Elizabeth Coady in New York in 1884.

The New York Extracted Marriage Index 1866-1937 is available and confirms the marriage but unfortunately, being new to the world of family history at the time, I failed to keep a record of the original source so I can’t now find the reference to him being the son of Francis and Sarah.
 
 
It is now clear that our Patrick had two cousins with the same name but Patrick Henry had died and Patrick Joseph had moved to the USA and married in 1884 whilst our Patrick, as we will discover, had married in India in 1873 and was serving in the army in India.
 
 

The Egan Connection

On the 1841 census, the head of the household was Francis Wyer. On the 1851 census he was noted as F E Wyer. In 1843, Patrick Henry’s baptism certificate gives his father’s name as Francis Egan Wyer and there is a death record for Francis Egan Wyer, in Birmingham, in 1865.

In those days, the mother’s maiden name was often given to the children as a middle name, so was Francis’ mother named Egan? Or even a name passed down through the family from his grandmother or even great grandmother?

[In my father’s paternal history, there is a middle name still in use now but which was first introduced into the family in 1755, when my 4 x great grandparents married. Similarly, with my mother’s paternal family, there is a name still used as a middle name which dates from the marriage of my 4 x great grandparents in 1789.]

The middle name Egan appears to have been passed to his son as, on the 1858 marriage index and the 1871 census, James is shown to be James Egan.

Our Patrick was simply known as Patrick Wyer. He never took the name Egan, either as a middle name like his uncle Francis and cousin James or as a double-barrelled surname.

So, when our Patrick, many years later and some years after they were born, decided to give his sons a double-barrelled, more impressive surname did he choose Egan as it was already in the family or was there a more specific reason to do so?

My aunt Barbara Joan said that the name Egan was only attached to the surname of the sons, not the daughters. He thought that a more impressive name would help them get on in life whereas the daughters would marry and not need it.

This lead to some rancour with at least one of his daughters. Eileen, the wife of Owen was heard to introduce herself as “I am Mrs Egan-Wyer, this is Miss Wyer.” Mary was not at all pleased with what she considered to be a personal slight.

Next: The Irish Connection