Excuse me; are you Mr. Steers or Mr. Stears?

An enquiry from a Mr. Stears has prompted this post. The focus point of his question was;

Are all the Stears variants linked?

Anyone who researches their history understands that you have to look at variations in spelling of surnames because literacy levels were low and names were often written as they were heard. Add to this the different dialects and you're left with all sorts!

The question however got me thinking; Are there areas where certain spellings are more prominent than others?

To investigate this I used the fabulous service provided at http://www.wykes.org/dist/ to create the following distribution maps for each of the variants. The maps are based on the data from the 1841 and 1851 England and Wales Census's and records where they were living (not where they were  born). If you hover over the maps you will be able to zoom in and out as required

STEARES 1841

1851

As you can clearly see from these maps, STEARES is only found in Kent, and later the spelling moves into the neighbouring county of Middlesex.

STEERES
1841

1851

In 1841 this spelling is only found in Hampshire and Yorkshire, the Hampshire chap having being born out of county. By 1851 there is only one recorded instance in Sussex.

STIERS 1841

1851

Again, this is a very low frequency spelling that is confined, in 1841, to a few counties in the south of England and one occurrence on the Chanel Islands. In 1851 there appears to be some migration of the spelling into Lancashire.

STEIRS 1851

There are only two recorded STEIRS and they are both found in Middlesex.

STEARS 1841

1851

It is very clear to see from these maps that the main clusters are found in Yorkshire, Hampshire and Middlesex. In 1851 these clusters remain in Yorkshire and Hampshire, however the Middlesex cluster appears to have moved out into Kent.

STEERS 1841

1851

The main clusters in 1841 were in Middlesex, Surrey, and Kent. This remains the case in 1851 when they have also spread into the neighbouring county of Sussex with most being located in Brighton.

Working Hypothesis

1841

1851

The hotspots for all variants are Yorkshire and Middlesex, with a spread into Sussex, Surrey and Kent in 1851.

To me this suggests that there are at least two distinct starting points of the surname in England; to the north lies the STEARS, and to the south east lie the STEERS, STEERES, STEARES, STEIRS and STIERS.

Of course there are instances where the same person is registered at birth as STEER, baptised as STEERS, and buried as STEARS!!

In order to make a more certain conclusion more analysis must be done, and this is something that I will be revisiting at a later date.

Lost between Census Years; Can You Help?

Well I’ve finished transcribing the 1851 census for the relevant entries (that have been transcribed as such), and I’m now faced with marrying off and killing off those that I can’t identify as being around on my 1841 list.

I’ve been at this for a couple of weeks and so thought I’d share with you the details of those that I can’t identify in the hope that some of you out there may be able to assist.

As these are 1841 birth years, please remember that they could be ± 5 years

192.0 - Elizabeth STEERS

Born in approximately 1771, living in Alfred Street, Islington Elizabeth was not born in County.

193.0 – Susannah STEERS

Born in approximately 771, living in Eaton Lane North, St. George Hanover Square and working as a charwoman.

196.0 – William STEERS

An agricultural labourer born in approximately 1771, living in Hayley Green, Caddington, Hertfordshire. He was not born in County.

334.0 – William STEERS

Born in Middlesex in approximately 1821 to William, a carpenter, and Ann, William was living in Teddington, Middlesex on the road leading to Hampton Clarence Place.

His older siblings, Ann (born ~1780) and Thomas (born ~ 1811) have both been located in 1851.

208.0 – Amelia STEERS

Born in approximately 1781 and living via independent means, Amelia was living in Curtain Hall, Buxted, Sussex. She was not born in County

214.0 – George STEERS

Born approximately 1781, George was working as a servant in Lydiad House, Liddiard Treegooze, Wiltshire. He was not born in County.

215.0 – Humphrey STEERS

Born in approximately 1781 and living via independent means, Humphrey was living in Holsbury, Heathfield, Sussex. He was not born in County

216.0 & 216.1 – James and Susanna STEERS

James was born approximately 1781 and worked as a labourer. Susanna was born approximately 1791 and worked as a laundress. They lived on Sun Street in Potton, Bedfordshire. Neither was born in County.

217.0 – James STEERS

James was born in Hertfordshire in approximately 1781. He worked as a tile maker and lived in Church Street, Ware, Hertfordshire.

218.0 & 218.1 – John and Berthia STEERS

John was born in approximately 1779 in Shoreditch, Middlesex. He married Berthia NEWMAN nee LONG In 1850; she was born approximately 1808 in the City of London. In 1841 they were living on William Street in Bethnal Green, Middlesex.

219.0 – Margaret STEERS

She was born in approximately 1782 in Middlesex. She was living via independent means in Cow Crofts Street, St. Sepulchre, Middlesex.

313.0 – Eliza STEERS

Born in approximately 1813 in Middlesex to Thomas, a gardener, and Ann STEERS. Eliza was living in Teddington High Street, Middlesex.

227.0 – Mrs. STEERS

This rather elusive entry was born in approximately 1791. She was living in Seymour Place, Kensington, Middlesex . She wasn’t born in County.

So that’s it for a first batch. I’m sure there’s many more I won’t be able to marry off or kill off, but if anyone can help I’d appreciate it.

Wordless Wednesday - Ellen STEERS

 Photo provided by Janet Tranter, and used with the permission of Michael Broom, owner of the original image. Both contacts made via Ancestry Member Connect. Please contact me if you want to get in touch.

 

 

This is Ellen STEERS.

She was born in Liverpool in about 1826 to Thomas STEERS / STEARES and Sarah EDMONSTONE. She married  Joseph CEARNS in Liverpool in 1849 and she died there in 1908.

She is number 177 in my database of STEERS's

1851 UK Census - an Overview

It has taken a while but I’ve collected the STEERS and variants from the 1851 UK Census. This has taken longer than I had hoped, but I have a valid excuse… I’m getting married in a couple of months and have had to spend my time looking at dresses, shoes,  flowers, and such so I’ve not had as much time to chase dead people.

In this census collection I have come across the following variants;

·         STEARES

·         STEARS

·         STEERES

·         STEERS

·         STIERS

·         STEIRS

There are 450 individuals in the 1851 Census, which is an increase of only five persons since 1841. The variation ‘STEIRS’ also makes its first appearance.

There has been a movement of families across England as shown in the tables below.

Movement in number since 1841	County	Frequency (%)	Frequency (Actual)
↓	MDX	16.67	75
↑	KEN	13.56	61
↑	SRY	12.89	58
↑	SSX	9.56	43
↓	YKS	9.11	41
↑	NTH	6.67	30
↑	BKM	4.89	22
↓	HAM	4.89	22
↓	BDF	3.78	17
↑	STS	6.27	12
↓	LAN	2.22	10
↓	DOR	2.00	9
↓	DEV	1.33	6
↑	DBY	1.11	5
↑	OXF	1.11	5
═	SOM	1.11	5
↓	BRK	0.67	3

Movement in number since 1841	County	Frequency (%)	Frequency (Actual)
↓	CAM	0.67	3
↑ *new*	DUR	0.67	3
↑	LIN	0.67	3
↑	WOR	0.67	3
↑ *new*	DEN	0.44	2
↓	GLS	0.44	2
↑ *new*	CHS	0.22	1
↓	ESS	0.22	1
↓	HRT	0.22	1
═	HUN	0.22	1
↓	JSY	0.22	1
═	LEI	0.22	1
↑ *new*	NBL	0.22	1
↑ *new*	NFK	0.22	1
↑ *new*	SFK	0.22	1
↓	WAR	0.22	1

The main concentration of the surname remains in Middlesex, but Kent has moved up into second place and Surrey has dropped to third. At first glance it appears that there has been a huge exodus from Yorkshire, however the actual frequency has only dropped by one. The surname is now also found in the English counties of Durham, Cheshire, Northumberland, Norfolk, and Suffolk, as well as the Welsh county of Denbighshire.

For this Census I have also complied the following; ‘Top 10 Occupations’

Top 10 ST[EI]*R[ES] Occupations 1851
1	In Education
2	In Servitude
3	Working on the Land
4	Military (serving or pensioned)
5	Dress Maker
6	Laundress
7	Carpenter
8	Gardener
9	Nurse
10	Tailor

‘Top 10 Male Names’ and ‘Top 10 Female Names’.

Top 10 ST[EI]*R[ES] Forenames in 1851
Male		Female
1	William	1	Ann
2	John	=	Mary
3	George	3	Elizabeth
4	James	4	Sarah
5	Thomas	5	Jane
6	Edward	6	Martha
7	Samuel	=	Charlotte
8	Charles	8	Eliza
9	Henry	9	Hannah
10	Joseph	10	Harriett

Outcomes

·         To date there is a total of 681 individuals; however there are still a number that I need to add from the Census.

·         On the 1851 UK Census there are 450 individuals

o   Each census image has been downloaded (a total of 213 images).

·         Servants named William and Ann are going to drive me crazy!

·         STEIRS has been added to my list of variant spellings.

 Next Steps

·         Add all individuals to the ONS master tree

·         Assign the Census images

·         GRO Births between 1842 and 1851

·         GRO Marriages between 1842 and 1851

·         GRO  Deaths between 1842 and 1851