William Stephenson was the fifth child of William Stephenson & Ann Taylor born April-June 1858 at Lythe, Yorkshire.
In 1861 William, his 3 sisters & his parents were living at Sandsend Village, Lythe where his father was a butcher. Their widowed grandmother, Sarah Stephenson, was also living with them at the time of the census.
In 1871 the family were still in Sandsend Village & all 4 children were still at home.
William married Dinah Caroline Wick on December 29th 1880 at Brunswick Wesleyan Chapel, Whitby. Dinah was born September 27th, 1853 at Wells, Norfolk, & christened Harriet Hannah Dinah on July 2nd, 1868 at Wells Next the Sea, Norfolk, the daughter of Harriett Hannah Marsh & Thomas Wick, a carpenter.
In 1881 William & his wife Dinah were living with William’s parents at Cottage House, Lythe, & William was now a butcher like his father. William’s sisters, Hannah & Mary were also living at home.
In 1891 William & Dinah were living at St Mary’s Cottages, Sandsend Village, near Lythe & William continued to be a butcher. They had 3 children at this time – Thomas W (9), John Edward (7) & Hannah M (5).
William carried on in the butcher’s trade after the death of his father in 1891 & was listed in Kelly’s Directory of North & East Ridings of Yorks 1893 as a butcher of Sandsend.
In 1901 William & Dinah were still at Sandsend Village, now at Aldersyde. William continued to be a butcher & children living at home were Thomas, a grocer & draper’s apprentice, John, a rural postman, Hannah & Mary. Living next to William was his older sister Hannah, who was a shirt seamstress.
By 1911 William had become a postman & he & Dinah were still living at Sandsend. They had 2 daughters at home – Hannah & Mary. It was noted on the census that William & Dinah had had 5 children, only 4 of whom were still living.
Son Thomas had married Ethel Dale in 1906 & at the time of the 1911 census they were living at North View, Hinderwell, Yorkshire. They had 4 children – Ethel Marjorie (4), Kathleen (3), Edward (2) & William Arthur (4 months), & Thomas was working as a commercial traveler for a general drapers.
In 1911 son John was boarding with Eva & Thomas Cradock, a game & poultry dealer, at West Hartlepool, Co Durham. He was working as a moulder’s labourer at the Marley Works.
It is thought that daughter Hannah married Robert Temple in 1913, & in 1924 they & their 2 children Philip & Millicent emigrated to Canada.
Dinah died in April 1917, aged 62, & was buried April 25th at St Oswald’s, Lythe, Whitby & William, aged 59, died later that year on November 29th at Ropery Walk, Whitby & was buried December 1st, 1917 at St Oswald’s, Lythe. Dinah & William were Wesleyan & there was a service in the Wesleyan Chapel Sandsend prior to the burial. (Interestingly an entry next to Dinah’s burial record states that it was certified by William under the burial laws amendment act & the same was stated for William’s burial which was certified by son John Edward.)
The children of William Stephenson & Dinah Caroline Wick were:
s.7.1.5.1 Thomas William Stephenson born January 1st, 1882 at Lythe, Yorks; died July-September 1941 at Whitby
s.7.1.5.2 John Edward Stephenson born January 25th, 1884 at Lythe, Yorks
s.7.1.5.3 Hannah Maria Stephenson born Jan-March 1886 at Lythe, Yorks
s.7.1.5.4 Harriet Ann Stephenson born July-September 1888 at Sandsend; buried February 12th, 1890 at St Oswald’s, Lythe
s.7.1.5.5 Mary Alice Stephenson born Oct-December 1892 at Sandsend, Yorks