We realize that every good genealogist should be able to back up the claims she (or he) makes. Our information, such as it is, is based on contemporary source material such as birth and christening records, marriage records, cemetery records, census records, wills, and personal letters. We believe these primary sources come closest to giving us the most accurate information, since the information was provided by a member of the immediate Anson family (George and Margaret Anson, their children, or George's father and mother in a few cases).
Occasionally we have reason to use secondary sources such as county histories and biographies written without the input of George or Margaret Anson or their immediate family. These secondary sources, while well-meaning, sometimes contain inaccuracies. When at all possible, we have pointed out where a primary source contradicts or calls into question some piece of information from a secondary source.
Finally, we have consulted a few reference materials to verify (or contradict) information contained in a secondary source. For questions on the English peerage, we have cited the 1938 Coronation Edition of Burke's Peerage, which we believe to be a reputable and authoritative source and has the most complete information about the early families of the Earl of Lichfield and Baron Anson. As this edition of Burke's Peerage may not be available to everyone, we will reproduce the pertinent information on a separate page and can supply copies of the actual pages to anyone interested.
We invite anyone interested to trace the Anson paper trail we have followed and are continuing to follow in the interest of historical accuracy.
For interested researchers, we have also compiled a standard Anson Bibliography organized by author. This link will take you to a separate page.
Detailed Anson Bibliography by Subject:
George Anson
Margaret
Dinning Anson
William Anson and Jane Carrier
Anson (George Anson's parents)
Related Families:
Jack
Thorington
The Reverend William Granville and
Elizabeth Granville
Christening: From microfilm in the collection of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints Family History Library, Salt Lake City. Microfilm FHL 1040892; Parish Registers 1603-1876, Church of England, St. Peter's Collegiate Church, Wolverhampton, Staffordshire, England -- Baptisms.
Marriage: From microfilm in the collection of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints Family History Library, Salt Lake City. Microfilm FHL 1040901; Parish Registers 1603-1876, Church of England, St. Peter's Collegiate Church, Wolverhampton, Staffordshire, England -- Marriages.
Occupation: George Anson's occupation as a locksmith and a steel toy maker are mentioned in the baptismal records of his children. From microfilm in the collection of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints Family History Library, Salt Lake City. Microfilm FHL 1040894; Parish Registers 1603-1876, Church of England, St. Peter's Collegiate Church, Wolverhampton, Staffordshire, England -- Baptisms.
Census records:
In England: From microfilm in the collection of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints Family History Library, Salt Lake City. Microfilm FHL 0474627; 1841 Census for Wolverhampton, Staffordshire, England, Western Subdistrict, District 2, p. 37.
In America: 1850 U. S. Census,
Medina, Medina County, OH, p. 215A, house 883.
1860 U. S.
Census, Quasqueton P. O., Cono Twp., Buchanan County, IA, p. 553,
house 522.
1870 U. S. Census, Quasqueton P. O., Cono Twp.,
Buchanan County, IA, p. 383, house 10.
1880 U. S. Census, Cono
Twp., Buchanan County, IA, p. 419, house 109.
Cemetery record: Buchanan County Genealogical Society, Buchanan County, Iowa Cemeteries, 1979; p 95.
Secondary sources:
Two Buchanan County contemporary histories. The Percival and Percival history contains biographical sketches of George Anson and his eldest son, William George Anson. The Church and Chappell history contains a brief mention of George Anson serving as a trustee for Cono Township in Buchanan County, Iowa.
Percival, C. S., and Percival, E. History of Buchanan County Iowa 1842-1881. Williams Bros, Cleveland, 1881; p. 424, 428-429.
Church, Harry, and Chappell, Katharyn Joella. History of Buchanan County, Iowa, and Its People. S. J. Clark Publishing Co., Chicago, 1914; p. 236.
A memoir entitled "Joseph Anson, Sr. of Grande Ronde Valley, Oregon" written in 1979 by George Anson Probasco about his grandfather, Joseph Anson (the second son of George and Margaret Anson). Although this memoir contains some information about George Anson being a younger son of an earl who was disinherited for marrying beneath him, this information has been mostly disproved by the primary sources of christening records of George and his brother William, christening records of George and Margaret's children born in England, the 1841 Wolverhampton census, and the letters of Jack Thorington. For more information, please see the George Anson FAQ.
Reference source:
Burke, Sir Bernard. Burke's Peerage, 1938 Coronation Honors Edition. Shaw Publishing Company, Ltd., London, 1938; p. 130-131, 1550-1551. This edition of Burke's Peerage contains complete information about the Ansons of Lichfield from the 1600s up to 1938. We have cited this source to disprove the theory that George had a direct link to the Anson peers. See the George Anson FAQ for more information. Our page on Burke's Peerage on the Ansons contains the complete text of the Burke's Peerage entries on the Ansons through the first Earl of Lichfield and Baron Anson.
Margaret Dinning Anson
Primary
sources:
Marriage: From microfilm in the
collection of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints Family
History Library, Salt Lake City. Microfilm FHL 1040901; Parish
Registers 1603-1876, Church of England, St. Peter's Collegiate
Church, Wolverhampton, Staffordshire, England -- Marriages.
Note: One of the witnesses listed on George and Margaret's
marriage record is a "Joseph Dinning." We believe this may
be Margaret's father or another relative of Margaret's.
Census records:
In England: From microfilm in the collection of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints Family History Library, Salt Lake City. Microfilm FHL 0474627; 1841 Census for Wolverhampton, Staffordshire, England, Western Subdistrict, District 2, p. 37. This census indicates that Margaret was not born in Wolverhampton.
In America: 1850 U. S. Census, Medina, Medina County, OH, p.
215A, house 883.
1860 U. S. Census, Quasqueton P. O., Cono
Twp., Buchanan County, IA, p. 553, house 522.
1870 U. S.
Census, Quasqueton P. O., Cono Twp., Buchanan County, IA, p. 383,
house 10.
1880 U. S. Census, Cono Twp., Buchanan County, IA, p.
419, house 109.
Personal letters: Letters written to Margaret between 1850 and 1858 by her uncle Jack Thorington of Montgomery, AL; copies are in the personal collection of Regina Hunter. These letters contain information about the Anson family moving to Ohio and Iowa and also relates information about Margaret's family.
Cemetery records: Buchanan County Genealogical Society, Buchanan County, Iowa Cemeteries, 1979; p 95.
Secondary sources:
The Buchanan County, OH history by Percival and Percival mentions George's wife, "Margaret D--," and says she was from Bristol, England. We are working to verify this.
The George Anson Probasco memoir of Joseph Anson. As mentioned above, this memoir states that Margaret was penniless and illiterate. However, the letters from Jack Thorington show she could read and write and that her relatives at least were well-off.
William Anson and Jane Carrier Anson (parents
of George Anson)
Primary sources:
Marriage record: From microfilm in the collection of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints Family History Library, Salt Lake City. Microfilm FHL 1040901, Parish Registers 1603-1876, Church of England, St. Peter's Collegiate Church, Wolverhampton, Staffordshire, England -- Marriages; p. 234, record #164.
Christening records of their eldest son, William: From microfilm in the collection of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints Family History Library, Salt Lake City. Microfilm FHL 1040892, Parish Registers 1603-1876, Church of England, St. Peter's Collegiate Church, Wolverhampton, Staffordshire, England -- Baptisms.
Christening record of George: From microfilm in the collection of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints Family History Library, Salt Lake City. Microfilm FHL 1040892;Parish Registers 1603-1876, Church of England, St. Peter's Collegiate Church, Wolverhampton, Staffordshire, England -- Baptisms.
Occupation: Listed in George's christening record (see above).
(Note: We have found christening records in Wolverhampton St. Peter for a William Anson and a Jane Carrier who would have been the right age to be George Anson's parents, but we have not yet found a conclusive link. We are currently searching other contemporary records for information).
Jack Thorington (Margaret Dinning Anson's uncle)
Letters from Jack Thorington to Margaret Anson 1852-1856; copies in the possession of Regina Hunter.
Owen, Thomas McAdory, LLD, A History of Alabama and Dictionary of Alabama Biography, Vol. IV. S. J. Clarke Publishing Co., Chicago, 1921; p. 1668-1669. This book contains information about Jack Thorington and his family and shows that the names of Dinning and Granville run in the Thorington family.
Selections from a history of the Thorington family, a work in progress by Robert Dinning Thorington (not available to the general public at this time).
The Reverend William Granville and Elizabeth Granville (Magaret Dinning Anson's uncle and aunt)
Census: 1850 U. S. Census, Medina, Medina County, OH, p. 215A, house 887. This census shows the Granvilles living a few houses away from the Ansons.
Probate records for William Granville (located in the Medina County, OH, Probate Court Records) indicate that he left the Ansons an annuity.
Cemetery records: Medina County Genealogical Society, Whispers from the Past: Tombstone Inscriptions from the Cemeteries in Medina County, 1983; p 296. This shows that William Granville is buried in the same cemetery as George and Margaret's son Granville (who was named after William Granville, as was another son born in 1854.)
Letters from Jack Thorington to Margaret Anson frequently mention Mr. Granville
Schapiro, Eleanor Her, editor, Historical Highlights of Medina. Alfred Meyers Lithographers, Inc., Medina, OH, 1966; p. 129. This book mentions Reverend Granville coming from Plymouth, England and serving as the first resident rector of St. Paul's Episcopal Church in Medina.
George Anson Probasco's memoir of Joseph Anson mentions a
bible of Joseph's that was presented to him by his great-aunt
Elizabeth Granville in Medina, OH. The present whereabouts of this
bible are unknown.
(Note: Our thanks go to Medina County
researcher Julia Hach for her work in finding and relaying the
Medina County information).
Later editions of this source page will include links to all of George and Margaret's children.
Back to the Anson Family Web Page