William was born in Jul/Aug/Sep 1894 in the district of Crediton, Devon, to Isaac 'Harry' Harwood Vernon (25), an agricultural labourer and farm carter, and Lucy Vernon (nee James) (26), a former domestic servant and housewife.
William was baptised on 16th September 1894 in Crediton, Devon.
William was the third of four siblings born to Harry and Lucy (one daughter and three sons):
- Edith Ellen 1891 - 1971 (79)
- Walter Charles 1892 - 1965 (73)
- William John 1894 - ? (?)
- Frank 1896 - 19?? (?)
William's mother Lucy was ill with pulmonary tuberculosis and passed away from the disease, aged twenty-nine, on 25th March 1897, in Kennerleigh, when William was only two and a half. Lucy's death left Harry a widower with four young children, aged five to zero.
But before Lucy passed away, it seems Harry may have begun an affair with Ellen Tonkins - her son Fred Tonkins, born Apr/May/Jun 1897, was conceived before Lucy's death and Harry would later recognise him as his son. On New Year's Eve 1897, Harry and Ellen married. Before they married, Harry was described as Ellen's lodger. From this marriage, young William would gain a step-mother and ten younger half siblings (8 half brothers and 2 half sisters):
- Frederick 'Fred' (born Tonkins, later Vernon) 1897 - 1915 (18)
- Mabel Ellen 1898 - 1994 (95)
- George 1900 - 1900 (0 - 3 months old)
- George Henry 1901 - 1973 (71)
- Ernest Isaac 1904 - 1997 (93)
- Isaac Harry (went by Harry like his father) 1906 - 1964 (58)
- William Harwood 1908 - 1972 (64)
- Florence Emily 1911 - 1993 (82)
- Sidney 'Sid' 1913 - 2004 (91)
- Percy 1915 - 2002 (86)
Unfortunately William disappears from record after his baptism. I wonder if he passed away as a young child, for his father Harry would name another of his sons William in 1908. Also, unlike his siblings, there is no record of his attending school.
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