Hi Tim
 
Good to her from you and thanks for letting me know this potentially exciting news. 
 
If we are descended from the Vernons then our closest ancestor is Mary Vernon (1590-1620), who was the great grandmother of Elizabeth Tristram who married William Winnall (1675-1768). So she would be seven generations before Edward Hill and Mary Winnall. It would be remarkable if the link had been passed down by word of mouth through to the present day. But then again as the Vernons were aristocrats if anything genealogically related were to have been passed down in that way then that would be it!
 
There’s no doubt the Pedmore Winnalls were linked to the Wolverley ones, if only we could find that piece of evidence that confirms or otherwise that William 1718-1794 was the William who married Phoebe Oldnall. I, like you, thought it wasn’t very likely that the son of a gent would marry the daughter of a nailer. But then I found out that centuries ago there were yeoman nailers in the area. And then there is the fact that John Oldnall left a will, which the great majority of people didn’t have the money to do back then. And there are other bits of circumstantial evidence, such as the first Winnall marriage in the Pedmore register being between Frances Winnall and William Bayliss in 1706. Frances was definitely the sister of William Winnall (1675-1768). The second Winnall marriage at Pedmore was between our William and Phoebe in 1745. 
 
I think it likely that before arriving in Wolverley parish the Winnalls resided in the hamlet of Winnall on the Severn. If you google ‘Winnall Lodge’ you will find an archaeological report on the hunting lodge that belonged to the family that mentions the link between the family and place. 
 
Incidentally, the gravestone of John Winnall and Mary Rushbury, and William Winnall and Elizabeth Tristram can be found in Wolverley churchyard. Remarkably it’s almost entirely legible. There are also memorials to the Tristrams both inside and outside Belbroughton Church. 
 
Best of luck eliciting more info from your mother’s cousin and I look forward to hearing all about it.
 
Best Wishes,
 
Steve.

A quick search of 192.com showed that amazingly both executors – Dennis Reyolds and Ronald Hatton were both still living at the same address.  The website also usefully listed their phone numbers.

Tentatively I called the first number: Dennis.  

It must be odd receiving a call out of the blue from someone you don’t know talking about your family history.  After an explanation of who I was and why I was calling Dennis put me on to his wife, Margaret as “…she’ll be the one you want to talk to”.

It transpires that Margaret is Fred’s cousin.  The daughter of (Henry) Edward Hill – Fred’s mother’s brother.  So Margaret would be Fred’s cousin.  

Margaret thought that her daughter may have some of the photographs, but that she didn’t have anything.  However, her sister Joan, may know more as she was the one who helped clear out Phylis’s house when she died.  

Margaret was right.  Joan did know a lot more.

Gertie had the family bible (I wonder if that still exists – need to ring Martyn and find out).  But Joan still does have a number of family items – including  photos of her grandparents  (Alfred and Alice Hill) – one with Alice sat on a chair wearing a long dress with Alfred standing protectively near her; another had the some of the family standing outside Greyfields, Kinver: grandmother and children, one of whom Joan assumes was her father, although she’s not sure which one.

Joan also had a medal which had been awarded to Auntie May from Dodford school for 100% attendance over a whole year.

She remembered Walter (“…a miserable bugger”) but had no idea that he’d had an illicit child.  There was someone else in the family who was never mentioned.  I wonder what his ‘crime’ had been?

Other gossip included Phylis being very friendly with Alfie Burford, a relationship her mother discouraged.  After Uncle Oliver died she became very close to him again.

Joan wanted to know if it was true there were any canal boat people in her family.  I confirmed this and talked about the Dyers.  Apparently Margaret her sister is quite horrified at this – being of the view that canal workers were like water gypsies!  

Did I know if Alice had a brother, Floyd, who was a blacksmith at Burcot?  I’ve not heard of this before but it will be worth looking into.

Then, intriguingly, she said something along the lines of there was a “Hill” who worked at Pipers Hill farm and a rich man called Vernon.  Auntie May had said that they were related.  This is the first family mention I’ve had of the Vernon link, although Steve Winall and Wendy Walmsley have long thought there was a link.  I must follow this up.

When the house was cleared out some of the things, including a few postcards, were given to Joan’s niece, Margaret’s daughter.  Joan said she would get in touch and get back to me and we thought it would be a good idea to meet up and share resources.

Footnote:

When researching the Hill family 1891 Census entry at Greyfields, where Alfred was a bailiff, I noticed that also living there at the time was a Game Keeper.  The led me to look back a page to see if there was anyone else living there at the time.  There wasn’t, but to my surprise there was my Meredith relatives living in Compton Road.  Edward and Ada must surely have know each other.  Perhaps they were even at school together?  I wonder how I could find out.  

Interestingly, as the families lived here in 1891, they must surely have been scandalised by the Wolverley Murder!