Thoughts on Joseph Duncalf (20001)

A great deal is known about Joseph's descendants and about his own life, but where was he born? My own family (Family 1) arrived in Weaverham from Middlewich in the early 1760s. Coincidentally Joseph also arrived in Weaverham about the same time, the first of his children born there in 1768. Joseph was a "flatman", he worked on the flats on the Weaver. William (10028) was a "sailor" on his marriage and may also have sailed up the Weaver.

I have no records giving Joseph's age, but presume his birth to have taken place roughly 1735-1745. He married his first wife at Warrington in 1762, and his first child was baptised at Great Sankey in 1763. There is then a gap before the first Weaverham baptism in 1768.

"My" William was baptised at Middlewich in 1741. His father, Richard married his 2nd or 3rd wife (there are baptisms for Richard and Sarah and Richard and Mary as well as Richard and Ann (Garner) who was William's mother) in January 1735/36. I do wonder whether there was another child between the marriage and 1741. Could this be Joseph 20001? The Middlewich, Davenham and Over parish registers have been scoured for this period and no baptism for a Joseph has been found.

Could Joseph have been born in Lancashire? I suspect that several of the Middlewich/Davenham family migrated to Liverpool in the mid 18th century and there are baptisms and burials in Liverpool during the latter half of the 18th century that do not fit in anywhere else.

Joseph was supported for most of his time in Weaverham by the parish of Little Budworth. The overseers accounts of LB contain a great many entries where poor relief was given to the family, and they paid for Joseph's burial and wake at Weaverham. He therefore either gained a settlement in LB before his marriage, or gained the settlement from his father. Yet there are no events at all in the LB parish registers at all until Joseph's second wife was buried there in 1820.

I would truly like to clear up this mystery! Where was Joseph born????