English birth, marriage and death records - In 1536 Henry VIII, King of England, decreed that all parish churches were to create and maintain records of vital statistics.  Not all did. Fortunately for the Saunders family, the county of Staffordshire records are notably 90% complete.  Wednesbury, and the nearby towns of Walsall, Kinver, Lichfield and Tipton are all located in Sandwell Borough, Staffordshire, West Midlands, England.  The ancient records used for the English portion of the tree are from Saint Matthew'sparish church in Walsall, and from Saint Bartholomew's in Wednesbury.  Tipton is part of St Bartholomew's Parish.
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1571 - William Saunders married Alice Blench, October 28th at Saint Bartholomews in Wednesbury.  Their line of descendents disappears for the next 98 years.  The records were likely among the 10% that were destroyed by water, fire or negligence.
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1669 - John Saunders married Eliizabeth Grice, November 4th at Saint Bartholomews in Wednesbury.
1673 - William Saunders Christened to John and Elizabeth Saunders April 12 at Saint Bartholomews in Wednesbury.  Married to Mary Edge, April 11, 1703 at Saint Bartholomews, Wednesbury.
1704 - William Saunders christened to William and Mary Saunders September 24 at Saint Bartholomews in Wednesbury.  Married to Rachel Brittan, July 23, 1728 at Saint Bartholomews, Wednesbury.
1740 - Benjamin Saunders christened to William and Rachel Saunders, February 20 at Saint Bartholomews. Married to Mary Constable, December 29, 1767 at Saint Bartholomews, Tipton.
1774 - Thomas Saunders christened to Benjamin and Mary Saunders, November 23 at Saint Bartholomews, Wednesbury. Married to Ann Brassington, November 2, 1813 at Saint Peters, Wolverhampton.
1815-1849 - John Saunders christened to Thomas and Ann Saunders, January 12 at  Haughton.  Married to Mary Whiston, June 23, 1834 in Bradley-By--Stafford.  John and Mary emigrated to America in 1837, and filed for citizenshiip in 1845.  He was a steel-mill worker and they went directly to Shepherdsville, KY, in the Ohio River valley, a center for steel works.  John and Mary died in a cholera epidemic in 1849, and  buried at the family plot in Evergreen Cemetery, Newport, KY.
American birth, marriage and death records - The states have, for many years, been required to keep records of vital statistics.  Unfortunately, Kentucky is a "Commonwealth", not a state,  Many records, which were kept by one county clerk, were destroyed by the next.  Census-takers, barely literate themselves, recorded information from family members who were unable to spell their own names.  This accounts for the bizarre changes in the spelling of family names from one census to the next....a nightmare for the amateur genealogist.
1838-1911 - William David Saunders born in Shepherdsville, KY to John and Mary Saunders, May28.  Married to Julia  Ann Barber, January 31, 1861in Newport, KY.  They had 2 children, James Peter and Nellie,  He was a steel roller by trade.  In 1864, he enlisted in the Union Army and assigned to Co. E, 53rd Kentucky Regiment, mounted infantry.  William David and Julia are buried in the family plot at Vienna Township Cemetery in Warren, OH.
1862-1928 - James Peter Saunders born in Newport, KY to William David and Julia Ann Saunders, April 1.  Married to Harriet Rebecca Partridge September 17, 1881at Niles, OH.  They had three children, Chauncey Elton, James Lee and Harriet Ethel.  Disliking the life of a mill-worker, he bought a farm in Warren, OH in 1900, where he lived most of his life.  James Peter and Harriet are buried in Warren, Ohio.
1885-1973 - James Lee Saunders born in Niles, OH to James Peter and Harriet Rebecca Saunders, June 11.  Married to Mina May Newton in Warren, OH.  They had three children, Edith Marie, Robert Newton and james Lee, Jr.  Like his father, grandfather and great-grandfather before him, he worked in the mills as a heater for Trumbull Steel, which later became Republic Steel.  James Lee and his second wife, Alma Dyslin, built a tourist resort in Bear Lake, MI, which they operated for many years.  James Lee is buried in Bear Lake, MI.
1913 - James Lee Saunders II born in Warren, OH to James James Lee and Mina May Saunders December 10.  Married to Eva Ellen Myers November 8, 1935 at Bear Lake, MI.  They have four children, William David, Robert Paul, Richard Glenn and James Lee, III.  He completed two years of business school in Manistee, MI and operated automobile service stations in Battle Creek, MI and Plymouth, IN for many years.  After his retirement in 1976, he took up amateur genealogy and traced the Saunders family back more than 400 years to medieval England.  Genealogical data in this web-page is taken from  his printed work: "The Saunders Family Tree".
1936 - William David Saunders  born in Canton, OH to James James Lee and Eva Ellen Saunders, August 6.  Married to Mary Jane Jolly November 8, 1955 at Argos, IN.  We have three children, William David Jr., Sheiron Kay, and Debra Jo.  I  served in the US Coast Guard for 20 years as a rescue seaplane radio/radar operator, retiring in 1975, and we relocated to College Place, Washington.  We enjoy the retired life..world-wide travel, grandkids, ham radio and swapping e-mail with friends from "Way Back When".
1956 - William David Saunders. Jr., born in Memphis, TN to William David and Mary Jane Saunders, June 13.  Married to Nancy June Larson June 12, 1977 at Boring, OR.  They have two children, Melissa Kay and William David III, "Bill" is head of the special education dept.,Brookings/Gold Beach ESD, Brookings, OR.  Bill and family reside in Crescent City, CA..
1983 - William David Saunders III born in McMinnville, OR to William David and Nancy June Saunders, August 29.  Young Bill is a sophomore at Pacific Union College at Angwin, California.
Note:  UNDERLINED NAMES are linked to e-mail addresses.  Click on the name to address and send e-mail automatically.
 
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