Finding John Hill b c1836-43 Elsted/Halstead Sussex

What do I know about John Hill? A lot, but also not a lot!

He was father to my great grandmother (Susan Caroline Hill, born 1875). On her marriage certificate to James Aaron Stocking in 1900, at the Church of St Philip, Avondale Square, Camberwell, her father is named as John Hill, a Labourer. On her birth certificate (in Southwark) he is a General Labourer.

On his own marriage certificate to Elizabeth Sarah Windebank in 1869, he is again shown as a labourer. Both are living at 11 Pave Court, Fraser St, Lambeth. His father's name is also John Hill (a labourer). Whilst Elizabeth was 'under' age, John was of 'full' age at the time of their marriage, suggesting a birth date of 1848 or earlier.

In the 1871 census, John and Elizabeth are living at Sunbury Hill, Middlesex. No place of birth is given for John, but Elizabeth is recorded as born in Slough, Bucks. His birth year (aged 28) is 1843, hers (22) 1849. They have a 7-month old son John.

The 1881 census has him as a general labourer aged 40 (b.1841) in Blue Anchor Lane, Bermondsey, a Labourer/Bricklayer with wife Elizabeth (suddenly a year older than him and born Charvey, Bucks) and daughters Susan (my great-grandmother) aged 5 and Mary, 2.  Young John from the 1871 census does not appear in subsequent censuses, and may have died young as a later sibling is also called John.  John senior's birthplace is given as Elsted, Sussex (in Midhurst parish).

In 1891, his birthplace is Halsted, Sussex, and he is now 53 (1838) whilst Elizabeth's age is a year less than in 1881!

John must have died between 1891 and 1895 and there are some possibilities in the GRO index for 1893 and 1894.  Elizabeth remarried in 1895 (to widower, Thomas C Evans, a labourer).

So, now that the earlier censuses are coming online through subscription sites ancestry.co.uk and 1837Online, I ought to be able to find out more ... but I can't, so far! Ancestry's index and images are supposed to be complete, but the only John Hill from 'Elstead' is 25 and married to Fanny, with one-year old daughter Mary Ann, living in Twyford, Chichester, Sussex. Others are born in Harting, but none in what seem to be relevant bits of Sussex. 1837Online's surrey transcripts are again supposed to be complete, but if John was already in Surrey (eg Lambeth) he doesn't appear too obviously. John and Fanny's marriage certificate poses some potential links, but no real solutions:  one of the witnesses appears to be Lucy HILL, John's sister who appears with the HILL family in the censuses of 1841 and 1851. Whilst the ages, names, birthplaces and occupations tie up it is entirely possible that this John and Fanny are a completely different couple.

In the 1851 census we find a John Hill aged 15 (b.1836), an agricultural labourer, living with his parents and others in the family in Elsted. 

The IGI supposedly has parish record transcripts for Elsted from the 1571-1993 period, but the only entry is for a John Hill, son of John and Mary, christened in Elsted in 1836.  This would certainly match the family found in the 1851 census, but apart from the father's name and rough birth year match, there's no way of connecting this John with 'mine' - and he is probably the one married to Fanny in the 1861 census.  It is possible, of course, that 'my' John did marry Fanny and that she died between 1861-1869 (there is a death index entry for a Fanny HILL aged 27 in Lewisham in the June quarter of 1868, and there are others for 1863 and 1865 which are also possibilities) but that he did not declare himself a widower when he married Elizabeth in 1869 - given that she was a minor and both her parents were witnesses, this may have been a 'politic' move!

But where do I look now?!