John William
Fage's parents were, according to his birth certificate, James
Fage and Sarah
Willsher. Sarah and James married in 1870 in Sandy, when Sarah's father was named as George, a labourer. Both made their mark in the marriage register rather than signing. On their son's birth certificate, she is named as Sarah formerly
Wilsher (one 'l'). On the 1861 census, I finally tracked the family down under the name of
Wilshire. Her father George is 33 and an agricultural labourer. A bit of a break-through is the name of his wife; as I haven't found Sarah's birth certificate yet, this is a bonus. Mary Ann was 32. Their children are Eliza (13), Sarah (9), William (6) and John (3).
In the 1871 census, George
Willshire's family (with an extra 'l') are at Culford? Lane, Sandy, next door to Elizabeth
Fage's household. Elizabeth's son James
Fage married George's daughter Sarah
Willsher in 1870. George's birthplace is given as Warden?, whilst Mary Ann's remains Caldecote. She is a Straw Plaiter, and their children are John (13, general labourer), Eliza (22), Emma (scholar) and Rosa (6).
So now I need to look for the marriage of George Wilsher (of Willshire, Willsher, Wilsher etc) and Mary Ann something around 1847.