Joseph William, also known as William, was the son of Fredrick (also Frederick) and Eliza Ann Dring (née Taylor).
His father Frederick was born in Gotham, birth registered 1862 (J/F/M Basford), the son of Joseph and Harriet Dring; the family lived in Gotham. His mother Eliza Ann was born in Gotham on 21 February 1867 (J/F/M Basford), the daughter of William and Elizabeth Taylor. In 1881 Eliza (14), a hosiery seamer, was living on Bag Lane, Gotham, with her family.
Frederick and Eliza Ann were married in 1888 (A/M/J Basford) and by 1911 had had eleven children, ten of whom survived. Nine children, all born in Gotham, have been traced living with their parents on the census between 1891 and 1911: Joseph William b. 1890; Annie b. 1892 bap. Gotham St Lawrence 26 December 1894; Arthur b. 1894 bap St Lawrence 26 December 1894; Mary b. 1896 bap. St Lawrence 8 November 1896; Fredrick/Frederick Walker b. 1898; Elizabeth b. 1900; Harry b. 1904; John Thomas b. 1907 (reg. J/F/M) and Edith Evelyn b. 1911 . The tenth surviving child was probably Alice b. 1888 who appeared to live permanently with her maternal grandparents.
In 1891 Frederick (29), an agricultural labourer, and Eliza (24) were living on Kegworth Road, Gotham, with their son Joseph William (under one year). Alice (2) was living with her maternal grandparents, William and Elizabeth Taylor, on Bag Lane, Gotham.
By 1901 Frederick and Eliza were living on Malt Street, Gotham, with their children Joseph William, Annie (8), Arthur (6), Mary (4), Frederick (2) and Elizabeth (under one year). Alice was still living with her grandparents on Bag Lane, Gotham.
Frederick, now working as a plaster labourer, and Eliza had moved to Sardiges, Gotham, by 1911. Only seven of their surviving children were in the home on the night of the census: Annie a seamstress, Arthur a plaster labourer, Frederick, Elizabeth, Harry (6), John Thomas (4) and Edith Evelyn (under one year).
Alice was a domestic servant at 12 Park Street, Loughborough, in the household of William Claridge, a retired farmer, and his wife Catherine. William (sic) was living at Lunnon, Gotham, where he was working as a wagoner for Robert Bowley, farmer. Mary was a domestic servant in the household of Rev. Frederick Armine Wodehouse, vicar of Gotham, and his wife Alice; also in the home was their son, Arthur Pelham Wodehouse, who was killed in action in 1915. (See record on this ROH).
Frederick Dring snr. died in 1939. Later that year, when the England & Wales Register was compiled, his widow Eliza Ann was living at 73 Woodgate Road, East Leake, with her unmarried daughter, Evelyn Edith. Also in the houshold was Mary Jane Walker (b. 1853), a widow, who may have been a relative. Eliza died at the end of the year .
William's brother Arthur served in the Northumberland Fusiliers and died on 14 March 1916 of wounds received in action. Arthur and William's CWGC records give their parents' address as Costock Road, East Leake, Nottinghamshire.
Annie married Maurice (also Morris) Sharp at Gotham St Lawrence in 1911. Maurice attested in December 1915 and transferred to the Army Reserve before being mobilised and serving in the Leicestershire Regiment. He transferred to the Army Reserve on being demobilized on 24 February 1919. Maruice's brother, Beacham Sharp, served in the North Staffordshire Regiment and died of wounds on 9 October 1917.
