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Coccection of Richard William Masters and descendants
William Marsters was born Richard Masters (with no R in the middle of his surname) in 1831 (we don't know his exact date of birth, but he was baptised on 6 November of that year).
He was the second child of John Masters (1809-1880) and Ann Armstrong (1802-1873) who married in the ancient church of St. Mary deCastro near to Leicester Castle on 6 November, 1827. (Ann's name appears in earlier parish records as Armston). His place of birth was the parish of Misterton in the Lutterworth district of Leicestershire. It also helps to explain why one of the islets in the Palmerston lagoon is called Leicester Bank.
Author's note: This information is based on English parish records. (no birth certificates exist as this was before a law was passed in England and Wales making registration compulsory). Many writers have repeated a fallacy that William was born in Gloucestershire. The year of his birth is also often wrongly recorded as 1821.