I received a very prompt reply to my request for further information re William Henry Hooker’s background from a gentleman who has spent 30 years on his research. This shows in his site which is a family historian’s delight – I still have not explored it thoroughly but look forward to doing so.
Unfortunately, he has no knowledge of a possible connection with my Robert or any other siblings, so the search continues. His site does give the names of William Henry’s parents and the dates of the mother, but even with that information, I cannot find any birth entry for Robert.
I think I will relook at my conclusions re Robert’s birth & death dates – perhaps I have it all wrong – as I said, the search continues.