Why would they do that?

[Guinevere]

The Forest of Dean website email arrived yesterday to say they had added transcriptions of Chepstow parish records so off I went in search of OH's Allenders.

I found a series of baptisms of children of Thomas and Temperence Allender (1832 - 1853). I haven't connected these to our Allenders but all of that name in the Forest area are of interest. I had the marriage in Newchurch in 1830 (Temperence was nee Jones) but hadn't found any further sign of them.

I have extracted all Allenders from every census and I couldn't find them in my databases so spent some time in ancestry looking for them. I eventually found them by searching for Temperences of around the right age, but they are there as Saunders in every census. It isn't a mistranscription as it's written quite plainly.

Further investigation shows that the children born after July 1837 are registered as Saunders. For example Edward Morgan Saunders was born in Dec Q 1846, Chepstow 26 64. He was baptised Edward Morgan Allender in Chepstow on Dec 10th 1846.

I know people changed their names as the mood took them but why register a child in one name and baptise it in its "real" name?

All theories welcome.

I'm off to work soon so am not ignoring any responses but I'd welcome all ideas.

[Little Nell]

A puzzle. I could understand that a family might all change surname later because mother remarried and they took on her new husband's name, or that the family all changed their names later to avoid scandal/debt or to claim an inheritance or whatever.

Not sure what is going on here. Maybe Mr Allender was known as Allender to folk but was really a Saunders and they had the children registered under what they thought was his legal name? Ditto when the officials came round from the census.

[Guinevere]

That's a possibility, Nell. Perhaps he was illegitimate but took the name of his father. I haven't found a likely baptism for him anywhere in the counties haunted by the Allenders.

I'll have a look for baptisms of Thomas Saunders when I get home.

[Christine in Herts]

It's a bit tenuous, but could the name really be some sort of construction like "Alexanders"?

That could get contracted to Alle'nders and 'Sa(u)nders.

Christine

later addition: But you'd still expect a family to choose one or the other and stick with it. I agree with Nell's point, made just below.

[Little Nell]

I can see how Allender might be misread as Saunders, maybe on a census return, but not consistently by registrars etc.

[Little Nell]

Temperance is how she is recorded 1851, 61 and how my rellie with same name is recorded.

It looks like Susanna might have died in infancy:
Deaths Mar 1853 Saunders Susanna Chepstow 11a 12

Whilst browsing the deaths I found this intriguing one:

Deaths Dec 1859 Saunders Frederic Allender Chepstow 11a 6

Is this Thomas and Temperance's son b 1846 on the 1851 census? Or a relative he was named after?
Perhaps Thomas was illegitimate and Allender or Saunders was his mother's maiden name?

[Little Nell]

No, here's his birth: Frederic Allender Saunders 1859 Oct-Nov-Dec Chepstow

another death: Thomas Allender Saunders [abt 1833] 1868 Jan-Feb-Mar Bristol

Also found
Edward Allender M Saunders 1868 Oct-Nov-Dec which is equally intriguing as I seem to recall seeing a Temperance Saunders living in Croydon but born in Chepstow on census. ********* Temperance Saunders married & living in Croydon with husband Joseph and son William in 1851 was born Northamptonshire!!! Joseph is from Warwickshire. Bang goes that theory!

[Guinevere]

1841 - HO/107/745/6
1851 - HO/107/2443/45

*rushes to work*

[Little Nell]

I see Thos and Temp are still alive and well and living in Llantwit Major, Glamorgan in 1891. It's a very pretty spot.

[Little Nell]

This would appear to be a possible death:
Temperance A Saunders [abt 1819] 1898 Oct-Nov-Dec Neath [includes Llantwit]

I wonder if the A is for Allender????

[Guinevere]

Hmmm. Thanks for the death, Nell. I wonder if her full name would be on the cert.

It's quite freaky how much my family and OH's overlap, given that we met here in Warwickshire. My Welsh lot live very near Llanwit Major now.

[Merry Monty Montgomery]

Anything to do with copyhold ownership of land? (might be a bit late perhaps??)

[Merry Monty Montgomery]

Some of the childrens marriages have Alender with one L for middle name.

[Guinevere]

OOOh, thanks, Merry.

I've been to the FOD transcription site again and can't find a likely Thomas Saunders or Allender, even though Chepstow is transcribed (he said he was born there).

Thomas was a shoe maker and the Allenders weren't that well off so I don't think land would be involved.

I'm thinking base born is probably the answer.

[Just Gillian]

Just nipped in to see if you had solved this one. I read it this morning and thought Nell's explanation was a likely one.

I signed up to the Forest of Dean site last autumn after google found a photo on there of OH's gt grandmother's half brother (the result of a bigamous marriage Viv unearthed for me at Somerset RO). I've been very impressed with how often they are updating their transcribed records. Found OH's grandfather's burial at Tidenham Chapel on there yesterday - along with the burial less than a year later of his 24 year old son. This is the same son who, according to OH's family, had emigrated to the USA, founded some wonderful business and died there in the 1960s. No wonder I had never been able to find him lol

[Little Nell]

Well done Gillian!

[Guinevere]

The website is Forest of Dean Family History - Home in case anyone else has family in the Forest.