I thought I'd solved it

[Kit]

I have a mystery. Thomas Bennett married into my family in 1866.

My problem is I don't quite know WHO he married. And yes I have the cert. :(

Thomas' wife is named Grace and she was of full age when she got married.

The problem is I have a Grace Eastwood b. Apr 1841 and a Grace Simpson b abt 1841 in my tree.

The name on the marriage cert is Grace Simpson Eastwood. A witness at the wedding is Ellen Eastwood. Ellen is Grace Eastwood's sister and Grace Simpson's Aunt. The father is David Simpson. It does not say he is deceased.

Grace Eastwood's father is Richard and Grace Simpson's father is David. Both men are engineers.

Until today I did not know Grace Eastwood's middle name was actually Simpson but I found her indexed on Staff's Birth index.

Richard Eastwood died in 1863 so Grace should have remembered who he was, if she the bride was Grace Eastwood.

I have Thomas married to Grace Eastwood as I'd done that side of the tree first. Although I hadn't bought the cert at that time. When Kate was looking at something else for me she found the marriage and thought it was for Grace Simpson, so I bought the cert.

I have been given some information about another Simpson relative, Sussannah, and was just looking at the census to add to what I know. Susannah Copeland is list as "sister" to Thomas Bennett.

REf: RG10/2871/75/47

Thomas and Grace are on page 46 with their family and I hadn't turned the page to see Susannah on the next page before today.

Once I saw the birth ref stating the name was Grace Simpson Eastwood I had decided that I was really the Eastwood person who Thomas married but now the census has me confused again.

Opinions please. Sorry this is so long winded.

[Kit]

Opinions on this idea. Grace Eastwood has an older sister Sarah (b abt 1821) who married David Simpson (name of father on the marriage cert) in 1843. On the 1851 census David and Sarah have an 10 year old daugher Grace and Richard Eastwood's daughter Grace is not living with him.

Do you think Grace Simpson Eastwood and Grace Simpson are one and the same person?

David Simpson 1851 ref HO107/2005/408/18 or HO107/2005/18/408. Can't tell from the image which is the page and which is the folio number.

This would explain the the name of the bride, the father's name and the witness.

[Breckland Jane]

It does seem likely that Grace Simpson Eastwood is the illegitimate daughter of Sarah Eastwood and David Simpson. I presume the only place you have found Grace Eastwood with Richard is the 1841 census which doesn't give relationships, so she could quite possibly be the grand-daughter of Richard.

Jane

[Kit]

I didn't think of that Jane. Yes I have only found Grace Eastwood on the 1841 census and again when she got married.

I had thought that Sarah raised her little sister. I'm going to have to get her birth cert now I have found a ref for it.