Firstly, please excuse me if I'm posting this in the wrong place but I'm very new here.
I am finding it impossible to trace one of my direct ancestors pre-marriage.
In 1867 my gx2 grandfather married Mary Hewitt at South Church, Bishop Auckland. Their marriage certificate shows her age as 20 and her father as John Hewitt, engine fitter. All census returns from 1871 to 1911 have her birth place as Leeds.
I have had no joy with the BMD's. 1 birth certificate I thought to be the right one has the father's name George. I then traced a Mary Hewitt with a father John through the censuses but got to 1871 to find this Mary was at her father's in Dewsbury. She was at the time in Auckland.
The mystery does however deepen. In 1871 John and Mary had a 2 year old daughter, Lavinia. In 1881, 2 years after her father,s death she was not living with her mother. My initial thought was that she had probably died but I did an 1881 census search for her and found 12 year old Lavinia Race, born Bishop Auckland, living at 24 Back Essex Street, Hunslet in the family of Thomas and Martha Bentley. Lavinia is described as their grandaughter.
I search of the BMD's proved no other Lavinia Race was born 2 years either side of her birth year.
I assumed that Martha was Mary's mother who had been widowed and remarried but I have still not been able to find a Martha Hewitt previous to that time in any census.
I am totally out of ideas now and wondered if anyone can nudge me in any other direction. I have no reason to believe that my 2xg grandfather had ever been to Leeds so have worked on the assumption that Mary and her family at some point came to Durham. There is no clue in the 2 witnesses to their marriage who are Margaret Beeston and Charles Quinn.
Anyone any ideas?
I am finding it impossible to trace one of my direct ancestors pre-marriage.
In 1867 my gx2 grandfather married Mary Hewitt at South Church, Bishop Auckland. Their marriage certificate shows her age as 20 and her father as John Hewitt, engine fitter. All census returns from 1871 to 1911 have her birth place as Leeds.
I have had no joy with the BMD's. 1 birth certificate I thought to be the right one has the father's name George. I then traced a Mary Hewitt with a father John through the censuses but got to 1871 to find this Mary was at her father's in Dewsbury. She was at the time in Auckland.
The mystery does however deepen. In 1871 John and Mary had a 2 year old daughter, Lavinia. In 1881, 2 years after her father,s death she was not living with her mother. My initial thought was that she had probably died but I did an 1881 census search for her and found 12 year old Lavinia Race, born Bishop Auckland, living at 24 Back Essex Street, Hunslet in the family of Thomas and Martha Bentley. Lavinia is described as their grandaughter.
I search of the BMD's proved no other Lavinia Race was born 2 years either side of her birth year.
I assumed that Martha was Mary's mother who had been widowed and remarried but I have still not been able to find a Martha Hewitt previous to that time in any census.
I am totally out of ideas now and wondered if anyone can nudge me in any other direction. I have no reason to believe that my 2xg grandfather had ever been to Leeds so have worked on the assumption that Mary and her family at some point came to Durham. There is no clue in the 2 witnesses to their marriage who are Margaret Beeston and Charles Quinn.
Anyone any ideas?
Comment