I have been falsely accusing my gt-grandfather of infidelity.
On my grandmother's and 3 siblings' birth certificates their mother is shown as Marie or Mary Ganster formerly Poncin. On another child's certificate I was surprised to see her mother as Margaret Anne Mary Ganster formerly Zachary. I jumped to the obvious conclusion (assumed she was using the name Ganster to look proper), supported by being unable to find the new baby (born 1870) or her father in the 1871 census. I did find Mary Ganster with the next oldest child, then found the oldest 2 children in (separate) orphanages. I assumed father and baby had disappeared with baby's mother, leaving Mary unable to support all her children.
That was before I found evidence of my gt-grandparents' marriage. I knew they had come to London from France, and their oldest child was born in Paris. With the help of this forum I found brief details of the marriage of Etienne Ganster to Marguerite Poncin in 1858 in Paris (I assumed Marguerite was in fact Mary). Later I found another website, canadp-archivesenligne.paris.fr, which I can recommend (free access), which showed more details of the marriage including the bride's full name, which was ... Marguerite Anne Marie Zacharie Poncin!!
So, can anyone suggest a) why my gt-grandmother's name was given in full on the one birth register (and wrong maiden name) and only as Marie/Mary on the others, and b) where my gt-grandfather and new baby were in 1871 (names Etienne or Stephen Ganster, also known as Edward, born c. 1830, and Marie Eugenie Ganster, known as Eugenie, born 1870)?
NB I have found at least 6 different spellings of Ganster, including Genster, Gauster, Gainster, Geanster and Gonsder!
The family were all living together (with a further child) in 1881 (but my grandmother was yet to be born).
Sorry this has turned out to be an essay - it has been quite a journey to get this far!
On my grandmother's and 3 siblings' birth certificates their mother is shown as Marie or Mary Ganster formerly Poncin. On another child's certificate I was surprised to see her mother as Margaret Anne Mary Ganster formerly Zachary. I jumped to the obvious conclusion (assumed she was using the name Ganster to look proper), supported by being unable to find the new baby (born 1870) or her father in the 1871 census. I did find Mary Ganster with the next oldest child, then found the oldest 2 children in (separate) orphanages. I assumed father and baby had disappeared with baby's mother, leaving Mary unable to support all her children.
That was before I found evidence of my gt-grandparents' marriage. I knew they had come to London from France, and their oldest child was born in Paris. With the help of this forum I found brief details of the marriage of Etienne Ganster to Marguerite Poncin in 1858 in Paris (I assumed Marguerite was in fact Mary). Later I found another website, canadp-archivesenligne.paris.fr, which I can recommend (free access), which showed more details of the marriage including the bride's full name, which was ... Marguerite Anne Marie Zacharie Poncin!!
So, can anyone suggest a) why my gt-grandmother's name was given in full on the one birth register (and wrong maiden name) and only as Marie/Mary on the others, and b) where my gt-grandfather and new baby were in 1871 (names Etienne or Stephen Ganster, also known as Edward, born c. 1830, and Marie Eugenie Ganster, known as Eugenie, born 1870)?
NB I have found at least 6 different spellings of Ganster, including Genster, Gauster, Gainster, Geanster and Gonsder!
The family were all living together (with a further child) in 1881 (but my grandmother was yet to be born).
Sorry this has turned out to be an essay - it has been quite a journey to get this far!
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