Dear fellows genealogists,
I've recently been having much fun in moving on from the basics of Ancestry style pushing dates and names together and I am now trying to colour in the lives of my ancestors using properly referenced facts! I've come up stuck with what I think is an illegitimate Great-great-grandfather and wanted to see if any of you more-experienced types might be able to help?
His name is Frederick George SMITH: born 17 Apr 1853, married 4 Jun 1879 Harriet WALLINGTON, died 22 Jul 1931. All of this is primary source reference and I know to be true. I can also positively identify him in:
- 1879 (here): From marriage certificate, living at 32 Durham Street, Portsea with his new wife. He is in employment as a railway porter.
- 1881 (here): Living at 92 St Vincent Street, Portsea, Portsmouth with his wife and eldest son. He is in employment as a railway clerk.
- 1891 (here): Living at 55 Ivy Street, Portsea, Portsmouth with his wife, two sons, and four daughters. He is in employment as a railway goods checker.
- 1901 (here): Living at 55 Ivy Street, Southsea, Portsmouth with his wife, one son, and one daughter. He is in employment as a plumber.
- 1911 (here): Living at 55 Ivy Street, Southsea, Portsmouth with his wife and one daughter. He is in employment as a plumber, painters, and gas fitter.
But I can't get back any earlier than his marriage in 1879 or to his parents which is what I want to do.
His birth certificate (my first my of call) lists his mother as Mary Ann SMITH of Hampton Street, Landport but his father is blank. His marriage certificate lists his father as Frederick SMITH, an engineer. The only other clue I have about his parents is a newspaper article from 7 Jun 1929 (here) celebrating his golden wedding anniversary. This lists his parents as Mr and Mrs Frederick SMITH of Portsmouth.
In trying to find his parents I have searched many records so far! My main attempts apart from basic census search of the names I have, which have so far produced nothing conclusive are:
- Checking out 92 St Vincent Street in the 1871 census (here).
- Checking out Hampton Street for 1851. I can only find Hampton Terrace (here) which does appear to be in the right location but nothing obvious for Mary Ann SMITH.
- Checking out Hampton Street for 1861. I can find Hampton Street (here) in 1861 but nothing obvious.
- Checking out Hampton Street for 1871. Again found (here) but with no obvious results.
- Looking for baptism records. There is only one contender (that I can find) (here) which is 5 Oct 1856 to John and Mary Ann SMITH at St Mary's Portsea. I can't make out the abode or trade columns for the father but I'm not sure they'll help!
In summary, I feel like I've got to a dead end and, before I give up, I wanted to see if anyone had any good ideas?
Is it likely he was illegitimate?
Is Frederick SMITH likely to have been his father?
Is it likely Mary Ann SMITH gave a false name, maybe just a false surname, when declaring the birth?
James
I've recently been having much fun in moving on from the basics of Ancestry style pushing dates and names together and I am now trying to colour in the lives of my ancestors using properly referenced facts! I've come up stuck with what I think is an illegitimate Great-great-grandfather and wanted to see if any of you more-experienced types might be able to help?
His name is Frederick George SMITH: born 17 Apr 1853, married 4 Jun 1879 Harriet WALLINGTON, died 22 Jul 1931. All of this is primary source reference and I know to be true. I can also positively identify him in:
- 1879 (here): From marriage certificate, living at 32 Durham Street, Portsea with his new wife. He is in employment as a railway porter.
- 1881 (here): Living at 92 St Vincent Street, Portsea, Portsmouth with his wife and eldest son. He is in employment as a railway clerk.
- 1891 (here): Living at 55 Ivy Street, Portsea, Portsmouth with his wife, two sons, and four daughters. He is in employment as a railway goods checker.
- 1901 (here): Living at 55 Ivy Street, Southsea, Portsmouth with his wife, one son, and one daughter. He is in employment as a plumber.
- 1911 (here): Living at 55 Ivy Street, Southsea, Portsmouth with his wife and one daughter. He is in employment as a plumber, painters, and gas fitter.
But I can't get back any earlier than his marriage in 1879 or to his parents which is what I want to do.
His birth certificate (my first my of call) lists his mother as Mary Ann SMITH of Hampton Street, Landport but his father is blank. His marriage certificate lists his father as Frederick SMITH, an engineer. The only other clue I have about his parents is a newspaper article from 7 Jun 1929 (here) celebrating his golden wedding anniversary. This lists his parents as Mr and Mrs Frederick SMITH of Portsmouth.
In trying to find his parents I have searched many records so far! My main attempts apart from basic census search of the names I have, which have so far produced nothing conclusive are:
- Checking out 92 St Vincent Street in the 1871 census (here).
- Checking out Hampton Street for 1851. I can only find Hampton Terrace (here) which does appear to be in the right location but nothing obvious for Mary Ann SMITH.
- Checking out Hampton Street for 1861. I can find Hampton Street (here) in 1861 but nothing obvious.
- Checking out Hampton Street for 1871. Again found (here) but with no obvious results.
- Looking for baptism records. There is only one contender (that I can find) (here) which is 5 Oct 1856 to John and Mary Ann SMITH at St Mary's Portsea. I can't make out the abode or trade columns for the father but I'm not sure they'll help!
In summary, I feel like I've got to a dead end and, before I give up, I wanted to see if anyone had any good ideas?
Is it likely he was illegitimate?
Is Frederick SMITH likely to have been his father?
Is it likely Mary Ann SMITH gave a false name, maybe just a false surname, when declaring the birth?
James
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