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Should I research the Jones'?

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  • Should I research the Jones'?

    Hi all,

    My 3rd Great Grandmother was Mary Ann Southall. She was born on the 9th December 1844, at Dudley, Worcestershire. On her birth certificate her parents were John Southall, a Sawyer, and Susannah Southall, formerly Wallis. At the time of Mary's birth, John and Susannah were not married. They married on the 3rd December 1849, at the Parish Church at Tipton. Susannah was a Widow, and her name at the time of marriage was Jones.

    Before she married John, Susannah was married to Colley Jones of Wellington, Shropshire. Susannah and Colley married on the 25 December 1842. As far as I can tell, Colley and Susannah had one child, Enoch Colley Jones, who was born on the 29th November 1843, just over 12 months before Mary Ann Southall's birth! Colley does not die until the 27th October 1848, so this explains why John & Susannah did not marry until 1849.

    At the moment there is nothing there that would suggest that Mary Ann was not John's daughter. It is possible that Susannah fled Wellington not long after Enoch's birth and moved in with John at Dudley. It is also possible that Enoch died, as I cannot find an Enoch Jones born in 1843/44 at Wellington on any census. Enoch was also born in the Workhouse, which could pass as a flimsy excuse as to why Susannah ran away.

    But then, when Mary Ann marries her first husband, William Grimsdell, on the 11th August 1862, she does so under the name Mary Ann Jones-Southall. Why adopt the middle name Jones?? Mary Ann's two surviving siblings also adopt new middle names, but they use Wallis (Susannah's maiden name) and Wildman (Susannah's mother's maiden name) - Family names. It is of course possible that Mary Ann knew that her parents were not married at the time of her birth, and knew her mother's surname at the time was Jones, but the fact that Enoch was born just 12 and a bit months before Mary Ann's birth, and quite some distance away, worries me slightly. Also, when Mary Ann's brother Abraham Wallis Southall was born, John & Susannah had still not married, so why did he not take Jones as well?

    I also know that Susannah was, well to put it politely, more modern in her way of thinking when it came to relationships. She had three sons,
    Alfred Southall Evans (b. 13 Jun 1853), Howard Evans Southall (b. 15 Dec 1858) and Edward Evans Southall (b. 11 Sep 1861), all of which I believe were the children of Howard Edward Evans (Alfred Southall Evans was the only child to reach adulthood - he was christened at St Chad, Birmingham (a RC church!) as being the son of Howard, and when he married he gave his father's name as Howard Edward Evans).

    I apologies for the long winded thread. I just wanted to give all the known facts before I ask my question.

    Should I spend time (and Money) researching the Jones, just in case Colley was Mary Ann's father?

    Thanks,
    Tippin
    Last edited by Tippin; 13-05-12, 20:14. Reason: Spelling!!
    Families Intrested in
    Archer (DBY), Bannister (SFK/STS), Br(o/a)mley (DBY), Darrall (SAL/WAR), Florence (STS), Freeman (WAR), Grimsdell (BKM/STS), Knight (WAR), Sheldrake (SKF), Simpson (LND/STS), Smith (SFK/WAR/WOR), Tatham (LND), Tippin(s) (HEF/WAR), Wagstaff (DBY/NTT), Whitefoot (SAL/WAR)

  • #2
    Well, there's the obvious statement/disclaimer:
    ** Only you can decide how to spend your time & money

    Also:
    ** My eyes are glazing over :D

    But, there's at least one record I'd be curious about pursuing:
    Enoch was born in a workhouse - have you checked for workhouse records? That may give you some information about his mom and her situation! If you could find a settlement record, or a bastardy record, they could provide a lot to read. Or - nothing. But you don't know if you don't look.

    My ancestor and his siblings, whose parents were not married to each other at the time of their children's births, were all given mom's maiden name for a middle name, and dad's surname for their surname. In fact, my ancestor sometimes seems to use the two names together as his surname.

    Comment


    • #3
      Hi PhotoFamily,

      Thanks for replying.

      I guess at the end of the day it is up to me. It just one day I think it's a good idea, the next I don't. That's why I put the message on here, I was hoping to gain some insight into what other people would do if they were met with the situation in their tree.

      As soon as I saw that Enoch was born in the Workhouse, I set off for Shropshire Archives (well... perhaps not right away ), but unfortunately it looks like the Workhouse records have been lost to time :(. I had not thought to look for Settlement certificates (although I think it would be a long shot). Were they still being used in the 1840's??

      Many thanks once again for your feedback, it is much appreciated.
      Tippin
      Families Intrested in
      Archer (DBY), Bannister (SFK/STS), Br(o/a)mley (DBY), Darrall (SAL/WAR), Florence (STS), Freeman (WAR), Grimsdell (BKM/STS), Knight (WAR), Sheldrake (SKF), Simpson (LND/STS), Smith (SFK/WAR/WOR), Tatham (LND), Tippin(s) (HEF/WAR), Wagstaff (DBY/NTT), Whitefoot (SAL/WAR)

      Comment


      • #4
        There are those here who know more. And, when I was reading it, for some reason I thought the date was earlier.

        There are books that describes surviving poor law records and where they are stored. I've thumbed thru it. The ones I need are also lost to time.

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