ORIGINAL RECORDS - Finding Ellen

The Importance of getting close up and personal.

Looking at census records can be a great way to start your research. Now that almost all of these are online it has never been a better time to start researching your family as parents grandparents or great-grandparents will appear at some point in these records.

However, not everyone can be found in a census record. Those that are missing were still a part of our family but names may have been forgotten or overlooked when the information was passed down through the generations. Many could not read or write and word of mouth can be less reliable.

I have already found some missing children because the General Register Office now has an online index, which includes the maiden name of the mother, but sometimes we still miss those who are born and die between the census years. 

I plan to go through these indexes to search for missing siblings but sometimes other records can provide those missing siblings. Today I just happened to come across one by chance whilst adding records on the Family Search Family Tree.

This family had several hints for the father Elijah some were for marriages of his children but one was for a christening in Empingham, Rutland.

This is the transcription on Find My Past which was the same as that on Family Search as digital images of the original register are available through their link to Find My Past.

The parents are correct and the dates and place fit, even if it was a few years after her birth, so was Annie christened with 2 names but only one was used when the birth was registered.

The original tells a different story. The rector decided that he would record both daughters on a single record.

I have submitted a correction to the record and as can be seen in the first image I have also added Ellen to the family as she had previously been omitted.

Ellen died in the first quarter of 1881 and was buried in Empingham. So like her brother Elijah she was born and died between the census years.

It must have been a sad time for the family to lose 2 children at such a young age. It may have been commonplace for the time but still a blow to the individuals. So if the original record has been digitised or you have a chance to see it in its original form it is imperative that you do so. 

Don't forget to look for other records to ensure you have not missed anything.

Week 15 52 Ancestors in 52 Weeks

Taxes

Whilst our ancestors will have been liable for taxes the records may not still exist or may not hold any clues to help our research. As I have not used any of these records to aid my research I am going to write about how taxing it can be to discover or uncover the relevant records to aid our research.

Rebecca Ellis 1844-1921

The registration of births, marriages and deaths in England and Wales started on 1 July 1837.

However, there was no penalty for failing to register any of these events until a much later date, and as a consequence, many events went unregistered particularly in the early years.

Although I have found a baptism for Rebecca Ellis I can find no record of her birth having been registered. There are no births registered between 1841 and 1845 for girls who could be her. The same is true for her sister Jane. They were 2 of the 14 children born to her mother Rebecca within a 20 year period.

In 1848 the mother Rebecca died of phthisis or pulmonary tuberculosis. Her maiden name was Bouthway according to her marriage record but I have been unable to find any record of her baptism to prove her parentage. She is presumed to be the daughter of John and his wife Mary Thorold who are living in the adjacent property in 1841 census.

The marriage of George Ellis and Rebecca Bouthway in Edenham

1841 Census Edenham, Lincolnshire

Burial register for Edenham 1848-1849

George Ellis remains as a widower on both the 1851 and 1861 census records. His daughter Mary having taken over the role of her mother keeping house and bringing up her younger siblings. By 1861 his children have all left home and he is found as a boarder

1851 Census Grimsthorpe, Lincolnshire

1861 Census Scottlethorpe, Lincolnshire

If we take a further look at the burial register it struck me that on these 2 pages and within less than a year this family had seen 4 burials in this churchyard. Little more than a month after Rebecca died her brother Charles followed and on Christmas day her father John followed. In January 1849 Joseph the illegitimate son of Rebecca was also buried. This is likely to have had a significant effect on the family.

The marriage of George Ellis and Mary Deacon

By 1863 George is remarrying in Swinstead to widow Mary Deacon and in 1871 census we can see why he has remarried. He has now got a 7 year old daughter Lucy Ann. Her christening in May 1864 given that her parents married in October 1863 would indicate the reason for his marriage.

1871 Census Swinstead, Lincolnshire

Christening of Lucy Ann Ellis Swinstead, Lincolnshire

My original conclusion regarding the maiden name of Mary Ellis was Scoles as her father was given as Charles Scoles. However, in revealing more about her past several documents came to light.

First I looked at the 1861 census in an effort to find her first husband and her previous marriage.

1861 Census Swinstead, Lincolnshire

However, by 1861 she was already widowed.

1851 Census Swinstead, Lincolnshire

Looking at the 1851 census her husband is a Swithun Deacon. But the only marriage I can find is this one in Swinstead.

The marriage of Henry Swithin Deacon and Mary Haines

The bride does not give a name for her father and is using a different surname and the groom has used Henry Swithin and I note he is a widower.

Can I find out more and confirm this is correct?

When I looked for a Mary Haines on Find My Past I found a transcription from Lincolnshire Parish Bastardy Cases which had been supplied by Lincolnshire Family History Society. There was a Maintenance Order against Charles Scoles of Grimsthorpe labourer in 1817 by Edenham Parish for a female child of Mary Haines.

Baptism Ann Haines Edenham, Lincolnshire

This is the only baptism I could find that would fit. When she died the death was registered as Mary Ann Ellis which would fit with both of the first names that were used.

Burial Mary Ann Ellis Swinstead, Lincolnshire

I also discovered that her first husband had been christened Swithin and had been married previously. The older children on the 1851 census were from his first marriage.

Looking in other record sets and thinking around a problem can be time-consuming but can ultimately lead to a result.

Maybe I will find a record that confirms who are the parents of Rebecca Bouthway or should it be Botherway.

Week 11 52 Ancestors in 52 Weeks

Lucky

Two lucky ladies who won their registration the first time they came to Rootstech.

Robbin Smith and Hilary Gadsby

The ancestor who I highlighted last week could be classed as being unlucky so this week I will be highlighting the opposite and talking about lucky finds and contacts and good fortune.

If I had started my research earlier I think my luck would have been so different. I could have spoken to my mother in law about her family and would have had grandparents who could have helped with personal experience and family stories. 
Judy G. Russell aka The Legal Genealogist gave a presentation at RootsTech and highlighted how quickly the knowledge of our ancestors disappears. So we all need to start our research as early as possible and record it before we lose it or we lose the ability to record it. Don't forget family members do not have to die for us to lose their stories. Speak to everyone you can they may each have something to add.

I lost my father before I had thought to speak to him and my mother lost her ability to speak due to illness. Fortunately, I did manage to interview my father's older sister who was the record holder for her generation and she told me about things that do not show up in the records correctly. She also told me about a missing child who I have now tracked down see my post.

I have also found records at an archive by chance such as the settlement examination for my 3 x gt grandmother Louisa Richards see more about this in my earlier post and my other blog. 

If I look back at my research I will also find other instances where luck has intervened. 

I think for me the luckiest thing to happen since I started to research is the way that the internet has changed genealogical research. Contacting others who I haven't, and may never, meet but can provide me with breakthrough information has never been easier.

Don't rely on luck, it is great when it helps but most breakthroughs are due to good research and understanding more about how to do things right.
Speak to others, attend classes and watch webinars. 
If something has helped another researcher it may help you.