saw119 Posted January 11, 2012 Share Posted January 11, 2012 Now I consider myself a very proficient family history researcher, I'v gone back to the late 18th century so far, but there is a marriage that is completely escaping me. I need some tips on where to search next since I have exhausted the Free BMD website. The galling part is that the grooms first wife dies in 1887 and by the 1891 census he's married again with kids! With such a discreet window like that how is it I cannot find it? Are some records missing? What are the chances of this marriage never taking place? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lyn 1 Posted January 11, 2012 Share Posted January 11, 2012 Quite a good chance actually. My Gt grandparents never married despite having their first child when they were both 19. Seemed to be nothing to stop them either. One point is that a marrige can get missed off the GRO indexes and any that is transcribed so it is a good idea to try at the registry office local to where they lived. I even paid a researcher even though I too am well versed in research but no, they lived until their 60s and just never bothered to tie the knot. Lyn Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
saw119 Posted January 11, 2012 Author Share Posted January 11, 2012 Interesting, I only recently found out the name of his first wife and I can't find a marriage record for those nuptials either! Maybe he was just a serial non-marrier? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
HughW Posted January 12, 2012 Share Posted January 12, 2012 Possible reasons for not finding a marriage Mis-transcription Mis-hearing Mis-spelling Mis-filing Missing or damaged registers Illegitimacy in an earlier generation - alternative surnames. A previous marriage in the current generation - divorce or 'living in sin'? Marriage overseas Subterfuge: evading creditors evading the Guardians evading previous in-laws Rebellion against common custom and morality any more? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
HughW Posted January 12, 2012 Share Posted January 12, 2012 Did these people live in Sheffield? Tell us the names - perhaps fresh eyes, and possible alternative resources will help. Have you got a birth certificate for a child of the second marriage? If so what does it say about the mother? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
saw119 Posted January 12, 2012 Author Share Posted January 12, 2012 Did these people live in Sheffield? Tell us the names - perhaps fresh eyes, and possible alternative resources will help. Have you got a birth certificate for a child of the second marriage? If so what does it say about the mother? Yes they both lived in Sheffield. Unfortunately no birth certificate due to lack of funds. Their names are William Sampson Johnson, groom, and his spouse is Lilly ?, sadly do not know second name. However, in the 1891 census William and Lilly are recorded as being married and a stepson is living with them. I presumed that this srepson is Lilly's child from a first marriage, I know he is definitely not Williams, and his name is William Litch. Litch is a surname I have found no record of in Sheffield in the BMD so have assumed it to be a misspelling as the census return has him being born in Sheffield but what the correct name could be remains a mystery. I have records of baptism for William and Lilly's children from St Mary's church Walkey in 1891 and 1893. They must have been married sometime after 1887, I think, as that is when William Sampson Johnson's first wife died. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RichardB Posted January 12, 2012 Share Posted January 12, 2012 1891 Yes they both lived in Sheffield. Unfortunately no birth certificate due to lack of funds. Their names are William Sampson Johnson, groom, and his spouse is Lilly ?, sadly do not know second name. However, in the 1891 census William and Lilly are recorded as being married and a stepson is living with them. I presumed that this srepson is Lilly's child from a first marriage, I know he is definitely not Williams, and his name is William Litch. Litch is a surname I have found no record of in Sheffield in the BMD so have assumed it to be a misspelling as the census return has him being born in Sheffield but what the correct name could be remains a mystery. I have records of baptism for William and Lilly's children from St Mary's church Walkey in 1891 and 1893. They must have been married sometime after 1887, I think, as that is when William Sampson Johnson's first wife died. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
saw119 Posted January 12, 2012 Author Share Posted January 12, 2012 Yep, that's the census return I have but that Litch surname is a puzzle. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Oscar Posted January 15, 2012 Share Posted January 15, 2012 Hi have you seen the tree on Ancestry where Lilly's first husband's name is William Fitch Sylvia Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
saw119 Posted January 15, 2012 Author Share Posted January 15, 2012 Hi have you seen the tree on Ancestry where Lilly's first husband's name is William Fitch Sylvia Very interesting, could it really be Fitch rather than Litch? I never look at other trees on ancestry as I'm obsessed with doing all the research myself. I've had a cursory glance and it seems possible but I still need to have a good look at it. Thanks Sylvia. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Oscar Posted January 15, 2012 Share Posted January 15, 2012 Hi you are welcome, according to that tree Lilly's maiden name was also Johnson Free BDM Marriage June Qrt 1880 William Fitch Lilly Johnson Sheffield 9c 539 also a birth for a William Fitch Sept Qrt 1882 Ecclesall B 9c 333 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RichardB Posted January 15, 2012 Share Posted January 15, 2012 Hi have you seen the tree on Ancestry where Lilly's first husband's name is William Fitch Sylvia William Fitch, Shopkeeper, 5 Hadfield Street, Walkley (Kelly's1893) Just for consideration. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
saw119 Posted January 15, 2012 Author Share Posted January 15, 2012 That all looks correct from where I am. It confused me initially with Lilly maiden name being Johnson but maybe that is correct. The only mystery that seems to be left is what happened to William Fitch senior? Fitch as a surname seems to almost entirely located in southern england according to Free BMD. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
saw119 Posted January 15, 2012 Author Share Posted January 15, 2012 William Fitch, Shopkeeper, 5 Hadfield Street, Walkley (Kelly's1893) Just for consideration. She was living with another man in Walkey at that time! However, I suspect it's her first husband. A daughter was born to William and Lilly Fitch in 1881 and is recorded as living in Hadfield Street. Could they have been divorced? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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