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England (Counties as in 1851-1901) => London & Middlesex Lookup Requests => London and Middlesex => England => London & Middlesex Completed Lookup Requests => Topic started by: LenD on Wednesday 05 August 09 16:39 BST (UK)
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My problem is Albert John WALKER (born Isle of Wight). In Kensington at the 1881 census when he claimed to be married to Mary Ann Wolfe and was the father of several children (Henry, Gurney, Ernest & Ethel). Subsequent children Percy in 1882,Arthur in 1884 and Ada in 1887 whose birth certificate states father, Albert John, to be deceased.
I can find no evidence of marriage between Albert John & Mary Ann. I can find no evidence of Albert John’s death/burial.
Mary Ann died in 1892 and Ada was sent to Stockwell orphanage.
I think it highly likely that Albert John WALKER married Laura WESTON in Brading on 15 Feb 1866 of whom I can find no trace after the 1871 census.
Of possible relevance is a baptism of Percy Albert John WALKER son of Albert, coachman, and Mary of Bisley at Bisley, Surrey on 11 April 1896. I can find no registration of this birth.
Almost everything about Albert John makes one suspicious that he was covering his tracks … or am I becoming paranoic?
Can anybody cast any light?
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Hi
If Albert's marriage to Louisa broke up then like many other ordinary working class couples divorce (until after the First World War when free legal aid became available) was not an option. They went their separate ways and if they made another relationship they either married bigamously, surprisingly common, or else they lived as a married couple. This may very well account for why there is no marriage record between Albert and Mary Ann.
It really rather depends whether Albert was employed by someone and moved around in their service in which case his death might occur outside of London and not necessarily registered in his full name Albert or John.
If he didn't die then you have the problem of where he was on the 1891 and 1901 census and in later death registrations unless you think he took on an alias - even so the 1901 census is searchable on birthplace and occupation and there doesn't look to be any candidates.
Have you looked at the register itself for the baptism in Bisley in 1896? Was it a baby's baptism, a child or an adult baptism? If Ada went into Stockwell orphanage could some of the older children have been placed in other institutions including Albert and Mary's son Percy?
Births Mar 1882
Walker Percy Albert T Kensington 1a 108
http://www.institutions.org.uk/orphanages/SRY/bisley_boys_refuge.htm
Regards
Valda
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Thank you Valda for your response. May I correct the reference to Albert John's first wife who was Laura WESTON (not Louise). I agree with what you say about this marriage but it seems strange that I cannot find a subsequent trace of Laura.
All I know about Albert's residence is from the 1881 census and the children's birth registrations.
If he did not die I certainly cannot find him and the same goes if he did! There were I believe very severe storms around New Year 1887 and I wonder whether as a coachman he could have been caught in these?
Percy would have been ten years old when his mother died in 1892 so a baptism by his mother in 1896 would have been impossible. His father and another lady is possible but at 14 years old? I could not find Percy in the 1901 census but in 1902 he married (in St Pancras I believe). He was alive in the period around the time of the second world war as I remember him visiting his brother Ernest. He told me that he served in World War 1 at which time he would have been well into his thirties so possibly he was a regular soldier. Of course there may be no connection between the two Percys. In answer to your question I have seen the transcript of the Bisley registers only. As Bisley is an army area I wonder if Percy was a boy soldier and independently decided upon baptism? Presumably he would be asked details of his parents regardless of whether they were alive or not.
Thanks for your interest. Any further help from anyone would be appreciated.
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http://www.rootsweb.ancestry.com/~engsurry/bisley/tran-bapt.htm
- yep, it appears a set of boys were all christened on the same date in 1892, some with no fathers and one with no parents listed at all, the reason being given for the missing information that the boys were from the National Refuge School and didn't know the details.
London Metropolitan Archives or Surrey History Centre might hold records relating to the children who were put into homes.
There is in fact a divorce record in 1884 in the NA! But the people listed are "Laura Walker", petitioning for divorce of "Alfred John Walker". As I can't find a marriage for a "Alfred John Walker" to a Laura, I wonder if this is the same couple and at some point the indexing has gone wrong leaving him as Alfred rather than Albert? Or perhaps he used both names.
There is a Laura Walker, from Whitechurch, Isle of Wight, listed as "unmarried" and aged 36, in London in 1881 as a servant. One of the people she worked for was a barrister... ;D
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This is very helpful and solves the problem of the "Bisley Percy" I think. I will look to see if his younger brother Arthur was with him at The National Refuge School.
The divorce petition of Laura WALKER looks very interesting and I will follow this up. I had found the 1881 reference but not followed it up enough ... obviously! As far as I can discover there is no 'Whitechurch' on the Isle of Wight but Laura was born at Newchurch in 1840. Give a little license for a girl possibly with a marriage in prospect ... knock off five years and muddy the water regarding place of birth perhaps?
Mind you she could be excused for some confusion. When she got married she thought that her father was Clement WESTON whereas she was the illegitimate child of Celia WESTON who died when she was an infant. Her father was in fact Clement GALE who married after her mother's death but apparently took no responsibility for Laura.
As you begin to see I suspect this has been a tricky family to unravel. Thank you for your help.
Anybody come across Albert John anywhere?
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It also may have been that the person who gave the information was the elderly head of household, Eliza Chitty, and she wasn't sure on the exact ages of her servants, or their precise places of birth. Certainly the addresses of Laura Walker and of Mary and Albert Walker in the 1881 census are tantalisingly close to each other.
I would suggest getting a copy of the divorce case file, which should have some interesting details. I simply cannot find in 1881 or 1871 any Laura Walker with a husband Alfred, or a possible marriage for them, suggesting it is "Albert", after all.
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Yes. It may well be that Laura & Albert John moved to London and Mary Ann lived nearby. With Albert John being born on the Isle Of Wight and Mary Ann coming from Gosport they would have had some common roots.
I had anticipated you and have ordered the divorce documents. Perhaps they will add to our knowledge. I will let you know what is revealed.
I have been chipping away at this wall for about ten years now and the relief at making some progress is enormous. Thank you.
Now if Albert John will stand up please!
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Hi
You don't need parents alive or present for an older baptism. If the mother died in 1892 then you would expect most of the younger children to enter the poor law system. Percy would have been 10. He may very well have left poor law care and entered the army, though serving in the army during the First World War would not be a reason to suspect that, since most men served in the First World War either as volunteers or conscripts - by the time the war finished married men in their 50s were being conscripted. My grandfather was in his 30s married and with two children. He served and was not released from service until 1920 since he was forced to continue to serve in the army when his regiment was sent to Ireland immediately after the war.
http://ww1talk.co.uk/forums/showthread.php?t=1526
I would request a copy of the actual baptism entry for 11th April 1896 in the church register deposited with the Surrey History Centre to see if it gives a date of birth as well as the baptism date or indicates this was an older child being baptised, particularly since the transcript gives 13 boys all baptised that day which is well above the average of baptisms in the church - one in January none in February, one in March, one in May, two in June, none in July or August, etc. Three of the boys baptised on the same day as Percy do not have the full information about their parents and it states in the transcript
# These particulars could not be obtained the boys baptised being from the National Refuge School
in this parish and did not know the particulars.
http://www.shaftesbury.org.uk/history/
Tracing Ada's siblings through poor law records and subsequent children's homes may give you further information about their father. If you have followed Ada through the system then you know which London poor law union were responsibile for the family. The records will be held at the LMA, though particular children's home records in Surrey may well be held at Surrey History centre.
So this Albert and his potential first wife?
1871 census RG10 1146 folio 27
6 Richmond Road Portsea
Albert John Walker 28 Head Married Groom Brading Isle of Wight
Laura Walker 30 Wife Married Newchurch Isle of Wight
Marriages Mar 1866
WALKER Albert Jacob I. Wight 2b 663
WESTON Laura I. Wight 2b 663
This marriage took place at St Mary Brading
On the 1861 census Laura aged 20 is in Newchurch and gives Newchurch as her place of birth- more difficult to spot her earlier.
A potential candidate for her on later censuses is this woman.
In Kensington in 1883 Charles Hixon's wife Emma's death is registered in 1883. On the 1891 census in Kensington his wife is Laura aged 50 born Isle of Wight RG12 20 folio 58. They are together with the youngest child, then aged 27 from Charles' marriage to Emma (see 1871 census RG10 33 folio 50). On the 1901 census Laura gives her birthplace as something church - which could easily be Newchurch. She also states Isle of Wight - RG13 21 folio 19. Laura seems to be on her own on the 1911 census in Kensington.
Deaths Mar 1929
Hixon Laura 89 Kensington 1a 260
No marriage for a Laura to a Charles Hixon. His death is registered in Paddington in 1901.
Divorce was expensive (until free legal aid became available after the First World War) and it was difficult for a woman to obtain it, though easier for a man who could obtain a divorce from his wife if he proved adultery. Women had to prove bigamy, cruelty, desertion or incest as well as adultery so the law was stacked against them obtaining a divorce. It was just easier for ordinary working people to go on their own way when their marriages failed and established new relationships.
On the 1881 in Kensington census Albert J gave his age as 43 and his birthplace as unspecified Isle of Wight.
Consistent age with the 1841 and 1851 censuses when Albert was 5 in Brading and 16 in Shanklin, a groom born Brading.
On Ada's birth certificate does it specify whether Albert was deceased at the time of her birth/registration. Have you obtained a copy of the previous child's birth certificate to help eliminate a possible earlier death for Albert and Mary Ann cohabitating after his death?
As a coachman working with his family living in Kensington, Albert might very well be employed by a wealthy family who maintained a main London home and property elsewhere. The censuses only tell you where he was in one night every ten years but his occupation could have taken him distances away from his family home (grouse shooting in Scotland!). That makes it difficult to say where he might have died and who registered his death. There is also just a possibility that the death missed being indexed in the GRO register or when the old handwritten volume was retyped as the volumes began to fall apart and were thrown away he was missed off then (there were no checks). The local registry office may do a search for you (though some London registry offices - short staffed and under pressure will not and refer you to the GRO).
Regards
Valda
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This is very helpful, Valda. I will check a few details and wait for the divorce documents that I referred to in a previous post and then come back to you again.
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Hi
Divorce documents as serious legal documents created through an expensive process would have to be exact. They must have the correct names. You couldn't divorce someone using an incorrect name since you would also be producing the original marriage certificate. It gives no indication in the divorce index that Alfred John Walker was also known as Albert John/Jacob Walker.
Only the wealthy or those in business could afford divorce and people who could afford divorce didn't necessarily marry in this country in the first place and live here consistently - army families for instance.
If Laura was the woman who lived with Charles Hixon but had gone through an expensive divorce, why would she not marry Charles?
It is always better to try and view divorce papers at The National Archives since there are lots of papers which go with them, most of which you don't actually need or are repetitive. TNA cannot decide for you what papers you want copied and so will quote for all of them which makes it more expensive than necessary.
Regards
Valda
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Thanks Valda
I take your point and the same thought had occurred to me. On this occasion I took the plunge as it is a new experience for me and I am interested to see what they provide. I will let you know...and thanks again for all your help and advice.
Len
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Well done, Jorose. That lead really paid off.
The divorce petition was filed on behalf of Laura WALKER (nee WESTON) and the respondent was Albert John WALKER. So the reference to Alfred was just bad indexing. The decree was made absolute on 11 August 1885 some thirteen years after the marriage during which time Albert John and Mary Ann lived together as man and wife. As the respondent was condemned to pay the costs of the petitioner it must have been a nasty shock for him. Within two years of this Albert John is believed to have died and I wonder if he got around to paying the costs?
As you suggested Valda I have ordered copies of the Birth Certificates for Ada's nearest siblings, Arthur and Percy and we will see if these reveal anything further.
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Hi
It proves even TNA is not immune from poor indexing.
Both couples would be free to marry. You might in particular expect Laura to do so and it would be interesting to see if she did, who it was. Someone had to fund the divorce case.
Regards
Valda
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Albert John WALKER ,as respondent in the divorce suit, was condemned to meet the costs of the petitioner and I suspect was unlikely to have the money. What would have been the procedure to get him to pay?
If he was unable to pay would he have faced trial and imprisonment? Could this be an explanation for my failure to find his death recorded anywhere? His "wife" electing to describe him as deceased in 1887 rather than attract the stigma associated with imprisonment.
Is it possible to find whether he paid or was proceeded against?
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Hi
You are beyond the days when insolvent debtors were sent to prison until they could pay their debts. That ended in 1869. Claiming and receiving damages for divorce was standard on divorce papers. Like divorce pusuing the claims would be a civil affair not a criminal one. Pusuing through the courts (Chancery) would be an expensive process and one of throwing good money away if the person couldn't pay in the first place.
If Albert John wasn't dead by 1887 you are still left with the issue there is no record of him dying later. I wouldn't have thought it was a 'great' stigma for a working class man to be insolvent. Most working class families were not exactly ever very far from the prospect of debt since it rested on the health of the family wage earner/s and if that failed they would have to turn to poor law for relief.
Who was the law firm that acted on behalf of Laura for the divorce?
Regards
Valda
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Hello Valda
Yes I see that there would be no point in throwing good money after bad.
Not too sure about the stigma of insolvency amongst the working class. My parents would have starved rather than go into debt (in the 1930s).
The law firm handling the divorce proceedings was Toulmin-Smith & Fuller of Selbourne Chambers, 114a Chancery Lane, WC. The petition was filed on 15 October 1884 and the decree absolute was dated 11 August 1885.
Regards
LenD
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Hi
My grandparents were very fearful of the workhouse. I'm sure equally they would have done everything they could to avoid debt because of the consequences which was your family split up and placed into the poor law system.
I was hoping the law firm's name/names might give a clue to Laura, since in reality lawyers were not altruistic and didn't take on working class divorce charity cases.
Is there an address for Laura?
The divorce date narrows the time gap with Albert John therefore still alive 11th August 1885 and dead by the time of ada's birth or her birth registration (which ever?) Is Albert John's then address given on the divorce papers - still Kensington and no further information about his employment?
If the time gap is very short it makes it possible to request a search from a local registry office.
Regards
Valda
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Hello again
Laura's address at the time the petition was logged was 2 Albert Street, Paddington.
Ada's birth on 9 August 1887 was at 16 Holland Mews and as you know father is stated to be Albert John Walker (deceased), occupation again coachman.
Albert John (and Mary Ann)'s address cited in the divorce papers was 6 Kensington Place and that was their address at the 1881 census and likely to have been his current address at the time of the divorce petition. Arthur's birth certificate should confirm this when it reaches me. Co-incidentally, Laura and Charles Hixon were to live at 10 Kensington Place but by this time Mary Ann had moved elsewhere in Kensington.
Incidentally I believe that I have found the marriage of Laura and Charles and will confirm this when the certificate I have ordered arrives.
Back to Albert John's likely death date, it seems to be narrowed down to the period August 1885 -August 1887. We can I suppose safely assume that he was alive at the time of the divorce proceedings? Would the proceedings be accessible online?
LenD
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Hi
You have the divorce proceedings documentation. There would be no need to continue through from decree nisi to decree absolute if Albert was dead. His death would release Laura from the marriage.
On the 1881 census Charles Hixon and his family were living at 10 Kensington Place. Charles was a gas fitter employing 1 man and 1 boy, so as a small business man it would be possible for him to just about fund divorce proccedings. RG11 25 folio 40. Since Charles was a near neighbour of the Walkers it looks as if the break up of Albert and Laura's marriage may have been reasonably amicable and he met Laura through the Walkers. Divorce proceedings were adversial by the nature of the law that governed them. If so perhaps both parties wished to remarry after the death of Charles' first wife in 1883? It depends whether the marriage you found with Charles, if it is correct, occurred soon after the divorce or later.
There doesn't seem any other evidence that will now close the time gap between decree absolute 11th August 1885 and Ada's birth (posthumously or was the registration posthumously - how close were the two?) 9th August 1887. If Ada was the child of Albert John and there is no evidence to say she wasn't, then Albert (normal pregnancy period) would have to have been alive in November 1886.
If the death is on the GRO index it is possible to get quite problematic registrations - distraught relative, very busy registrar. One of the worst I've had was a James whose death was registered by his widow as John William Henry. Luckily that man had a far more unsual surname than Walker. Institutions can get names wrong and sometimes people get registered in their 'pet names' which can be very different from their actual names - Mark registered as Henry for instance is another example. People's deaths not registered by relatives where deaths have occurred away from the family are all good reasons for a death not quite registered with the information you expect.
Regards
Valda
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Hi Valda
The registration of Ada's birth was on 25 September 1887 so I suppose the most likely time of Albert John's death would have been between November 1886 and September 1887.
My question regarding the possibility of the proceedings being online (or published) was prompted by the fact that there were witnesses and oral evidence. I have the petition and the judge's decision but presumably. The oral evidence would have been recorded.
LenD
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Hi
What you should have is what survives the legal documentation of the time, presuming TNA has photocopied all the papers in J77. I'm sure the judge would have written his personal notes but the only time I have seen surviving judge's notes was for a prominent murder case and certainly never in a civil case or any other criminal case.
The National Archives research guide
http://www.nationalarchives.gov.uk/catalogue/RdLeaflet.asp?sLeafletID=53
If the case was interesting enough, or the people were prominent it may have been covered by a local newspaper, but from my experience searching local newspapers in London at about the sametime for a divorce that was of a similar class of people but a little less 'respectable' and therefore perhaps more news worthy I couldn't find anything.
Regards
Valda
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2 Albert Street in Paddington can be found in 1881 at RG11/5/20 page 3.
Residents in 1881 were in two households:
1. Samuel H. Moss, 51 and wife Mary
2. Alfred George (age '15', surely wrong), wife Charlotte, step-daughter Harriet Knott, a lodger, Joseph Grant, and a visitor Elizabeth Pearett.
Most of the addresses along the street have a couple of families in them, and many also have lodgers; so she may have just been temporarily renting a room.
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Time for an update.
I have now confirmed to my satisfaction that the marriage between Albert John WALKER and Laura WESTON was dissolved in the High Court of Justice upon the petition of Laura on the grounds of desertion and adultery. The decree absolute was dated 11 August 1885, the desertion took place in 1872.
It seems most probable that Laura sued for divorce in order to marry. From FreeBMD the most likely candidate appeared to be Laura WALKER married on May 14th 1887 and found on the 1891 census as the wife of Charles HIXON, Laura born in the Isle Of Wight. Charles HIXON does not appear in FreeBMD but reference to the GRO index shows that the registration of his marriage was recorded on the same page as Laura but is not included in FreeBMD. I have obtained the marriage certificate and alas it appears that it is not Laura WALKER, divorcee formerly WESTON, but the daughter of William WALKER, tailor. So we must seek another wedding I think.
However I think I have made progress with the death of Albert John WALKER. I have discovered with the help of Kensington and Chelsea Register office that there was no death registered between November 1886 and September 1887 for Albert John but there was a death registered on 16 February 1887 for Henry WALKER who was living prior to his admission to hospital at the same address as Mary Jane WALKER when she registered the birth of her child Ada on 25 September 1887, stating the father Albert John WALKER to be deceased. It seems likely that Albert John was recorded by the Kensington Infirmary as Henry and so named when they certified and registered his death. Far from proof positive but a likely explanation.
To eliminate the possibility of Albert John having died earlier and there being another father of Mary Ann's fifth and sixth children I obtained the birth certificates of Percy Albert John WALKER and Arthur William Owen WALKER. Percy was born on 21 December 1881 at 6 Kensington Place, father stated to be Henry WALKER, coachman, although when he was baptised he said that his father was Albert, and Arthur's certificate states that he was born on 6th May 1884, father Herbert John WALKER. In each case mother is Mary Ann WALKER formerly WOLFE (as indeed she should be!)
Whether Mary Ann lived in a state of perpetual confusion or the Registrar (C R Barnes in each case including the death registration) was particularly hard of hearing is anyone's guess ... or perhaps Mary Ann was deliberately mischievous!
Extraordinary don't you think?
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Sounds like Albert/Herbert/Henry had a history of switching his names around - possibly to avoid his wife, or just to avoid creditors. ;)
http://www.london-gazette.co.uk/issues/25518/pages/4709
- seems like it was Alfred Toulmin-Smith (I think he was the son of Joshua Toulmin-Smith) and Ernest Arthur Fuller who ran Toulmin-Smith & Fuller.
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Hi
As I said you can get very different names for death registrations. People are not necessarily at their best when registering a death and institutions can get it very wrong particularly if the person entered the institution in the name he/she was called by the family - the pet name which is this case might be Henry. Mary Ann just didn't like the name Albert? The example I gave was Mark who turned into Henry only after his marriage. I deliberate gave the Henry example having seen the only Kensington possibility for the death registration, but with a surname like Walker being so common and no other evidence of a pet name it looked a long shot and not spot on for the age either.
Working class people turning up at the registrar's office were not necessarily comfortable in front of middle class officialdom and it depends how officious and busy that registrar was, how strong the dialect/accent of the person concerned was, who might be able to read to a degree but probably was less competent at writing, whether they had a full set of teeth, particularly front ones and whether they were tired/rushed (registering if you were working would mean a loss of pay) or had popped into the pub to bolster their spirits, or were fabricating the information for their own reasons, weren't sure about the information, there is a misindexing in the index (no checks in the system), in the transcription......... really so many possible reasons why a registration might not be quite as expected.
On the marriage certificate you have, what information is given about Charles Hixon? Can we confirm that against the Charles Hixon we have?
The couple are not necessarily going to admit one of them is divorced unless they have to and if I remember correctly you have already stated Laura was illegitimate - again standard that illegitimate people do not admit their illegitimacy unless it is known and they have to. They fabricate fathers or give fathers the correct information, if they know it, except for their surnames which are the same as their own. In the case of a woman known as Walker amongst friends and neighbours for some years it may be just easier to go on as Walker for the marriage ceremony rather than complicate the issue. Marrying without all the strictly truthful details does not make the marriage illegal. You can be known by any name you like and Laura was free to marry.
The surname Hixon can be mispelt but in the actual spelling of Hixon there are relatively few instances of Charles Hixon as a name in FreeBMD. On that principle the odds are against a Charles Hixon marrying a Laura Walker in the right area and right time scale and being a doppleganger. If they are a doppleganger couple is there any evidence of their existance?
The only registration for a Laura Hixon either marriage or Death on FreeBMD after 1887.
Deaths Mar 1929
Hixon Laura 89 Kensington 1a 260
The only marriage or death registration for a Charles Hixon in London (1 marriage in Bedford, one in Wolverhampton, 2 deaths in Birmingham)
Deaths Dec 1901
Hixon Charles 76 Paddington 1a 45
I'd have thought with all the misindexing and incorrect information supplied on all the other records you have you would be approaching this possible marriage with a mindset of trying to prove or eliminate it not just discarding it straightaway because some of the elements don't fit the known facts (though different from trying to shoe horn something into place that doesn't fit because it is all that has been found). That is why I'm suggesting starting with Charles as he is less likely to have a reason to fabricate information.
Is he a widower, what is his age and what is his occupation? Are any of the witnesses Hixons? Is the address one of convenience?
Regards
Valda
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Hi
1861 census RG9 17 folio
Campden Street Kensington
Charles Hixon 34 Head Married Gasfitter Blackfriars Surrey
Emma Hixon 31 Wife Married Braid Maker London Middlesex
Emma Hixon 7 Daughter Nottinghaill Middlesex
Henrietta Hixon 1 Daughter Nottinghill Middlesex
Marriages Mar 1853
HEATH Emma Kensington 1a 127
HIXON Charles Kensington 1a 127
I would expect Blackfriars to be Christchurch Surrey so this is a possible baptism
CHARLES HIXON
Christening: 07 JAN 1827 Christ Church, Southwark, London
Father: THOMAS HIXON
Mother: ELIZABETH
Regards
Valda
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Yes, upon reflection I am inclined to think that you are right Valda and the Hixon/Walker marriage is the one we want. Whilst I cannot see why Laura is happy to acknowledge her maiden name in a divorce proceedings yet fictionalise her father and his occupation on her marriage certificate.
Nevertheless her birth in Newchurch, as stated on subsequent censuses, is surely the clincher. I will double check some earlier research I did to eliminate the possibility of a Laura Walker in Newchurch around 1841 and if I confirm there is none, accept Laura Hixon.
Thank you and Jorose for your interest and your contributions which have been an enormous help.
LenD
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Hi
Did any of Charles Hixon's details fit from the marriage certificate details?
What goes on in the High court in central London that you are legally forced to admit since you have to produce the marriage certificate as evidence and what you later want to share with the church, congregation and your new husband's relatives and colleagues are quite a different matter. I doubt Laura was happy to share with the High Court her original name (it would be interesting to see who she claimed as her father on that certificate) but it was the marriage of Laura Walker nee Weston which was being dissolved, so it rather forced the issue, even though Laura may very well have been living as Laura Walker, single woman, since circa 1872.
At this point there is no evidence Albert John was in financial straits though depending on the nature of his last illness and how long he had been in the Kensington workhouse infirmary and whether this was a recurring problem his ability to earn might be increasingly impaired. The Kensington Infirmary would be the equivalent of a hospital. It later became known as St Mary Abbots Hospital.
Regards
Valda
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Hi Valda
Charles' details match up well. On the marriage certificate he is Charles Hixon, full age, widower, gasfitter of 2 Albert Terrace, father Thomas Hixon, upholsterer.
On Laura's first marriage certificate (to Albert John WALKER) she states her father to be Clement WESTON. There was no such person but her error was understandable. She was born to Celia (aka Cecilia) WESTON in Newchurch and her father named as Clement GALE. There was no marriage and Celia died when Laura was in her very early years. She would have been taken into care (I suspect) as Laura WESTON and told that her father was called Clement. Hence when she came to marry she quite naturally said that her father was Clement WESTON.
In the divorce documents she is referred to as Laura WALKER lawful wife of Albert John WALKER, formerly Laura WESTON, spinster.
regards
LenD
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Hi
Charles' older brother Edwin, on the IGI, went to live in Boston Lincolnshire and was an upholsterer.
Regards
Valda
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Hi Valda
Well at least the Hixon connection looks straightforward!
regards
LenD
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Hi LenD,
I notice you wrote this 2-3 years ago, so I'm probably too late, but Henrietta Hixon (Charles Hixon's daughter) was my g-g-grandmother. I think I have some records relating to him - though you've probably done more research over the past few years! If you'd like me to have a look, please let me know. :)
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As it happens I rather rested upon my laurels after finally sorting out the fate of Albert John (and in the process establishing that my grandfather and all his siblings were illegitimate!). I would find any details of Charles Hixon and his marriage to Laura Walker most interesting.
I look forward to hearing from you.
LenD
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Hi again LenD,
Apologies for the late reply ... I realised the information I had was probably not of interest to you as none of it involves Laura (in fact, I didn't realise he remarried). Here is what I have, you never know, it may be of use:
1853 married Emma Heath in Paddington (his occupation: Cheesemonger, father Thomas Hixon, upholsterer)
1860 Henrietta’s birth (his daughter) lists him as Gas fitter (60 Campden Street, Kensington)
1879 Henrietta’s first marriage certificate lists him as Gas and Hot Water Engineer
1888 Henrietta’s second marriage certificate lists him as an Engineer.
I note Campden Street is just 2-3 streets away from Kensington Place so perhaps they knew each other before he and his family moved to Kensington Place?
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Thank you for the additional information re Charles Hixon. I think it highly likely that they knew each other living so close by. It intrigues me that Laura should seek a divorce after so many years and I wonder if this was at Mr Hixon's request? That we will never know.
LenD