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England (Counties as in 1851-1901) => England => Staffordshire => Topic started by: alhal on Friday 12 July 13 15:52 BST (UK)
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I'm having trouble confirming this marriage.
Most websites that I look at give Martha's surname as MORTON. One of them, the IGI entry, shows her father's name as Stephen DUCKHOUSE (which I believe to be correct) & age as 30 (should have been 37/38).
FreeBMD have 3 correct entries for her -
Birth: Jun 1853 / Wolverhampton / 6b / 410
Marriage: Jun 1874 / Wolverhampton / 6b / 748 (spouse: George NORTON)
Marriage: Dec1890 / Cannock / 6b / 847 (spouse: Henry HOLDEN)
The 1891 & 1901 census entries for Henry & Martha HOLDEN both show that they have a Joseph NORTON living with them. He is described as Henry's stepson & is presumably Martha's son Joseph who was living with her ot the time of the 1881 census.
It seems to me that the MORTON marriage entries are transcription errors, but would so many different websites make the same basic mistake?
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What are the other name or names involved in 1853?She doesn't show as such on Ancestry in 1853?
Regards
William Russell Jones.
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You confused me with the marriage entries!Her birth does show!
Regards
William Russell Jones.
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You seem to be following the right entries,I can only guess at the Morton being some sort of corruption of the Norton?
Regards
William Russell Jones.
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Which web sites apart from familysearch are wrong.
Freebmd, Ancestry & FindMyPast have got it right (which must be a result ;D ) and the GRO index that you can view on freebmd also has Norton.
Rosie
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I see Staffordshirebmd has Morton. ::)
The information on familysearch would have been taken from the parish register as it would onStaffordshirebmd.
The information on freebmd/Anc/FindMyPast would come from the GRO index.
When a marriage takes place I believe the parish retains the original record and a 'copy' is sent to the GRO. It is obviously the same person that married George Norton as Staffsbmd give an alternative surname of Duckhouse on her marriage to Henry Holden.
Rosie
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Hi
Marriage from Wolverhampton Archives index
Saint George's Wolverhampton 17.5.1874
George NORTON 22 miner Saint James Square s of George Lab
Martha Duckhouse 20 same daughter of Stephen Duckhouse keymaker
The familysearch website is not very good for wolverhampton.
Baptisms Wednesfield Stephen and Isabella duckhouse Wood End Keymaker
Martha 26.6.1853
Joseph 22.4.1854
Stephen 25.12.1856 -23.3.1857
John 23.5.1858
Margaret Elizabeth 25.12.1860(may have married Wednesfield 11.9.1888 age 29Elizabeth d of Stephen keymake John Thomas Wotten)
Sarah 25.12.1863
Samuel 27.8.1865
Stephen 21.8.1868
The couple married at Wellington Shropshire Dec 1851 18 291 her name Isabella Cadwallender
Baptisms George and Martha Norton Wood end labourer Wednesfield
Joseph William 28.4.1878
George 28.4.1878
Stephen 28.4.1878
Maud Mary 25.4.1880
Haven't got access to Coventry parish records
Sorry
Ciderdrinker
George senior ? bapt Wednesfield s of George and Hannah 23.5.1852 lab wood End.
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Isabella CADWALLADER Chrsitened 27 May 1827, Dawley Magna, Shropshire
Mother MARGARET Cadwallader
1851 Census
Coal Pit Bank,
Wombridge, Shropshire
HO107/1997/675/45
Mary CADVALLENDER, 49, Head, Unm, Miner Stone Picker, born Wombridge
ISABELLA, 24, Daug, Unm, Miner Stone Picker, born Wombridge
Samuel, 22, Nephew, Unm, Miner, born Wombridge
Image is MARGT Cadwallender
Address where Isabella was born on 1861/1871 Census is the same Coal Pit Bank
1861 Margaret Cadwalader is a Bread Baker at the Stafford Arms Public House in Wombridge.
Born c 1800 Wombridge.
1871 she is a Pauper born c 1799 Wombridge under Cadwalader. Living in Oakengates.
With her is Sister Ann WYCHERLEY, Widow, born c 1808 Wombridge
Death Reg prob 1872 age 75 on FreeBMD
Trish :)
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Thanks to everyone for their help with Martha DUCKHOUSE/NORTON/HOLDEN. Sorry I haven't responded earlier but I just took advantage of the glorious weather and had a quick break.
Trish1120's pointer to the mistranscribed 1851 Census entry for her mother, Isabella CADWALLENDER, could be the most significant. Living next door are a couple who could be her Grandparents. That needs more investigation.
I now have an image of Martha's 1890 Marriage Register entry and I can see how the surname confusion arose. Martha embellished her initial letters and, taken in isolation, it might look like her surname starts with an M but when you compare it with her written M for Martha you can see a marked difference - it's definitely an N for NORTON.
Her age is clearly shown as 30 although I know that she was born in 1853 - little fibber! FreeBMD only show 2 Martha DUCKHOUSE entries in their entire index - one for 1853 and the other for 1869. This latter one can't be my Martha who married George NORTON in 1974 aged 20.
My biggest problem with Martha is proving that Thomas Frederick DUCKHOUSE was her son. The 1881 census entry for George & Martha NORTON shows that they have a Frederick NORTON aged 8 living with them. He is described as George's son but this is possibly not so given that he was born 2 or 3 years before they married. Furthermore their sons George, Stephen and Joseph were all baptised together in 1878 and their daughter Maud in 1880 - no sign of a Frederick NORTON baptism! - and no 1891 or later Census entries for him either.
There was, however, a baptism for a Thomas Frederick DUCAS at Wood End Primitive Methodist Church, Wood End Rd, Wednesfield on 11 Aug 1872. This is where Martha and her family hail from. FreeREG record this surname as being that of his father, a miner. On examining the actual register itself at Wolverhampton Records Office it quite clearly states "no father" and there is no "occupation" entry - unfortunately it fails to show a Christian name for the mother but her surname was obviously DUCAS (a phoenetical representation of DUCKHOUSE).
FreeBMD only show one Thomas F DUCKHOUSE entry in their entire index - for 1872 at Wolverhampton. This seems to tie-in with the Wood End baptism. There are no other Thomas/Tom/Frederick/Fred DUCAS/DUCKHOUSE entries that even remotely match the criteria.
Commiting this to writing has been helpful to me, but what little hair I have left is rapidly disappearing.
Onwards and upwards - or perhaps that should be backwards and downwards in this context.
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My biggest problem with Martha is proving that Thomas Frederick DUCKHOUSE was her son.
The 1881 census entry for George & Martha NORTON shows that they have a Frederick NORTON aged 8 living with them. He is described as George's son but this is possibly not so given that he was born 2 or 3 years before they married. Furthermore their sons George, Stephen and Joseph were all baptised together in 1878 and their daughter Maud in 1880 - no sign of a Frederick NORTON baptism! - and no 1891 or later Census entries for him either.
There was, however, a baptism for a Thomas Frederick DUCAS at Wood End Primitive Methodist Church, Wood End Rd, Wednesfield on 11 Aug 1872. This is where Martha and her family hail from.
FreeREG record this surname as being that of his father, a miner. On examining the actual register itself at Wolverhampton Records Office it quite clearly states "no father" and there is no "occupation" entry - unfortunately it fails to show a Christian name for the mother but her surname was obviously DUCAS (a phoenetical representation of DUCKHOUSE).
FreeBMD only show one Thomas F DUCKHOUSE entry in their entire index - for 1872 at Wolverhampton. This seems to tie-in with the Wood End baptism. There are no other Thomas/Tom/Frederick/Fred DUCAS/DUCKHOUSE entries that even remotely match the criteria.
I wonder if this is the same Thomas Frederick - names two of his sons George & Stephen
Thomas Frederick Duckhouse Age: 19 (1871)
Ellen Pardoe Age:19 Father's Name: William Pardoe
14 Oct 1890 St Peter Hednesford, Staffordshire
1901 RG13; Piece: 2925; Folio: 144; Page: 46
304 Warwick Road
Frederick Duckhouse 29 Wednesfield Staffordshire Cycle packer
Ellen 30
John 8
George 6
Stephen 4
1891 RG12; Piece: 2221; Folio: 11; Page: 16
Church Hill
Frederick Duckhouse 19 Wood End Staffordshire Coal Miner
Ellen 20
son 9 days
on same census above Fred & Ellen are
William Pardoe 42 Coal Miner, Eliza 42, Jane G 18, Rose A 16, James 4
Frederick William Duckhouse
Christening Date: 14 Apr 1891 Hednesford, Staffordshire
Father Thomas Frederick Duckhouse Mother Ellen
John Henry Duckhouse
Christening Date: 2 Dec 1892 Hednesford
Father Thomas Frederick Duckhouse Mother Ellen
George Duckhouse
Christening Date: 5 Mar 1895 Hednesford
Father Frederick Thomas Duckhouse Mother Ellen
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Thanks, Ladyhawk, for your input.
There is further "circumstantial" evidence linking Thomas Frederick DUCKHOUSE/DUCAS with Martha DUCKHOUSE/NORTON/HOLDEN.
One of the witnesses at his marriage to Ellen PARDOE on 14 Oct 1890 at Hednesford (St Peter) is a Henry HOLDEN and one of the witnesses at the marriage of Martha NORTON to Henry HOLDEN at the same church on 21 Dec 1890 is a Thomas DUCKHOUSE.
The DUCKHOUSE family are on my wife's tree and haven't been a concern of mine until recently. I have now discovered that 2 of the sons of Thomas Frederick DUCKHOUSE, namely Stephen (b1897) and Albert Edward (b1901) were taken into the care of Barnardos and were shipped out to Canada in 1910 as part of the British Home Children disgrace. I have found both together on the 1910 passenger lists and separately on the Canadian 1911 Census living miles apart in unrelated households.
The family with whom Stephen DUCKHOUSE was living treated him as one of their own and still have his original Barnardos trunk at the farm which they still own. They have invited my wife to go and stay there in a few weeks time and have asked for as much family background information as possible - hence my sudden quest for information.
The eldest son Fred DUCKHOUSE, my wife's Grandfather, was the unnamed 9 day old baby shown living with his parents and grandparents on the 1891 Census.
At the time of the 1901 Census his parents and siblings lived together in Warwick Rd, Yardley whereas Fred was still living with his grandparents, William and Eliza PARDOE, in Poplar Ave, Yardley.
He was still with them on the 1911 Census but was at that time joined by his mother, Ellen, and his 3 brothers who had remained in England, John, George and Walter. His mothers status is shown as "married" but I can find no trace of the father, Thomas Frederick DUCKHOUSE, after the 1901 Census - no death, re-marriage, census, rates, migration, military, poor house, prison record or anything else - he just disappeared into the ether. Perhaps he changed his name again - maybe to HOUDINI.
The arrival of the 1872 Birth Certificate of Thomas Frederick DUCKHOUSE should make his origins a lot clearer but will not help with his ending.
I am awaiting information from Barnardos that might throw some light onto the subject, but that could take months to come.