MAINS family - NBL/ DUR Hartlepool, Stockton

[colmain]

Hi everyone, new to this site so hope I get it right!

Researching Mains starting with Rbt b1822c, from where I dont' know, father John.
Rbt marr Mary Jane MARTIN Lemington/Newburn 1843.
2 sons that I am aware of - John & Rbt b 1855 Newcastle.
Rbt marr Eliza STEAD(CULLEY) 1879 Stockton.  Children- Mary Jane, Violet, Geo, Eleanor, Emily, Eliza Ann, Daisy Matilda & Rbt b 1895.  There was also a Joseph H S Mains, believed to be Eliza's son from her first marriage.
Families that the Mains' married into include Monet,King, Hall, Graham, Mitchell, Harris Steel & Long.
Rbt b1895 moved down to Bristol where he married and had a son also a  Rbt - my husband's father!

My husband Rbt emigrated to Australia late 1960's & we now live in Bunbury W Australia.
I have been researching for the past 10 years - didn't realise there were so many Mains' out there!
Hope someone out there might have a connection with the above!

Col

[O1dgobbo]

Hi Col

Welcome to Rootschat.  I hope that you will get a lot of useful information from the members, who seem to have overlooked your post.

I think you have put your query in the right place although a link to the Northumberland look-ups might help with the early history.

I have found the index entry for the marriage(s) of Robert Mains and Mary Jane Martin on Freebmd. It is

Marriages Apr-Jun 1843 Castle Ward 25 245

Castle Ward was an extensive largely rural district in Northumberland and NW of Newcastle upon Tyne.  It included the parish of Newburn.

The marriage certificate (available from the GRO for 7 UK pounds) should give you Robert's occupation and address at the time of marriage, his father's name and occupation, Mary Jane's address, and her father's name and occupation.  It will also tell you where the wedding was held and give the names of the witnesses, who may be relatives.

I looked for Robert and Mary Jane in the 1851 census and did not find them.  However, there was a Robert Mains, 31, labourer, born in Ireland; wife Mary Ann, 25, born in Down,Ireland; son John, 2, born in Newcastle and daughter, Frances, 1 month, also born in Newcastle.  They were living in Forth Terraces, St Nicholas, Newcastle upon Tyne. (HO 107 2406 405 p9).

I shall have a look later to see if I can find your family in the later censuses.

All the best

Gobbo

[WolfieSmith]

A couple of baptisms from Newcastle, St. John.

23 July 1848, John Mains, Parents - Robert, Labourer, and Mary Jane, of Forth Banks.
April 7 1851, Frances Mains, Parents - Robert, Labourer, and Mary Jane, of Forth Banks.

Forth Banks is mingled on the same pages as Forth Terrace on the 1851 census. Looks like the family in Forth Terrace in 1851 are the right ones.

THE IGI has a baptism of a Robert Maines at Newcastle St. Nicholas, 31 March 1856, parents Robert and Mary Jane.

Mary Jane was widowed and remarried George Allen, March 1868, Stockton.
In 1871 census, George and Mary Jane are living in Stockton, with John Mains, age 21 b. Newcastle, and Robert Mains, 16, b. Newcastle. Mary Jane is also given as born Newcastle.

Alan.

[WolfieSmith]

Unusually, the Bishops Transcripts has the whole marriage details for Robert and Mary Jane :

May 29 1843, Newburn Parish Church.
Robert Mains, of full age, bachelor, Labourer, residing in Lemington, father John Mains, Weaver.
Mary Jane Martin, minor, spinster, residing in Lemington, father David Martin, Labourer.
Witnesses are John Cal... can't read it, might be Calvert, and William Moore.

Alan.

[colmain]

Hi Gobbo & Alan

Thanks for your welcome, and info to date.
Alan has been able to expand on the marriage details of Rbt & Mary Jane so that's been a great help from you both.

I do have the printout of the 1851 census for the Rbt & Mary Ann you mentioned and did wonder if "Ann" should read "Jane"??
Looking at Alan's reply with Frances' birth record  & address matching I think Mary Ann & Mary Jane might be one & the same eh?

Sorry but I probably should have mentioned I have the following census -

1871  Mary Jane & Geo ALLAN, Rbt & John MAENS - Stockton
1881  Mary Jane & Geo, Geo, & John MAINES - Stockton
1881  Rbt b1856c, wife Eliza, Mary J & Violet - Stockton
1891  Mary Jane & Geo, Fanny & Geo - Stockton
1891  Rbt b1856c, wife Eliza & 7 children - Hartlepool
1901  Rbt b1856c,wife Eliza & 4 children - W Hartlepool

In all of them Mary Jane's place of birth is listed as Newcastle except for the 1851 of Mary Ann??

I notice that 1861 census Cramlington Tynemouth has a John MEANS b1849 Newcastle boarding with Andrew MARTIN bIreland & wife Ellen.

Could this be my John's rellies - Mother Mary Jane was a MARTIN!

Have also found  an Andrew & Mary Jane MARTIN 1841 census N Upon Tyne, Hanover Street, born Ireland  -  Husband & Wife/ Brother & Sister??

Also have the following births but not sure if they all belong to the same parents.
There seems to be 3 x John's - with the new addition of Frances being born in 1851, same year as one of the "John's"!
Are there perhaps 2 Rbt's & Mary Jane's as parents - any thoughts on this?

John MAINES       Bap Mar 1845  St Nicholas N U Tyne  -  Rbt & Mary Jane
Sarah MAINS       Bap Nov 1845   "      "            "                    "
Margaret MAINS  Bap Sep 1846   "       "           "                    "
Mary Ann MAINS  Bap Oct 1853  St John's        "                    "
John MAINS         Bap Jul  1848         "               "                    "
John MAINS         Reg 4th Quart 1851           Tynemouth        "
Robert MAIN        Reg 1st Quart 1855            N U Tyne           "
Robert MAINES    Bap Mar 1856  St Nicholas  N U Tyne           "     

Sorry that this is so long winded but thought it best to put it all in a nutshell now, to save wasting you both your time looking up records I already have to hand!

Thanks again,
Col   

[O1dgobbo]

Hi Col & Wolf

Given the baptism records for Robert and Frances, the 1851 census for Robert and Mary Ann is almost certainly the record for Robert and Mary Jane.  Given that in all the other censuses Mary is described as born in Newcastle the 1851 birth record for her is wrong.  Presumably this is an enumerator error and the intention may have been to record Robert's birthplace as Down, Ireland.  There is an IGI record for the baptism of Robert MAYNE on 28 Sep 1819 at Ballyhalbert, Down, Ireland and the parents are listed as John Echlin MAYNE and Jane LOUGHLIN.  It should be worth chasing this up to see the original extract, which may give John Echlin's occupation.

I did notice the John Means record in the 1861 census but failed to twig the significance of the name Martin.  I was thinking that John Mains was probably the 14 year-old cow keeper at Heaton Farm.  (RG9 3834 50 p2).  This Robert's birth is recorded as Heddon rather than Newcastle but this may just reflect the boy's lack of knowledge about his birth.  I think Heddon was part of the Castle Ward district where Robert and Mary Jane married.

All the best

Gobbo

[colmain]

Thanks Gobbo, shall chase up Rbt born in Down Ireland and see what I can come up with!  Also the John Means/Mains 1861 census bit!
Much appreciated.
Col

[O1dgobbo]

There seems to be 3 x John's - with the new addition of Frances being born in 1851, same year as one of the "John's"!
Are there perhaps 2 Rbt's & Mary Jane's as parents - any thoughts on this?

Hi Col

It can be tricky constructing families from baptism records.  Quite often children were not baptized until they were 2 or even older.  I imagine some diligent clergyman would discover unbaptized children and then arrange to do the lot on one day.  In addition the birth date is often not recorded.  After Sep 1837 I tend to rely on the statutory register of births.  However very few of the 1840s crop of Mains seem to have been registered so that is no great help.  You really need to squeeze as much information as you can from the baptism records.  Quite a few of these are available on line in the Diocese of Durham Bishop's Transcripts, which you can access at

http://search.labs.familysearch.org/recordsearch/start.html#p=2;c=1309819;t=browsable;w=

I did notice in the transcripts for the Heddon baptisms a record of a single woman called Mains giving birth to a child in the workhouse.  She may have had other unbaptized children outside the workhouse and the John Mains born in Heddon (in the 1861 census) may be one of those.  This genealogy can be confusing!

All the best

Gobbo

[WolfieSmith]

I think you can count out the possibility of there being two Robert/Mary Janes.
There was a tragically high infant mortality rate in those days.
Looking at deaths on FreeBMD for Newcastle there are :
Dec qtr 1845, Sarah Mains,
Sep qtr 1846, John Mains,
Dec qtr 1846, Margaret Mains,
Largely ties in with the baptised children of Robert and Mary Jane prior to 1851,  who were not present in 1851 census.
Alan.