Help required with Suffolk brick wall please

[Dean K]

Following on from my previous threads:-

http://www.rootschat.com/forum/index.php/topic,325204.0.html
http://www.rootschat.com/forum/index.php/topic,326411.0.html

My brick wall now seems to be several courses higher!  Would any of you knowledgeable people have any suggestions for getting over it?

Basically, I am looking for the birth/baptism details of:-

John William Frank KENT, b 1864/65, Father’s name: John KENT, a Sailor.
Emma BROWN, b 1866/67, Father’s name: Fredrick BROWN, a Traveller.

The above details are taken from their marriage cert - they were married on 3rd Nov 1892 at St. John's Church, Lowestoft, and according to the 1901 census (They’d moved to Cleethorpes by then) they were both born in Lowestoft.

I’ve searched the GRO indexes, inconclusively.  I’ve searched the 1871, 1881 & 1891 census returns, but not found them – any possibilities are either ‘boarders’ or ‘visitors’.  And they’ve not been found in the Lowestoft parish records or in the surrounding parishes.  I’ve checked their addresses at the time of the wedding on the census returns – nothing! And the marriage witnesses bring nothing up on the census returns either.

Any suggestions on what to do next?  Could their Fathers occupations give me any clues?  John’s Father, John, was a Sailor – based in Lowestoft presumably.  Without a ships name though, it would be very difficult to look up any shipping records.  I am totally at a loss on how to progress this!  Any suggestions would be more that welcomed.

Their tree, for your info, is here:-

http://i95.photobucket.com/albums/l134/Dean_K/Fam%20Hist/Kent1.png

Thanks in advance,

Dean.

[Sisterjane]

Hi Dean.....Heres my theory..

1871 Cencus-Lowestoft
RG10/1780/105/5
Lowestoft Rd

John Prettyman 54 head b Oulton      Carter
Sarah 54 wife b Sutton
Emma Brown 5 Visitor b Lowestoft
Frederick Brown 2      "              "


1881 Cencus-Lowestoft
RG11/1905/7/7
Oulton Corner[/b]


John Prettyman 64 head b Oulton      Ag Lab
Sarah    " 66 wife b Sutton
Emma Prettyman 15 dau b Lowestoft
Frederick  " 13 son b               "
Alice H Mays 1 visitor b            "

[Dave Francis]

Well spotted Sisterjane!

The Prettymans obviously made it their business to take in unwanted children

1891 Lowestoft Suffolk
RG 12/1495 folio page 10

1 Hall Lane
Sarah Prettyman, head, wid, 74, <?> Suffolk
John do., son, s, 46, labourer, Oulton Suffolk
Mary do., adopted daur, 8, Lowestoft Suffolk
Robert Breach, boarder, 5. Lowestoft Suffolk

[Dave Francis]

Suffolk Burials Index:

John Thomas Prettyman (age 72, labr, Church Road)
Bur. 21 Jan 1888, Lowestoft Cemetery

Sarah Prettyman (age 80, wd, Hall Lane)
Bur. 2 Apr 1895, Lowestoft Cemetery

[Dean K]

Blimey!  I can’t believe I missed that one.  It just goes to show what a fresh pair of eyes can do! I’d found the 1871 one, and must have followed that up by looking at the 1881, but completely failed to see the name change… wood and trees come to mind!

I don’t know for sure if that Emma is my G Grandmother, but everything fits, and is the closest I’ve found in any of the census returns.  So, if she was adopted, do those records still exist? This is a whole new area of research for me.

Another puzzler – if this is the correct Emma, would she have reverted back to her original name Brown, for the marriage cert?  Wouldn’t she just have kept the name Prettyman?

Even if she’s not my G Grandmother, it’s a fascinating insight of the Prettymans.

Many thanks Sisterjane and Dave for pointing those out.

Dean.

[Dave Francis]

Hi Dean

Alas I think you will be unsuccessful regarding any adoption records. Adoption laws were not introduced until the 1920s. Before then, everything was quite informal.

Having said that, one possibility would be to check the local workhouse records from around the time Emma Brown was born. If she was truly an orphan, she ought to have have come to the attention of the workhouse and Mr & Mrs Prettyman may have agreed/volunteered to take her in.

As regards her name on marriage, she would have used the name Brown simply because that was her real name. Whether Fredrick Brown was a real person remains to be seen. He may have been invented either by her, or by the Prettymans, just to save her blushes. We cannot exclude the possibility that she was an illegitimate child.

All this does, of course, assume that the above records relate to her!

Dave

PS: It would be interesting to find out what happened to younger brother Frederick. Did he marry? If so, who did he say his father was?

[Dean K]

Dave

OK on the adoption records – I started looking into it, then quickly realised, like you say, I’m unlikely to find anything prior to the 1920’s.

Thanks for the suggestion on the workhouse. According to workhouses.org.uk, the local one was in Oulton, so I’ll send an e-mail to the RO and see what records they hold. 

And OK on Emma’s name at marriage.  I must admit I’m starting to wonder whether Fredrick Brown (The Father) was a real person myself.

I agree, I mustn’t get too carried away.  I have no solid link (yet) that actually ties the records to my relatives – there are too many ifs, buts and maybes - it’s just one big jigsaw puzzle at the moment!

I’d wondered about the younger brother Frederick as well. I just wouldn’t know how to narrow down and identify the correct marriage – assuming he lived and did marry of course – again, there are just too many possibilities… Ho hum!

The truly frustrating one is John William Frank Kent though.  The one name in my tree I really want to research and it's the one I have the least information on .

If I make any breakthroughs I’ll post an update.

Thanks again,

Dean.