Marriage -Bolton and Henderson

[elizabethh]

Am up against a brick wall ggf Edward Bolton married Margaret Henderson ( but where?) both appear on the 1851 census living in Chatton area  - unmarried  in different households - and their first son George is born in September 1857. at Wooler so they have not moved far! I have tried every where I can think of but no result - can you help?

[Inicky]

have you tried searching  'george bell collection'  have a look online

[O1dgobbo]

Hi

Trying to check their birthplaces - are they the 1861 family headed by Edward Bolton age 34 and wife, Margaret age 31, living in Howick (RG9/3892 87 p3)?

Good luck

Gobbo

[elizabethh]

Thanks for the George Bell Collection I will have a look.
Thanks 01dgobbo that is the right couple living at Burnside Wooler. I have most of the family information - the wedding is the big mystery - as is his birth..... Margaret is well documented.....   Once again thanks to you both.
Elizabeth.

[O1dgobbo]

Hi Elizabeth

Edward's mother was Martha Bolton and according to the census records, 1851, 1861 and 1871, she was unmarried (not a widow).  This means that Edward was illegitimate and Martha may have been too ashamed to have him christened.

All the best

Gobbo

[O1dgobbo]

Hi Elizabeth

Edward Bolton is quite an unusual name and it's annoying that I cannot find his marriage either on freebmd or by searching the full indices from Jan 1853 to Dec 1857.  Margaret Henderson is a more common name and I had little hope of finding anything about her marriage.  However freebmd has a marriage Apr-Jun 1857 Henderson Margaret Glendale 10b 439 and Glendale includes Wooler.  The problem with this index record is that the page 439 only holds one other name John Hall - the implication being that John and Margaret were married.  I tried to check this by looking in the 1861 census for John Hall with a wife Margaret but could not find them.  This leaves me wondering if Edward Bolton and another woman have been dropped from the national index.  It might be worth your while to apply for a copy of Margaret Henderson's certificate.

There is a slight possibility that Edward Bolton and Margaret Henderson were married outside England and you may want to look at the Scottish marriage records on Scotlandspeople.  Lastly, of course they may just have been living together and saying that they are married.

All the best

Gobbo

[elizabethh]

Thanks Gobbo,
I had actually done most of this already. Sorry I did not make this clear when I started out.
All Margaret Henderson's sisters were baptised at Cheviot St. Presbyterian in Wooler and one would think this is where she would have gone to get wed. As you say, Wooler is Glendale but  I think I have seen that John Hall Marriage. I will have to go through the mass of searchpaper that this relative is creating. I considered Scotland as a lot of Borders Presbyterians 'marched' over to wed. Nothing. If you saw the ladies foto there is no way you would accuse her of raising those kids out of wedlock.

Turning to Edward's mother Martha, the possibility of his legitimacy is considerable. The thing is I cannot find a Martha Bolton being baptised either.
I note your success with the Census. I have not done as well as I only have her on 1861 & 71. Not 1851. Just been excited enough to go onto ancestry. Nothing. Not even the 61. I have no opinion on ancestry's worth. If you could give me the reference I will seek it out the hard way. Who was she living with?
Then of course there is the 1841 Census.
Thanks for your efforts on my behalf which are much appreciated.

[O1dgobbo]

Hi Elizabeth

I found a Martha Bolton in Wooler:

1841 age 50 Innkeeper HO/107/833 12 30 7
1851 age 64 Proprietor of houses b. Wooler  HO/107/2422 413 23

This Martha seems to be about 10 years older than the Martha who was living with Edward in the 1861 and 1871 censuses and was probably born at Wooler not Howick.  In 1841 she had just a maid in her household and in 1851 she was living alone.  The 1851 census entry shows her as unmarried.

If Martha became a little confused with age then Edward might have guessed her birthplace and age for the censuses and death registration. However, Freebmd has the death of a Martha Bolton in 1854 (Oct - Dec 1854 Glendale 10b 205) so it is possible that there were two elderly and unmarried Marthas in the area but I can only find the one in the 1841 and 1851 censuses. 

Ancestry's search seems very unstable just at present, possibly because they are getting ready to change the way it works and it may become easier when they have sorted all the bugs out. I got as far as I did by searching the British census collection for Martha Bolton, born in England, Northumberland 1895 +/- 5.  When Ancestry told me she could not be found I just made it try again.  Sometimes, when I had just looked at an image and returned to search results the original results had disappeared but I could get back to them by repeatedly pressing the browser back button.

It's difficult to know what to do to try to resolve some of the questions raised by these elusive Boltons - I think that I would be tempted to get the Margaret Henderson marriage certificate in 1857 and also to get the death certificate for the Martha who died in 1854 but this would be a gamble and you could end up no further and having spent £14.

All the best

Gobbo, who rushes in where angels fear to tread!

[jora]

Check out Rob Bolton's site on the Bolton surname - it's full of Bolton information which may be of help -

http://www.geocities.com/boltonsurname_uk/