Unregistered Birth or GRO Index Error

[cb1964]

Hi Tati & Tazzie,

I never said it was going to be easy, did I? 

Regards

CB1964

[jannic]

Hi
When I was looking last evening I thought I'f found James SELWOOD senior married to an Emma in 1871!

Jan

[Tati]

I too was wondering if he was the same man Jan  - Emma is shown as a "widdow" in 1881.

 

[cb1964]

Hi Jan & Tati

Just to complete the picture, James (snr) was born James Frederick Selwood in Cheltenham in 1857. He is on the 1861, aged 4, living with his grandparents and his father who is now widowed. In 1871, aged 14, he is living with his sister's family and his grandmother, his father having also died. In both 1861 & 1871 he is living in Cheltenham.

He joined the Navy in 1874 and remained until 1883. On the 1881 census he is having a whale of a time in the Royal Naval Prison in Lewes, serving a 2 year sentence! 

What happended to him between 1883 & 1891 is anyone's guess.

Regards

CB1964

[tazzie]

   Just dug out a book on the Congregational churches for Thame that I have but not mention.
  There are Selwood baptisms in Upton in the same time slot as Harriett's birth and as James was in a navy prison who knows where we could start. I cannot sink a lead on her in 1881 that is positive.
 I do not think they have Thame at our library as it's just on the border but willl check when I go at the end of the week.

         Tazzie

[cb1964]

Hi Tazzie

I'm convinced James did not meet Fanny until some time after 1883. I'm also not convinced that they were never married but she seemed to have adopted his surname. Who knows what her maiden name may have been?

This is indeed a mystery and one that I feel I am going around in circles with.

Regards

CB1964

[tazzie]

   I see that Jill has checked for possible baptisms in Thame and nothing there to give any clues.
  So with his track record in the navy he wasn't one for doing things by the book was he

  Sorry

        Tazzie

[cb1964]

Hi Tazzie

You would have thought our ancestors would have had the foresight to ensure births & marriages were correctly recorded, if only to make our lives easier. Talk about being inconsiderate!

 

CB1964

[Cell]

Rootschatters 


I have tried many, many routes to try and find his birth certificate without success. It may well be that his birth was never registered, but he would have had to prove his age when he claimed his pension in 1952.

Hi,
what was your grandfather's occupation? If he was in one of the forces, you can most certainly get through life without a bith cert
There are many ways to prove your birth age when comes down to claiming the government pension.
My grandfather was born in 1907 and his birth  was never registered. He didn't need a birth certificate to get through his later  life, or to  claim  the government pension as he joined the army before the ww2 and spent his whole working life in it .

 His army id ,was enough to get him through  everyday civilian form filling ID.He died in 1991 and he  had two pensions, one the  army pension the other the the normal gov pension. He went through his whole life without his birth being  registered, he used  all of his army ID and that was enough .
Just an extra  thought for you
Kind regards