Hi
You don't need parents alive or present for an older baptism. If the mother died in 1892 then you would expect most of the younger children to enter the poor law system. Percy would have been 10. He may very well have left poor law care and entered the army, though serving in the army during the First World War would not be a reason to suspect that, since most men served in the First World War either as volunteers or conscripts - by the time the war finished married men in their 50s were being conscripted. My grandfather was in his 30s married and with two children. He served and was not released from service until 1920 since he was forced to continue to serve in the army when his regiment was sent to Ireland immediately after the war.
http://ww1talk.co.uk/forums/showthread.php?t=1526I would request a copy of the actual baptism entry for 11th April 1896 in the church register deposited with the Surrey History Centre to see if it gives a date of birth as well as the baptism date or indicates this was an older child being baptised, particularly since the transcript gives 13 boys all baptised that day which is well above the average of baptisms in the church - one in January none in February, one in March, one in May, two in June, none in July or August, etc. Three of the boys baptised on the same day as Percy do not have the full information about their parents and it states in the transcript
# These particulars could not be obtained the boys baptised being from the National Refuge School
in this parish and did not know the particulars.http://www.shaftesbury.org.uk/history/Tracing Ada's siblings through poor law records and subsequent children's homes may give you further information about their father. If you have followed Ada through the system then you know which London poor law union were responsibile for the family. The records will be held at the LMA, though particular children's home records in Surrey may well be held at Surrey History centre.
So this Albert and his potential first wife?
1871 census RG10 1146 folio 27
6 Richmond Road Portsea
Albert John Walker 28 Head Married Groom Brading Isle of Wight
Laura Walker 30 Wife Married Newchurch Isle of Wight
Marriages Mar 1866
WALKER Albert Jacob I. Wight 2b 663
WESTON Laura I. Wight 2b 663
This marriage took place at St Mary Brading
On the 1861 census Laura aged 20 is in Newchurch and gives Newchurch as her place of birth- more difficult to spot her earlier.
A potential candidate for her on later censuses is this woman.
In Kensington in 1883 Charles Hixon's wife Emma's death is registered in 1883. On the 1891 census in Kensington his wife is Laura aged 50 born Isle of Wight RG12 20 folio 58. They are together with the youngest child, then aged 27 from Charles' marriage to Emma (see 1871 census RG10 33 folio 50). On the 1901 census Laura gives her birthplace as something church - which could easily be Newchurch. She also states Isle of Wight - RG13 21 folio 19. Laura seems to be on her own on the 1911 census in Kensington.
Deaths Mar 1929
Hixon Laura 89 Kensington 1a 260
No marriage for a Laura to a Charles Hixon. His death is registered in Paddington in 1901.
Divorce was expensive (until free legal aid became available after the First World War) and it was difficult for a woman to obtain it, though easier for a man who could obtain a divorce from his wife if he proved adultery. Women had to prove bigamy, cruelty, desertion or incest as well as adultery so the law was stacked against them obtaining a divorce. It was just easier for ordinary working people to go on their own way when their marriages failed and established new relationships.
On the 1881 in Kensington census Albert J gave his age as 43 and his birthplace as unspecified Isle of Wight.
Consistent age with the 1841 and 1851 censuses when Albert was 5 in Brading and 16 in Shanklin, a groom born Brading.
On Ada's birth certificate does it specify whether Albert was deceased at the time of her birth/registration. Have you obtained a copy of the previous child's birth certificate to help eliminate a possible earlier death for Albert and Mary Ann cohabitating after his death?
As a coachman working with his family living in Kensington, Albert might very well be employed by a wealthy family who maintained a main London home and property elsewhere. The censuses only tell you where he was in one night every ten years but his occupation could have taken him distances away from his family home (grouse shooting in Scotland!). That makes it difficult to say where he might have died and who registered his death. There is also just a possibility that the death missed being indexed in the GRO register or when the old handwritten volume was retyped as the volumes began to fall apart and were thrown away he was missed off then (there were no checks). The local registry office may do a search for you (though some London registry offices - short staffed and under pressure will not and refer you to the GRO).
Regards
Valda
