Rothwell - History Mystery!

[Jaypl]

Can anyone help in finding Elizabeth Ann Rothwell.  She was b. 1849 approx in Nantwich and in 1867 married Thomas Downes in Manchester.  They had two children, Frederick & Thomas.  In 1871 they are living in West Derby.  However in 1881 Thomas is living with another family (the daughter of whom we have figured out was pregnant with his daughter at the time) His two sons are living with his mother in Spittal St, Manchester.  Elizabeth Downes (Rothwell) has vanished.  There is no record that I can find of her death, divorce, etc etc, she simply disappears.

Can anyone help?

[heywood]

Hello,

have you found her in earlier censuses?

Who was her father on the marriage certificate?

I can't find her before 1871, to check the birthplace, so it is quite difficult to look for her later- in case she is hiding away.

heywood

[Jaypl]

Marriage Cert if on order.

The whole Downs family is a bit weird! and shes fast becoming one of the great missing!  Whenever I do find anything remotely looking like her, there is always something that rules it out...... she is doing well to remain quite hidden!

What I want to know is why!

[heywood]

She is well hidden before 1871 too!

I can't see her in BMD either 
there is an Elizabeth Hannah in Audenshaw which looks like the closest. However there is a Rothwell family in Nantwich but no Elizabeth 

[rastajill]

hi hope this helps indicates why you cant find her after 1871
death record, Elizabeth downs  Oct-Nov-DEC 1871, aged 23 leek Staffordshire
leek is around six miles from derby

[heywood]

hi hope this helps indicates why you cant find her after 1871
death record, Elizabeth downs  Oct-Nov-DEC 1871, aged 23 leek Staffordshire
leek is around six miles from derby

That is a possibility- name and age. West Derby is an area of Liverpool though, so it may not be her.

[heywood]

Hi again,
just been checking - that, sadly, can't be her as child Thomas was born 1872.

1891 Thomas snr states he is married on census. 

Where is the evidence that the daughter of the 1881 family is pregnant with a child by Thomas? (just out of interest  )

[Jaypl]

He is living with a family called Montgomery, by the 1891 Census the daughter there (mistranscribed as Catherine, actually Caroline) has two daughters, Ada & Ethel.  All three are using the surname Downes, Ethels Birth Cert has Thomas as the father, there are rumours she was born before the census, and their is a registration for 1880, but she is more likely to have been born in 1881. A cousin has her birth cert so I don't have the exact date, but it does say Thomas is the father.

J

[heywood]

I wrote a long reply- nothing really of interest- and then lost it!

However, the gist of it is that I am wondering re Ada - both 1891 and 1901 have her born 1880 - wonder where she is in that census?
Both Thomas and Caroline appear in 1891 as married but living separately with children.
1901 Caroline has a few more children (after quite a gap) and is a widow.
Can't see a death for Thomas.

All a mystery and looking forward to marriage certificate for Thomas and Elizabeth.