Sophia Wrighton otherwise known as Jackson

[brwynog]

On 31 January 1816 my 3X great grandfather William Williams of Caernarfon, a printer, married "Sophia Wrighton, otherwise known as Jackson" in the parish of Llanbeblig i.e. Caernarfon. They had one daughter, Jane, born in Llanfyllin, Montgomeryshire (Powys) on 26-11-1819, who was then baptised in Pendref Chapel in Caernarfon on 30-3-1821. It is also believed that they had a son, William, baptised on 16-2-1817 in Caernarfon. The story passed down by the family is that William and Sophia emigrated to America, leaving Jane in the care of an aunt. I can find no trace of William and Sophia in the UK after 1819. Has anyone any information about Sophia Wrighton or Jackson other than this? Does anyone have any idea what the 'otherwise known as' means? It is possible there may be a connection with Montgomeryshire. Can anyone help?

Rhiannon

[wilcoxon]

http://home.clara.net/dixons/Certificates/marriages.htm#COL2

Any help 

These days the words "Name changed by Deed Poll" or "formerly known as ................." or "otherwise" indicate that the bride or groom has changed their name since birth but that is a fairly recent phenomenon. In the past, the bride or groom were simply asked for the names they were known by. Remember that it was not necessary to produce any proof of the use of a name.

Names were changed in all sorts of ways. One of the most common would be by the bride or groom using a stepfathers surname. Or a person might use a mothers maiden name or indeed a name chosen at random because they didn't like the one they were born with or because they wanted their original identity hidden for a variety of reasons.