Change of surname

[Reginald E.]

An Elizabeth Tapper, born c1780 living in the Salisbury area married James Quinton, 31/1/1820 and had 2 known daughters, Caroline, born c1820 near Salisbury and Harriet, born c1832 and christened at Weymouth. At some point before the 1841 census the family reverted to the Tapper surname. The head of the family was given as James Tapper and his given age matched that of James Quinton. When Harriet married John Clerk in 1859 she gave her name as Harriet Quinton Tapper. In the 1851 census the family used the Tapper name. Can any one offer or know of an explanation for the change of name.
Reg.

[alpinecottage]

Are you sure you have just one family? Elizabeth would have been 52 ish when Harriet was born - not absolutely impossible but extremely unlikely.  I suspect that Harriet's mother may have been this Elizabeth's daughter, possibly also called Elizabeth (whose baptism has yet to be found). 

Perhaps James Quinton had died by 1851 and the older Elizabeth had married a cousin called James Tapper.

[Spidermonkey]

Hi Reginald.  It's always good fun when our ancestors decide to change their names/occupations/places of birth 

Looking at the family on the 1851 census, there are some discrepancies with ages - Elizabeth has knocked 10 years off her age and Caroline has knocked 4 years off her age. 

Neither of the age discrepancies are unheard of (!) but are you absolutely sure that they are the same family.  It also wouldn't be unheard of for cousins born around the same time to have the same names if they were family names

[Reginald E.]

Thank you for your replies.
I'm not sure that there are not 2 Elizabeths involved but the evidence does stack up for Harriet Quinton Tapper in Dorset being the daughter of James Quinton who married Elizabeth Tapper in Salisbury. Harriet always maintained that she was born in Salisbury even though the IGI has her christened in Wyke Regis. Perhaps they moved there shortly after her birth. Her sister Caroline was, according to the IGI Christened at Fisherton Anger, (Salisbury).
Taking the ages given in the 1841 census Elizabeth would have been born in 1791 and Harriet in 1827 when Elizabeth was 36. For the dates given in 1851 Elizabeth would have been 39 when Harriet was born.
Assuming, and this seems very likely, that the families are the same, why did they move? One can speculate: Was James Quinton deported for an offence and when he returned the family thought it best to start a new life somewhere else? There does appear to be a large unexplained gap, 10 years, between Elizabeth's children, Caroline and Harriet.
Any further views?
Reg.