William Scott (farmer) Durham

[Scottsearcher]

Another visit to the Records Office is obviously needed but before the (longish) journey I thought it might be useful to ask you good folks out there whether you might have a lead. My ancestor reports a father, William, farmer at his 1858 marriage. He also reports a Sunnybrow birth.

Despite a thirty year trawl, both at the Record Office and through Ancestry, this combination can not be found in either the 1841 or 1851 - correction, pairs can be found which continue to live in Durham in 1861, which my ancestor does not.

The marriage entry in the Lincolnshire register lists both fathers as usual. We know that,by the time of the marriage, the bride's father was dead, though there is no 'late' or 'deceased' in the register. It is possible , therefore, that William Scott, perhaps born ~ 1800 may also have died before the 1841 census.

If anyone has a record of the death of William Scott (farmer) in Brancepeth I would be extremely grateful for the information

Thanks for reading this post

[Victor Harvey]

Hi,
A William SCOTT was buried at St Peter, Monkwearmouth, Co Durham on 24th November 1839, aged 40. Yours?
Victor

[CaroleW]

Have you considered that your ancestor may have been illegitimate and made up a fathers name when he married so as to appear "respectable"?

This was a very common practice back then

[Scottsearcher]

Thanks for that information, Victor - certainly something to be looked at. As far as illegitimacy is concerned, CaroleW, it has always been at the back of our minds but of course as soon as you accept it and decide that, well, that's the answer there really is no way forward. Identity theft, which we always think of as a more modern construct, is also a possibility too.

He did, we understand, serve an apprenticeship as an engineer and presumably someone somewhere must have stumped up an apprentice bond - less likely for a child born out of wedlock

Thanks, both of you, for your replies