Alternating surnames and solutions

[hughsba]

This is my first post.  I'd like advice on a problem.  My ggf was registered William James Houghton, parents Thomas Houghton and Ellen Marsh.  He is Houghton in 1871, and Marsh in all subsequent censuses (I don't think his parents actually married).  He married in 1898. His son was registered in 1899 as Albert Marsh.  I have two possible marriages for William James.  I know Albert's mother was Mary, but there is a marriage between William James Marsh and Mary Baxter, and William James Houghton and Mary Turner in the same district in the same quarter.  William James remarried in 1906 with the name Houghton, but was in the 1911 census as Marsh.  The whole family changed their name to Houghton some time between 1920 and 1925.  To find my gym I would have to consider buying copies of both 1898 marriage certificates, knowing one would be wrong.  Does anyone know of an alternative?

[jim1]

Hello & welcome
When you say he was registered as William James Houghton do you mean this is what it says on his birth cert?

[heywood]

Hello and welcome from me too
Albert's birth certificate would give you his mother's maiden name - that would be just one certificate 

Heywood

[Gaie]

Hi hughsba and welcome to Rootschat 

The marriage you are referring to is from this reference:

http://www.freebmd.org.uk/cgi/search.pl

March Quarter 1898
Registration District: Leigh
Vol 8c Page 379

On that page are these people:

BAXTER Mary
MARSH William James
TURNER Mary
WOOD Richard

So William can only have married one of the Marys; Richard will have married the other one.  You can order the marriage certificate from the GRO, giving only William's name.

http://www.gro.gov.uk/GRO/content/certificates/default.asp

Kind regards
Gaie

[heywood]

http://www.lancashirebmd.org.uk/index.php. Shows an Albert Marsh registered 1899 with mother Turner.

It also shows the marriage of Mary Turner and William James Marsh- alternative name Houghton.

[hughsba]

Heywood person, thanks loads, that's brilliant.  I'll follow that up.  The "find my past" marriage match-up thing seems to have increased the confusion.     I'm grateful to the rest of you too !

[heywood]

That's great! Good luck with your searching.