As pointed out to me (!) there seems to be no doubt that an Ann Oxlade was born to a John Oxlade and his wife Ann in 1798 in Cripplegate, London.
Previous information had indicated that an Elizabeth Oxlade was born in 1797 in Cripplegate to a JO and his wife whom I thought to be Sarah (as discussed here).
I wonder: did Sarah die in 1798? Did Ann take her place immediately? And how long were John and Ann married? John's marriage to Mary Ann Terry in 1813 posits an end and a beginning...
Alternatively, was my previous information re. Elizabeth wrong and that she was born to a second wife, not to Sarah? Speculatively, perhaps the daughter was actually named Elizabeth Ann (there are records of such a birth).
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Apropos John Oxlade's imprisonment, there are records that show him paying overseers for his wife's maintenance at this time; and between 1802 and 1904 he owed rent on his lodgings. Things could not be worse - except for those deaths in 1812.
What, though, was JO doing between 1804 and 1813? We have to assume that he was working at his trades as bookseller and bookbinder. Surely, after imprisonment, he could not have taken up work as an attorney again.
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As a sort of side-issue, serial marriages were not unknown - William Oxlade's trio help to confirm this. And one would expect them to be matters of economic need. Thus, William married Eleanor Waller when she was 17. Thus, JO appears to have married Mary Ann when she was but 15 - the anomaly of registered ages of spouses has been noted already.
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With respect to the signatures kindly provided for me, it is interesting that JO signed himself 'Oxlad'.
The puzzles continue. I'm grateful for contributors' patience.
roly
