Henry Bell

[TheodoreDBragir]

I am looking for Henry Bell from Cockermouth, alive in 1864.

[davidft]

Do you know anymore about him that you can share as Henry Bell is a common name and there are several candidates

[Ruskie]

Further to David's reply ....

How do you know he is still alive in 1864?
Do you have him in the 1861 census? If so can you supply details?
When and where was Henry born?
Are you now looking for Henry in the 1871 census?

Providing as much information as you can will help us to help you.

[Ayashi]

Just to keep everyone informed I've been working on this in the chat room.

The daughter was Esther BELL 1845, wife of Robert SHORTRIDGE. She appears on census with a place of birth of Parsonby or Plumbland, with one anomalous record on the 1881 where place of birth is Lancashire.

Henry is mentioned on the marriage certificate, but I was told it said he was deceased.

I cannot find any Esther BELLs for those details with a father called Henry. If it weren't for that one mention of Henry, I would trace her back to the family of Andrew BELL and Margaret CARTY, who, incidentally, were living two doors away from the SHORTRIDGE family in 1841 and Margaret was born in Lancashire. However, some sideways thinking seems to be required in order to prove that the father was Andrew and not Henry.

[Ruskie]

Thanks Ayashi. 

Without delving into the details of this particular family, keep in mind that Bell is often a Scottish or Northumbrian surname, so it might be worth looking a bit further afield. 

[dcbnwh]

There are reports in the Carlisle Journal of a Henry and Richard Bell, both surgeons, in Cockermouth in 1855, 1863 and 65.

Also a Henry Bell was named as a coroner in Cockermouth in 1860 and 1870.

They seem to be brothers, age 45 and 39, in Main Street in 1851.

Any connection?

David

[Ayashi]

If memory serves, the marriage cert said he was a labourer. 

[Geoff-E]

Andrew BELL died in 1860.

Perhaps the name Henry was simply transcribed wrongly from the original document.

I have a GRO copy which has the wrong surname - ELDRED instead of ELDING - so these things could happen sometime between the event happening in a church and its entry in the GRO register. 

[trish1120]

Seems to be only one Esther Bell Birth c 1845 +/- 5 years;

Birth Reg GRO Index;
BELL, ESTHER, Mothers mn CARTY ****
GRO Reference: 1844  J Quarter in COCKERMOUTH  Volume 25  Page 95