Edgar Spooner King - just some questions

[cuffie81]

So who was the father of young John born 1861 

 Not Edgar 

Edgar could still be the father if Edgar and Elizabeth were still a couple (of sorts) in late April 1860. John's birth looks to be very early 1861, or possibly late 1860, so the dates still fit.

[Griff King-Spooner]

I was recently contacted by a distant and most helpful relative who has supplied details of the last years of Edgar Spooner(who now just used Edgar King as his name), apparently after the death of his 3rd wife he emigrated to Auckland, New Zealand on the 2nd January 1882 arriving on the ship "Wellington", he was followed there later by some of his children, Mary, Francis and Theresa. He started work by opening a small Sarsaparilla drinks store which was viewed back then as a health tonic before returning to his earlier trade of tailor/cutter, he died tragically in 1884 in his 72nd year after falling off the Otakia bridge over the river Taieri subsequently drowning, he was on his way to meet his family prior to catching a ship back to Auckland....

[jbml]

So who was the father of young John born 1861 

 Not Edgar 

Edgar could still be the father if Edgar and Elizabeth were still a couple (of sorts) in late April 1860. John's birth looks to be very early 1861, or possibly late 1860, so the dates still fit.

Edgar WAS the father.

Elizabeth (my great x3 grandmother ... I am descended from Thomas) arrived at the workhouse in labour on 1 January 1861 ... so it was indeed VERY early in 1861. He was born on 1 January 1861 (and died in the workhouse before the year was out, poor mite) so he was conceived before she absconded for the third time.

What's always introgued me on this one is that as soon as Elizabeth was discharged from the workhouse, the very first thing she did was to go and register his birth ... in CLERKENWELL! (Discharge and registration both on 17 January 1861.)

Why oh why did she taken her baby across the river and go all the way to Clerkenwell to register his birth?

I can only think that she had no idea where to find the registrar in Southwark, but knew very well where to find the one in Clerkenwell.

Either way ... 17 January 1861 is the very last sighting I have of my great x3 grandmother Elizabeth Spooner nee Escott.

I'm still trying to figure out what became of her after that. I can give a very good account of the rest of Edgar's life (thanks to much amazing assistance given on this site) ... and of 15 of his 16 children (one still to be fully accounted for ... but we're getting there). But Elizabeth is still a mystery ...