Colenso Connection

[MrSaunders]

Hello,
I'm trying to solve an old family mystery where reputedly the surname was changed deliberately. A male descendant has completed a Y-DNA test and the surname match was "Colenso" so I believe that is the original surname. The family originated from Cornwall in the late 19th century. Working backwards, the most recent male that I don't have a birth record for is:

William Williams (b. 12 October 1897 Cornwall d. 1989 Barnet)
The DOB comes from the 1939 register.

He married twice. I think the first marriage was Harriet Harrington (1918 Luton)
I know the second marriage was to Rose Marie Waldren (16 Dec 1923 Monken Hadley, Middlesex)
I haven't got any certain matches on early census records and I do wonder if he was the one who changed his name from Colenso to Williams. Any help greatly appreciated!

[CaroleW]

Who were his parents?  What was his mothers maiden name

How have you connected somebody with the surname Williams to the surname Colenso?

[CaroleW]

Freebmd has 3 William Williams births in Cornwall in the Dec qtr 1897 - all have middle names & none have a mmn Colenso.  No birth under Colenso in Dec 1897

Lots of births for surname Colenso in Cornwall on freebmd

What's his fathers name & occupation on his 2 marriage certs?

[CaroleW]

Only the banns for the 1923 marriage are on Ancestry

Have you seen this tree on Ancestry - it mentions Thomas Colenso as the father of William.  Tree owner is Saunders - is it your tree?

https://www.ancestry.co.uk/family-tree/person/tree/9942427/person/-720301430/facts

[MrSaunders]

Hi Carol,
Yes that tree is mine
Thanks for reminding me about the marriage certificate. The 1923 marriage that I am sure about shows the following:

Name: William Williams
Age: 26
Status: Widower
Occ: Engine Fitter
Res: The Gatehouse, Monken Hadley
Father: Thomas Williams (deceased)
Father Occ: Marine Master

[CaroleW]

Your tree shows William's father as Thomas Colenso - where did you get that info from?

[Cas (stallc)]

Lots of the surname on Cornwall OPC

https://www.cornwall-opc-database.org/search-database/

No baptism for William Williams that match

Cas

[MrSaunders]

Hi CaroleW,
I named Thomas as a Colenso as that is my current thinking. I know from the Y-DNA that somewhere in the male line the surname was Colenso. Family story was that "Williams" was picked at random from a phonebook but not sure which male that was. The "phonebook" clue provides a window since British phone books were published from 1880 onwards, the year after the public telephone service was introduced to the UK.
Thank you!

[CaroleW]

In 1939 he is living in Bedfordshire.  Which document shows his birthplace as Cornwall?  Do you have him on the 1921 census confirming his birthplace?