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Hi Bruce. Since the last time Karen posted was well over two years ago, chances are she's not looking for replies in her thread now.

If you click on her name you can send her a private message. If her email address in her account at this site is current, she'll receive a notice. No notices are sent of replies in threads.

Good luck!

Hello Karen, The son of my gg grandfather (Edward) was Thomas Goode who I am pretty sure married an Elizabeth S Chudley. In the 1891 census my widowed gg grandfather was staying with Thomas and Elizabeth at 46 Essex St. I have ordered the marriage cert. so that should clear things up when it arrives.

Bruce Goode

Thanks Janey!

Oops, I forgot -- you don't have the marriage certificate yet, do you?

The Chudley-Prout marriage certificate and the Prout birth certificate both, then. Those will be your starting points!

And just in case there was an error in the GRO entry, I'd order the marriage certificate in the Goode name only.

The PROUT birth certificate -- that's the only one we know of at present. ;)

Unfortunately, my bet is that it isn't going to name a father. But until we know what it says, we don't know which direction to go in. Gotta at least know who the mother was first!

I have to remember this now. It's actually the second time in just a short while when someone was looking for Jane Smith who, I found, turned out to have been born Jane Smith Brown. I was perfectly familiar with

- children born outside marriage getting their biological father's surname as a middle name (one of my mother's aunts is an example)

- children born outside marriage reverting/switching to their biological father's surname as adults

-- just gotta remember to put the two things together when I'm hunting for someone!

So order up the Elizabeth Susan Chudley Prout birth cert and report back -- I'm mighty curious myself. ;)

I've also been waiting nearly 6 weeks now for a certificate I ordered at the beginning of August, so I won't hold my breath.

Hi Janey,
Can't believe you have done all this for me- what effort!
Bit confused now though;
Elizabeth Susan Chudley is really Life or Prout??
born illegitimately to Life, Prout, Chudley?
Which certs and of whom do you suggest.
Apologies for being a bit not with it!
k

Births Jun 1851
Life Elizabeth Symons Kingsbridge 9 391


Seems the Elizabeth S Life in the early census is a red herring that bizarrely led me to Elizabeth Susan Chudley Prout!

You really need to get both the marriage and birth certificates now.

There are no Chudleys in Blackawton in 1851.

My guess is that Elizabeth Susan's mother is one of the Prout daughters in the 1851 household.

Actually, there are 4 other Prout households in Blackawton in 1851.

One other has a daughter who could be the mother:

Charles Prout 13
George E M Prout 10
>> Mary Prout 18
Robert Prout 60
Stephen Prout 15
Susanna Prout 60

Here's the household in 1851:


Ames Harvey 22
George Life 5
Hannah Life 36
John Life 36
Robert Life 3


I can't find the John-Anna/Hannah marriage anywhere.


But that household is two doors down from:

Susan Prout 59 - married, occupation Baker
Mary Grace Prout 16 - daughter, occupation seems to say "Daur"
Sarah Prout 23 - daughter, servant
Thomas Prout 19 - carpenter
Maria Tamlin 8 - granddaughter, born Diptford

Births Jun 1842
Tamlin Maria Totnes 9 529

No Tamlin-Prout marriage in evidence.

In 1871 Ancestry transcribes them as Lips -- I just can't tell either time.

John Lips 53
Grace Lips 52
James Lips 14
Robert Lips 27
Sarah Lips 17
Symons Lips 19


It's the same people ... John's a shoemaker ... but this "Symons" is a daughter, and is the same age as Elizabeth S in the previous census ...


But Elizabeth Susan Chudley Prout born 1851 in Kingsbridge ... that has to be your person ... and it kinda suggests that her mother was Prout and her father was Chudley and they weren't married, going by common practice.

Look what I've found.


Births Jun 1851
PROUT Elizabeth Susan Chudley Kingsbridge 9 390


found after seeing this in the 1861 census, on searching for Elizabeth S born in Blackawton:


Name: Elizabeth S Life
Age: 9
Estimated Birth Year: abt 1852
Relation: Daughter
Father's Name: John
Mother's Name: Anna
Gender: Female
Where born: Blackawton, Devon, England

Civil Parish: Blackawton
Ecclesiastical parish: Exeter
Town: Blackawton
County/Island: Devon
Country: England

Registration district: Kingsbridge
Sub registration district: Blackawton
ED, institution, or vessel: 1
Household schedule number: 61

Anna Life 46
Elizabeth S Life 9
George L Life 15
James L Life 4
John Life 46
Robert L Life 12
Sarah O Life 7
William L Life 18
>>> Stephen G Prout 25


A bit of a puzzler here ..

You're welcome! Always interesting ... names you've never heard of, and it turns out there are scads of people with that name.

You might want to keep the variation "Chudleigh" in mind too. The spelling might have changed during the times in question.

Many thanks- must away to bed now. Appreciate you giving up your time

Karen -- using "Elizabeth S" on the census could indicate that she was Elizabeth Susan going by Susan, *or* Susan Elizabeth going by Elizabeth.

When people went by their middle names, they not uncommonly turned the first name into a middle initial.

So, since she is Susan in the earlier census, we can guess that she was born either

- Susan Elizabeth and went by Elizabeth, but was enumerated as a child by her "official" name

or

- Elizabeth Susan and went by Susan, but used her "official" name in later censuses


I haven't had any luck finding a birth under any permutation, including searching by given names only, as both Elizabeth Susan and Susan Elizabeth!

It's always possible her birth was under a different surname, and Chudley was a stepfather's surname or her real father's surname that she took as an adult ...

1871

Name: Thomas Goode
Age: 11
Estimated Birth Year: abt 1860
Relation: Son
Father's Name: Edward
Mother's Name: Eliza
Gender: Male
Where born: St Luke, Middlesex, England
Civil Parish: St Luke
Ecclesiastical parish: St Barnabas
County/Island: London
Country: England
Street address:

Occupation:

Condition as to marriage:

Disability: View Image
Registration district: Holborn
Sub registration district: Old Street
ED, institution, or vessel: 3
Household schedule number: 70
Household Members: Name Age
Henry George 16
Alfred Goode 19
Catherine Goode 17
Edward Goode 43
Eliza Goode 40
Eliza Goode 13
Elizabeth Goode 3
James Goode 3 months
Jane Goode 5
Joseph Goode 15
Thomas Goode 11
William Goode 7




June x

goes by elizabeth s later

Hi again, yeah, to me the fact she was a servant blows the 'legend' out of the water
thanks again K

And ... having skimmed through every Susan born 1850-1854 in Devon in 1861! -- no luck ...

And this will be her in 1871 -- the consistent use of a middle initial is a good indication that the person goes by that name.


Name: Susan Chudley
Age: 19
Estimated Birth Year: abt 1852
Relation: Servant
Gender: Female
Where born: Blackertn, Devon, England
Civil Parish: Islington St Mary
Ecclesiastical parish: St Mary
County/Island: London
Country: England

Registration district: Islington
Sub registration district: Islington West
ED, institution, or vessel: 7
Household schedule number: 132

Susan Chudley 19
Annie L Noss 34
Arthur A Noss 8
Lousia E Noss 13
William A Noss 49
William H Noss 11

Thanks. still can't find parents, location though.
Really appreciate your help