Find Ancestors

Hi janet I'm sure this is my william porter, i have him on the 1901 in stoke-on-trent born cheadle, 1891 in stoke-on-trent born cheadle, cant find him on the 1871, on the 1861 the only william is with the family of tuffnalls in winoth dale cheadle as a visitor, through all the certs from my my grandfather's side and siblings they all check back to the william i have got. regards jackie.

Not meaning to be funny here Jackie, but how certain are you that this child in census and the child you have the BC for are one and the same? Also, are you positive that one ( or both of them) is your ancestor, as if he was illegitimate, his father's name wouldn't be on his marriage cert to confirm a link? Presumably you are tracing a William Porter, but he may not have been recorded in that name in 1861 census - transcription errors, enumeration mistake, may have been in a different place altogether. Perhaps if you post what you definitely know about your ancestor in later life, someone will be able to look for other alternatives and clues Jay

hi keptin thedark, Hanley library have all the baptisims i went through cheadle baptisims but could find nothing at all, william was still in winoth dale cheadle in 1861. regards jackie.

Jackie, It's unlikely that the baptism record will be found on-line. You need to check the record office in the parish/area that he was born in order to trace the baptism. If he was baptised the mothers name will probably be in the entry if he was illigitimate. Kept.

hi all thanks for the replies, still cannot find mary, i have gone through a lot of years after the birth for a baptisim but cant seem to find one, he is on the 1861 census as a visitor so i can only presume he was left by his mother, there are no deaths for a mary porter around the time of his birth only one in 1857 but she was married, been looking a long time now i think this may be the end of the line for this ancestor. kind regards jackie.

Cross check the baptisms. I've seen a mother give a false christian name on all her childrens birth registrations but on the parish baptisms the mothers christian name is her true name. hope this makes sense. eg . Mothers name on childs birth registration Mary Brown but at baptism mother is named as April Brown. Her true identity.

My mother used the 'wrong' surname on my birth certificate. It was only when I sent for her certificate that I discovered the 'error'. I understand why she did it , but I'm still getting used to it. It does explain why I freak out when my kids tell lies though.

Hi Jackie It is possible that she gave a false name. My Nanna gave a false name on all the certificates I have except her death certificate!!!!!!! she called herself Ethel Frances Mabel when in fact her name was Frances Mabel. I kinda know the reason she lied in the first place she said she was 18 when she married in fact she was still only 17. But why she carried on the fib all through her life excpet for her death (her sons gave her real name) I have no idea !!!!!!!!

Perhaps she died. possibly in childbirth? Pat Kelly

hi lindy yes tried to connect with the family he was visiting but i can't, he was probably being looked after by them and the enum put visitor by mistake. hi kate that is all i can presume happened and she could have come from anywhere, its a shame he wasn't baptised i might have found a little more, one day i may find her, they dont make it easy but then the fun part is finding them. kind regards jackie.

As you say Jacqueline, she could have come from somewhere else to give birth to William, so I still say there is no reason to suppose that her name was not Mary Porter. Kate.

Hi Jacqueline I know your frustration, I've been trying to find my grandmother for two years as only have her name on birth cert. Even if you do find one with the right name how can you be sure its her without a date of birth to narrow it down? Guess you've tried finding a link with the family he was staying with to see if she appears anywhere in later census'?

hi all there is only one mary i can find close she is in cheshire, i read before sometimes they came into another parish to give birth to the children and leave them behind, i can only presume he is taken in by another family by the 1871 census under a different name, think i will give up on this one. thanks for all your replies appreciated. kind regards jackie.

hi reg can't find the mother on the 1851 or the 1861, can't find any possible marriages for mary porter around that time its as if she never existed, also 1871 is the only census i cannot find william. i have been after this one for so long i think i need to give it up. regards jackie.

Surely you don't mean that you can't find any Mary Porter at all? Just the name on the child's birth certificate isn't going to be much help in finding her, I agree. But I am sure there must have been loads and loads of Mary Porters around; the problem is more likely to be finding the right one! And by the time the 1861 census came around, she could have been married, died or emigrated. Kate.

I am not 100% but there is an illigitmate child on my tree although the baby still would carry the original first name the baby would probably carry alongside the adopted name of the new parents if you can find anyway you can who may have adopted that may help you as i did. But if it was on a birth certificate as proof the baby was born the true mother may want to hide her shame as in the early victorian times mothers who had babies would have gone to the lunatic asylum just for being a single parent and so would want the baby to have the adopted parents name maybe a relative would have adopted the child so the sister would have not gone in to an asylum., The name would be on paper only. and not by life As I said before after paperwork done and all the baby may carry both names.

hi tom sorry its a bit jumbled, could the mothers name be false. william is the right person, i have never found the mother, william is visiting the family when he was 4yrs old, i have tried to connect him to the daughters of the household but can't, i have been going aroud in circles for over a year. have the birth cert for william. regards jackie.

Given her false name o the babies false name? Someone will correct me if i'm wrong but I don;t think that you had to legally register a birth until about 1875 so maybe he was never registered?

hi what chance is there a mother would give a false name, i cannot for the life of me find my ancestor been looking for over a year now, william porter born 1856 cheadle staffordshire, he is visiting a family on the 1861 ( the tuffnalls of winoth dale cheadle ), i have his cert stating mother mary porter no father, any advice appreciated. kind regards jackie.