|
Pages: [1]
|
 |
|
Author
|
Topic: Sons born 5 months apart. How so? (Read 216 times)
|
silicondale
RootsChat Senior
Posts: 368
ggg-grandad William Vine's mill in Brighton
|
Woburn baptisms. Checked the microfilms yesterday, and quite certain about these dates:
John son of William & Ann Henley born 16 Nov 1810 bapt 9 Dec 1810
William Ralph son of William & Ann Henley born 16 Apr 1811 bapt 30 Jun 1811
There is no annotation, no comment, and both are recorded in sequence with all the other baptisms.
Although this is biologically possible, it would be very unusual. I'm looking for more likely explanations.
I have researched the Woburn Henleys and there are only one couple named William and Ann Henley.The only other William henley was much older and married to Sarah Dennis. (However, there was also a William Henley who fathered a Joseph Henley in 1799, mother's name Mary - haven't identified any of these)
Most likely seems to me that William Ralph may have been adopted.
The problem is complicated by a complete disappearance of all except John, who then reappears in Brighton, Sussex, in 1836.
Any thoughts welcome !
|
|
|
|
|
Logged
|
Henley (Brighton 1820+, Bedfordshire pre-1840), Vine, Button, Bradford, Bodle (Sussex), Willey (Sheffield, London), Nattriss (London), Wood, Jones, Blaker, Shrimpton (London), Dalby (London 1800+, E.Yorkshire pre-1810), Hillmann, von Thun (London and Hannover)
|
|
|
behindthefrogs
RootsChat Marquessate
Posts: 4245
EDLIN
|
There are numerous possible explanations other than a close births
The actual birth date for the first child was wrongly recorded either in error or because the parents were trying to hide the fact that he should have been baptised earlier.
The wife of William who married Mary died and remarried an Ann to have a single child.
One of the boys was not actually theirs but it was convenient for it to be claimed as such.
Do you have a marriage date for the parents? That might give a clue. For example was William a recent widower and the child his by a wife lost in child birth?
David
|
|
|
|
|
Logged
|
Living in Berkshire. From Northampton & Milton Keynes DETAILS OF THE FOLLOWING NAMES ARE IN SURNAME INTERESTS, LINK AT FOOT OF PAGE Wilson, Higgs, Buswell, PARCELL, Matthews, TAMKIN, Seckington, Pates, Coupland, Webb, Arthur, MAYNARD, Caves, Norman, Winch, Culverhouse, Drakeley. Johnson, Routledge, SHIRT, SAICH, Mills, SAUNDERS, EDLIN, Perry, Vickers, Pakeman, Griffiths, Marston, Turner, Child, Sheen, Gray, Woolhouse Census Info is Crown Copyright from www.nationalarchives.gov.uk |
|
|
silicondale
RootsChat Senior
Posts: 368
ggg-grandad William Vine's mill in Brighton
|
Thanks for the thoughts, David.
William Henley and Ann White were married in 1805, by banns (so nothing special about the circumstances of either). The register doesn't identify either as widowed (just says both 'of this parish') so presumably bachelor and spinster. Is that a fair assumption?
William was born 1781.
The best candidates for Ann were (a) Anne White born Woburn 1770 (parents Wm and Eliz White) and (b) Ann Maria White baptised 1785 St Clement Danes, Westminster (parents Wm & Lettice White). why the latter? Because we know from subsequent census data that Ann's sister Lettice White was born approx 1773, in "London St Clements". Again several possibilities but the best fit is the family of William White and Lettice Street. They married at St Clement Danes in 1772.
I did think that because Anne (a) was the youngest child of her family, it might have been one and the same William White - but the Woburn records show that his wife Elizabeth died in 1799, so unlikely.
The odd thing about the second son is the middle name Ralph. In the whole of the 18th century none of the Henleys in Woburn had a middle name. This is what makes me think that perhaps this boy was not actually theirs but was 'adopted', and Ralph may have been a name chosen by his real mother.
|
|
|
|
|
Logged
|
Henley (Brighton 1820+, Bedfordshire pre-1840), Vine, Button, Bradford, Bodle (Sussex), Willey (Sheffield, London), Nattriss (London), Wood, Jones, Blaker, Shrimpton (London), Dalby (London 1800+, E.Yorkshire pre-1810), Hillmann, von Thun (London and Hannover)
|
|
|
|
|
silicondale
RootsChat Senior
Posts: 368
ggg-grandad William Vine's mill in Brighton
|
Hi, redroger - Yes, that thought crossed my mind some time back, but you have just jogged my memory, for which many thanks. There is indeed a Ralph family in Woburn. In particular Mary Ralph, christened 1782 - posibly also the mother of the Joseph Henley born in 1799 (she and William Henley would then both have been aged 17). Seems to me that William's wife Ann must have been remarkably tolerant if that is the case.
- Stephen
|
|
|
|
|
Logged
|
Henley (Brighton 1820+, Bedfordshire pre-1840), Vine, Button, Bradford, Bodle (Sussex), Willey (Sheffield, London), Nattriss (London), Wood, Jones, Blaker, Shrimpton (London), Dalby (London 1800+, E.Yorkshire pre-1810), Hillmann, von Thun (London and Hannover)
|
|
|
|
|
silicondale
RootsChat Senior
Posts: 368
ggg-grandad William Vine's mill in Brighton
|
Yes, they did like to make things complicated. I guess not much different now - just that we've formalised it with divorce.
I found that Mary Ralph married John Nott in 1805. Half expected to find a death in 1811, but no. Only death was a son William in 1807. Of course, it's just an assumption that Mary was the mother of William Ralph. She had sisters. Or it could have been a brother's child if his wife died in childbirth: perhaps this is even more likely. A fruitful line of enquiry. Very helpful that the Woburn parish registers pre-1812 are all available online even if not yet searchable.
|
|
|
|
|
Logged
|
Henley (Brighton 1820+, Bedfordshire pre-1840), Vine, Button, Bradford, Bodle (Sussex), Willey (Sheffield, London), Nattriss (London), Wood, Jones, Blaker, Shrimpton (London), Dalby (London 1800+, E.Yorkshire pre-1810), Hillmann, von Thun (London and Hannover)
|
|
|
|
|
|
Pages: [1]
|
|
|
|
|
