Why did they change their surname from Sawyer to Ellerton?

[lizdb]

Who does he name as his father on his marriage to Alice?

[annesthreads]

Liz - his father is Arthur Sawyer. I've had no trouble tracing the Sawyer family on the census. No sign of an Ellerton so far, but I haven't checked out the female lines yet.

[annesthreads]

Maybe it was as simple as wanting to sound a bit more posh - it seems that Frederick was christened Fred Sawyer. Frederick Smith Ellerton has more of a ring to it!

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Another twist in the story of this strange family: I've been struggling to find the marriage of Frederick's parents, Arthur and Sarah. Sarah came from Drax, so as it's a small place I searched the census for Sarahs of the right age and  consequently found the marriage of Sarah Shirbon and HENRY Sawyer! I'm almost certain this is Arthur, as the date is right (a few months before Fred's birth), and his profession and his father's name and profession match the census. There's no indication anywhere else that he had the name Henry (I haven't ordered his birth certificate, but I'm pretty sure I've found it on the indexes, and he's listed as Arthur). This family seem quite phobic about using their given names!

[lizdb]

What is his mums maiden name on Fred's birth cert?

[annesthreads]

Liz  -I haven't got Fred's birth certificate, but am pretty sure that his mother was Sarah Shirbon, b Drax, Yorkshire, 1858 - see my latest posts above.

[lizdb]

Yes, I saw the post. Thats why I asked!

No reason why Arthur couldnt have had a brother (doing the same job) called Henry who also married a Sarah from Drax!
You may be right, Arthur may be Henry - but without Fred's birth cert then it is speculative.

[annesthreads]

Yes, I saw the post. Thats why I asked!

No reason why Arthur couldnt have had a brother (doing the same job) called Henry who also married a Sarah from Drax!
You may be right, Arthur may be Henry - but without Fred's birth cert then it is speculative.

Thanks Liz.
True, but there's only one Sarah from Drax who's the right age, and there's no brother Henry on any of the censuses - I've checked Fred's parents on all relevant censuses. I was wary of that sort of situation because in my own tree (this is a friend's family) I had 2 brothers marrying 2 sisters called Eliza and Elizabeth! I may get Fred's birth certificate to be sure, as of course you're right, it's speculation till I do, but it all fits so well that I'm pretty sure this is correct.

[annesthreads]

...I think one of Fred's grandsons may still be alive, so have urged my friend to find out if he knows anything about all this.