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England (Counties as in 1851-1901) => Northumberland => England => Northumberland Lookup Requests => Topic started by: Jan Jones on Friday 01 April 16 22:58 BST (UK)

Title: Atkins Family in or near Bellingham late 1800s
Post by: Jan Jones on Friday 01 April 16 22:58 BST (UK)
Looking to attach basic BMD records to James Atkins (abt 1831 Morpeth or Mitford); wife Ann or Annie (abt 1835 Allendale).       Marriage place & date ?                 Children:
Edward (abt 1864) John (1866) Isabella (abt 1868) William (abt 1870) Ann or Annie (abt 1873) and James (abt 1875).
They lived at Broomhope Cottage and several initially worked at the Gun Proving Grounds.
This is a distant branch of our Tree - but I like to get the records as accurate as possible! This family has proved to be difficult to pin down.  Hopefully, with help, I will connect these people with Ann Isabel (or Annie Isabella) Atkins, daughter of the above Edward Atkins, who eventually lived in Manitoba, Canada from the early 1920s on.
Hopefully, Janice
Title: Re: Atkins Family in or near Bellingham late 1800s
Post by: JenB on Saturday 02 April 16 09:12 BST (UK)
It's useful if you include census references so we can find them  :)

They are at RG 10 / 5159 / 43 / 29 in 1871, and RG 11 / 5112 / 37 / 15 in 1881.
Living at Broomhope Stables, Chollerton (Bellingham Registration District).

If you look on freeBMD you will find that the births of William, Isabella, Ann and James are all registered (in Bellingham Registration District) under the surname Robson, with the middle name Atkin/Atkins

John Atkins, who the census shows born Newcastle upon Tyne c. 1866, also seems to have been registered in the same way, i.e. John Atkin Robson, 1 1865, Newcastle upon Tyne 10b, 3.
Title: Re: Atkins Family in or near Bellingham late 1800s
Post by: JenB on Saturday 02 April 16 11:55 BST (UK)
John Atkins, who the census shows born Newcastle upon Tyne c. 1866, also seems to have been registered in the same way, i.e. John Atkin Robson, 1 1865, Newcastle upon Tyne 10b, 3.

This looks like his baptism https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:N6VH-LJ8

The film number given on the record indicates that the baptism was at Longbenton.

There is clearly a lot of name-changing going on here  ::)

Might this be James in 1861? Occupation and birthplace tie up  :-\

RG 9 / 3808 / 85 / 14
in the household of John Jewitt, Rowlands Gill, County Durham
James Robinson, lodger, unm, 30, Ostler, Northumberland, Morpeth.

(haven't checked that one to later censuses yet).



Title: Re: Atkins Family in or near Bellingham late 1800s
Post by: Jan Jones on Saturday 02 April 16 22:42 BST (UK)
Many thanks to those who replied so promptly!  No wonder I was having trouble finding BMDs! If, as I suspect, the Atkins connect to another part of my family, it seems to be a family trait - using more than one surname and exchanging them at will! And a lot to do with which side of the marriage date the children appeared!

This is, of course, half the charm of Genealogy - you never know when the next surprise will pop up!

Thanks again - I will see where this information leads me. I may be back with you if I get stuck again!

Janice


Title: Re: Atkins Family in or near Bellingham late 1800s
Post by: Jan Jones on Sunday 03 April 16 22:26 BST (UK)
I am back!   Still puzzled by the Surnames used for this Atkins or Robson family.  I am hoping there is someone who is connected to them and perhaps has solved the puzzle and has some explanation for the odd registrations. www.freeBMD has some but they don't always match www.findmypast, for instance!
I have looked for Atkin(s)-Robson marriages but no luck there. So who was Ann, wife of James Atkins??  There was once an Ann Booth Robson but I can't fit her into the Atkins group. And there is an Ann Green, who might be the one.
I feel there is a story here but all I really want is to confirm the BMD.
I am winding up my Tree research and just need to tidy up some loose ends.
Janice
Title: Re: Atkins Family in or near Bellingham late 1800s
Post by: janice1985 on Tuesday 13 February 18 18:26 GMT (UK)

hi there Janice,

I'm not sure if these two somehow fit together in your search but it is the end of the search i can find for the two of them in grates cove ,Newfoundland. and as i was looking around i found this link. i am in Ontario,Canada and my great uncle had researched some genealogy,i always browsed a bit.however it could be that James Atkins and Ann Martin were my great great great great grandparents on my dads side, i have everyone underneath them down to me but once i get to the pair i dint have a birth or death date for either one and our origins went back to England at some point. if it is them a child by the name Eliza Anne Atkins would have resulted and then married my direct great great great grandad Joseph Benson of Grates cove,Newfoundland. it could be the reason there was family in Alberta for the other lady questioning , ill have to look more in to . if u have any more info id love to hear it!

My name is also Janice,lol
Title: Re: Atkins Family in or near Bellingham late 1800s
Post by: Tickettyboo on Tuesday 13 February 18 20:56 GMT (UK)
Not writ in stone, by any means, but its not unusual for a birth to be registered, when the parents for whatever reason are not married, with the father's surname as a middle name.
IF this is the case I would say that the Robson was the mother's name and to give the children their father's name it  was registered with the father's surname as a middle name and then used as the surname form there on.
I have an instance on my tree where this happened, the lady left her (nasty piece of work) husband and lived with another man , declaring themselves on census returns etc as 'husband and wife". Many years later when nasty hubby died, they breathed a sigh of relief and nipped to a registry office and made the union legal.
it could have been the same for either party, not necessarily the woman, but the man could have entered into a marriage that was so unhappy he left.

Remember that back in those days divorce was not an option for the everyday folk, you had to be quite rich (and extremely thick skinned) to go through that process.
It may not be the case for your scenario, but its something to stick into the 'possibilities' box.

Boo
Title: Re: Atkins Family in or near Bellingham late 1800s
Post by: Annette7 on Wednesday 14 February 18 02:32 GMT (UK)
The Atkins/Robson confusion would appear to relate to James Atkins himself.

Now that the GRO's own index shows mothers maiden name for children I've just checked and the children of James and Ann were indeed registered as Robson with Atkins shown as a middle name BUT their mothers maiden name was Parker.

I then looked for a marriage for Ann Parker to a James Atkins - zilch.   So, then I tried James Robson and bingo!   James Robson 32 married Ann Parker 29 on 31st October 1864, Gateshead.  It's only a transcript so can't confirm James' status (single or widower) but clearly Ann was a spinster.   Whilst I found the entry on FindMyPast it's also on familysearch with the same details I've quoted.   The ages given on the marriage entry tie in with their ages on census so feel sure that this is them.

So, for whatever reason, James married as James Robson to Ann Parker, their children all registered as Robson but with a middle name of Atkins and on census after the marriage James Robson has become James Atkins.

Possible that James Robson could have been illegitimate but his mother later married his father Mr. Atkins but that is only conjecture on my part.   I found James on 1851 census and he was James Robson then and a lodger in Winlaton, Durham (born Morpeth).

Annette


Title: Re: Atkins Family in or near Bellingham late 1800s
Post by: Annette7 on Wednesday 14 February 18 02:51 GMT (UK)
A Julia Robson married a James Atkins 18th November 1832, Newcastle upon Tyne.

Annette
Title: Re: Atkins Family in or near Bellingham late 1800s
Post by: Janice (Watkins) Jones on Thursday 15 February 18 21:46 GMT (UK)
Thanks Annette, you have done some great research on my behalf!
Although confusing, this method of naming children is apparently not unique and I have since come across some other similar entries.  My Tree program questions me when I enter these families, so I try to add notes to explain the apparent non-relationships.

In fact, even now, I have a some living relatives who are not "married" (i.e. no registration) and their children have hyphenated surnames!! Exactly what will happen when these hyphenated children decide to marry (or not!) other hyphenated children - will their children have a string of four hyphenated surnames??
Thanks everyone! Keep up the good work, Rootswebbers.
Janice
Title: Re: Atkins Family in or near Bellingham late 1800s
Post by: Marina Maxwell on Tuesday 09 April 19 21:56 BST (UK)
Hello. Came across your request for information on James Atkins and family of Broomhope Cottage, Birtley, Northumberland. He is my great-grandfather and his wife Ann Parker is my my g-grandmother. I can tell you all about the family. It is complicated as James was actually born illegitimate in Mitford in 1828 and took the Atkins surname from his stepfather later. He was also known as James Atkin Robson at various times, hence the confusion you describe. His son, Edward (Ned) Atkins, emigrated to Canada and my own father (William Atkins) lived with him in Winnipeg in the 1920s. Ned had a number of children but I believe none of them left descendants in Canada. Do contact me privately as I can let you know more. I am on Twitter as @OfArbeia and Facebook as Mary or Marina Maxwell. I also am an author and have the website www.marinamaxwellauthor.com.