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Hi everyone,

There are two daughters of my gt gt gt gt grandmother both born in Wing, Bucks, who I think were not born to my gt gt gt gt grandfather, but who do have his surname in the censii and on their marriage certs.

I am wondering if anyone could tell me if adoption was a normal practise back in the early 1800's and if there would be any documented reference to it in any records? If so where could I look to find them?
The adoptions probably happened in Wing, Bucks, sometime between 1820 and 1830 maybe?

Or is it possible that children would take on the surname of a step-father when the mother married without formal adoption?

I look forward to hearing your thoughts
Kind regards
Marion

Hi, I am wondering if anyone can help me with a really puzzling problem.

I have the following family
Joseph Rowe (Row) and Elizabeth (probably Bolton) and their children
Hannah Rowe (bc1819 in Wing, Bucks)
Sophia (or Sophey) Rowe (bc1826 in Wing, Bucks)
Samuel Rowe (bap 21/12/1828 in Battlesden, Beds)
Sarah Rowe(bap 25/07/1830 in Battlesden, Beds, d1832)

One of my queries is that IGI shows a marriage of Joseph Rowe to Elizabeth Bolton on 27/07/1828 in Wing, Bucks. This means that Elizabeth was pregnant with Samuel, (my gt gt gt grandad) when they got married.  Would someone be able to check the original entry to see if this is the case or if there are any fathers names please?

Both Hannah and Sophia (or Sophey) have the surname of Row (from the 1841 Battlesden census and the marriage cert of Hannah), but I am beginning to think that maybe Elizabeth was a widow when she married Joseph (or they were both widowed) and that Joseph adopted both Hannah and Sophia and they took his name. Hannah's marriage cert does state her father as Joseph Row though (she married William Garner). Still waiting for marriage cert of Sophia who married John Merridell (Merrydale).

I can find an IGI member submitted entry for the baptism of a Hannah ROWE bap 23/07/1820 in Wing, Bucks, parents as Elizabeth ROWE and William ELLIOT.
But there are also two member submitted entries in the IGI as follows
Hannah <Bolton> bap 21/11/1824 in Farhnam Royal, Bucks to Thomas Bolton and Elizabeth
Sophia <Bolton> bap 18/05/1828 in Farhnam Royal, Bucks to Thomas Bolton and Elizabeth
Now I dont know why the angle brackets are around the surname on these entires, could this be because they changed their surnames, but if these are my Hannah and Sophia why do all the censii show their place of birth as Wing, Bucks? I can't find any other baptisms for a Sophia around this time that would match any of the possible surnames she might have had. (I have found a marriage of a Thomas Bolton to Elizabeth Hall 24/04/1820 in Water Stratford, Bucks, but I really don't think that this is my Elizabeth as my Elizabeth was born in Wing).

Please could someone check the Wing or the Farnham Royal parish records to see what these entries say.

I suspect that there is a baptism for a Hannah in Wing in July 1820, but I wonder what her surname was then, I suppose it could be Rowe, Elliot or Bolton or even Hall.

Elizabeth herself is difficult to trace, not only because I can't tell what was her birth name, but also because she changes her age in all the censii. In the 1841 she is shown as 45 (1796), in 1851 as 61 (1790) and in the 1861 as 76 (1785), but at least in all instances she is shown as being born in Wing, Bucks.

Sorry if this post is a bit long, but I hope you can understand why I am confused, and perhaps someone might be able to help me verify some of the details for my family.

With kind regards
Marion