searching in Ireland

[Tom Huygens]

Dears,

since a couple of years I am looking for my 3rd great-grandfather, William Henry Graham, who seems to appear out of nothing.

The earliest mention of his existance is his marriage in Claypole, Lincolnshire, in 1852. The certificate gives his profession as cabinet maker, residence: Hastings, Sussex, and father: George Grayham, machinist.
After their marriage, the couple went to live in London.

All census records give his date and place of birth as 1819, Brighton, Sussex.


The problem is that there is absolutely nothing on him neither in Brighton nor in Sussex. he is absolutely untraceable. I even paid a professional genealogist to help, but no luck.
Another strange thing is that he was 33 when he married. Though not impossible, it seems quite late when I compare it to the rest of my tree.

Now... Watching one of the most recent episodes of Who Do You Think You Are? made me wonder about something. I knew about the great famine etc, but didn't really make a link with my family since none are based in Ireland. But when they said that the peak of Irish immigration into England was in the 1840's, I started thinking...

Is it possible/plausible that the reason I can't find anything on WH Graham before 1852 is that few years before that, he came from Ireland? There is quite a large number of Graham's there.
Would he have lied about his birth place to disguise his Irish descent? Or is my fantasy having a run with me?
If it is plausible that he actually came from Ireland, is there a way to find out when and whence he came? Did immigrants have to register somewhere? Where did most of them arrive? Liverpool? Or maybe Brighton?
I searched on ancestry for any Irish WH Graham's at that time, but no luck so far.

Any thoughts/tips/help are welcome!

Regards,
Tom

[Sinann]

Did immigrants have to register somewhere?

Ireland was part of the U.K at the time, it was no different than moving from Scotland or Wales etc.
IF he came from Ireland (can't see any reason for him to lie, unless he was on the run or something)you would have to know where in Ireland, townland or parish.

[dowdstree]

Hello Tom,

It can happen that an ancestor cannot be traced prior to census records and official registration of births etc. There is no reason to assume that they lied and I certainly would not jump to the conclusion that their origins were in Ireland.

To give you an example of this, my own 2nd Great-Grandfather, according to census records, was born in Perth, Scotland around 1831. He first appears in records in 1851 when he marries in Dundee, Scotland.

I have tried everywhere to find a birth record or earlier census record for him without success.

Just one of those things that we come up against from time to time when researching.

Best wishes

Dorrie

P.S. I have many ancestors who did come from Ireland (as stated on their census records) and have had great success with tracing many of them.

[aghadowey]

All census records give his date and place of birth as 1819, Brighton, Sussex.
Then it's most likely that he was born in or near Brighton.

The earliest mention of his existance is his marriage in Claypole, Lincolnshire, in 1852. The certificate gives his profession as cabinet maker, residence: Hastings, Sussex, and father: George Grayham, machinist.
Is Grayham a typo or is that the way it appears in the marriage record? If it is Grayham then it's even more unlikely to have an Irish connection.

Is it possible/plausible that the reason I can't find anything on WH Graham before 1852 is that few years before that, he came from Ireland?
No, it's much more likely that you either haven't yet found an earlier record or that such records don't survive.

I searched on ancestry for any Irish WH Graham's at that time, but no luck so far.
There are far more places to search for Irish ancestors but in order to do so you need to know a location and religion in order to search for church records, etc.

[jennywren001]

Hi,
What was the name of his wife?
Jen

[eileenwilson]

FamilySearch has a family tree that shows William Henry's parents as George Grayham and Jane Jackson who were married 2 February 1812 in Brighton.

https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/2:2:3Q2T-MG2

[Tom Huygens]

Hi,
What was the name of his wife?
Jen

Catherine Copley

[Tom Huygens]

FamilySearch has a family tree that shows William Henry's parents as George Grayham and Jane Jackson who were married 2 February 1812 in Brighton.

https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/2:2:3Q2T-MG2

I've seen that, but it's most probably not him. It's been a while, but if I remember correctly the baptism says William (not William Henry) and he married someone else in the 1830's.