Choosing which root

[carol8353]

The 1881 Lewisham born Harry Simmonds is on the 1891 census with a dad called George whom I think is a Carman ie he drove a vehicle.Similar to what we know as a delivery driver today.Is that the one you couldn't read?

[avm228]

So, in theory, that only leaves Old Ford George?

No, there are many Harry Simmonds born around 1880/82 with a George as father, his registered name may not be Harry or Simmonds......... keep an open mind, expand your research more than ancestry.com and cross reference the information on each and every record you find.

Thanks, this looks so much easier on Who Do You Think You Are!

Yes, they don't show the tricky bits, do they

I suggest that, when you look at 1939 Register, you look for the Lewisham Harry Simmonds (born 16 Dec 1880 according to his baptism) and separately for your Harry in Macclesfield with the 1881 birth.

The free index suggests you will find them separately & if so you will be able to confirm what I have suggested, namely that Lewisham Harry is not the one who ended up in Macclesfield.

Having done that, you can then look for the other Harry Simmonds (Old Ford) born late 1880, with his second wife Eva G.  If you can find him separately from your Macclesfield chap then you can rule him out too.

[carol8353]

On his 1925 marriage cert what is Harry's job and what address does his give ?

So are you saying that he was 44 when he married,was this as a bachelor or had he been married before?

[Gibel]

Was he described as a bachelor or a widower on his marriage certificate? Perhaps you could post all the details from the marriage certificate, it would be very helpful.

[carol8353]

Was he described as a bachelor or a widower on his marriage certificate?l.

That was the same question that I asked at 8am today 

Carol

[baldangel]

The Harry in Old Ford was 5 months old in the 1881 census; his birth was registered Dec qtr 1880 Poplar as Henry Simmonds, mother's maiden name Barrett. 

He can be traced later on.  As Harry Simmonds he married Lilian Bowmer (aka May Lilian Bowmer) in West Ham in 1901. She died as May L Simmonds in Islington in 1919.

Harry then remarried to Eva G Tilley or Mayhew (one of these will be her maiden and one her previous married name) in Edmonton in 1926.

That eliminates Old Ford Harry.

[baldangel]

Was he described as a bachelor or a widower on his marriage certificate?l.

That was the same question that I asked at 8am today 

Carol

Just picking up this for the first time today, thanks for the interest shown.

The certificate reads May 4th 1945 Harry Simmonds 43 Bachelor Labourer 2 Ct 2 House Water Street. Father's name: George Simmonds Labourer.

My grandmother's details: Eliza Tomkinson 28 Spinster (Occupation blank) Parkside Asylum. Father's name: George Tomkinson (deceased). Salt-maker.

The witnesses were George Simmonds and Elizabeth Marshall (who is no readily apparent family relative, guessing she was something to do with the asylum).

The wedding was at Christ Church, Macclesfield.

[jorose]

Given that Harry married in Macclesfield district in 1925 and appears to have remained there for several years, I would investigate the following very closely:

1. The births of two children who died young, May (1921) and George (1924) Simmonds, whose mother's maiden name is listed as Oldfield.  There is another child later on with "Simmons" as a surname.

The parents may be George "Simmins" and Carrie Oldfield who married in Macclesfield in 1919.
https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:FQP4-NLY
 - this gives George as 58 years old, e.g. born around 1861, and his father was Thomas.
His bride appears to have been born in 1890 (she is still on the 1939 index), and was from the Macclesfield area (her father is Benjamin and her family are easier to trace).

2. The death of George Simmonds in Macclesfield in 1934, aged 75.  This would put him as born about 1859.  This is probably the same man who married Carrie Oldfield.


So this gives us a possible for Harry's father, as George born 1859-1861ish, and in Macclesfield by 1919, but it doesn't make it any easier to trace them in earlier censuses!

[baldangel]

Thank you. I will follow your leads up. It is very difficult as a relative beginner to get your head around the discrepancy in spellings of names.