Frances Trant (bn 1834 Dewsbury) is my first cousin 3 times removed, so I had not gone too deeply into her life apart from finding a marriage for her to Joshua Gaunt on 9 July 1855 at St Peter's Cathedral Bradford.
Recently, I got a hint on Ancestry for her -- giving details of a pre-marital child, two children born to the marriage and a second husband! So I set about checking all this especially as some of the dates seemed a bit wonky
I found:
1 birth of son George Musgrave Dec qtr 1854. Woodlesford, Yorks He later takes the name of his step-father and is on the censuses as George Musgrave Gaunt. The "hint" gave his father as George Musgrave bn approx 1833 Scotland, but I have not been able to confirm this.
2 birth of daughter Catherine Isabella Gaunt Sept qtr 1859, Newcastle upon Tyne
3 birth of son Baxter Langley Gaunt Dec qtr 1861 Newcastle upon Tyne
1861 census: Frances, George & Catherine are in lodgings in Newcastle, no sign of Joshua.
13 Feb 1871 Frances marries Crawford Gardner in Bethnal Green London. She is a widow, he is a bachelor
1971 census, Frances and the 3 children are with her new husband in London.
The elder two children are listed as step-children, but Baxter is listed as "son" and his age is slightly off (listed as 8, rather than 9 ) Later in life Baxter has added the name John to his names.
My questions are:
When did Joshua Gaunt die? The only deaths of a Joshua I have traced are of men in their 70s making them a good 30+ years older than Frances. Not impossible, but unusual.
Was Baxter really Crawford's son? If so, why wait nearly 10 years to marry?
What happened to Frances & Crawford after 1871? I cannot find them on later censuses or definite deaths for either of them.
Thanks for any snippets anyone can find!