Hi all,
I'm looking into my family tree again, and have been struck by a particular figure named Robert Mogford - he's the rare immediate ancestor in my family tree who hasn't already been researched to within an inch of his life.
To quickly summarise:
- My 2 x great-grandfather is Thomas Mogford (b. 1855, Chipstable, Somerset) - Thomas Mogford is himself mysterious, and I haven't been able to pin him down in any census prior to 1891.
- The earliest definite record I can find for Thomas Mogford is for his marriage to Maria Tarr in 1885. This is the record that gave me a clue to Thomas's origin - he gives his father's name as Robert (occupation "Labourer").
- I have been able to find a "Robert Mogford" (b. 1815, Clatworthy, Somerset) who I think is very likely to be the father of Thomas - he married a woman named Martha Sayer in Ashbrittle in 1853, and Martha is from Chipstable (so the same birthplace as Thomas).
The really confusing thing is that I can find no trace of Thomas living with his hypothetical parents. I can find Robert and Martha living together in the 1871 census, but Thomas isn't listed.
Can anyone help to see if it is possible to establish a definite link between this Robert Mogford/Martha Sayer and my Thomas Mogford? I have looked into Robert Mogford, and it seems like he had some criminal convictions. He was the son of Richard Mogford and Amelia Fisher - Richard himself was the illegitimate child of Sarah Mogford.
It also looks like Robert was married to another woman before Martha Sayer (the marriage record to Martha lists him as a widower), but I can find no trace of this previous marriage. I am also unable to find any trace of other children. While Robert died in 1878, Martha died in 1906 - however, she seems to have alternated between the workhouse and lodgings, and she always seems to be recorded as living alone after Robert died.
There are other Robert Mogfords, mostly in Devon, but I'm reasonably confident that these are false leads with no direct connection to Thomas.
The whole situation seems very mysterious, and I've never come across anything quite like it before. Could anyone here try and help me fill in what I'm missing? I guess the main things I'm curious about are:
1. Can we establish a definite link between Thomas Mogford and Robert Mogford/Martha Sayer?
2. Can we find any siblings for Thomas Mogford?
3. Can we locate any earlier census records for Thomas, Robert and Martha (so pre-1891, aside from the 1871 census where Robert and Martha are listed)?
Thank you so much! I hope this presents an interesting challenge, as I'd love to learn more about this strand of my family.
