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Beginners => Family History Beginners Board => Topic started by: guest259648 on Sunday 28 April 19 15:05 BST (UK)
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Please suggest possible reasons why a family is using a different (false?) surname on the census while living away from their home base.
My ancestor Henry SPUR(R) married Caroline HINKS (poss. Hincks) in Nuneaton, Warks in 1846.
The 1851 census shows them living in Manchester, Henry is a stone mason, they have one small son William Henry - but their surname is SHEPPARD. However, they have baptised their son as SPURR.
The 1861 census shows Caroline a widow, with sons William Henry, Christopher, and baby daughter Elizabeth. Caroline gives her surname as SHEPHERD. (She couldn't write, so must have spoken her name, and the spelling is variable). But Christopher and Elizabeth have also been baptised as SPURR.
Caroline, a widow, returns to her home area (presumably Warks/Leics borders) and remarries in 1864 as SPURR. (She becomes Oswin).
Why is this family using a different (false) name for census purposes? Is Henry Spurr hiding from something? (criminal proceedings?)
Caroline re-states the different surname (Shepherd) in Manchester just after Henry's death in early 1861, but reverts to her married name Spurr when re-marrying. Was it 'safe' to state the Spurr, now Henry had gone?
I can't crack this, and I can't find the correct Henry Spur/r or Caroline Hinks (Hincks) on the 1841 census nor any suitable birth for either of them.
Extra details, potential clues:
in 1846 Henry Spur(r) gave his father's name as Robert Spur, carpenter.
In 1846 Caroline Hinks (Hincks) gave her father's name as William Hinks, carpenter.
In 1851 "Henry Sheppard's" birth place is given as Sheffield.
Caroline's birthplace is given as Leicester, then Coventry, then Leicester.
Caroline's second marriage is in Coventry.
In 1864 Caroline Spurr gave her father's name as William Hinks, joiner.
In 1879 Elizabeth Spurr, daughter of Henry + Caroline, gave her father's name as WILLIAM Henry Spurr, stonemason. But both of her older brothers stated 'Henry Spurr' on their wedding details. Was he a William?
Caroline and her new husband set up home in Aston, Birmingham, and remain there. Why did they go there, in particular?
Where does the SHEPPARD/SHEPHERD come from, and for what reason or purpose were they using it?
Very grateful for all suggestions. I could be mistaken in any of the above details and if I am, please tell me. Thank you.
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One possibility is William / Henry Spurr /Shepherd was illegitimate and so sometimes uses his mother's maiden name and sometimes his father's name (either birth father or later step-father)
Your next step is to trace his birth and his mother's marriage(s) -- that may give you some clues as to the reasons for his changes of name.
I had a similar situation -- a family where the illegitimate father used Richard and Joseph interchangeably and also Horobin & Plant interchangeably throughout his life. Luckily the baptism register for some of his children gave both surnames so i was able to tie them all together. It was difficult, but eventually I did manage to sort him and his names out!
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I see that Henry Spurr’s age was recorded as 36 on his death reg in Manchester, Mar qtr 1861.
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Not an answer to your question, but there seems to be at least one other child:
John Spurr, mother’s maiden name Hinck, Jun qtr 1854 Manchester 8d 163.
Baptised at Holy Trinity, Hulme, 17 Aug 1856 (abode Galloway St) to Henry (stone mason) & Caroline.
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I have a similar situation in my tree where for two generations my family used one surname on the census and an entirely different one for BMD events. I managed to trace it back to an illegitimate birth, but not in the generation I was expecting.
However, I wonder if he could be connected to these baptisms at Sheffield Parish Church (info from Sheffield Indexers)
Samuel Spurr born 28 Oct 1818, Baptised 22 Nov 22, 1818. Parents Mary & Robert (Joiner).
John Spurr born 8 Feb 1821, Baptised 26 Aug 26, 1821. Parents Mary & Robert (joiner).
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One possibility is William / Henry Spurr /Shepherd was illegitimate and so sometimes uses his mother's maiden name and sometimes his father's name (either birth father or later step-father)
Your next step is to trace his birth and his mother's marriage(s) -- that may give you some clues as to the reasons for his changes of name.
I had a similar situation -- a family where the illegitimate father used Richard and Joseph interchangeably and also Horobin & Plant interchangeably throughout his life. Luckily the baptism register for some of his children gave both surnames so i was able to tie them all together. It was difficult, but eventually I did manage to sort him and his names out!
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Marmalady (great name!) thank you... It's helpful to know that people use surnames interchangeably without there being any sinister element to it; they obviously feel they have a claim on both, and what they write at any one time depends on how they feel. Both names seem to be of equal weight - but they have to choose one, don't they, as the dominant surname for the children... and in my case they've plumped for SPURR and it's stuck.
(In later times we seem to cope with it by using both names together as surnames, hyphenating them or not. NB I've never yet seen a hyphenated surname [such as my own!] on a census up to 1911 - have you?)
I have no clue how to begin to trace the birth of a '[William] Henry Spur/r-Sheppard' who might or might not have come from Sheffield. An added complication would be if he were using a step-father's surname... help!
I am still dubious about the details given on the Manchester 1851 census (surname, place of birth)... instinct tells me it's not as it should be...
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I have a similar situation in my tree where for two generations my family used one surname on the census and an entirely different one for BMD events. I managed to trace it back to an illegitimate birth, but not in the generation I was expecting.
However, I wonder if he could be connected to these baptisms at Sheffield Parish Church (info from Sheffield Indexers)
Samuel Spurr born 28 Oct 1818, Baptised 22 Nov 22, 1818. Parents Mary & Robert (Joiner).
John Spurr born 8 Feb 1821, Baptised 26 Aug 26, 1821. Parents Mary & Robert (joiner).
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Jomot, thank you so much... those are very useful possible leads, with a Robert Spurr as a joiner... I hadn't found these records... I will take a look.
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I see that Henry Spurr’s age was recorded as 36 on his death reg in Manchester, Mar qtr 1861.
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avm228, thank you for this, very useful: his age on the 1851 census is given as 25, so this 36 in early 1861 is consistent with that. (And gives me more confidence in the census details I'm doubting!)
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Not an answer to your question, but there seems to be at least one other child:
John Spurr, mother’s maiden name Hinck, Jun qtr 1854 Manchester 8d 163.
Baptised at Holy Trinity, Hulme, 17 Aug 1856 (abode Galloway St) to Henry (stone mason) & Caroline.
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avm228, excellent find, thank you - there was a huge gap between Christopher Spurr (1851) and Elizabeth Spurr (1861). Definitely the same family, given the occupation + mother's maiden name. And they've used SPURR again, although it's Sheppard on the census...
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Another reason for an alias was to differentiate people with the same name living in a parish.
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Another reason for an alias was to differentiate people with the same name living in a parish.
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Maiden Stone, that's a very good point. For example, in the acting profession, you're not permitted to use a name which is already taken, even if it's your own. (Hence David Jason/Del Boy = David White but he was blocked from using it). So if there was already a Henry Spurr in that Manchester district in a similar trade, 'my' Henry Spurr might wish to distinguish himself by using a different surname. Perfectly plausible, I like it. I will search, to see if it can be proved.
If this were the case, how would he choose the Sheppard? Out of thin air? Or is it most likely a family name?
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The use of alias surnames for distinguishing purposes is more typically found in rural communities where the same few families intermarried over many generations, resulting in most inhabitants sharing a handful of surnames. In family history it is particularly associated with pre-19th century Devon, with whole theses being written on the subject.
I suggest it is unlikely to be a factor in urban Manchester for a family carrying the relatively unusual, and non-local, surname of Spurr.
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I have a similar situation in my tree where for two generations my family used one surname on the census and an entirely different one for BMD events. I managed to trace it back to an illegitimate birth, but not in the generation I was expecting.
However, I wonder if he could be connected to these baptisms at Sheffield Parish Church (info from Sheffield Indexers)
Samuel Spurr born 28 Oct 1818, Baptised 22 Nov 22, 1818. Parents Mary & Robert (Joiner).
John Spurr born 8 Feb 1821, Baptised 26 Aug 26, 1821. Parents Mary & Robert (joiner).
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Jomot, thank you so much... those are very useful possible leads, with a Robert Spurr as a joiner... I hadn't found these records... I will take a look.
The Sheffield Independent of 1 Sep 1821 mentions a Robert Spurr being taken from York Castle to the hulk Gannymead, to be transported for 7 years. There is also a record of Robert Spurr, 25, Joiner born Sheffield aboard the Gannymead. The Yorkshire Gazette 11 Aug 1821 carries a report of the trial (charged with breaking open the corn mill & counting house of Edward Jackson & Co at Greasborough, along with Wm Taylor 26, David Else 28 and John Steer 28)
Whether he was transported or not I don't know, but there is also a newspaper reference 1 March 1840 in The Charter mentioning a Robert Spurr, Carpenter living in New.court, King-street, Smithfield. The article is headed Bethnal Green Chartists.
If Robert Spurr the Sheffield joiner was transported then obviously he couldn't be Henry's father, but if his wife Mary then had an illegitimate child with a Mr Shepherd it could maybe explain the two surnames :-\
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Maybe it was just a Spurr of the moment thing?? ;D
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Maybe it was just a Spurr of the moment thing?? ;D
;D ;D
Robert the joiner was transported with the others to VDL aboard the Richmond, so definitely can't be the biological father of Henry Spurr/Shepherd.
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That’s a great find re Robert Spurr. I wonder whether Mary remarried, or simply got together with a Mr Shepherd.
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I think she married a William Marshall in Sheffield in 1828, which kind of puts a spoiler on things. She was recorded as a widow, and he as a widower.
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Not a spoiler necessarily - she had had 7 years in between husbands.
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Maybe it was just a Spurr of the moment thing??
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hahahahahaha you've made my morning! :-)
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Not a spoiler necessarily - she had had 7 years in between husbands.
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avm228, Jomot, thank you for your joint investigations... do we know the marriage details of this Robert Spurr and Mary? (forgive me if I've missed them somewhere)...
Coincidentally I'm looking at a transported individual as a strongly possible father of Caroline Hincks, wife to this elusive Henry Spurr. (People seem to think that transportation was a life sentence, however I noticed that this transported Mr William Hincks was a free man after only a couple of years, in fact he went on to remarry although he still had a wife in England.)
Regarding another of your comments, you can get up to quite a lot in 7 years between husbands.
Lots of good ideas here, which I'll pursue.
D.
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do we know the marriage details of this Robert Spurr and Mary?
7 Dec 1816, Sheffield, after banns
Robert Spurr bachelor otp & Mary Sedgwick spinster otp
both signed X
Wits: Thomas Hall (or possibly Theall) & Joseph Hudson, the latter being a regular witness.
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do we know the marriage details of this Robert Spurr and Mary?
7 Dec 1816, Sheffield, after banns
Robert Spurr bachelor otp & Mary Sedgwick spinster otp
both signed X
Wits: Thomas Hall (or possibly Theall) & Joseph Hudson, the latter being a regular witness.
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UPDATE
Many thanks for these details.
With the help of teamwork, and the finding of a living descendant of the Spurr family, we now believe that Henry Spurr most likely belonged to the Spurr clan living in Granville Street, Sheffield Park.
The Spurrs were acquainted with William Shepherd life-long stonemason (from Brampton, Derbyshire, his father James was a stone-waller) who in the 19th century lived and worked in Chester Street Sheffield (which was bombed in the war).
As a student of William Shepherd, Henry Spurr very likely styled himself after his 'master', moving in the late 1840s to Manchester where there was much work, and calling himself 'Henry Shepherd stonemason', which would have served him well if William Shepherd had a fine reputation. But all of Henry's children were christened with his genuine surname, Spurr, not his 'work-name'.
The 1851 census spelling 'Sheppard' is mistaken; the later 1861 spelling of Shepherd is correct.
Lots more came out of this too, including the discovery of a 'Spur' marriage in Hinckley Leics in 1791, explaining how Sheffield-based Henry Spurr would have met his wife Caroline Hinks (while he was visiting family).
Many thanks to all who helped, it's much appreciated.