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I wonder if this is Thomas (age 5 on 1871 census) birth registration

Birth Dec qtr 1865 
Thomas James Stockport Dixon
Gateshead    10a   650

Thankyou so much! I went back, looked at Thomas and tried to find a birth registration for a Thomas Stockport around 1866 and found nothing whatsoever. The record you kindly pointed me at is a great candidate for Thomas being born out of wedlock - hence the Stockport and Dixon in his registration entry. That would explain that - and is a great relief, as everything I had prior to Thomas hinges on him being the natural son of William ....... which I worried for a while today he wasn't, but that record is a great candidate for his birth - and suggests he is one of my Stockports after all!

Thanks again

Hi folks,

I was wondering if anyone could assist me in clearing up a little kink in my family tree. My 3rd great grandfather, William Stockport, was living in 1871 in Whitworth in Durham with his "wife" Mary Stockport. I use the inverted commas because the only record match that I can find that refers to the marriage of William Stockport to a possible Mary is in 1872 (the Mary Ann Dixon in the title, who according to the census is 33 in 1871 (b.`1838), and calling herself Stockport).

Fast forward 10 years and in 1881 William lists himself on the census as a widower, meaning Mary Ann must have passed away between 1871-1881. However, the only death record I can match up is in 1879 - where Mary's age is listed as 36, which would make her birth year 1843. This is a five year discrepancy with the 1871 census age (b.1838) - so I hope you can see why I'm a little confused!

I am having difficulty finding out any information about a Mary Ann Dixon born in either 1838 or 1843, and when this usually happens it's because I have something wrong somewhere! Normally the names, dates, and ages all fall into place relatively nicely when I have the right records!

If anyone can help shed some light on either the relationship between Mary Ann Dixon and William Stockport, or some information on Mary Ann herself then I would very much appreciate it.

Many thanks

Hi folks,

Just a general question regarding some research I was doing last night. I found an article in a newspaper dated just four days after I knew one of my ancestors had passed away - the article described "Margaret Stockport" as committing murder/suicide by drowning herself and her one year old daughter. Tragic story, but as I read I recognised some names - her mother, Jane Blenkinsop, and her husband, John Stockport, were already in my tree.

So I wondered whether this story was indeed about my ancestor, and as it listed her age as 31 at time of death I was able to very quickly discover that yes, her age, name, maiden name, all add up to her being the Margaret in my tree. So I investigated the census records to further firm this up, and discovered that while she was indeed married to John Stockport on the census record, the age of John is wildly innaccurate.

I can say with 99% certainty that John Stockport was born in 1818, married in 1854 (making him 36 at time of marriage) but on the 1861 census his age is listed as 27! I am certain it's him - he is married to Margaret (and a search for her maiden name, Blenkinsop returns precisely this same record even though she is called Stockport after marriage). So I'm sure I have the right guy - it's just his listed age that bothers me - he would have been 42 at least - if he is indeed 27 then I have his birth wrong, his other records wrong, and he was born two years after his own father died!

So my question (and thanks for reading this far!) is, given that there would have been in 1854 a significant gap in the ages of John and Margaret, would John have possibly fabricated his age somewhat on the census form, as I would think such a huge gap in ages at time of marriage (37 for John and around 20 for Margaret) would be a bit frowned upon in the 19th century?

Thanks for reading!

I thought it best to post my next question here rather than opening up a new thread ... but now I have those certificates a discrepancy has appeared. My great grandfather was born in 1889, his birth record, his war records, and pretty much everything else I have on him supports this date. Except his original marriage certificate! I am really lucky to have the original document from 1919 when he married my great grandma, but it states that he was 34 when he married in 1919. This is about 4 years out, he should be 30 on this document.

Does anyone have any ideas or experience when it comes to this sort of thing? I am totally confident I have his birth year, his death year, and census records, war records, that support him being 30 in 1919, but the marriage certificate clearly states his age at 34. Little confused, would appreciate any advice!