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Still can't work out where the two sisters of Henry Weymark Stanton ended up.  Henry was b. about 1835 and christened at Saint John The Evangelist, Lambeth.  His sisters were Maria, b. 22 May 1837 and Matilda, b. 16 Jul 1838, both christened at St. Luke Old Street in Finsbury.  Their father, Samuel, died fairly shortly after Matilda's birth, I think probably before the 1841 census but I'm not sure yet.  Too many Samuel Stantons.

By 1851 their mother Hannah/Anna Maria had remarried to an Amos Allen and Henry was living with them (in central London).  When Henry married a Matilda Stanton was a witness; I believe this was his sister, his father had no sister named Matilda and none of his father's brothers lived long enough to marry a Matilda, either.

Help?

Haven't seen one of these around for a while!    In honor of the season, may I suggest this fellow, with the lovely name:

Christmas Lark, in the 1881 census at: 9 Church Alley, Norwich St Margaret, Norfolk, England  (RG11/1948/ 83/16)

(There are in fact, two, father and son  )

Sophia Matilda Stanton was born 1862 (Sep quarter, haven't got the certificate yet), father Henry Weymark Stanton, a boot-maker.  I know this from her son's birth certificate (giving her maiden name), from the 1891 census where several of her siblings are living with her, and then from tracing back to the 1881 census where they appear with her parents (she's not there), and to the 1871 where she is with her family.  That's not the mystery.

The mystery is in her marriage certificate, which I finally found under the name Sophia Matilda JONES (it doesn't help that her husband decided to spell his middle name 'Fredrick' instead of Frederick this one time). It is dated Jun 6 1881, shortly after the 1881 census - her husband gives his address as 2 White Street, where he is on the 1881 census, and all other details, occupation, age, etc, match.

She claims to be a widow, aged 20, last name JONES, with father's name Henry Stanton, boot-maker.  Address is 36 Sale Street - she is not there in 1881, although I believe one of the witnesses, a widow named Ellen Stokes, is there in 1881, and Sophia was probably boarding with Ellen right before her marriage.  It is possible Ellen is a relative but I haven't tried tracing her back yet.

Stokes family are:

Ellen Stokes, 48
Henry, 21
Cristopher, 19
Ellen, 15
George, 16
William, 13

Other witness is Anthony Emm, a bookmaker and sexton in the 1881 census who was probably connected to the church (St. Jude Bethnal Green) rather than either spouse.

I cannot find Sophia's first marriage, although freebmd should be complete for the few years prior to 1881.  She claims to be 20 but was not quite 19 when she married.  Her birthplace changes at each census but is always in London, her family were in Bethnal Green for many years but her certificate is registered in Marylebone.

Is it possible she is connected to the George Jones family at 66 Sale Street in 1881? There is a son, John, aged 20, who could be connected to Sophia.  (Other children in this family are Harriet, 15, Mary A, 13, Joseph and Caroline, 11, Eliza, 8, Emily, 7, Elizabeth, 5, and Matilda, 3).

What I know:

Hannah Maria Maydon (listed on some records as Haydon) was b. about 1807 in London and christened at St. Andrew Holborn, one of at least four children born to Robert Maydon and Sarah Salmon.

She married Samuel Stanton, a lighterman, 24 Sep 1834.  They must have had special permission from his father as Samuel was still an apprentice at that time - he was apprenticed to his father, Henry, 4 October 1828 and became a freeman of the Watermen & Lightermen 11 June 1835.

They had three (known) children, Henry Weymark Stanton, christened in Lambeth, and daughters Maria and Matilda.  Matilda, at least, was still alive and unmarried in 1859 as she was one of the witnesses at her brother's wedding in 1859.

By 1851 Samuel had died.  He may have died soon after becoming a freeman as I cannot find much about him in the Watermen & Lightermen's records, whereas his father (and then his father's widow) are listed in the pension records etc.

In 1851, I believe found his wife, her new husband, and son Henry in London:

12 Rose Street
Thos. Allen, Cabinet Maker, 43, b. Birmingham
Hannah M, wife, 44, b. London City
Henry Stanton, 'son in law' (often used to mean step-son), 15, Errand Boy, b. Lambeth
William Allen, brother, 46, b. Birmingham.

(The line of water-related occupations in this family was broken, as Henry Weymark Stanton grew up to be a shoe and boot maker.)

I have also found (and sent away for) the marriage of a Hannah Maria Stanton, 1849 in West London district (fits with their address in 1851), and located on the images a possible Thomas ALLARD with the same volume and page number.

So the questions are: when did Samuel die? (there is a possible one d. 1838 in Shoreditch on freebmd.rootsweb.com but they moved up and down the Thames so I'm not convinced enough to spend 7 pounds on it).

Did Hannah marry Thomas Allen or Allard? (hopefully this will be resolved when I get the certificate).

Where were they in 1841 (the girls were christened at St. Lukes Finsbury, the youngest, Matilda, in 1838) - this may have to wait until Ancestry comes up with the 1841 census index as they did move around so much!

Where were Maria (b. 1835) and Matilda (b. 1838) in 1851?  Matilda at least I know was alive at this time.


I tell you what, this family line has more tricky problems than anyone else! I've just sent away for another marriage certificate which I think is Henry's daughter marrying - only she's listed as 'Jones'!  She was just 16 years old, so I suspect it was a case of parental non-approval - yet her brothers and sisters are living with her and her husband in 1891!