many Thomas Grahams

[Rowanjay]

Has anyone got a fix on a Thomas Graham from irthington?  There seems to be a zillion or three Tom Grahams in the area at that time and I have not yet been able to single him out.
the only info I have is from census returns

in 1871 he is listed living in Haltwhistle.

He was born Irthington, c 1821  married 'Elizabeth' born Renwick c 1833, and had two sons, John (c 1861) and George (c 1868)

beyond that I ma a bit stuck

[GeoffP]

Hi

In 1881 He is stll at Haltswhistle

RG11/5109 F38 p2

Cropbank  Haltwhistle

Thomas Graham Head M 58 Farm Lab      b Irthington
Elizabeth   "        Wife  M  48                     b Renwick
John          "        son       20   Coal Miner   b Haltwhistle
George      "        son       13                                 "


There is a marriage of Thomas Graham with Elizabeth Hewitson Brampton 10b 667
Dec 1865  Irthington is in Parish of Brampton.

You might need to get the marriage cert to identify his father.

                                                         Regards
                                                                          Geoff

[GeoffP]

A possibility for 1851 would be

HO107/F2427 F 396 p2
Croft House Newton Cumberland

Francis Graham Head M 68 Cooper                   b Kirklinton
Eleanor     "        Wife M 67                                b Bewcastle
Thomas     "        son   U 26                                b Irthington

Without some cross reference it is just speculation

                                                                     Regards
                                                                                Geoff

[Rowanjay]

Hi Geoff

Thanks for that. Not one I had come across. Though I had also found these:

Marriages 1860                  
Graham    Thomas         Brampton    10b   4[17]9   
Graham    Thomas         Whitehaven             10b   819   
Graham    Thomas         Gateshead    10a   708   
Graham    Thomas         Brampton    10b   553   

all Tom Graham marrying an 'Elizabeth'.  There were a lot of them about - hence my problem. Choices, choices!

But much obliged for that new one. I will look a bit further

BB
J

[Rowanjay]

that 1851 looks promising - not living there it hard to decide which villages would be close enough to try.
I came up with this one a while back:

1841 census
Name:   Margaret Graham
Age:   60 Estimated birth year:   abt 1781
Where born: Irthington, Cumberland, England

Name:   Thomas Graham
Age:   20 Estimated birth year:abt 1821
Where born:Cumberland, England

Name:   James Graham
Age:   15 Estimated birth year:   abt 1826
Where born:Cumberland, England

Name:   Mary Graham
Age:   15 Estimated birth year:   abt 1826
Where born:   Cumberland, England

but not sure at all.

Tricky ... I think I need to get a birth cert for one of the sons and pinpoint the wife's maiden name.

Darn it, trying to do this on a tight budget - but sometimes we just have to shell out
BB
J

[GeoffP]

The 2 Thomas Graham married in Brampton 1860 would make more sense as first child born in 1861. No easy way except getting the certs.
                                        Regards
                                                     Geoff
ps Just saw your last posting. Afraid that is probably the only possibility.

[Rowanjay]

The other possibility is a previous marriage, I have found baptisms mentioned for:
parents: Thomas Graham, Elizabeth Graham:
christenings of:
Thomas 6 jun 1840
Frances 26 sept 1841
Isabella 13 july 1845
Mary ann 14 jun 1846
John 19 july 1860
George 1 oct 1867


Now the gap in ages do coincide with Census records putting Thomas in Haltwhistle...
It is possible he had a previous wife named Elizabeth and lost her and the elder children through illness? 
Or there was a divorce - I have several in another family branch at that time so not as uncommon as people think.

eeek! the more I look the more trails I find.

The relocation theory would fit Thomas time wise - but I doubt Liz was 7 when she had her first child! Not the same woman, methinks!

Thus, either:
a)  Liz lied about her age
b) there werre two wives - both called Elizabeth
c/  there are two parent couples of the same name (the most likely scenario?)

all comes down to getting that birth cert ...  at least in the first instance. After that I am still wading ina  quagmire of Thomases
BB
J

[GeoffP]

This 1841 Census seems to correspond with my 1851 look-up

HO107/169 Book 18

Croft House Newton

Thomas Graham  15    Cooper
Eleanor       "        55

Both born in county

                                            Regards
                                                        Geoff

[Rowanjay]

Thanks for all the above, Geoff - I will let you know if I get any more info either way