Hi!
Many thanks for the replies. I guess I should clarify the state of the family after Mary Ann and John married, apologies for not doing so earlier.
On the Marriage certificate the two whitenesses are William and Elizabeth Rod, both marked. The bride and groom look like they signed *but* the script is identical and looks the same as the rest of the document. So that's a bit odd.
Anyway. They lived in Horsel, Surrey. . In 1871 I have them in Twickenham Row with a son John and Daughter Ada. So this is the family that Suzard found. In 1881 they are in Cheapside Horsell, with 5 additional children ( Amelia, Stephen, Arthur, William and Fredrick) and in 1891 a new child, Ruth. Again these look like the ones that Suzard has. I don't have the 1901 census, but Mary's birth place is Truro in 1891, Trim in 1881 and might be Myrther (it's difficult to read on my copy) in 1871.
I confess that I do not know Cornwall at all well so do not know how each of the above parishes relate to each other, or even if they are parishes.
The Marrage was on Sept 30 1867 and Mary Ann states that she is 22, giving a birth date of around 1845. She's consitant in the census as well, 46 in 1891, 35 in 1881 and 25 in 1871.
There are family tales of a 'Betsy' being illegitimate and being born in Cornwall but at present I can't tie this to Mary Ann. Sadly I do not know if Mary is a 1st, 2nd or subsequent child but calling the daughter after the mother was common then so the Mary in Merther could be her mother (particularly as *her* mother is Ann). The problem is that if she is then Mary Ann would be illegitimate as if the elder Mary married she would no-longer be a Hocking (?)
According to free bmd there are 6 Mary/Mary Ann hockings born around 1845, and most of them are in Redruth. Not sure of the unnamed entries, how can I trace them?
Births Jun 1844
Hocking Mary Truro
Hocking Mary Ann Redruth
Births Sep 1845
Hocking Mary Ann Redruth
Births Mar 1846
Hocking Mary Ann Redruth
Births Sep 1846
Hocking Mary Ann Penzance
Hocking Mary Ann Redruth
My problem is that I have tried 2 of these and neither have fathers called John. So I would expect quite a few 4-6 year olds in the 1851 census. Unfortunately I don't have access to Ancestry so can only check by visiting the family records centre in London, till it closes that is!
I guess that the way forward would be to check all the 4-6 year old Hockings in Cornwall and try to find a match. The of course assumes that they are in Cornwall and have not moved, that John is still around, that Mary Ann hasn't been adopted (I've got adopted ancestors on other branches) and so on. Any other pointers/ ideas would be gratefully received!
J
