Hi!
Somehow I just knew when I found out I had an ancestor
called Cornelius Spain he was going to be trouble and sure
enough he hasn't let me down!!
He married in Derbyshire in 1838, but was living in Edmund
Street, Exeter at the time of the 1851 Census with his wife
Elizabeth and their children. He was 35 years old and his
occupation was spectacle maker & lodging house keeper.
Thanks to Jaki, I've tracked down the family in the 1861
Census - living in the St Andrews area of Plymouth at the
Flora Buildings, King Street West. However, by this time
Elizabeth is described as a widow.
Therefore, I thought it would be easy to find details of
Cornelius' death as I only had 10 years of records to look
through. Wrong! I've looked through the Civil Registration
index of deaths between 1851 & 1861 but cannot find him
listed.
If anyone has any ideas about why this might be or if they
can find details of his death in the records for Exeter, Plymouth
or elsewhere in Devon I would love to hear from them.
Incidentally, on his daughter's marriage certificate from 1862
Cornelius was described as a traveller and it did not say he
was deceased (as it has done on some other certificates I've
seen) and on his wife's death certificate from 1877 it says
that she was the widow of Cornelius Spain - a draper....
Hoping someone can help....
Ju
