Not sure where to go next- COMPLETED WITH THANKS

[sueky71]

Hi,
I'm trying to find more information on William Cotton's parents.
William Cotton married Eleanor Barker, 30 Jan 1848, Manchester Catherdral.
William gives his age as 28 (meaning a DOB of c1820) and his father is named as William Cotton, deceased.
My problem is the 1841 census.
I've found a William Cotton aged 21, living in Manchester, along with a William Cotton aged 64 and a Catherine Cotton aged 61.
William (jr) is born in county, William (snr) is not born in county and Catherine is born in Ireland.
As the census doesn't give relationships, I'm not sure whether this couple are William's parents or grandparents.
If William's age of 64 is correct, that would give him a DOB of c1777.
On IGI there is a marriage of William Cotton and Catherine Bridget Slater, 1800, Manchester Catherdral.
But if this is my couple marrying in 1800, then surely they wouldn't have waited 20 years before having a child?
I thought he may be a grandchild, but can find no record (on IGI) of any children being born to William and Catherine
I'm at a loss as to where to go next.
Any suggestions much appreciated.
Thanks

[trish251]

Hi Sueky

It is possible that William Jnr is the son - Catherine would have been 40-44 when she had the child. We sometimes hear of more recent marriages where couples try for years to get pregnant without success, then unexpectedly  find themselves pregnant after deciding it would not happen 

If you can find the deaths of William Snr & Catherine there could be a couple of possibilities for finding a relationship - After one of the couple died, is it possible the other went to live with son William -  find on census?  - or the death certificate for either may have William Jnr as the informant - hopefully with a relationship given.

Trish

[sillgen]

 Who were the witnesses on the marriage certificate?   They are often relatives.  What about the names of any children born to Eleanor and William?  Do they show any pattern of being named after Eleanor's parents for instance?
I am sure you are aware that the IGI is not full coverage by any means so there may well be many other Cotton family entries in churches not covered by it.
Can you quote a later census record for William and Eleanor?   
Andrea

[sueky71]

Hi Trish,
I can't find William Snr or Catherine after the 1841 census, and as William Jr lists his father as deceased when he marries in 1848, I think it's likely that both of his parents had died.
I've got William Jnr and his wife Eleanor on the 1851/61 & 71 census', neither William Snr or Catherine are with them.
Getting their death certs will be my next move.
Thanks

Hi Andrea,
The witnesses on William and Eleanor marriage cert are Elizabeth Britcliffe and William Hughes - no obvious connection, but still worth checking out.
William and Eleanor only had one child, Charles Cotton (born 1848, Pendleton, Manchester) but, like their marriage witnesses, no obvious family connection (Eleanor's parents were Peter and Elizabeth)
Although on Charles' marriage and death cert he's named Charles Claudius Cotton (no idea where he's got Claudius from, its never been repeated in the family)
Again, something worth checking out.
Thanks

Interestingly though I spoke to a cousin yesterday and she went through an old box of 'rubbish' in her attic and found a receipt for a watch that Charles bought in Staffordshire in 1889 that cost £7 (Am I right in thinking that would have been expensive then?) and also a small card (about the size of a business card) dated 1873, containing the death/funeral details of a Frederick Cotton of Hole House Farm,  Alsager.
So it looks like I've got plenty to be getting on with.
Thanks to you both for your input.
Sue

[avm228]

With Catherine's Irish origin, I'm wondering whether she was Catholic, in which case the couple might have had their children baptised into the Catholic faith.  If so the baptisms would not feature on IGI, since IGI indexes virtually no Catholic records at all.

Bear in mind that between 1754 and 1837 Catholics had to marry in an Anglican ceremony, even if they immediately afterwards went on to have a ceremony by a Catholic priest (the latter ceremony would have had religious effect but no legal effect).  So the fact that William and Catherine married in Manchester Cathedral in 1800 does not mean that either or both of them were members of the Church of England.   

William might not have been their first child - he could have been the youngest of many!

Anna

[sueky71]

Thanks Anna,
Any ideas on how to find Catholic Baptisms?
Would I need to know a specific parish/area first?
Sue

[avm228]

Sue,

I'm afraid I have no idea at all about Catholic family history research, but you may obtain some assistance from the Catholic Family History Society:

http://www.catholic-history.org.uk/cfhs/

Hope that helps

Anna

[sueky71]

Thanks for the link