I'm trying to help my niece's partner with his family tree but have hit the proverbial brick wall far too soon. Will list all the information I have.
James Wilder, 22, mariner, son of James Wilder, bootmaker (deceased) married Elizabeth Douglass in the register office at Newcastle upon Tyne on 330/7/1885. The witnesses were Ralph Douglass (brides brother) and Thomas K. Munro. (The Douglass line has proved no problem)
I believe he was just a lodger but don't have the exact address from my informant so have just e-mailed them for this.
I couldn't find him on the 1881 census but as he was a mariner wasn't too concerned as he may well have been at sea. In 1891 (RG12 4185 92 17) the family were in Gateshead but he is shown as 'Joseph', age 26, and is a Coal Miner. In 1901 (RG13 4760 138 28) the family are still in Gateshead and this time he is James, 28, and a bricklayers labourer. On both census' he is shown as being born in Carlisle, Cumberland. This, and his death, indicate a birth date of ca.1863.
Now the problems begin. There is no birth entry (and I've checked original indexes as well as FreeBMD) for a James Wilder nor indeed any Wilder in Carlisle, or even in the whole of Cumberland. Likewise, there are no marriages or deaths either! The IGI shows a marriage some 25 years earlier but this is not shown in marriage index so maybe a mistake. There are no Wilders living in the whole of Cumberland on any census and the ones that appear in Newcastle turned out to be Wilde's not Wilder. Have checked Scottish records too since Carlisle is so close to the border but nothing there. There was one family in Glasgow but they had their own James born later.
Whether a red herring or not I don't know but I've been told by the family that they think the family originated in Austria and may have anglicised their name (??) Whether fact or something they've just picked up on I don't know. Bearing that in mind have explored this angle too but nothing seems to fit. In 1891 the Census shows a Lazarus Wilder bc.1866 in Brodz, Austria and in 1901 there's an Abraham Sam Wilder and family in Bradford and he was born Austria. No trace of them before these dates in UK records.
There was no James Wilder, bootmaker on any census and no likely death between the younger James bc.1863 and 1885 when he married. Have followed all the Wilder's listed in other parts of the country and no tie up with them. In 1901 the census index shows a newly married Edward Wilder born in Carlisle who was in the Navy but having traced this line back this was clearly a mistake as he was actually born in Portsea and again no tie in with our mysterious James.
The witness Thomas K Munro has been searched for too in case a family connection there. The only one I can find is a Thomas Kirkpatrick Munro bc.1866 in Arbroath, Angus who was a similar age to James Wilder but can find no family link between them.
So, we have a James Wilder supposedly born circa 1863 in Carlisle, Cumberland (son of another James Wilder, bootmaker who was deceased by 1885) - with a possible connection to Austria - of whom there is no trace prior to his marriage in 1885. Is any of this information correct? Have checked all kind of spelling variations but can find no trace of him anywhere. Before I give up completely thought I'd run this by the clever folk on this site who seem to be able to break down other peoples brick walls. Alas, the realist in me makes me far from optimistic.
Annette7
