One of my ancestors was Frances Frecknall, and she had one son (presumably illegitimate): Henry Frecknall, baptised at Upton by Southwell, Notts in 1824. In the 1841 census, Frances was living with her parents (David & Ann Frecknall) in Southwell. However, I have not had any success tracing her after that date.
Frances was baptised in 1803 in Newark, Notts. As far as I can tell, she never married, however, in her father's will (dated 1841), it says she is "the Widow of the late Charles Johnson alias Steward". This has made it very very difficult to find her, because three surnames have to be checked every time. I don't know if Charles Johnson was the father of her illegitimate child, however in 1841 she was using her maiden name. Clearly Charles (whoever he was) had died before 1841.
Another mysterious thing to add is that when Frances's great granddaughter Emily Frecknall was baptised at Caunton, Notts. in 1888, her godparents were listed as Frances Frecknall, Elizabeth Frecknall, and Sarah Frecknall. The above Frances Frecknall is the only person of that name that I can find who is related to Emily, even checking through distant marriages. This might mean that Frances was still alive in 1888 (age ~85). However I would have thought it was strange to make your great grandmother a godmother - though I suppose it's possible.
Does anyone have any ideas at all of how to progress with this mysterious ancestor or her "husband" Charles??? Also, what do you think the most likely reason that Charles had an alias was?
Thanks,
Alexander
