Sarah Hewitt Workington

[Sarah64]

I'm trying to find information on Sarah Hewitt my grandmother. From her passport application for the US she was born in Workington on Oct 7, 1883 but other records show her birth year anywhere from 1881 to 1885. She has her father listed as Robert who was also born in Workington. I think her mother's name was Mary Mays - not sure of the spelling. She had a sister Agnes who married Charles Dancer and lived at PennyBridge, they drowned while crossing the river in a storm. And a brother George R that emigrated to Canada.
There is no marriage record of Robert and Mary but they did marry in Gretna Green.
Sarah married Patrick McKenna in Carlisle on July 22 1904. I have records of them in the US but cannot find anything in any of the census here in the UK. There is a family listed in the 1881 census but lists her birth year as 1879,which could be her since after her second marriage when Patrick died she put her birth as 1885.
Any help sure would be appreciated!!
Thanks you
Sarah

[Geoff-E]

1891 census has
1 South William Street, Workington
Robert HEWETT 38 Labourer, Brampton
Mary 33 Stoklewarth
Sarah 13 Dalston
Mary Agnes 11 Crosby
George Robert 7 Workington
John 4 Workington
Henry Marrs (HEWETT) 2 Workington
Annie Gladys DIXON (nurse child) 9m Lancs Birkenhead

Births Dec 1877 
HEWITT    Sarah         Carlisle    10b   502

Marriage was not at Gretna
Marriages Jun 1877
HEWITT    Robert         Carlisle    10b   694   
MARRS    Mary         Carlisle    10b   694

I've never heard of the place, but it's here http://www.streetmap.co.uk/map.srf?X=338690&Y=545000&A=Y&Z=120

[*Sandra*]

Robert was the son of Isabella Hewitt (unmarried) and with his grandparents Geroge and Agnes Hewitt in 1861 at Bleatarn. George farmer of 73 acres.

George Hewitt 61 Brampton
Agness Hewitt 56 Brampton
Georgina Hewitt 19 Brampton
George Hewitt 16 Bramton
Robert Hewitt 8 Brampton

Sandra

[Geoff-E]

Robert was the son of Isabella Hewitt (unmarried) ...

 ... or was he? http://tinyurl.com/ygb49mt http://tinyurl.com/yjjnxxu

Doh! 10 years too late 

[*Sandra*]

Sorry Geoff - did'nt mean to step on your toes.

Sandra

[Geoff-E]

Sorry Geoff - did'nt mean to step on your toes.

Not at all Sandra - everything's free for all in my opinion

I had found the wrong Robert HEWETT 10 years too late (well 9 years).

[Sarah64]

Thanks for the quick replies!!!
Geof I do keep looking at the Robert Hewitt you found but Sarah was born in Workington,  and the spelling is off- which I knw doesn't mean anything. I have an address that her father lived at in 1923, 94 Corporation Rd. most of the names match up to the ones I've heard. I did go ahead and order the birth certificate for the 1877 date  and one for 1880 that I found- gma seems to have had quite a few different years in which she was born and 1877 would have made her about 40 when she had my mother. Her parents were married in Gretna Green, I found a second cousin who went to England a few years ago and met a lot of the family and confirmed the stories were true- some still live in Penny bridge. But thank you for the trouble of looking this up.

Sandra, thank  you. I will have to check this out. I think I have seen this information before but the Brampton threw me off. Over here we don't have the different parishes and/or interchange town names. I have seen where Gma is listed as being born in Carlisle or Workington. The names, also are in the family. Robert, George and George Robert. There's even a Robert called Stanley- have no idea how that happened and neither did my mom!:)
Thank you both again!!
Sarah

[Geoff-E]

Geof I do keep looking at the Robert Hewitt you found but Sarah was born in Workington,  and the spelling is off- which I knw doesn't mean anything. I have an address that her father lived at in 1923, 94 Corporation Rd. most of the names match up to the ones I've heard. I did go ahead and order the birth certificate for the 1877 date  and one for 1880 that I found- gma seems to have had quite a few different years in which she was born and 1877 would have made her about 40 when she had my mother. Her parents were married in Gretna Green, I found a second cousin who went to England a few years ago and met a lot of the family and confirmed the stories were true- some still live in Penny bridge. But thank you for the trouble of looking this up.

You have information that Sarah thought she was born in Workington.  The birthplace of brother George shows that she was living in Workington by the time she was aged 6 - possibly sooner.  She need not have known exactly where she was born.

There is little doubt that in the family I found in 1891 the mother's maiden name was MARRS - the son's middle name surely confirms this.  I would have thought the name MARRS was close enough to MAYS to make it a possibility.

There were two (and only two) HEWITTs with forename Robert in Workington according to the 1911 census index  one was aged 57 and born in Brampton the other was George Robert born in Workington.  Surely the ones I had found in 1891.

Unless you can find evidence, a family story that her parents married in Gretna remains just that - a story.  I can't find the marriage here http://www.achievements.co.uk/services/gretna/index.php

You can dismiss this family totally.  The father Robert, the sister (Mary) Agnes, the brother George Robert, Mary MARRS instead of Mary MAYS.  Then you have to try and find another Robert HEWITT with children called Agnes, Sarah, George Robert who lived in Workington.  There were several Mary MARRS in Cumberland but not a single Mary MAYS.

It all boils down to a balance of probabilities.

There were lots of siblings for Sarah in 1901
Sarah 23, Mary Agnes 21, George R 17, John 14, Henry M 12, Ann B 9, Emily M 4, Mabel under 1month.

[Sarah64]

Geof, Believe me I have gone all through this deducing myself  this, too   . But I couldn't find anything in the 1911 census. I'm going to try and find out when her brother emigrated and that should tell me about the one you found. Her brother George whom I found in Canada also states they were born in Workington but then some papers show Carlisle. And since dear gmama has so many birth years it's hard to pin down. The second cousin I found here has talked with the relatives  in England and confirmed the marriage but I can't find evidence either.
The Mary Mays the 2nd cousin mentioned  isn't sure of the spelling and could be Marrs, she is depending on memory. I have sent for both birth records 1877 and 1880 and will have to wait.
I will go back and try to follow some of those leads. What's even adding to frustration is there is nothing on Gpa until they sailed for Canada and then all the stories I heard about my dad were not true! Even his age which was 5 years older then we thought!!And both sides changes the spelling of their names. Sure would be easy if everyone wrote things down and not fib about age!:)
Having it put down in black and white like this makes it easier to figure out- my notes are all over the place, I need to be more organized!
thank you again!!!!