Somewhat separate to this is John W. Sc(h)rimshaw and William Scrimshaw.
I believe they are the illegitimate sons of an Elizabeth Scrimshaw. While I cannot find any record of her birth or baptism, I think she was Ann's older sister.
How I came to this conclusion:
There was a child called William Scrimshaw (William Wolsey Scrimshaw on his marriage certificate). From 1851 he is living with George and Charlotte Scrimshaw in Clenchwarton, Norfolk and he is stated as being their NEPHEW. He is also with them in 1861 (as nephew) - by 1871 he has married.
Now, George Scrimshaw had many siblings and I have the children of all of them. There is no William Scrimshaw that would match being George Scrimshaw's nephew. George and Charlotte had no children of their own.
It leads me to believe there is a missing sibling (of George's).
George Scrimshaw's parents were William Scrimshaw and Mary Marhbanks and they were married 9 Mar 1812 in Leverington, Cambs. They had the following children:
Robert b. 1814
Ann b. 1816
George b. 1817
Martha b. 1818
Harriet b. 1820
Frances b. 1822
Susanna b. 1825/6
Sarah Jane b. 1828
Rebecca b. 1830
Mary Maria b. 1831
Was there another child BEFORE Robert? They were married in March 1812, yet Robert wasn't born until the end of 1814 which leaves 2.5 years with no children. And Mary was very fertile, having 10 children, all fairly close together in age. Therefore, it is possible that they had a child in 1812 or 1813. There is no basptism recorded for such a child at Leverington which seems odd as all 14 of William's other children were baptised at St Leonard's (William had 4 children in a previous marriage). However, it could be possible that the baptism is elsewhere? There is no such baptism on the cfhs.org.uk index for Cambridgeshire so perhaps it was missed or occured in Lincolnshire or Norfolk.
There are 2 children substantiating this theory. One is John W. (Wolsey) Sc(h)rimshaw who was baptised in 1836, the illegitimate son of Elizabeth. Fitten End, Leverington. There is one Elizabeth Scrimshaw who didn't marry until 1839 BUT this Elizabeth IS married by 1841 whereas there is still an unaccounted for Elizabeth Scrimshaw in the 1841 census.
There is then William Wolsey Scrimshaw (from above) born in 1838 (see the BMD records) who went on to state his parents were John and Elizabeth (on his marriage certificate).
1841 Census
Leverington
Elizh Scrimshaw 20 School mistress Y
Sarah Jane Scrimshaw 12 Y
Harriet Scrimshaw 4 Y
William Scrimshaw 3 Y
Sarah Jane is the child of William & Mary as listed above. Harriet is the illegitimate child of Ann as mentioned in the previous post. And I think this is the William I have mentioned before. The other child, John, is in the house of William Scrimshaw and Mary (nee Marchbanks). WITH HIS GRANDPARENTS? The only odd thing is Elizabeth being a school mistress. An unmarried woman with two illegitimate children? It seems unlikely but perhaps it's a mistake.
An Elizabeth Scrimshaw died 14th Nov 1846 at Leverington aged 33 of Typhoid Fever. She was a dress maker - surely a married woman would not have had an occupation. The informant was Robert Scrimshaw, probably her brother, in attendence, Leverington. (Would make her birth year 1813).
John Wolsey Scrimshaw died in 1848 aged 12. So that links him back to the baptism of a John W. Scrimshaw being born illegitimately to Elizabeth in 1836. Surely it is one and the same!
William Wolsey Scrimshaw, in 1851, is with George & Charlotte Scrimshaw and he is recorded as being their NEPHEW. Therefore, it can be assumed that he is the child of one of George's siblings. However, he does not fit in with being any of these siblings which is why this begs the question of there being a missing sibling.
Yes, it could be that William's parents were a John Scrimshaw and an Elizabeth Wolsey but this just doesn't seem AS likely as the other possibility. It does not explain where this random Elizabeth Scrimshaw COMES FROM who has an illegitimate child or two. I have also fairly comprehensively researched all the Scrimshaws in the Leverington area and can link them all together yet there is no Elizabeth Scrimshaw anywhere that could tie to this one.
Thus, I believe that Elizabeth Scrimshaw is the first child of William Scrimshaw and Mary Marchbanks born in 1812 or 1813. Also, William's mother's name was Elizabeth.
Sorry this is so long. I hope you've been able to follow it. If you need any other information or have any questions, please let me know.
Regards,
Liz.
