Marriage of John Leonard and Susannah Wright

[Nigel Porter]

Hello,  I have found my GG Grandmother on the 1871 census living in London with John Leonard and their 4 daughters, Anna, Jane, Mary A and Louisa.  She is listed as his wife and I have her death cert which also shows her as his wife.  Although this is not proof that they did marry I would like to find a marriage record if possible.  I know she was single in 1861, so any marriage took place between then and 1871 and I've looked through Ancestry, The genealogist, FreeBMD, etc with no joy.  There is one potential marriage from the December Q 1865 for Susannah Wright ref. Marylebone 1a 1036, but I can't find a matching groom?  I can also not find any record of the children's baptisms.

Can anyone help or give me fresh suggestions please?

[CaroleW]

A Susannah Wright married a Henry Chesworth on 8.10.1865 and the reference you give above appears against his name on freebmd so it's the wrong marriage

[Nigel Porter]

Thanks, yes just saw it and that's another one ticked off the list, unfortunately.

[CaroleW]

Susannah Wright in 1861 was b 1834 Helpringham Lincs

Susannah Leonard 1871 was b 1839 Helpringham

As John Leonard was only b 1840 - she appears to have knocked a few years off her age

[LizzieW]

No-one can find a marriage cert for my g.grandparents, but on g.grandmother's death certificate, g.grandfather is quoted as "widower of deceased".

So I guess your g.g.grandparents weren't married.  Who would know?  They had moved away from Lincolnshire to London.

Lizzie

ps.  And like your g.g.gran, my g.gran knocked years  off her age on census after getting together with g.grandad who was much younger than her. She actually knocked 13 years off  but she didn't fool him though, he gave her correct age on her death certificate.

[Nigel Porter]

Thanks for the interest so far and the facts I have about Susannah are that she was born Susannah Asher in Helpringham, Lincs on 27th March 1838 (so incorrect birth date on both 1861 and 1871 censuses!) and she married William Wright in Swaton, Lincs on May 15th 1856.  Unfortunately he died in 1857, but she did have a child, by a mystery father, called John Asher Wright who was born 2nd April 1860.  He is my G Grandfather.  In 1861 I think I've got her as a servant in Lincolnshire and then at some stage she moves to London.  Other members of her family are living in the St Pancras and Islington area in the mid 1860's, so this is very likely.  She meets John Leonard, has four daughters and I think she dies in 1872 of smallpox.  I've found two of the girls in 1881, with Mary Ann Leonard living with Susannah's sister in Heckington, confirming the link with Susannah as she's listed as niece.  I think Louisa, another daughter died in 1877 in Heckington.

Anyone researching the Leonard family care to chip in?

[katherine]

I found 4 baptisms at St Luke, West Holloway, Islington on April 20 1870
Hannah Maria
Amelia Jane
Mary Ann
Louisa

father John, Labourer 17 Balmoral Grove
mother Jane

think they might be your 4 children from 1871?  Unfortunately the birth dates are not recorded on the register.

The associated FreeBMD listings seem to be
Annie Maria Jun 1864 Islington 1 b 334
Amelia J Jun 1866 1 b 190
Mary Ann Mar 1868 1 b 264
Louisa Dec 1869 1 b 216

Hope this helps

K.

[CaroleW]

So mother Jane - not Susannah

One of the childs birth certs could be useful as it would show her maiden name

[Nigel Porter]

Thanks again for the replies and I think I'll have to order a birth cert to see if Jane is really Susannah!  Susannah has not used any other names before and it's not on her birth cert, so it seems unlikely.  The only alternative I can think of is that Jane was the biological mother and she died in 1870, hence the baptism of all 4 daughters at once and that Susannah moved in before the 1871 census?  I have an earlier relative, with several children, who remarried with what we would consider undue haste (i.e. two months), but I suppose things were alot more practical then and the children needed looking after and women had little support outside of marriage.  I'll keep looking and as usual any help gratefully received.