Changing names

[Cazza47]

I am researching McQuiggan family living in Wigton. In particular Sarah Jane who was born around 1886 in Wigton and lived with her parents Robert McQuiggan and Catherine Howe. In the 1891 census they are all present, in the 1901 census Robert is not present. In the 1911 census Catherine is living in Wigton in Reeds Lane with her family including two married daughters including Sarah Jane but are now calling themselves Wiggins. The two married daughters still have the name Wiggins!! Also I am fairly sure Sarah Jane Wiggins married Henry Jubilee Barton and is living with him and their children in Aspatria.
This is puzzling me, could the two Sarah Jane's be the same person and be on both 1911 census's? Could you just change your name quite easily then?
Carol

[danuslave]

Hi Carol

You have always been able to call yourself anything you like, as long as it is not for fraudulent purposes!

It's just more tricky now because of the prevelance of identity theft

Plus, there has always been a problem with the spelling of names, especially when many people were illiterate and didn't know that a mistake had been made.

Add in transcription errors, and you can understand why many of us have ancestors whose names never appear the same twice   

Obviously you need to check carefully that you really are dealing with the same family 

Linda

[danuslave]

People do appear twice on a census.  Remember, it's a record of where someone was on a particular night, not where they usually lived (at least until the UK 2011)

So if a husband filled in the return a few days before the census, expecting his wife to be at home, and then she gets called to look after her mother, he may not remember to cross her off his return and she could be shown in Mother's household as well   

Linda

[Cazza47]

Thank you both.
Carol

[Johndocker]

Hello carol

I read your message about changing names. I was researching my family in aspatria. Barton family is from my father side. My father's grandfather is Benjamin Barton. Ben got 7 brothers - Fred, Tom, Henry jubliee, Albert, James, Albert, John Joseph and ersnet and a sister called Sarah.

Henry jubliee married to Sarah Jane wiggins and got children. Henry passed away in 1960. Is she actually got different surname before wiggins? Can you please give me some details as I m trying to digging up deeper in Barton family.

Are you coming from Sarah Jane wiggins family or?

Regards

John Docker

[ThrelfallYorky]

If you think about it, "Wiggins" and "Quiggins" do sound very similar, and if simply spoken to the enumerator could end up being written as either. Try on other censuses for both. I've had Anderson as Henderson, Robert as Herbert, Isherwood as Sherwood, ... there's plenty more. People are fallible, and many enumerators never knew how eagerly we would peruse their work in later years!

[Cazza47]

I was researching that family for a friend, I will have a look in my paperwork (not tidy, might take some finding!!) and see what I have. Will get back to you in a day or two.
Carol

[Johndocker]

Thank you.. Much appricate

John docker

[Cazza47]

Hi John.
Had a look at my notes for this family, am still as puzzled as I was then, Henry Jubilee Barton married Sarah Jane Wiggins who I am fairly sure is actually Sarah Jane McQuiggan. The McQuiggan family originated in Ireland with Sarah's great grandfather Henry, I never really got to the bottom of this little mystery!!
If you tell me what you would like to find out I will see what I can do.
Carol