Thanks guys.
JM, you are almost right..it was the grandfather of Muriel Annie who used the aliases (ie the William Smith/Charrington) ...am not sure whether she had much to do with him but if we were right then he lived out most of his life in Qld , while the SMITHs (William & Eliza & family) lived in Parramatta, NSW. She would have heard about the use of his aliases though no doubt.
Yes, Edward & Muriel did move back to NSW & I have the details of all of their children (in depth) including the drowning deaths of 2 of their children at Dunedoo. My mother grew up with her grandparents (who took her away from her parents).
Neil, yes I do have the birth certificate of Mary A Smith born in 1868 to William & Eliza SMITH (Eliza's mother, Mrs COOPER & Grandmother, Mrs HOWLETT are listed as witnesses)...NOT the Eliza nee GROVES. But thanks for this. Definitely Eliza COOPER.
Sue, yes I did order a marriage certificate but what I received was a copy taken from an original page where there are several marriages listed (attached). Info as follows
Groom Edward Imlay Aiken (company manager) Divorcee, June 1893,,,address Federal ? Palace, Melbourne, VIC , Usual address Sydney, parents...Unknown Aiken (naval officer) & Sophia Atkins..
Bride Elizabeth Mary Annie Muriel STANLEY (Domestic duties) address Melbourne Usual address Sydney,,parents Charles STANLEY (Publican) & Emma FIELDHOUSE
Date of marriage..17th June, 1895.
No info from the witnesses ...these appear to be registry office witnesses...Caroline Roswell & Harry Hanslow...same witnesses at other marriage...not people who I recognise (& I'm familiar with all of Edward's & Muriel Annie's siblings & their partners..and children).
I forgot to mention that my mother has helped me with the names of siblings of Muriel Annie, including their partners, children, legitimate & otherwise. It looks like she is who she claims to be, ie Mary Ann SMITH ..the birthday she celebrated was the birthday on the birth certificate of Mary Ann Smith. My question is...WHY did she use THIS alias (ie the Stanley one) & why did she have to use an alias at all, when her sisters had children out of wedlock? I am completely baffled by this woman who was quite beautiful in her younger days, who looked like from the photos take of her that she had never worked in her life, when she came from a very poor family & supposedly being the oldest would have been scrubbing floors from a young age & helping raise the growing family (particularly if the father worked away from home (stockman) in her younger days. There's something that just doesn't gel here. My mother knew her sisters (Mum's aunts) who visited frequently. What i'm asking is..does any one have any ideas why she would have used this particular alias & WHY would she continue with the charade for years after the birth of her first 2 children. Was marrying a divorcee so horrendous in those days?? Her husband was older but from what I've read, many women married older men & vice versa. Edward's family had a higher social status than Murie'ls (SMITHS) so it is possible that she lied to him about who she was, or lied for the benefit of his extended family. I thought that she may have actually been the illegitimate daughter of the STANLEYS or at least Emma (nee Fieldhouse) & I did order the birth certificate of a ROSA Stanley born to an Emma Stanley & an unknown father in 1869, but the mother & place of birth of this Emma Stanley were different from the other Emma.
Hope that I've answered your questions. Please get back to me if I haven't.
Cheers
Deb
