frederick & john thomas birch

[CaroleW]

I think she could be the 1901 entry married to Thomas Myers.  Sister in law also Ellen Myers was the same age but married Robert Bolton in 1903

[RendLill]

I think she could be the 1901 entry married to Thomas Myers.  Sister in law also Ellen Myers was the same age but married Robert Bolton in 1903

Did you mean the 1901 Census?
I've got her living still with Thomas Birch, core moulder, and children Annie, Frederick, Nellie and Alice in Wigan then in 1901.
The non-husband was a John Myers, Coal Miner, of 79 Leach Lane, St Helen's from her death certificate.
But these Myers you have found might be linked...

[RendLill]

Probably no link, but fell over an Ellen Myers (56) buried Jan 1910 in Ince cemetery Wigan, an RC burial.....?

Thanks, that's interesting. RC, area and date all sound right but she was about 45 at death (and apparently living as a 35 year old with the John Myers that she went off with).

Where did you find the record - or did you literally fall over her grave?
I was wandering around our local old graveyard trying to do a bit of photographing for the common genealogy good earlier in the year - and near-falling somewhat.

[CaroleW]

My reply was in response to the above reply - not your Ellen

Probably no link, but fell over an Ellen Myers (56) buried Jan 1910 in Ince cemetery Wigan, an RC burial.....?

I think she could be the 1901 entry married to Thomas Myers.  Sister in law also Ellen Myers was the same age but married Robert Bolton in 1903

[RendLill]

My reply was in response to the above reply - not your Ellen

Probably no link, but fell over an Ellen Myers (56) buried Jan 1910 in Ince cemetery Wigan, an RC burial.....?

I think she could be the 1901 entry married to Thomas Myers.  Sister in law also Ellen Myers was the same age but married Robert Bolton in 1903

Couple of months ago - and treating myself to a month's membership of Find My Past and its excellent newspaper archive - I found the larger story of my great grandmother Ellen Hart and why her death certificate had to be corrected by her husband John Thomas Birch (and so was so hard to find).
It was the 'Wigan Elopement Sequel', court case recounted in local newspaper. Basically, Ellen had gone off with a neighbour, collier John Myers who had then fraudulently reported her death as his wife (10 years younger) as a life insurance fraud from which he made a mere £12. Husband found out after her burial, not having seen her for 14 months.

Doesn't really clear up why she left husband and children - husband sounded a better bet than the 'other man' -  but clue may have been that she was already ill (husband could identify her from doctors description of longstanding large lump on eye). Still, that's more detail than has ever been passed down in the family...

PS: I'm finding the newspapers fascinating - and useful for finding out more about various other ancestors who for various reasons were covered by the press. Would recommend to anyone coming to a dead end with Census and parish records. More detail too.