Elizabeth Coton

[mgeneas]

Was there a child born after civil registration started?
A birth certificate should indicate whether Elizabeth had been married before, eg
Elizabeth VINES formerly COT(T)ON late SMITH

[Milliepede]

Well that's interesting the newspaper item Mrs Colton.

Soooooo if we could find a marriage pre 1831 between a Mr Colton and an Elizabeth with death of said Mr Colton prior to 1831 possibly in the Kilby area = 

[Bunnygirl]

Hi
I have found a record of their marriage on
Leicester St Mary's 21 Feb 1831
Charles Vines of this parish Bachelor
            &
Elizabeth Coton of this parish Spinster
Marriage by Banns

Would be worth getting Records Office to check this out for you.

Hope this helps

Regards
Bunnygirl 

[willsy]

It says

Leicester, St. Mary   21-Feb   1831   Banns   
Charles   Vines   OTP      Bach      
Elizabeth   Coton   OTP      Spin

ooh sorry doubled up

[TonyV]

Again thank you everyone for all your advice and information. The brain is ageing but I seem to recall going round that hoop before i.e. the name in the paper suggesting an earlier marriage but its contradiction by the register entry that confirms the surname Coton. I am inclined to disbelieve the newspaper name. I certainly appreciate the different sources of the St. Mary's record which nevertheless confirm the entry on FamilySearch.

It seems that "OTP" in this case only means that they lived there prior to getting married because Charles had moved from Northants and by her own admission Elizabeth also came from outside the city, albeit she may not have been born in Kilby if the PR transcriptions are complete and correct (and I have no reason to believe otherwise). So at this stage non the wiser.

I followed up Diddy's mention of Kilsby in Northants and there are indeed Cottons there but they are all quite a few years after Elizabeth was born and there is no record of her birth. Also I checked the two censuses and in each case the enumerator has written Kilby, Leicestershire, so he at least thought that this was what he had been told by Charles and later Elizabeth after Charles died.

She is a very elusive woman. Incidentally I haven't given up on the 'married before' idea Milliepede because by one record she would have been 31 when she married Charles; plenty of time to bury a first husband!

Cheers
Tony

[TonyV]

Sorry I forgot to reply to the point made by mgeneas. Yes there were children born after 1837 but I don't have their birth certificates. So that's my next expense. Thank you and why didn't I think of that before?

Tony

[TonyV]

I now have the birth certificate for one of Charles Vines and Elizabeth's son, Joseph born 1840 in Leicester (St Nicholas' Parish). The writing is very florid but it appears to say 'Elizabeth Vines formerly Deacon' so if true I do not understand why at her marriage she was called Coton (as spelt).

I have the records for Kilby, Leicestershire where she said she was born and while there are some Deacons (there were no Cotons) there is no sign of Elizabeth Deacon.

It is also clear from census records that the nearby village of Fleckney was home to many Deacons, presumably related to each other, so her claim to be a Deacon is certainly feasible but whether by 1st marriage or birth is not yet clear.

So mgeneas' idea was a good one - thank you again - but I am left even more confused.

[Milliepede]

Hmmm well that's intriguing isn't it.

Could be something simple like she was born a Deacon to married or unmarried parents then her mother married a Coton and she used both names.

Or even more simple the names do sound kind of similar when spoken aloud so maybe someone misheard and wrote it down wrong 

[TonyV]

Yes Milliepede I agree and I've started to look for different answers but so far without further clues as to her family. Maybe I'm not destined to take this line back any farther.