Thomas Steele Illegitimate child of James Kenyon and Elizabeth Steel

[sirsimon]

Hello

Thomas Steele was born in 1866 illegitimately to James Kenyon and Elizabeth Steel, born a few years before their wedding. (Not entirely sure if James is the father, but he lives with James and is listed as step son)


He can be seen on the 1881 census

Head   John McAvoy   21
Wife   Elizabeth McAvoy   29
Step-son   Thomas Steel   15
Step-son   William Kenyon   10
Step-daughter   Ann Kenyon   9
Step-son   Robert Kenyon   6


And on the 1891 census

Head   John McVoy   30
Wife   Elizabeth McVoy   40
Daughter   Sarah McVoy   9
Son   Daniel McVoy   8
Daughter   L McVoy   5
Step-son   Thos Steele   25
Step-son   Robt Kenyson   16

He is not living with the family in the 1901 census. Looking at the death records for the area of Cockermouth, Thomas died aged 27 in 1894 due to unknown causes.

Did he marry and have children between 1891? Looking at the records, it seems doubtful. Also, is there any obituary detailing the cause of death? He was a coal miner, was he involved in an accident?

my thanks

[Craclyn]

If you think there may be a mining accident involved then the Durham Mining Museum website, www.dmm.org.uk would be a good place to start your search. It is not the easiest of sites to navigate but has a lot of useful information about mining in several northern counties.

[sirsimon]

Cant seem to find anything, though I did find an Tinnion ancestor whom died in a mining accident

[nanny jan]

Hi,

His death certificate will show the cause of death. Copies cost Ģ9.25 and can be ordered online from GRO:

http://www.gro.gov.uk/gro/content/certificates/


Nanny Jan

[sirsimon]

I know, I will get one when I have the money.

[Craclyn]

If you didnīt find him on dmm then you can probably rule out the mining accident idea. They have pretty good coverage. I have found all my mining fatalities there.

[sirsimon]

It's most likely illness

[Geoff-E]

(Not entirely sure if James is the father, but he lives with James and is listed as step son)

If listed as stepson it's unlikely that James was the father I would have thought.

[groom]

I was also wondering how you got to the conclusion that  James was his father. Like Geoff, I think if he was his father, Thomas's name would have been changed to Kenyon after his mother married. The fact that he is actually listed as stepson indicates to me that James wasn't the father.