What do you think this name is?

[lanercost]

I'd like others' opinions on the name of the bride's father. I've accepted it as Thomas Carter, but I've been unable to find any Thomas Carter (or similar name) with daughter Rosetta (Rose, Rosa) Carter either.

Because there's what appears to be an "ou", "on" or "au" in between Thomas and Carter, I'm not at all sure the name is Thomas.

I believe Rosetta was born in a workhouse to mother Eliza Carter (which I'd believed was her maiden name) in 1862, and there was no partner for Eliza in those nearby years, which confuses me more about this father's name (I was expecting a "father unknown" or one with a different surname).

Thanks for any help!

[aus*jen]

Could the bride's father be Thomson Carter?


Regards,
Jen.

[lanercost]

Could the bride's father be Thomson Carter?


Regards,
Jen.

Hi Jen, it may be, but using Ancestry I couldn't find any Thomson (or Thomason or Thompson) in the area (Fressingfield, Suffolk) for the time periods. But if other people agree, I might use the name instead of Thomas until I one day get to the bottom of this. Thanks.

[Ruskie]

I thought Thomson too before I read Jen's reply. 

Have you checked earlier generations/other Carter family to see if one of them is Thom(p)son? Perhaps Rosetta fibbed on her marriage certificate about her father - she may have borrowed the name of one of her other relatives. Thom(p)son is an unusual name to invent as a first name.
Alternatively the vicar may have asked what is the name of your father and she said "Thompson" meaning it was his surname, but the vicar assumed it was his first name. I have heard of similar scenarios.

[Ruskie]

Do you have Rosetta in the 1871 and 1881 censuses to see who she is with? Similar with her mother Eliza?

[Flattybasher9]

In the 1891 census, it states she was 26 and born in Fressingfield.

Regards

Malky

[Ruskie]

I have only had a quick look but can't easily spot Rosetta in 1871 or 1881 - have you had any success Malky?

[lanercost]

I thought Thomson too before I read Jen's reply. 

Have you checked earlier generations/other Carter family to see if one of them is Thom(p)son? Perhaps Rosetta fibbed on her marriage certificate about her father - she may have borrowed the name of one of her other relatives. Thom(p)son is an unusual name to invent as a first name.
Alternatively the vicar may have asked what is the name of your father and she said "Thompson" meaning it was his surname, but the vicar assumed it was his first name. I have heard of similar scenarios.

Thanks for that Ruskie, both scenarios I hadn't considered. I haven't found too much family before Rosetta (and what I do have I can't confirm yet) but there is no Thompson names/surnames about. I'll keep it in mind though, and your idea about her possibly meaning Thom(p)son as the surname as well.

Do you have Rosetta in the 1871 and 1881 censuses to see who she is with? Similar with her mother Eliza?

Yes I have them together at the workhouse in 1871 and in 1881 Rosetta is listed as a servant, so not much help there. I can't find Eliza in 1861 but I believe I have her mother and another child together (Eliza's mother being Harriet Corbyn (formerly Carter). This is just guess work though, based on other things).

In the 1891 census, it states she was 26 and born in Fressingfield.

Regards

Malky

Yes I know, but with the marriage being a few months before this, I believe the wedding age is correct as it goes with my 1871 and 1881 birth years. Also her age in 1901 was 34, so maybe husband Walter James Saunders didn't keep track of her age very well.

I've lost all sign of everyone except their child Stanley after 1901 (James Saunders in 1901), who ends up in Gravesend by 1911. This is the biggest family mystery I hope to solve, but that's for another time!

[Flattybasher9]

There is a Chelsea entry in 1871, Elizabeth Carter, 45, Alexander, 12, Rosetta, 11, and George 3. Can I take it that this is not them?


The 1901 states she was born in Upton, and they have a child Alfred (3).
The 1911 states the same, Alfred now being a Tailor and is 13 years old.

Regards

Malky