Surname change..... why?

[Maiden Stone]

Daniel's mental health may have been made worse by his time in prison. Enforced silence, solitary confinement and hard labour were features of prison regime introduced in 19th century.

[Maiden Stone]

Maiden Stone, to answer your earlier question, Daniel's marriage banns and wedding were both at the same church.

I'd wondered if it was a case of priests at 2 churches spelling/hearing/interpreting the name differently. Another Irish surname I researched had a different version in each parish in Lancashire.

[Vendee]

Hi Brigidmac, I agree that St Josephs Industrial School, which was a catholic institution, was a charitable rather than a reform school. Yes the Daniel who went to St Josephs was the one who went on to prison and then the Lancaster asylum.

Ironically, Daniels two oldest children (one of them my grandfather) ended up in a Lancashire Poor Law school when their father went to prison. When I see what my immediate ancestors went through, its sometimes surprising to actually be here 

[Maiden Stone]

Signatures of bridegroom, bride and witnesses on marriage certificate in reply #6 seem to me to be all written by the same person. Is this a copy from GRO? Are there any documents which Daniel definitely signed himself or on which he made his mark?

[Vendee]

Hi Maiden Stone, I downloaded the certificate via the Ancestry uk website. The credit is given to Manchester City Council.

I have thought about the handwriting before and I admit that I don't know the first thing about handwriting but I think I have to disagree with you. To my eye, the two witness signatures look to have been done by the same person but not the bride and groom. I think that Daniels signature looks rather elegant, especially for a "labourer". Look at the final "n" in Giverin and compare it with the final n Southern below. There is much more of a flourish in Daniels writing, assuming that it is his writing.

Perhaps he learned to write when he was at the catholic industrial school? Perhaps someone signed for him. Did this happen back then? I've been told by an older relative that Daniel used to write to his sons from Lancaster asylum. 

[Gone]

One name in my family was a nightmare to research when I did it about 10 years or so ago and still fairly new to it.
(Eliza and Thomas) Mcrea can be spelled in many ways (mcrea, McRae, Macrea etc).
The family moved from Scotland to London, then Southampton.
On the 1841 census it was spelled how I'd imagine someone in southern England would hear it pronounced by a Scot, McCree.
Their son died 1842 and his name wrongly transcribed on the index as McCrab. And when Eliza died, 60 years after her husband, his name was unknown by the person registering her death and had her as the wife of George.
Another line changed there name from Hulme to Holmes, Luke Hulme had a very unhappy and violent marriage. He divorced, met someone else, married again and had another family, although the 3 children are registered as Hulme, they were baptised as Holmes  and used that name from then on. My line from him and his first family still use Hulme.
Apart from those, I've found many records mis transcibed

[Jool]

Here are 2 newspaper articles reporting a theft by Daniel Gavin in 1887 which resulted in him being sent to an Industrial School.

[Jool]

And here's a report of the 1909 court case

[Millmoor]

Very good finds, Jool! (I did not think to look at papers outwith Lancashire  ).

Criminal records for Jessie Broadbent show that she had aliases too - surnames  Mitchell and Meredith and first name Cissie.

There also appears to be a W Yorks. Criminal Record for William Gavin It states he was sent to Market Weighton reformatory 25 Nov 1887( he is recorded there in 1891) after 14 days in Wakefield Prison. His pob is given as Sheffield.

I wonder if William Gavin  is the William Smith showing in Sheffield in 1881 with the Gavins as age 8 born Suffolk? In 1901 I think Daniel Gavin's sister, Mary Theresa is recorded as Theresa Gavin, a boarder in the home of William Smith 27, carter born Sheffield. Coincidence?

William