I spent some time last night trying to figure out Walter Garth's family. Other than the 1841 census I am having trouble connecting him to my John Garth. Walter's marriage record states that his father (John) was a blacksmith, whereas my John Garth was a cotton weaver and shopkeeper. I had thought that maybe my John had a son named John but I can't find any baptisms that would seem reasonable. Plus, I'm not sure how likely it would be for someone to go from being a cotton weaver to blacksmith to shopkeeper.
I've had a few thoughts on Walter and his father, John, the blacksmith.
Blacksmith was a skilled occupation, requiring an apprenticeship. It was a respected occupation, indispensable in any community. I suppose a man might have become a blacksmith in his youth and later have become unfit through injury or age and taken up another occupation. However, when Walter was born, your John was middle-aged and there was no other evidence that he was a blacksmith.
Walter's father may have been a son of John 1766, perhaps from an earlier marriage. John Garth was around 30 when he married, which was late for a first marriage. Plenty of time for him to have had another clutch of kids.
Walter may have been the son of an unmarried daughter of John Garth but brought up by John and his wife. The father on Walter's marriage certificate may have been made up - possibly an amalgam of his grandfather's name and the real father's occupation.
Walter may have been a grandson of John's wife but not of John but he or his parent adopted the Garth surname.
Would Mary, John's wife, have been young enough to have been mother of Walter? Her recorded age at death in 1838 was 61. However, age at death wasn't always accurate.
