I'm wondering if anybody can help me try and figure out what happened to George Hale please.
We've been told since the late 19th century that the father of my great grandmother Eliza Hale was George, he's listed on her marriage certificate.
I have her birth certificate from April 1888 and no father is listed, she was illegitimate. Ancestry DNA tests and cousin matches have proven her biological father was actually a man called James Harrison.
The last document I have for George is the 1881 census in Burton upon Trent, Staffordshire. He was living with wife Harriet (nee Seagrave, my great great grandmother) and children George Hale, 5 (born as Alfred George Hale in Burton), Mary Ann, 3 and Caroline, a newborn. After this census George just vanishes from the records.
He married Harriet 1876 in Burton, father is listed as Robert Hale. In the censuses, his place of birth is given as Shipton, Wiltshire.
He was baptised Alfred George Hail, 1850 in Newton Tony, Wiltshire to Robert and Louisa. Robert came from Shipton Bellinger, Hampshire (less than 5 miles from Newton Tony). In all the documents, George goes by his middle name.
In the 1891 census, Harriet and her children (including Eliza) are lodging with James Harrison in Burton. He is the head and single. Harriet is listed as married, so did she think George was still alive?
I have been unable to locate George in any censuses after 1881 or a death certificate. I have tried passenger lists too. There is a criminal record for a George Hale in 1888 in Staffordshire. This was for attempted carnal knowledge with a girl under 13. I have checked British Newspaper Archives but can't prove where this George was from.
I have tried various spellings of his surname including Hale/Hales/Hail/Hails. I am very interested to try and find out what happened to him and why Harriet ending up living and having children with James.
Thank you in advance. :-)
