Campbell / Crook - Bolton

[lenny01]

Hi All,

I hope everybody is well during these crazy times.

I am back again seeking help or direction.

A few days ago, a two month wait came to an end with an email from the GRO that a PDF birth that I had ordered was finally available to view.  I was far more excited than I should have been! However, the information gained from it has not allowed me to move forward as much as I would have liked.

The birth record was of my 2 x Great Grandmother Margaret Ellen Campbell, born in Bolton in 1884.  Her father listed as Thomas Campbell (an Iron Puddler) and Hannah Campbell, late Crook, formerly Jackson.

I have found the marriage between Hannah and William Crook, and their children. And I have found the family as Thomas, Hannah and subsequent Campbell children, plus the Crook step-children. Success. Thomas is listed on all censuses as born in Belfast, Ireland.  This has excited me somewhat as he is the first person in my whole tree that was born outside of England.

However - I cannot for the life of me find a marriage, or banns for Hannah and Thomas (searched using widowed name of Crook as well as maiden name of Jackson plus name variants).  In the 1881 census he is listed as being born in 1849, yet in the 1891 census he is listed as JOHN Campbell born in 1842, and in the 1901 census he is widowed listed as Thomas born in 1841.

I'm at a loss as to why he is listed under a different name, and the disparity in ages between the censuses.  Is it possible they did not even get married?

I can't seem to find any other random records for him, nor any mention of him that I can identify in newspapers.

I did find a marriage record for a Hannah Crook Sep 1882 Bolton vol 8c page 365, but only three people are listed on the record (2 women 1 man) rather than the usual 2 men and 2 women.  I did a search for the other two names on the record and found a banns for them, meaning that the husband for the Hannah Crook in this record is missing for some reason. 

Ordinarily I would just order the certificate and find out, however having just been let go from work, and having had enough of a hard time convincing my better half to allow me to keep running my genealogy subscriptions, I don't really want to push my luck by ordering certificates particularly without the knowledge it actually belongs to my ancestor!

Can anybody here think of anything I can look at to help me get to the bottom of this mystery?

Thanks all, and stay safe and healthy!

Lenny.

[heywood]

Hannah Crook married John W Massey so not your lady.

http://www.lancashirebmd.org.uk/marriagesearch.php

[lenny01]

Hannah Crook married John W Massey so not your lady.

http://www.lancashirebmd.org.uk/marriagesearch.php

Yes I spotted that, and that marriage is on GRO index volume 8c page 355.

However there is also a marriage listed on GRO index volume 8c page 365, which is the one with the missing husband.

[heywood]

If you look at the two on Free BMD, the pages are 355 and 365 but if you check the entries on the scans, you can see that both are page 355.

You can check the other spouses on Lancashire BMD above.

On Lancs births, the children are shown with both Crook and Jackson for mother’s name.

[heywood]

Sorry - forgot to mention check the scans -have amended above message.

[lenny01]

Thank you for this - I have just checked the scans and I can see what you mean.  At least you have saved me from potentially wasting £11 on a certificate, and incurring the wrath of a certain somebody!

So it takes me back to the original problem then of there appearing to be no marriage between Hannah and Thomas? And pontificating over the discrepancies in the censuses.

[heywood]

You know Hannah was married previously so you would need to see if William Crook was dead. Difficulty is finding that out.
Thomas might also have been married and had a living spouse.
The recording of the births indicates, I think, that Hannah still had the name Crook nee Jackson.

[lenny01]

She did, however Hannah and Thomas had 4 children between 1882-1890, where the children's names were registered as Campbell, and the MMN was Jackson.

I think I will need to put some more research time into William Crook.

[heywood]

If you check Lancashire BMD, both names are shown. That is my point.