Mystery woman!

[Hardy8824]

Hi there, my Grandma's cousin and I have spent years trying to trace a lady called Martha Lee, here is the story..

Martha Lee born 1871 in Shifnal Shopshire to parents George Henry Lee [1849] & Rachael Deakin [1850]

She appeared on the 1881 census aged 9 living on 'Shrewsby Road' Madeley, Shropshire.

She married my third Great Grandad Joseph Aspland in 1891 Oldham, St Stephen and All Martyrs, Manchester, Lancashire

They had two boys Joseph Aspland 25 July 1891 & George Henry Aspland 21 October 1892

The story then goes, from my relatives, that she left her husband 'Joe' he then bought up the two boys on his own. No one knows what happened to her after this.

However, I have found a marriage between a Martha Aspland and a John Lewis in Aug 1905, Burnley. My Grandma's cousin has been to this church and got some info that it was a more 'relaxed' church and she possibly could have married bigamously there.

She then appeared on the 1911 census living at 3 Back Guy Fold Padiham, Burnley. Martha and John were living with his sister and her kids.

After this I can't find a thing! I have full access to deceased online and I have searched every Martha Lewis and John Lewis, none of them fit. I've even tried name variations in case she started going by a different name. I'm now wondering if she married again and I am currently checking out more marriages.

This lady has died at some point and I would love to solve these years of on going head scratching! 

Any advice would be very much appreciated! Thanks in advance

[nanny jan]

Not every burial is on deceased online.

Have you looked for death registrations on www.FreeBMD.org.uk ?

[Hardy8824]

Hi Jan,

Yes quite a few I haven't found on deceased but found else where. Free BMD hasn't given me anything other than a lady called Mary A Lewis who died aged 50 in Wellington and would have been born in 1871. I went away and looked her up more and it wasn't the lady I am looking for sadly!

Not every burial is on deceased online.

Have you looked for death registrations on www.FreeBMD.org.uk ?

[nanny jan]

Have you looked for her on 1939 Register?   

Have you tried to trace backwards the Martha Aspland who married in 1905?


Family stories can sometimes get muddled over the years. 

[Hardy8824]

Yes, nothing for her on the 1939 register [that I can see anyway]
The timeline of info I put originally is all I have on her, honestly I feel like I have exhausted so many options, even checked the ship records to see if she left the country as when I did a DNA test on Ancestry I was connected with a 'Lee' in Canada, I have asked him and he doesn't know anything about her either! - Mystery You are right about things getting muddled

Have you looked for her on 1939 Register?   

Have you tried to trace backwards the Martha Aspland who married in 1905?


Family stories can sometimes get muddled over the years. 

[nanny jan]

Long shot now......have you considered getting copies of both marriage certificates and seeing if her details match?

My gt.grandma's third husband went missing from a census (she put herself as a widow) but he was found marrying elsewhere......all his details matched with his earlier marriage to gt.grandma!  He did have an unusual surname which made me convinced I'd found him.

Could they have moved to Scotland or Ireland? Would John's occupation have meant him moving around the country?

[Hardy8824]

I've just ordered the marriage certificate to the second husband to see what it says. To add - Her brother Ruben Lee moved to Canada and died there [Died 1 Apr 1952
Aylmer, Outaouais Region, Quebec, Canada] I still wonder if she went over there!

Lol I love stories like yours where you do find them elsewhere with another life. I've had a few little stories like that.

This Martha though...The amount of times I want to give up on her but you can't just vanish! 

Long shot now......have you considered getting copies of both marriage certificates and seeing if her details match?

My gt.grandma's third husband went missing from a census (she put herself as a widow) but he was found marrying elsewhere......all his details matched with his earlier marriage to gt.grandma!  He did have an unusual surname which made me convinced I'd found him.

Could they have moved to Scotland or Ireland? Would John's occupation have meant him moving around the country?

[nanny jan]

Have you looked for Joseph and their two sons on 1911 census?   Any clues there?

[Treetotal]

I would go a couple years wide of her birth date as she gives her age as 21 on her marriage cert. in 1891... Also you may want to research the two witnesses Samuel Mather/Meather...(difficult to read) and Ellen Burley if you haven't already done so. Ancestry does give her Dob as 1870 but her age might not be accurate across the census returns.
Carol