Help me place Rebecca (born c1813 Gloucestershire) in my tree

[avm228]

Exactly - she should be a Holtom but there is no sign of such a person. Also William Holtom, whose exact birthdate I don't know but who was baptised in February 1814 (and later records are consistent with a birthdate of 1813-14 for him), makes it tricky to fit a Rebecca in at the time she is supposed to have been born.

Otherwise - which would be intriguing - she might be a half-sister on Harriet’s paternal side, of which I know absolutely nothing. I don’t know who brought Harriet (1811) up, though of course one usually assumes it’s the mother in these situations unless proven otherwise. Her mother Mary Ann lived until 1840.

[Milliepede]

It's all intriguing this one.

You say when Rebecca married she put her father as John Mason, did she also say she was a widow?

It doesn't tally having the same surname does it. 

Any idea about James Sullivan who isn't with her in 1861, who was his father on the marriage please?

[avm228]

Yes, Rebecca described herself a widow when she married James Sullivan.

James was a widowed labourer of full age, of 3 Brunswick Gardens, Regent St, son of James Sullivan (deceased), labourer. I haven’t found him before or after the 13 November 1853 marriage.

[avm228]

I think I will have to order Rebecca’s death certificate in the hope that her daughter Harriet was the informant - perhaps with a married name. It’s a bit of a long shot really.

[Milliepede]

Might be a long shot but you never know what information might be on there.

You've probably already looked for the 1853 address for James in 1851 to see who was living there.

[Gaie]

Could she be the wife of a brother?  Relationship terms were used differently then.

Gaie

[avm228]

Could she be the wife of a brother?  Relationship terms were used differently then.

Gaie

Thanks for the suggestion Gaie. I am open to any eventuality - including that she wasn’t a blood relative at all but was brought up with Harriet in a quasi-adoptive situation. One of the reasons I would like to trace Harriet Sophia Mason later on is to see whether any DNA links come up.

So far as I know, Harriet b 1811 was the only pre-marital child of Mary Ann Elborough/Elbro/Elbrow. The Holtom children I know of are William bapt 1814, Risper/Rizpah 1816, Thomas 1820, Emma 1823, Henry 1826, John 1828, Marianne/Mary 1831 and Ann 1833.

There are not rich pickings there for a first husband for Rebecca b c1813-14. William married a Sarah Boulding in 1841 and their marriage was lengthy. I don’t have a marriage for Thomas as yet, but he died in 1858 so would not have left a widow before that.

[avm228]

You've probably already looked for the 1853 address for James in 1851 to see who was living there.

I’ve tried - but have not yet managed to establish even that there was such a place as Brunswick Gardens in the Regent St area

[Milliepede]

I've tried too but address searching is not my best subject! 

I found a Joseph Alexander Weller Brunswick Gardens Kensington? in 1861 but unhelpfully he isn't there in 1851.