What happened to Tom Bentley?

[heywood]

“A Tom Bentley son of Edward did marry in Leicester in 1886”

This is the marriage to Annie Blower. She is missing from the spouses on Free BMD.

If that marriage shows Edward as deceased, perhaps there was an error or a family breakdown.

[heywood]

I think this might be the birth registration

1867 Barrow on Soar September quarter
Tom Bentley mmn Hurst

[Girl Guide]

Forget the birth I found in Barrow, that Thomas died in 1869.

[Girl Guide]

Parents marriage then

Marriages Mar 1860   
Bentley    Edward        Barrow    7a   217    
Hurst    Eliza        Barrow    7a   217

[heywood]

I see Edward and Eliza state the number of children born and died in 1911.

Dave,
you could follow this to see if it corresponds with what you have re births etc to the couple.

I see they have a son Owen, as does Thomas so that might be a family connection.

[Annette7]

Facts: there was only one Tom (or Thomas) Bentley bc.1868 per census and births who was born in Thurmaston and son of an Edward, there was only one Edward in Thurmaston.  According to online trees although baptised in 1868 his birth date was 5/7/1867.

I firmly believe that it was indeed your Tom Bentley who married Annie Blower 1/8/1886 St. Mark, Leicester - neither of the 2 witnesses were members of his family and he himself was only 19 (she 23) i.e. he was a minor and should have had parental consent.   I would imagine this is why he stated his father Edward was deceased.

As Tom Bentley he married the year after wife Annie died - to Florence Emma Southwell Dec.qtr. 1909 Sculcoates, Yorkshire - so information re. marriage on 1911 census is correct albeit out of area.   However, can only find one child from this marriage - a Muriel Edith born Dec.1917 - and looks like her mother Florence died as a result of childbirth as her death registered the same quarter!

In 1928 Tom married for a 3rd. time to Catherine E Moore.  He died 5/4/1938 in Leicester Infirmary, administration to his widow, Catherine.   Home address 105 Southfields Drive, Leicester and this address shows widow Catherine and his daughter Muriel living there.

So, 3 marriages for Tom (1886, 1909 and 1928).

Annette

[heywood]

There is only one Thomas Bentley b 1868 Thurmaston in all censuses 1871 - 1911.

Annette, that was my thought earlier. He is the only candidate and you have gone through the marriages and the possible reason (under age) for declaring his father as deceased. 

[Mvann]

Hi all

I have just read this thread and realized I have this family on my tree. It's not a direct line to me, but the family connects to mine as I have Bentley's and Hurst's that marry into my Hartshorn line. I don't think I have anymore information than you have given.

Jon

[Davedrave]

Many thanks for all your help with sorting Tom Bentley out. Two things threw me off his scent: the fact that he seems to have become Thomas in the 1891 onwards censuses (though he does marry as Tom), and the fact that his father was stated to be deceased when Tom married in 1886. The age issues seem to be a likely explanation for what was a lie.

I have now accounted for all 9 of Edward and Eliza’s children. I don’t know whether Tom Bentley did have a rift with his family. It seems from the 1901 Census that his eldest son, Ernest, was actually born in Thurmaston, so it looks as though he wasn’t trying to avoid his family at that time. I think that they were charitable people (they adopted an orphan boy) so they probably welcomed him back if he’d strayed.

Dave