Hi,
I'm trying to trace a census record for a Mary/May Grayton in 1861. She spent most of her life in Sunderland.
I'm having a tough time finding her, because of various different name combinations she uses (or that are used on her behalf) and different places of birth given.
Birth
I know that she was born in the Knottingley area of Yorkshire, near Pontefract in about 1849. She was baptised there in March of 1849.
Her parents were Charles Grayton and Amelia Caywood.
Her father died sometime in September of 1849.
1851
She is with her mother on the 1851 census, still in Yorkshire.
Household schedule number 145 Piece 2329 Folio 555 Page number35
This census is the source of the Mary/May confusion. She is listed here as May, but all the other documents I have found her on list her as Mary. I think this might be because it was a mistake, or she was nicknamed May because she appears to have shared the name Mary with a deceased sibling who died a few years before.
Sunderland
Sometime after 1852, her mother Amelia and seemingly all of her remaining siblings moved to Sunderland, in Durham.
Exactly why they did this I'm not clear on. It might be that her mother, Amelia, moved to be with a man, because she had an illegitimate child with an unknown man in 1852. She had another daughter, Elizabeth, who may or may not have been illegitimate, I'm not sure, depends on the conception date which I have not been able to establish.
1861 Census
Household schedule number 412 Piece 3778 Folio 39 Page number 24
Amelia is in Sunderland with all her surviving children, with the exception of her eldest surviving child Robert, who by this point had married and was in his own household.
The only other child missing is Mary/May.
To add to the confusion, her surname here seems to be given as Graydon, not Grayton.
I can't find her anywhere else on any other census.
She'd have been 12 years old, so not too young to be in domestic service I suppose.
I've tried various combinations of May/Mary and Grayton/Graydon and come up with nothing.
1871, 1881, and 1901
I know she was definitely still alive by 1861, because she marries a Joseph Bailey in 1868. I know it's definitely her, because on a later census where she is featured, she has her brother staying with her.
To add to the confusion, on the 1871 and 1901 census, her place of birth is given as Sunderland. So maybe she did that in 1861?
It's only the 1881 census where her place of birth is given as Knottingley.
Perhaps it depended on who was answering?
I also seem to be missing her from the 1891 census for some reason.
1871 - Household schedule number 112 Piece 5014 Folio 51 Page number 19
1881 - Piece 4994 Folio 103 Page number 85
1901 - Piece4713 Folio 65 Page number 55 Household schedule number 363
I'd be grateful for any help you might be able to provide to find out where May/Mary was in 1861.