Martha Chapman b.1847 Ware Herts - ? Did she marry Frederick Frost 1874 Ontario

[Yvonne Ellis]

Hello everyone,

First apologies for a long post,

In my family tree, I have Martha Chapman d/o Daniel Chapman and Eliza Campkin b.1847 Ware, Herts. Someone recently contacted me asking if I was a relative of Frederick Frost who originally was born in Essendon on the 26th Jan 1851 and subsequently married Martha Ann Chapman in Simcoe, Ontario Canada on the 15th of October 1874.

I can't attach a photo of the document because of copyright but below is a transcription attached to the document in Ancestry from 'Ontario Canada Marriages 1801-1930' as it is exactly -

Name Martha Ann Chapman.                         
Age   26
Birth Year   1848
Birth Place   Ware Hertfordshire England
Marriage Date   15 Oct 1874
Marriage Place   Simcoe, Ontario, Canada
Father   Daniel Chapman Chapman
Mother   Mary Chapman
Spouse   Frederick Frost

Name:   Frederick Frost
Age:   23
Birth Year:   abt 1851
Birth Place:   Essondony England
Marriage Date:   15 Oct 1874
Marriage Place:   Simcoe, Ontario, Canada
Father:   William Frost
Mother:   Mary Ann King Frost
Spouse:   Martha Ann Chapman

The problem I have with the details in the above transcription is that nowhere in any census record I have of Martha Chapman (daughter of Daniel and Eliza Chapman) b.1847 does her name appear as Mary Ann Chapman; the 1847 birth registration in the GRO Index also does not include a middle name, Ann, and I can't find a baptism for Martha Chapman d/o Daniel and Eliza.

The other problem is that the parents recorded in the marriage document are Daniel Chapman and Mary Chapman, again in all the census records I have for Martha's parents her mother's name never differs from Eliza.

Eliza Campkin was born in Ware Herts 1825, she was baptised 8th April 1825, daughter of James and Charlotte Campkin, she married Daniel Chapman on 25th Dec 1845.

I am not sure that Martha Ann Chapman who married  Frederick Frost is the daughter of Daniel and Eliza Chapman. In two Canadian census records, she is again recorded as Martha Ann Frost (formerly Chapman)

There is no trace of 'my' Martha Chapman after the 1871 census and I did find a record of a Martha Chapman arriving in Quebec in August 1874 (in the document recorded as British, no place of birth recorded) - transcription as follows -

Name:   Martha Chapman
Gender:   Female
Arrival Age:   27
Birth Year:   abt 1847
Departure Port:   Liverpool, England
Arrival Date:   25 Aug 1874
Arrival Port:   Quebec, Quebec, Canada
Vessel:   Scandinavian

I had a reply today from the person who posed the question in the first place and she believes Martha's mother's name is Mae, that's how she reads it but Eliza in the 1861 census. We may have to agree to disagree.  I am wondering if I am being too blinkered, perhaps the mother's name was an error, and perhaps Martha genuinely thought she had a middle name, Ann.

I'd be interested to hear what others think.

Many thanks for taking the time to read this post,

Yvonne

[MonicaL]

Hi Yvonne

Below are details regarding birth place for Martha Ann Chapma from that 1874 marriage registration. Apart from Martha's age being a few years light and mother's name, there are so many similarities aren't there 

From the shipping manifest you found, assume there were no connected travellers with her to help you further 

Monica

[Yvonne Ellis]

Hi Monica,

Thank you for your reply. Yes, there are so many similarities, but it's the fact that the mother's name is Mary, not Eliza, and the fact that by the time she married Frederick Frost, she acquired a middle name, which is causing me to err on the side of caution. 

I'm assuming she was alone during the crossing because she's the only person in the transcription attached to the record in Ancestry.

There is one thing that is going in her favour and that's the fact that I could find only one birth registration for Martha Chapman in Ware Hertfordshire dated 1847, the GRO Index has the mother's maiden name as Campkin. Is she the Martha Chapman in the shipping manifest? the year of birth is right, it's a pity there is no place of birth recorded.

I was just wondering what others may think and if they would add the marriage to their tree? 

Yvonne



 

[Yvonne Ellis]

Hi,

Just a quick update, the lady from Ontario in Canada has contacted me again and has documentation and a letter from Martha Chapman to Frederick Frost, she has promised to share some of these documents which is quite exciting, she is adamant they have found the right Chapman family.

Thank you to everyone who took the time to read my request, and thank you Monica for taking the time to reply. Good luck to you all in your family tree research.

Best wishes

Yvonne

[MonicaL]

Hi Yvonne

Thanks for the update 

Hope you enjoy finding out about the new family in Canada!

Monica