William Wilkinson - surname of wife conundrum

[Pennines]

Ah - yes, it could well have been.

[osprey]

death reg
Nancy Douglas 84 dec qtr 1853 Blackburn vol 8e pg 156

Burial
Great Harwood in the parish of Blackburn
4 Dec 1853 Nancy widow of Richard Duglass age 84 of Lowertown

 

[Pennines]

Oh my goodness - I hadn't yet looked for Ann's death, as I've been having my 'tea' - (as we call it up North!)

You absolute stars. So -- on a balance of probability, at the moment - Alice 'Corless' who married William Wilkinson in 1821 - was Alice Douglas -- do you kind and clever folk agree please?

This family certainly got around from place to place.

[rosie99]

It would certainly be good to see the register entry for Ann Corless as Corless / Douglas (Dugless)  is certainly likely with bad writing.

[Pennines]

Thank you Rosie,

In all honesty I don't think I can 'assume'. The register entry is on Ancestry under Lancashire Marriages - it's clearly written as 'Corless'. Although I have been unable to find a baptism for an Alice Corless.
(Amazingly there is a marriage between a Richard Corless and a Nancy at Blackburn in the 1790s!)

I am at a brick wall I think. This is a line of my neighbour's family tree.

In addition - as William Wilkinson died before census records - I don't really know where he was born. I was going off the names of the elder children to find possible parents - but again, it was a 'balance of probability' case.

I was following HIS and Alice's son, William, whose birthplace had varied between Liverpool and Accrington on census records - little did I realise what a nuisance his parentage would be!!

I am extremely grateful for everyone's help - I had just been going round in circles and needed 'someone' to talk to about this.

My grateful thanks to you all for looking at this query.

[DCB]

The image for William Wilkinson's marriage in 1821 to Alice Corless is available here, bottom left: https://www.familysearch.org/ark:/61903/3:1:S3HT-D439-718?i=533

Clearly written as Corless but she made a mark.

Some other Corless records in Lancashire:-

FindMyPast has a marriage bond for Richard Corless to Nancy Brown of Blackburn on 1st March 1795 and marriage on 3rd March.

Only baptism was for Martha in Blackburn on 6th November 1797 in Blackburn.

FindMyPast has a marriage bond for Richard Corless to Nancy Brown of Blackburn on 1st March 1795 and marriage on 3rd March.

Only baptism was for Martha in Blackburn on 6th November 1797 in Blackburn.
Died on 14th July 1798 and buried on 18th July in Blackburn.

Possible death for Nancy on 12th August 1799 and burial on 15th in Blackburn.

Marriage bond for Richard Corless, widower, and Jane Charnley, widow, in Blackburn, on 5th July 1800.

I can't see any baptisms for them.

David

[Pennines]

Thank you David.

Problem with this query is that the Alice Douglas born c 1800 in Downham, Lancs does seem to have been the partner of a William Wilkinson (according to her place of birth given on the 1851 Census).

However there doesn't seem to be a marriage for an Alice Douglas to a William Wilkinson. I was grasping at straws with the Alice Corless marriage to William Wilkinson. They married at the right time - and his occupation of 'Mason' was correct.

Maybe William Wilkinson and Alice Douglas just never married.

In addition all the family trees on Ancestry show an Alice Douglas b 1800, Downham, with a father, Richard, marrying a Henry Hargreaves! My Alice shows her father's name as Richard Douglas on her second marriage. Her and William Wilkinson's second son is named Richard - so I am confident (I think!!) - that I have the correct Alice Douglas - but with no sign of an actual marriage.

I have had to give in!! AND also give in on seeking parentage for William Wilkinson born about 1802. He inconveniently died before census records with names began.

Thank you so much for looking at this for me though. I really appreciate it.

 

[DCB]

Just a thought.
 
Given that his occupation on the 1821 marriage is the same on the baptisms, it seems possible that it could be the correct one.

Perhaps there was a mix-up with Alice's surname and, because both made a mark, it wasn't noticed.

Also, the first baptism, that of Joseph in 1822, seems to fit with the date.

David

[Pennines]

David -- I so agree with you, that was why I was wondering what other people thought, trying to persuade myself it was the correct marriage!! In addition the first 2 children born to my William Wilkinson and Alice Douglas, were baptised at Downham -- where Alice Douglas was baptised - and the second son was named Richard - her father's name.

I had also spotted the fact that neither could write.

In reality though - Douglas does not sound like Corless! (Unless the scribe at the marriage had been out on the town the previous night!)