Who is the mother?

[littleem1906]

I'm looking into MARIA GOPSILL (1852-1927). She married WILLIAM HARDING in Birmingham in 1872 and appears in the 1881 census with him and the children they shared together:
Maria (1873 - M quarter)
Eliza (1874 - D quarter)
Annie (1877 - M quarter)
Fanny Elizabeth (1879 - J quarter)

All of the above births are confirmed by GRO, and there are a further two children:
Minnie (1881 - S quarter) does not appear in the 1881 census or the 1891 census
Nellie (1883 - D quarter) appears in the 1891 census with Maria and her new husband

William Harding died in 1885 and from this point forward, Maria is found in census to be living with a CHARLES BENHAM. She is found with him in the 1891 census, listed as his wife, with the following children:
Nellie Harding - her daughter by William Harding
Charles Henry Benham (1881- S quarter) - son of Charles Benham
Flora Benham (1890 - M quarter) - daughter of Maria & Charles

Again she appears in the 1901 census with the following children:
Nellie Harding - her daughter by William Harding
Flora Benham (1890 - M quarter) - daughter of Maria & Charles
William Henry Benham (1892 - S quarter) - son of Maria & Charles

In the 1911 census the only child with her is William Henry (as above).

I found no marriage between a Charles Benham and Maria Gopsill so they likely never married at all. In 1911 they claim to have been married for 22 years. They also claim to have had 3 children, 2 living and 1 dead.

Looking at GRO there is a child who died prior to 1911 as follows:
Dorothy (1896 - J quarter) mmn Gopsill. This child then died in 1897 aged 0.

However, there is another child who died in 1887, two years before Maria & Charles claim to have been married. This child is as follows:
Florence Benham (1883 - J quarter) mmn Gopsill. Died in 1887 aged 3.

This is where the plot thickens. Maria's last child with William Harding was Nellie (1883 - D quarter), yet the same year a Florence Benham was born in the J quarter. I can't find another Gopsill who married Benham so this is a real puzzle.

This prompted me to look into all of the children of the couple, including Charles Benham's children from his previous marriage. The only Charles Benham marriage I found was to a Clara Wilkins in 1875. There is a chance that she died in 1886, or she re-married in 1888. Charles & Clara appeared in the 1881 census with the following children:
Louisa (1875 - D quarter) born in Birmingham
Elizabeth (1879 - J quarter) born in Birkenhead

Interestingly, the above children are both registered on GRO but both have mother's maiden name Gopsill, not Wilkins.

There is another child, Selina Benham, born in Birmingham in 1877 (D quarter/mmn Gopsill) who died in Birkenhead in 1878.

How can this be? Is there another Gopsill having children with a Benham? Maria did have a sister, Clarissa (Clara) who I've not found any information about yet. She was born in 1850 in West Bromwich and I've not found her post 1861.

There is a tenuous Birkenhead link to this family too. Two of Maria Gopsill's brothers (Laban and John) lived there.

I'll list all of the Harding/Benham children I found that have a mother's maiden name Gopsill in date order for easy reference:
Maria Harding (1873) M Quarter - Birmingham
Eliza Harding (1874) D Quarter - mmn Gopsitt - Birmingham
Louisa Benham (1875) D quarter – Birmingham(appears in the 1881 census with Charles & Clara)
Annie Harding (1877) M Quarter - Birmingham
Selina Benham (1877) D quarter – Birmingham     DIED 1878 (S quarter) Birkenhead
Fanny Elizabeth Harding (1879) J Quarter - Birmingham
Elizabeth Benham (1879) J Quarter – Birkenhead (appears in the 1881 census with Charles & Clara)
Charles Henry Benham (1881) J quarter – Birmingham
Minnie Harding (1881) S Quarter - Birmingham
Florence Benham (1883) J quarter – Birmingham    DIED 1887 – M quarter – Birmingham (aged 3)
Nelly Harding (1883) D Quarter - Birmingham
Clara Jane Benham (1885) M quarter – Birmingham
Flora Benham (1890) M quarter – Birmingham
William Henry Benham (1892) S quarter - Birmingham 
Dorothy Benham (1896) J quarter – Birmingham – mmn Gopsall – DIED in 1887 (D quarter)

I don't think it's possible that Maria birthed all of these children (surely not!), but I'm intrigued to know who did. Is there a missing link I'm not seeing? Is the Clara with Charles actually Clara Gopsill and not Clara Wilkins (who may have married a different Charles Benham)?

[Galium]

Not an answer to your question, but there is a Clara Gopsill, aged 21 born in West Bromwich, employed as a domestic servant in Wednesbury in 1871, and Clarice Gopsill is a witness to Maria's marriage in 1872.

[Mabel Bagshawe]

Clara is difficult to find on 1871 on Ancestry  [Added - surname Gopsite!]. I'm trying to see if she married a Mr Wilkins before Charles Benham

[Mabel Bagshawe]

I think Charles Benham's marriage cert from 1875 would be an interesting read

[QueenoftheWest]

I found no marriage between a Charles Benham and Maria Gopsill so they likely never married at all.

Is it possible they married later in life? There is a marriage between a Charles Benham and Maria Harding in 1915 in Birmingham R.D.

Queenie 

[Mabel Bagshawe]

If Charles was previously married to Clara, he couldn't legally marry Maria until the passing of the Deceased Wife's Sister Marriage Act in 1907. Quite a few people ignored that technicality and married anyway, but they might not

[QueenoftheWest]

If Charles was previously married to Clara, he couldn't legally marry Maria until the passing of the Deceased Wife's Sister Marriage Act in 1907. Quite a few people ignored that technicality and married anyway, but they might not

That's interesting; I had not heard of this act. It looks like Clara died in 1886, so they had to wait a long time to marry.

Queenie 

[littleem1906]

Thank you all. My suspicion is that Charles Benham either married or co-habited with Clara Gopsill, the sister of Maria.

I looked to see if Clara had married a Wilkins first but I had no luck.

I didn't know about the Deceased Wife's Sister Marriage Act so that's helpful to know.