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Glad I could of been of assistance Mo

Hi Mo, Yes I did say to them that the father of Mary Ann Collins must be Thomas Collins for this to be the marriage certificate I wanted. That's how I found out it was the wrong Mary Ann Collins and the wrong husband, it should have been Cunningham. Plus the info from family relative saying her husband's name was Cunningham. Anyway all's well that ends well as they say, I have the correct one now. Thanks for looking that up for me Mo, it just confirms it for me too. best wishes Betty

Hi Betty And last but not least.. The reason why they have said it is the wrong marriage.. Her Father was called Frederick Collins St Cuthbert's Church, Shadforth 2nd June 1900 William Farrar Wharton, aged 26, bachelor, Occ. Groom, residence Thorp Arch. Father William Wharton, Occ. Blacksmith. Mary Ann Collins, aged 29, spinster, residence Sherburn Hill. Father Frederick Collins, Occ. Coalminer Both Sign Witnesses Joseph Cummings and Dorothy Jane Collins. Both Sign.. So it looks like the Cunningham marriage at Gateshead is the correct marriage for her.. Hope that this helps Mo..

Hi Everyone, Well I am here at last, sorry I didn't know so much was going on with my thread. I just can't believe it! you were all so busy when I wasn't there, sorry about that, had appointment at the hospital yesterday afternoon with hubby. I would just like to thank you all so very much for all your hard work in finding Mary Ann Collins and her husband. Special thanks to Reg, Georgina, Kate, June, Suzanne, Jess Bow, Mo, Kathleen, Heather, Brenda and Janice. Best wishes and many many thanks from Betty

Hi Brenda, yes Cleveland as far as I know is right by Teeside & county Durham. Georgina.

Brenda well spotted, have you sent Betty a PM? This must be his birth... Births Mar 1878 CUNNINGHAM John Graham Gateshead 10a 777 Georgina.

1901 census Mary A Collins aged 29 born Benfieldside Durham was a housemaid living with Jane Coates and son Frederick at Haydon, Northumberland. Could she be your Mary Ann? Heather

I am utterly confused now, Betty, if you are saying that Durham told you that Mary Ann Collins didn't marry William Farrar Wharton. Why do they have it on their website then? But anyway, if you order the cert from the GRO I am sure it will turn up eventually. As for if you order it from Durham, I don't really know. Kate.

Hi heather, Yes that what they said, husband of mary Ann Collins is not William Farrar Wharton. Betty

Betty Are you saying that the register office in Durham says your information is wrong? Heather

Hi again Kate, I will do all that maybe within the next few days. Thanks again for all your help. Betty

Oh, right, he sounds weird! Well, then, I take it back, perhaps he did deliberately give you duff info. What I would do if I were you is get the marriage cert between Mary Ann and William Wharton to see if it is the right Mary Ann, and if it is, then look through the death indexes to find out when William Farra(r) Wharton died (by the way, I can't see him on the CWGC WW1 deaths). Then you could search to see if Mary Ann re-married after his death. Kate.

Hi Kate, Although this man is 77 he is phoning all over the world to family members trying to get infomation about the Scottish side of the family tree, he was just onto my brother-in-law the other day and was asking for information. He told him I had all the wrong information about the Collins family from England and only he had the correct information. He also phones relatives in Canada and Belguim telling them I have all the wrong information on my family tree. Betty

It doesn't seem very likely that he would be deliberately giving you duff info! But could it be that he has mis-remembered the name? Or that William died and Mary Ann married Mr. Cunningham and just never mentioned to the child that she had had a previous husband? Kate.

Hi Georgina, Yes that may well have happened. Didn't think about that, with all the info coming in never thought about WW1. I will back up a bit and go over everything I have again, double check it and work from there. Thanks to everyone for all your help, you have all been great! Big thank you!!! Betty

Betty maybe Mary Ann did marry William Wharton & he died during WW1, Mary could have then married a Cunningham before Michael Collins was born and he would have been none the wiser. Georgina.

Hi everyone, This Michael who gave me the information is also doing the Collins family tree. Do you think maybe he is trying to put me off the track or something so he can tell everyone in the family that he was first to complete the tree?? Would anyone really do such a thing? Betty

Hi Georgina, No i don't know how many children Mary Ann had, the person I have the information from is her brother Thomas's child. Thomas's wife died after giving birth to her sixth child, husband couldn't cope and work so four of the children were cared for by his sister and brother wives. The child that went to Mary Ann wasn't born until 1929 his name was Michael Collins and he is 77 years olld now. it's him who gave me the informations that Mary Ann's husband had the surname Cunningham. Betty

Betty, I never knew that 'clear as mud' was Scottish. We say it in England too! I have managed to load the Sep 1876 births index page now, and there is a birth for William Farra Wharton on there, district Wetherby, which includes Boston Spa. Volume 9a p 126. So this must be the William Wharton you have found on the 1901 census, and he did marry a Mary Ann Collins in Durham in 1900. But I still don't know whether Blackhill and Sherburn Hill are the same place? Anyway, if they are, then what I would do if I were you is get the William Farrar Wharton / Mary Ann Collins marriage certificate and see if Mary Ann's father's name matches your Mary Ann's father (or specify father's name as a checking point if you would rather). Then if it turns out to be her who married William, the info you have been given must be wrong in some way. Perhaps William died and she remarried to a Mr. Cunningham? Perhaps William changed his name to Cunningham? Kate.

Betty you said earlier that Mary Ann only had 1 child who is still alive, can you tell us this childs name & year of birth. Georgina.