Genealogy Chat

Hoping someone can help me with this conundrum. The only information I have about my GGGrandfather is on the 1851 census which shows he was born in Yorkshire about 1823. I have his marriage certificate when he married Jane Crawford in Newington, Surrey in 1847. This certificate shows his Fathers name as James. John and Jane had 4 children, James, John Robert, Edwin and Elizabeth Hannah (I am assuming the Hannah was after John's Mother). John died from cholera in 1854 at the age of 31. I would love to investigate his parents but do not know where to go from here. I have searched ICI and 1841 census using criteria of John with Father James and Mother Hannah and I have come up with 2 possibilites. As I do not know definitely what parish he was born in is there anyway I can work this out.
Thanks
Julia

What was James' occupation?

Rose

I had a hard time finding him in 1851 until I found that the name was Keighly there although it was Keightley on his marriage record on FreeBMD.
He was a stone mason.
I found a John Keighley on the 1841 census in Bramley, Leeds, Yorkshire. His age is 15 but they rounded down the ages on the 41 census to the nearest 5 so he could have been 15-19.
1841 census
Stanningley, Bramley, leeds, Yorkshire
Hannah Barker, 50
Martha Keighley, 20
*John ", 15, apprentice
George ", 15, labourer
Benjamin ", 12
Elizabeth ", 10
Joseph Ross?, 14
Hannah ", 12
Eliza ", 10
Henry ", 5

And next door:
John Keighley, 40, stone mason
Elizabeth ", 40
All born Yorkshire.

I wondered if John might be an apprentice to the stone mason?

There's a christening on Familysearch of John Wright Keighley, 30 March 1823, Bramley by Leeds. Mother Mary Keighley, no father.
Could it be that he invented a father at time of marriage to conceal his illegitimacy? I've seen it happen many times.

John and James were both Masons, on John's death certificate it states Stone Mason. I think James was John's Father as John named one of his sons James. The confusion is the surname, I have certificates that show Keightley and Keighley. The difficulty I have with John is I only have 1 definite census record (1851 which shows Keighley), his marriage certificate shows Keightley and his death certificate shows Keighley. I have found Keighley in Tong, Yorkshire on 1841 census but cannot confirm.
thanks
Julia

The family in Tong has James, 68, a farmer. John's age was 20 so he would have been 20-25, making him born 1816-1821.

Hi Margaret,
I have John born 1823, this corresponds with the 1851 census with shows him at age 28. On his death certificate in 1854 it states his age at 31 years. I was unaware that the rounded the ages in the 1841 census. The John you found fits with the age, sadly not with his Father James. The ICI record I have shows a John Keighley christened 25 Dec 1822 in Bradford. Sadly I don't think I will ever know for sure, I don't have any family left that would know any more. Thanks for all your effort. Julia

That is a conundrum, Julia, I don't know what to suggest.
Margaret

Hi Julia,
I suspect that the name is Keighley and that varients of the name are probable mis-spellings. A nearby town called Keighley gives the origin of the name and it is still a popular surname in the surrounding towns and cities.
Incidently a lot of confusion with this surname probably arises because of the pronunciation - Keethly
This web site gives information about the origins of the name
http://www.surnamedb.com/surname.aspx?name=keighley

Dave