Genealogy Chat

I have this family.... :)

(Census 1841)
John Hodgson b. ca. 1811 in Yorkshire, residing in Sherburn, Barkstone Ash.
He's married to Mary Hodgson and has 3 kids
Margaret b. ca. 1831 in Sherburn
Edward b. 1837 in Sherburn
Faith b. 1840 in Sherburn

In following Census's daughter Margaret is confirmed to be born in 1841 in ca. 1831
1851 ca. 1830
1861 ca. 1831
1871 ca. 1831
1881 ca. 1831
1891 ca. 1830

I take a look in Free BDM and find a Margaret Hodgson born in Sherburn in Elmet to John and Mary, who has a christening in January 1830 (Jan 20th).

I also find, additionally, on the same batch(C018832), 2 Faiths and an Edward born to John Hodgson & Mary:

Faith Hodgson - Christening 28. April 1840
Faith Hodgson - Christening 16. April 1843
Edward Hodgson - Christening 24. Sept. 1837

as well as

William Hodgson - Christening also on the 16. April 1843 (twin to Faith No. 2?)
Sarah - Christening 13. Sept 1835
Hannah - Chr. 07.08.1826
and Ann - Chr. 09.12.1832

My question is do I have the right Margret and how can I proove that these are here siblings? It seems that there is only one John and Mary, so in my mind it could be a conclusion. But if Margaret was Christened in January she was christened really early! And why do lots of the census's say 1831, they should all be 1830 if she was born in January.

Secondly, can I assume that Faith and William are twins if they are christened on the same day. But why are Faith and William not with their mother on the 1851 census? And why call their 2nd daughter Faith too. Do you think she gave the twins up for adoption? Could there really be two John and Mary Hodgsons in the same villiage. How can I proove it?

Frustration!!! Thanks for reading.
Charlotte.

Hi Charlotte,
I really think you need to see the actual parish registers to be sure, they could include fathers occupations etc to help prove the link between them all.

I think you will find the registers for Sherburn in Elmet deposited at The Borthwick Institute of Historical Research St. Anthony's Hall, Peasholme Green, York, YO 1 2PW Telephone: 01904-642315

Charlotte, the slight discepancy with birth years is insignificant - it can be a matter of month of census, parents' error, all sorts really!

Maybe the 1st Faith died?

Deaths Dec 1841 (>99%)
HODGSON Faith Thorne 23 430

And a birth:

Births Mar 1845 (>99%)
HODGSON Faith Bridlington 23 29

Not too familiar with locations, sorry if not relevant.

It wasn't unusual for parents to name another child after the deceased one back then.

Jan

Well as a relative newbie here's my take.

I've had to accept that sometimes census ages are out. They just are. For various reasons - the person doing the reporting wasn't sure of ages perhaps, lack of numeracy, sheer mistakes etc. Also it was common at one time to say that 'Joe was in his 20th year' which would actually mean he was 19 not 20. If I am otherwise sure that it is the right person I usually just make a note that 'ages differ on xxx document' or something similar.

A christening early after a birth might mean the child wasn't thought to be able to survive, but then did, or perhaps with a first child it's a happy celebration to get them done asap?

And No you can't assume twins from a christening on the same day unless you've other good evidence from later sources. I've a family where the parents christened their children in batches of two - no idea why, but there it was, confirmed by later censuses and some bmd certs! I also had a case where every child in the family was subsequently rechristened after the birth of the final child - and the eldest was late teens! That took a lot of detangling to be sure that the earlier children hadn't died and names been reused (fairly common).

So you have a couple of possibilities to pursue, try finding a possible death for Faith no. 1, or trying to deduce whether she is actually the same as Faith no. 2 and rechristened with her (younger) brother, or trying to find other evidence of twins. Can you find either of the children elsewhere on the census, staying with other relatives etc? Given the dates, have you been able to find their BMD index entries as opposed to just familysearch christening data?

Happy hunting,

Kate x

Well, thanks to all. Couple of really neat ideas here. Although I guess all confirm my fear of not having quite enough evidence yet. Sob! The children being christened in twos is interesting. Never heard that before. Without going to the UK and having access to parish records, I guess I'll have to start forking out on birth certificates - or at least a couple, to find out a little more about the Dad. Thanks to Keith too with that phone number. Wonder if someone there can look up stuff and post it on to me. Will try!
Will try BDM now too.
Thanks Y'all.
Charlotte.

It was quite common in those days to name a child after an earlier one who died. Also very common to have children christened in a "job lot".
When I first started my tree I found 2 children christened the same day, assumed they were twins, then found a third, then a fourth, when i got to 6 I realized it was a "job lot" christening.

There's this Faith in 1851:
River Diviation Cottage, Huttons Ambo, Yorkshire
John Hartley, head, 29, rail lab, born Yorks, Cawad
Henrietta, wife, 25, born Huby
James, son, 1, born Huttons Ambo
Faith Hodgson, cousin, 11, house servant, born Sherburn

Related to Hannah Hartley who lived with them in 1841?
Sherburn, Yorkshire
John Hodgson, 30, innkeeper
Mary, 30
Margaret, 10
Edward, 3
Faith, 1
Hannah Hartley, 80
All born in county.

Edward with other Hartley relatives:
1851 census
Sherburn St., Cawood, Yorkshire
Joseph Hartley, head, 61, butcher & farmer of 39 acres employing 1 labourer, born Cawood
Mary, wife, 61, born Deighton
Thomas, son, 22, born Cawood
Mary Ann, dau, 18, born "
Edward Hodgson, nephew, 13, born Sherburn
Sarah Atkinson, servant, 18, house servant, born "
William ???, servant, 16, farm labourer, born Cawood

Thanks Margaret. This "job lot" christening is facinating. And yes, they are all the same family. Hartley is their mother Mary maiden name.
I was surprised to see that she had farmed out her youngest kids on her family though. The mother Mary keeps Margaret with her and runs an boarding house in york as by 1851 she's widowed.
The plot thickens here as we find Joseph, Mary's (eldest) brother and faiths coursin John (son of??). I so wish they all didn't have such common names!!!
Makes one think how lucky we are today. Faith, a "house servant" to her cousin at the age of 11. A bit unfair, isn't it? I have no idea how to go on from here. But then again it's a bit late now. I'll try again in the morning!
Thanks Margaret! Charlotte

Families often christened children in "job lots" as they couldn't get the time off work to do any better and the nearest church was 2 miles away, so they made a pilgrimage. Particularly in rural areas.

Margaret