Genealogy Chat

Pls see below so it will make more sense!!

It's driving me nuts. I know there was a Sarah with 5 kids and her mother was Mary. No idea for sure about her father. I have found a Mary that could possibly be the mother, with some of the kids, but not Sarah. Father already deceased. I have a birth certificate for one of the kids that showed up with Mary which gave me a name for father. I looked for a marriage but the only one that shows up is too early if the age for Mary on Census is correct - but I found her on 2 Census and they both match. I have the marriage certificate but can't find either the bride or the groom at home with families before marrying. Why are the being so flippin' difficult and elusive?? It's driving me nuts that I have nothing concrete on any bit to stick them together - they're worse than a batch of eels covered in baby oil!!! Sorry, just needed to sound off.

You say you found a marriage for Mary but it would make her too young, how young would the census have made her at time of marriage? as girls could marry at 12 and boys at 14 until after WW1 if memory serves. Also people had trouble remembering how old thay were and would lie to get marry early or without parental consent (I have two 19yr olds marrying in 1922 who said they were 21 so they didn't need their families consent - they were married some time before their parents knew.) Is it possable to find a birth / marriage certificate for Sarah to find her fathers name??

How old was Sarah when you couldnt find her with the mum and other kids? Was she old enought to be in service somewhere - or even just staying with relatives.

Thanks for replies. Apologies for delay in replying. I have no idea about Sarah's birth details. I have her death certificate but unfortunatley it gives no details of her birth so I don't know where she was born. Just her age at death which was 37 (she died in 1899). On the 1881 census where I found her mother (assuming of course that it really is her mother - but the details fit with the info given on her death certificate) with other kids but no Sarah, Sarah was old enough to be working but without knowing exact details for her birth, I have no idea which Sarah could possibly be her!! I have the marriage certificate for Mary and that has both her and hubby as being 18 years old but if the census is right, she would only have been 14. Also the kids that do show up on the first census where I found Mary - the oldest was born in 1868. If they were wed in 1853 then there would certainly be more kids before these and I have no idea where to start looking for them without any idea of their names. I can't find Mary and hubby together anywhere - or at least the ones I can find don't fit at all with the information I have. See what I mean???? I just can't get anything concrete on any bit of the family to tie it all together or to help me prove that I've found the right family and the right marriage. It's driving me nuts!!! The marriage was Mary Hanlon and Thomas Flanagan. Sarah was born (if age at death is right) in 1862/63. I can't find a marriage for them at all around this time. The one I have the certificate for in 1853 is the only possibility I can find. Last child on 1881 census was born in 1877. She is still at home with Mary in 1891. Other than that, I can't find any of them anywhere!!!!