Genealogy Chat

ok - here goes.... I have the marriage certificate for my g grandmother Selina FINCH, which states that at the time of her marrage (in 1910)she was 21 years old. Her husband was 28 - not a huge age gap, but doesn't quite explain my mum's memory that the family didn't like Selina for some reason, and she thinks she may have been very young when she got married (21 isn't that young surely??). Anyway, and here comes the complicated bit - if she was 21 she would have been born approx 1889, and therefore not show on the 1881 census, but should show on the 1901 census as about 12 years old. Am I right so far with my maths?? Anyway, knowing that her father's name was James I started scrolling through the 1901 census, but there is no Selina Finch listed even close to that age....I know she can't be any older than 12 or 13 if she really was 21 in 1910, so chances are she lied about her age when she got married (she was heavily pregnant at the time of the wedding, just to further complicate the issue) but the only Selina Finch's I can find under the age of 16 have different father's names...ie not James! Further digging brings me the only possible correct person - aged 5 (which would mean she was a mere 15/16 when she married!) quoted as a 'boarder' with a George Wall and Selina Wall - only 3 people in the household. I don't quite understand how a 5 yr old would be a 'boarder' in a private house - could this mean that Selina Wall was her mother, James Finch her Father, and Gearge Wall her stepfather? James Finch is not listed as 'deceased' on the marriage certificate, but quoted as 'occupation:collier' implying he was still living....and Selina and George Wall married in 1898 when Selina the daughter would have been about 2 yrs old, so this all seems to suggest that mum and dad either did not marry, or divorced while Selina was still a baby - were divorces very common then? And this still doesn't explain why she is listed as 'boarder' and not 'step-daughter'. My head is now spinning - can anyone help me make sense of this?? Thanks, Sarah

If Selinas mum was not married but using the surname of her husband to be perhaps they used the term boarder to show the relationship between the head of the household and her. I have found in my own tree that surnames were often assumed in a variety of situations such as married woman staying with her parents whilst hubby abroad (using old maiden name) even though I have confirmed they were actually married and of grandchildren using their maternal granparents surname when their married parents have died. None of this was 'official' Re the age of 21 on the marriage cert. it was not uncommon for people to declare they were of full age i.e 21 upon marriage so they did not have to have parental consent. My geneology book says the practice was rife. Re fathers name on cert, if they were illegitimate and didnt even know who their father was they ofter used a completely ficticious name to save face with their new in laws. How we ever find families with all this is beyond me, but it pays to be wary of details on a marriage cert. Regards Penny

Sarah Firstly it seems Selina was quite young when she married and possibly lied to avoid having to get parents' consent. Maybe the groom's family thought she had "led him astray". Though i would have thought Selina's family would be more aggrieved! Anyway Selina staying with another Selina is suggestive, but Selina Wall might not be her mother - she might for example be an aunt (Selina's mother's sister) who is married to George. Selina might be named after her or they might both be named after another Selina, the aunt's mother (Selina's grandmother). More investigative work is needed. Good luck Helen

I think boarder on a census could possibly be a foster child. Maybe she was staying with her Mother's sister's family because she was not accepted by her Mother's husband - maybe he was not her Father. Although i would have thought they would have put 'neice'. Ann Glos

Thanks for the help everyone - I've run this one past my mum and she also suggests I look at the fostering side - apparently my grandmother had 3 sisters, one of whom was fostered to another family member as a baby, so she thinks its worth checking if a similar thing happened with Selina. She also thinks Selina had 2 sisters, a Sarah and a Charlotte, so I've got another couple of twigs to hopefully turn into branches :o) She wasn't able to throw any light on the age on the marriage cert though - she wasn't aware that proof wasn't needed back then, so I will just keep hunting for the right info on that part. And why didn't anyone warn me this was going to get so addictive?? lol Thanks again Sarah

She could have been staying with her mother's family, but still be boarder- I think the term was used if someone was receiving money for the child's upkeep- so she could have been a niece but paid for- so the enumerator recorder her as a boarder.

Sarah I had difficulty finding my grandfather's birth and his parents because for whatever reason, he had changed his name, but I finally found the information I needed, by tracing his sister. So good luck with tracing her sisters, I hope you find the information you need.

Sarah Was the likely Selina Finch (on 1901 census) the one from Polesworth Worcs? Did you find father James on the 1901 census? Looking for other Finch names from Polesworth I saw an Albert Finch, whose occupation was a coal miner, aged 27 and living in Wilnecote. Wonder if James also had another middle name? Ian

NB Polesworth is in Warwickshire

Not sure about the James Finch on 1901 census - there are none with a daughter Selina! I know he was a collier, but thats no help at all on a Welsh census....seems anyone who wasn't an ag lab was working in the mines in Wales! ( Even Selina's husband was a schoolmaster, who changed careers and became a 'Coal Hewer' when my grandmother was born!!) And if Selina was living with other family members she could be anywhere, which is why I think the Selina Finch from Polesworth is the most likely candidate. I think I'm going to cry!!!

Hi Sarah I have a circumstance not dissimilar to yours in my family. Someone described as a boarder in the 1901 census was actually the daughter of the man who was the head of the household. Her birth had been registered a couple of years previously under the name of her natural mother (a maidservant either in that house or one nearby), but she was taken in by her father as her natural mother could not look after her. The child's Christian names were actually from the father's family, and she was eventually married having taken her father's name, although her birth certificate details never changed. The father was married, and divorce was unthinkable, (or perhaps too expensive) to be even contemplated by his wife. In those days only the rich got divorced, and the only grounds for divorce were so limiting that people simply didn't want the scandal. So Selina could have been George's daughter, with a Christian name after his wife Selina, but the mother's maiden name as surname, just as easily as she could have been the elder Selina's daughter from before she was married. As to the age at marriage, if people asserted they were 21 there was no means of checking, and a heavily pregnant 16 year old could perhaps fairly easily pass for 21. I hope this helps. The only way to resolve it is to collect what you hope are the correct certificates, one by one, until things become clear. Best wishes, Stan