Genealogy Chat

I have a death certificate for Barbara Nesbitt died 15th april 1877 age 69, wife of William Nesbitt 50 albert street ,gateshead , a cake baker ,son present James N Nesbitt. The N is Noble as I found him on the IGI and my maiden name was Noble-Nesbitt. I cannot find the age of William. On the IGI it states <1821> Does the bracketts mean only approx date? James was born in 1847 so they must have been married before that. I found a William on the FreeBmd but not with Barbara. If Barbara was born in 1808 that makes her a lot older than William. Phew! Anyone got any ideas? May

May Love the title made me laugh so i have knocked my own request off the top to get u back up there Regards

Hi May, I found a William Noble Nesbitt married to Barbara (didn't give her maiden name) on IGI. The marriage was in 1846 in Seghill, Northumberland. It didn't give a year of birth for William but Barbara's was 1825? Don't know if it's the one your looking for but good luck! Tracey, Bolton

Found this record on my Vital Records Index CD - 21/2/1885 Noble Nesbitt aged 22 married Elizabeth Gorman aged 24 at St Nicholas in Newcastle. Noble's father was Thomas William Nesbitt and Elizabeth's was Michael Gorman. Any connection to your lot?

Thanks Tracy but I already have that one. The thing is that as I have the death cert for Barbara which makes her born 1808 it makes it confusing. Thanks anyway for looking Regards May

Hi Helen, Now that's VERY interesting. My maiden name was Noble-Nesbitt and have been trying to find where the Noble came from. Thought it was a mothers maiden name. I never thought that it might be a christian name. Will have to look further into this. Many many thanks for this very interesting information. May

Hello May, Yes the brackets are approx age only and if you have brackets around the place of birth as well this is approx only. i had a relative born 1837 Portsmouth, in fact he was born 1838 and in Northampton!!!! regards Eileen

Thanks Eileen, I will remember that and search a bit wider. Thanks for your help May

May Try just putting in Noble as a first name on 1881 Census and you'll see there were quite a few! The 1901 has a few in Northumberland but none seem to be Nesbitts. There are two young lads called Noble Chrisp though, bet they got some ribbing at school.

Noticed James Noble Nesbitts wife gave her place of birth as Seghill on 1881 Census so there are connections to this place. Can't find it on a modern map but the gazetteer site which has old place names has it as near Blyth.

Hi Helen, Seghill is in Northumberland.I wonder if they left his christian name off and his surname was Noble Nesbitt because all the rellies are Noble-Nesbitt. I have tried to find him since I got the information but no sign of him , that is why I wondered if it was just a christian name left off. May

I did find him on the 1881 Census. I think his Dad was William Nesbitt who came from Alnwick.

Hi Helen, I've found him on the 1881 census. I looked on IGI and through 1200 nesbitts. Would have been still looking but for you. All I have to do now is try and connect him to my rellies. What an unusual first name Noble. I think this is going to be a real challenge. Helen thank you for all your help. It is very much appreciated. Kind regards May

Hi, Mary Going back to William Nesbitt, I noticed that the IGI reference found by Tracey has the marriage date in brackets too. I checked the 1837 web site and there was no relevant marriage in 1845,1846 or 1847. I think the IGI contributor guessed, on the assumption that it should be before James Noble Nesbitt's birth. He was 33 in the 1881 census, so he should have been born between April 1847 and March 1848. Is there any reason to suppose he actually came from Seghill, or even that he and Barbara were really married? It's an interesting set of searches you have. Good luck! Stan Driver

Hi Stan, It states on Barbara's death certificate that she was the wife of William Nesbitt so I am presuming they were married. On the 1881 census James Noble Nesbitt's wife Elizabeth was born at Seghill. It is so confusing. If the death certificate is right it means that Barbara was born 1808, not 1825 as on IGI so I don't know when William was born as it states 1821 Seghill on IGI. Gues now you can see why I'm brick walled and cross eyed. May

Hi Stan, When I look back at what I have up to now, my father James Noble-Nesbitt born 1905, his father William Noble-Nesbitt born 1876, his father James Noble Nesbitt born 1848, his father William who I have the query on. As you can see the names James and William seem to have been alternated all the way down, so it might be right to assume that his father was James. I found a James Nesbitt married to a Isabella Noble 1798,perhaps this is where the Noble came in. If William was then born about 1800/2 the date would make it about right for Barbara born 1808. Have I got you completely spinning in circles now, cause I'm getting a bit dizzy myself. What do you think?, and is there any way of confirming this. Sorry this is so long winded. Regards May

Hi,May, It is difficult, but I think your reasoning is right. I've had a look at Hugh Wallis batch numbers for IGI, and the nearest old church to Seghill appears to be at Earsdon by North Shields (about 4 miles by road from Seghill, which is actually less than the distance from Earsdon to North Shields!). There are lots of Nesbitts in Earsdon, although none I could positively identify as the right one. Ther is a William Nesbitt christened 24 Apr 1791 (probably too early), but the records copied into IGI stop at 1812. It is possible that William was younger than Barbara, and born after 1812. A search in the Northumberland County record office into the parish records for Earsdon might be necessary, but at least there is somewhere to look. All the best Stan

Hi Stan, Thank you very much for your help and advice.I will do that. Sometimes you just get bogged down with details and it takes a new pair of eyes to point you in the right direction. It was very kind of you to look into all that for me. Bless you. Regards May

Hi, May Sorry to keep coming back on this, but there's something odd I can't quite put my finger on. James Noble Nesbitt's marriage is in IGI - Gateshead 21 Dec 1871 - wife Elizabeth Russell, father William Noble Nesbitt, mother Barbara. Fair enough. Where I have a problem is the 1881 census statements that James was born in Newcastle on Tyne and that he was 33. According to the Newcastle Register Office website, the only James Nesbitt they have is born in 1843. In 1848, there were no James Nesbitts registered. A James Nesbit was registered Jul-Sep 1848, Berwick 25 24. He would be only 32 at the date of the 1881 census, and I think is found in north Northumberland in censuses anyway. (The Apr-Jun 1848 registrations of James Nesbitt in West Derby 20 1133, and Christoper James Nesbitt in Rothbury 25 415, are quite unlikely). In 1847 we have a James Nesbitt Oct-Dec 1847, Alnwick 25 218, and a James Nesbit Oct-Dec 1847, Glendale 25 245. I believe these latter two are also in Northunberland in later censuses. If the place of birth is right, James's age must be wrong. He doesn't seem to be in the 1891 census, so his age can't be checked there. Indeed I wonder whether he was dead, since Robert Nesbitt (12), the 1891 age of his youngest son, Robert Noble Nesbitt in the 1881 census, is found in the Chadwick Memorial Certified Industrial School in Cox Lodge, Gosforth, with his younger brother James, aged 8, in 1891. Clearly James Noble Nesbitt's birth certificate could give a clue about William Noble Nesbitt and Barbara. I've tried all sots of ways to get at their marriage or William's birth, but I conclude these records are not on IGI at all. I think I've interfered too much, but I don't like to be beaten! Best wishes Stan Driver

Hello Stan, I very much appreciate all the help from you, and no, you haven't interfered too much. I am at a stand still with this so appreciate any help at all. It is possible that James was younger than Elizabeth and didn't like to put that on the census. If I send for his birth certificate do you think I should put 1848 on as I could be sending for lots of certificates for different years and it will be costly. I found a James Nesbitt married to Isabella Noble 22 april 1798 Alnwick. I did wonder if this was where the Noble came from in Noble-Nesbitt. Once again, many, many thanks for your interest. May