So Much In Common

The mail brought with it a bunch of BMD certificates, and some or much information with each. Of this I have followed up a little, and I am digesting the rest. In the last post, I wrote about John Beresford and the possibility that he was born at the Union Workhouse in Durham. I now have in hand, the birth and marriage certificates reported by Duncan Brown (which, of course, he reported accurately). And I don't have any more to add.

To summarize, if the John Berresford, born to Elizabeth at the Union Workhouse Crossgate, Durham is our John Beresford, then the father given on his marriage certificate is unlikely to be his biological father. This father may be a convenient fiction to avoid the stigma of illegitimacy, or he may be a relative of his mother's. The added "r" on the birth certificate is not a problem, since I notice that Elizabeth was unable to sign her name, and therefore had no idea if the registrar had spelled it correctly or not. I don't have any sense as to the plausibilty of an illiterate Elizabeth, related to an Attorney's Clerk John, but then they may not be siblings, Besides, Victorian gender roles and passage of time might well allow for a young woman to be illiterate in 1845, but her brother a clerk by the 1860s or 70s.

Another birth certificate I had requested was that of Roger Fannan, who, I think, might be Roger Fannon Byrne, father of Minnie "Marion" Mary Frances Byrne and father-in-law of Vivian Kennett Tilley. Here is the transcript (BMD Birth Index: Roger Fannan Mar1861 Barton 8c 460). The is no entry for father or father's occupation.

Twenty Second                                                 X The Mark of
February                                         Jane          Jane Fannan          Twenty second
1861                       Roger  Boy [  ] Fannan [  ] Mother                   March
Union Workhouse                                             Timothy Street       1861
Patricroft                                                           Eccles

Workhouse regimes were harsh to discourage people from taking advantage of them. Even the architecture was reminiscent of a prison, although people were free to leave if they would rather find bed and food elsewhere. The exchange between Ebenezer Scrooge and the gentlemen collecting for charity illustrates something of workhouse philosophy. On being asked for a contribution, the conversation goes:

     "Are there no prisons?" asked Scrooge.

     "Plenty of prisons," said the gentleman, laying down the pen again.

     "And the Union workhouses?" demanded Scrooge. "Are they still in operation?"

     "They are. Still," returned the gentleman, "I wish I could say they were not."

     "The Treadmill and the Poor Law are in full vigour, then?" said Scrooge.

     "Both very busy, sir."

     "Oh! I was afraid, from what you said at first, that something had occurred to stop them in their useful course," said Scrooge. "I'm very glad to hear it… I help to support the establishments I have mentioned--they cost enough; and those who are badly off must go there."

     "Many can't go there; and many would rather die."

     "If they would rather die," said Scrooge, "they had better do it, and decrease the surplus population.”

    

On the other hand, medical care was available at the workhouse, even though it was disturbing to the authorities that the working poor had less medical provision than the workhouse poor. A month after the delivery, Elizabeth registered the birth, as resident at Timothy Street. She may have merely checked herself into the workhouse for whatever medical care was available, and then checked herself out shortly afterwards.

I browsed the 1861 England Census for Timothy Street, Eccles and found this entry:
     Sarah Kelly        Head   Widow  60  Housekeeper           Ireland
     Catherine Kelly  Daur     Un       23  Bobbin [...] Cotton   Ireland
     Catherine Kelly  Visitor   Un       22   Serv                       Ireland
     Jane Fanner       Lodger  Un      26   Charwoman            Ireland
     Rodger Fanner   Lodger  Un      2 mos                            Lancashire, Patricroft

The ancestry transcript has Farmer, but it looks like Fanner to me. The census was taken 7 April, a couple of weeks after the birth registration of the workhouse Roger Fannan, who would have been a little over 7 weeks old - so 2 months is reasonable as an age at census. How many unmarried Janes with infant Rogers could there be associated with Eccles, let alone Timothy Street? The Ebenezer Scrooges of the world may have believed there could be hundreds! But a search of the BMD Birth Index for first name Roger/Rodger and last name Fannan/Fannon/Fanner/Farmer in Lancashire for 1861 returns only Roger Fannan from the workhouse.

I am very sure that this Jane and Rodger Fanner in the 1861 Census are the Jane and Roger Fannan of the birth certificate. And that this Roger/Rodger is the 10-year-old boarder Roger Fannan of the 1871 Census (see Ageing Backwards), also born in Patricroft at the same time. And the Fannan-Byrne connection there seems too much of a coincidence for this not to be Roger Fannon Byrne, although I am much less certain of this. So far an 1881 Census return with Roger Fannan/Fannon Byrne has elluded me.

Surprisingly, there are few Jane Fannan/Fannons. The BMD Death Index has a couple of possibilities:

First, Jane Fannon Sep1863 Manchester 8d 227. This is before ages were added, so I'd have to order the certificate to find out if this is even a possible record relating to Jane Fannan/Fanner/Fannon.

Second, Jane Fannan Sep1903 Barton 8c 418 Age: 63, of the right age to be the Jane Fanner of the 1861 Census and closer to "home" than the first. I had hoped a search for her in Barton would yield some intermediate census returns, but no such luck.

Which, if either, of these turns out to be a record of Roger's mother, I don't want to pay for at this point. The 1863 death certificate might have a Timothy Street address, or a Byrne informant, but probably has neither, and may not even have the right age! By 1903, I don't expect to find any conclusive connection between the decedent and Roger Fannon Byrne.

On his marriage certificate, Roger Fannon Byrne reports his father as John Byrne, Labourer. As with John Beresford Attorney's Clerk, this may be a fictional or an adoptive father. And whereas it is unlikely that a John Beresford fathered a child with an Elizabeth Berresford, in Roger's case, it is possible that John Byrne could be the biological father his mother didn't report at the time of the birth. What connection John Byrne had with the Margaret Byrne of the 1871 census is anyone's guess.

If John Beresford and Roger Fannon Byrne were both born in workhouses to unwed mothers, then each side of the Tilley/Byrne marriage had that in common. It was not the sort of thing people talked about, so they may not even have known it about each other!

Ageing Backwards

In TH White's Once and Future King, the magician Merlyn has second sight because he ages backwards, or perhaps more accurately, he experiences time backwards. His past is our future, so to speak. This has advantages, but is inconvenient at times.

“You see, one gets confused with Time, when it is like that. All one’s tenses get muddled, for one thing. If you know what is going to happen to people, and not what has happened to them, it makes it difficult to prevent it happening, if you don’t want it to have happened, if you see what I mean? Like drawing in a mirror.”

Genealogical generations are like this. If I start at the chronological beginning, you, dear reader, would have an easier time following the life of my ancestors. But the order of discover in genealogy is the other way. We begin by experiencing an ancestor in middle or old age, and only afterwards do we find a marriage, and then records from their childhood. And then we start all over with a previous generation! After a few posts of speculation, we move to much firmer ground. In this post, we age backwards the ancestors of Minnie Mary Frances Byrne, Vivian Kennett Tilley's first wife.

Here are her BMD Index entries. I have not yet ordered the certificates:
     Birth: Minnie Mary F Byrne Mar1905 Paddington 1a 76
     Marriage: Minnie MF Byrne Dec1928 Paddington 1a 171
     Death: Marion M Tilley Sep1946 St Ives 4a 246 Age:42

The parish records for Westminster, St Mary record her full name and baptism on 9 April 1905:
     Minnie Mary Frances Byrne
            parents: Roger Fannon and Matilda Mary Byrne Decorator of 29 Caird Street

I have little doubt that the death record is the correct one, and that she took the name Marion (as recorded by a previous Tilley genealogist - thank you). But she was baptized "Minnie", and her birth and marriage records use that name, as does her first inclusion on a census return.

Now working through the parents' lives backwards, their BMD Death Index entries would appear to be in the same calendar quarter, although not at the same time:
     Matilda M Byrne    Mar 1927 Paddington 1a 18 Age: 65        
     Roger F Byrne       Mar1927 Paddington 1a 119 Age 66

The next record back is the 1911 England Census at 29 Caird Street, Queens Park, Paddington, London
     Roger Fannon Byrne           Head      50   Marr    House Painter  Eccles, Lancs.
     Matilda Mary Byrne              Wife       48   Marr                           Kentish Town, London
     Minnie Mary Frances Byrne  Daughter 6                                      Queens Park, London

The 1911 returns are the householder "autograph" copy, so we get to see the signature of Roger Fannon Byrne, and no editing or typos by the census enumerator that can occur in the Census Enumerator Books. From the census we also learn that Minnie is not merely the only surviving child, but the only child Matilda bore, which is less surprising when we learn they were only married ten years before aged 39/40.

The Parish Register for St Peter Paddington records the marriage on 6 July 1901:
     Roger Fannon Byrne 40 Bachelor Decorator
                                                    32 Edbrooke Road  father: John Byrne Labourer
     Matilda Mary Capron 39 Spinster                  
                                                   32 Edbrooke Road  father: John Capron Hatter
This corresponds to BMD Marriage Index Sep1901 Paddington 1a 143 for Roger Fannon Byrne and Mary Matilda Capron.

About three months prior to the marriage we find them in the 1901 England Census at 111 Third Avenue, Paddington. They must have moved house in the meantime. Mary Capron is Matilda's mother and Roger's future mother-in-law.
     Mary Capron              Head        Wid[ow] 67 Living on own means  Harpenden, Herts.
     Matilda Mary Capron Dau[ghter] S[ingle] 39 Book keeper            Kentish Town, London
     Roger Byrne               Boarder     S[ingle] 38 House Painter            Eccles, Lancs.
I could not find a census return or BMD Birth Index entry for Roger Fannon Byrne before these 1901 records. For Matilda Mary Capron I did find her name on 1871 and 1881 England Census returns.

In 1871 her family lived at 9 Ferdinand Street, Kentish Town, Pancras, London
     John B Capron       Head  Mar  40  Hat Maker  Middlesex, Blackfriars
     Mary Capron         Wife   Mar  37  Laundress   Herts., Harpenden
     Matilda M Capron  Daur            9   Scholar       Middlesex, St Pancras
     Maria L Capron      Daur           7    Scholar       Middlesex, St Pancras
These appear to be the only children they have. With 10 years from census to census it is possible that a child may have been born and died. After seeing so many large 19th century families, finding two generations of small families seems remarkable.

In 1881 John, Mary and Maria live at 31 Princes Crescent, but Matilda has left home. A 20-year-old Matilda Capron is a Domestic Servant in the Household of Thomas Burkill of 3 Stratford Place, Kentish Town, Pancras, and this is probably the same Matilda Capron, my step-great grandmother. And continuing backwards for Matilda, we have this BMD Birth Index entry - London, from cradle to grave, or, I should say, from grave to cradle!
     Matilda Mary Capron Jun 1861 Pancras 1b 182

Matilda's father John B Capron died sometime bewteen the 1881 and 1901 census dates (I cannot find an 1891 census record). The BMD Death Index has this likely entry:
     John Capron Dec1893 Pancras 1b 130 Age: 62

For the 1861 England Census, he and Mary lived at 2 Haverstock Road, Kentish Town, Pancras, London.
     John B Capron Head    Mar  30   Hatter                 Surrey, Lambeth
     Mary Capron   Wife     Mar  27   Straw Plaiter       Beds, Luton
     Charles Camp  Lodger Mar  23   Railway Porter    Herts, Langley
I couldn't make out "Plaiter" until I consulted a list of 1861 occupations. A straw plaiter plaits straw for hatmaking, presumably the context in which she met John B.

Their marriage is recorded in the parish register of Lambeth St John the Evangelist for 1 Jun 1857
     John Capron Full bachelor  Hatter  Cornwall       father: Thomas Capron  Hatter
     Mary Allen           Spinster                       Road   father: Elisha Allen         Labourer
Although John has signed his name: Jno Capron; Mary is unable to write, and next to her name is the notation: X Mark of Mary Allen, not uncommon for the time. This corresponds to BMD Marriage Index:
     Jun1857 Lambeth 1d 447 John Capron and Mary Allen

This makes sense of the other household at 2 Haverstock Road for the 1861 Census, that of the in-laws:
     Elisha Allen     Head    Mar    52   Coal Porter    Beds, ??
     Maria Allen     Wife     Mar   54   Straw Plaiter   Herts, Harpenden
     William Allen   Son      Un     21   Plate Layer     Beds, Luton
     Richard Deller Lodger Widr  27   Coal Porter    Beds, Luton

So far I have not found more on John Capron, except for a baptism record at St Mary Lambeth on 8 May 1831:
     John Bill Son of Thomas and Sarah Capron of Union Street Hatter
The B is for Bill. The lastname "Capron" is derived from someone who makes caps or hoods. I wonder how long the family had been in the headgear business!

There is more research for another post on the families of Elisha and Maria Allen, and Thomas and Sarah Capron. But somehow I wasn't ready to let the matter of Roger Fannon Byrne rest. Fannon might be a maiden name somewhere in the family line, but perhaps, like Zoe Young (Hanrott), Roger might have been adopted. A search for Roger Fannon born about 1861 in Lancashire returned the following two possibilities:

First there is the BMD Birth Index:
     Roger Fannan Mar1861 Barton 8c 460
(Eccles would be in the Barton registration district).

And second, there is the 1871 England Census at 37 James Street, Eccles, Lancashire.
     Margaret Byrne Head      Widow          36                           Ireland
     Michael Byrne   Son        Unmarried      20 Buss [?] Guard   Lancs, Liverpool
     Bridget Byrne    Daur       Unmarried     22 Spoolwinder       Lancs, Liverpool
     Roger Fannan    Boarder                       10 Scholar              Lancs, Patricroft
Patricroft is part of Eccles, which was one of the search criteria. The name of his host family is more surprising because "Byrne" was not part of the search, which is too much of a coincidence for him not to be the right person. Given their relative ages, Margaret would seem to be the step-mother of Michael and Bridget. Both Byrne and Fannan are Irish names, and whatever Margaret's maiden name, she is from Ireland, all reminders of the migration of the 1840's and the Great Famine that reduced Ireland's population by some twenty-five percent. Was John Byrne, who Roger Fannon gave as his father, the deceased husband of Margaret? And how are the Fannans related to the Byrnes?

Genealogical living backwards does not confer second sight, and the answers to these questions remain unanswered. As also the answer to the question of Vivian Kennett Tilley's grandparents, which I still await, and will report when I find out.

Some Advice from Holmes

Jeremy Brett and Edward Hardwicke vividly brought to life the detective, Sherlock Holmes, and his companion, Dr. Watson in the Granada TV adaptation. I caught these on Public Television in the 1990s, finding the characterizations and Victorian detail delightful, whether or not I already knew the plot, or even thought it believable. Part of the fun of genealogy for me lies in the detective work. And that set me to looking for Holmes quotes. I like the irony of this one - a fictional character telling us that fact is stranger than fiction!

"Life is infinitely stranger than anything which the mind of man could invent. We would not dare to conceive the things which are really mere commonplaces of existence. If we could fly out of that window hand in hand, hover over this great city, gently remove the roofs, and peep in at the queer things which are going on, the strange coincidences, the plannings, the cross-purposes, the wonderful chains of events, working through generations, and leading to the most outre results, it would make all fiction with its conventionalities and foreseen conclusions most stale and unprofitable."

Some family lines appear to lead predictable lives, and I can sail from census to census, finding enough continuity of place or year of birth, or occupation, or the presence of family members, to trace with some confidence the generations of a single family. In other cases, my confidence quickly evaporates as I'm left with a Victorian/Edwardian detective mystery, as in the case of John Tilley and his wife Amelia.

First, forward two generations. My stepfather rarely talked about his own father, and beyond the names of his siblings I learned little about his genealogy. Going into this genealogical project, I was interested in the Tilleys. I never really thought of him as a stepfather; he was simply “Dad” and I now bear his last name as part of mine. Having three parents at least means having half as many again genealogical lines to follow!

So, where to begin? A search of his name, John Beresford Tilley, showed that at least one other had been at work on Tilley genealogy before me. Even so, it is always good to check for documentary sources, which turns out to be fairly easy in this case, since the prior genealogist indicated that John Beresford Tilley's father had unusual given names: Vivian Kennett. The BMD Marriage Index records this marriage:
     Vivian Kennett Tilley and Minnie MF Byrne Dec1928 Paddington 1a 171

The BMD Birth Index records the following Tilley/Byrne children:

     Mary K Mar1929 Marylebone 1a 626

     John B Jun1931 Pancras 1b 182

     Richard K Dec1928 Huntingdon 3a 286

     Michael D Sep1942 St. Ives 3b 523

There should also be Linda, the youngest. And note how the Index records a move from London to Huntingdonshire, something my father had shared with us.

I did know that my father’s mother had died young. With the hint that she also went by the name Marion, I found this death record :
     Marion M Tilley Sep1946 St. Ives 4b 246 Age:42

Her BMD Birth Index record is:
     Minnie Mary F Byrne Mar1905 Paddington 1a 76

I could also confirm from BMD Indexes that Vivian Kennett remarried (Jun1953 Hammersmith 5c 160) to Patricia N Worner. In fact, the prior genealogist is a descendant through this line. Vivian Kennett Tilley died in 1993.

Vivian Kennett also shows up in the 1911 England Census, living at 23 Cleveland Square, Hyde Park, London:

     John Tilley                     Head              50  Married  Collector    b. London, Islington

     Amelia Augusta Tilley   Wife              39   Married Caretaker   b. Durham City

     Adela Bereford Tilley    Daughter       14                 School        b. London, Shepherd’s Bush

     Norah Kathleen Tilley   Daughter       12                 School        b. Kent, Gillingham

     Vivian Kennett Tilley     Son                 9                  School        b. London, Notting Hill

     Minnie Kennett Dawes Sister-in-law  36   Married Cook Domestic b. Durham, Langley Moor

The family also shows up prior to Vivian Kennett's birth in the 1901 England Census, living at 1 Hurstway Street, Kensington:

     John Tilley                Head                39 Married  House Minder  b. London, Islington

     Amelia A Tilley         Wife                29 Married                           b. Durham City

     Adela E                     Daughter          4                                          b. London, Hammersmith

     Nora K                       Daughter          2                                         b. Kent,  New Brompton

All three children were baptized on the same day, 2^nd November 1905 at St Mary Magdalene, Paddington. The baptismal record also lists their birthdays:

     Adela Bereford   10 January 1897,

     Norah Kathleen  23 November 1899

     Vivian Kennett    7 September 1901.

Their address is given as 126 Clarendon Street.  John’s occupation is cab driver. Around this time, London had mostly horse-drawn cabs and fewer than one hundred motor cabs.

When I search for a marriage between John Tilley and a spouse Amelia A., I find this one:

     John Tilley and Amelia A Beresford Jun1914 Paddington 1a 211

Which makes sense; the wife’s maiden name, Beresford, is that given by the prior Tilley genealogist, and also my father's middle name, which he explained as a family name. Amelia's BMD Birth Index entry is:
     Amelia Augusta Bereford Sep1871 Durham 10a 410
Her BMD Death Index entry is:
     Amelia Tilley Mar1959 Fulham 5c 668 Age:87

Yet the marriage entry also presents a mystery; in 1911 on their census return, John and Amelia A report being married for 15 years; yet their marriage certificate was issued in 1914! It is possible that their original marriage was not properly registered. (In an earlier post, I reported that Kenneth Kapadia and Hattie Maxfield/Wichert have two marriage records: one in London, England and one in Winnipeg, Canada). But is it possible that they were living together as married, while one of them was actually separated from a living spouse? Certainly not a topic of respectable Edwardian conversation!

A more prosaic mystery concerns John Tilley's parents. John Tilley, from the census data was born in Islington, London about 1861/2. When I searched for such a John Tilley, I found the son of one Llewellyn Tilley, a confectioner from Gloucestershire, and his wife, Elizabeth. Unfortunately the name is common enough that other researchers propose different parents, that John Tilley is the son of John Tilley, Carman, of Marylebone, London and his wife Ellen.

After some preliminary work, I decided it was well worth ordering the 1914 marriage certificate for John Tilley and Amelia Beresford, which ought to list the name and occupation of John Tilley's father. While I am waiting on this, I will present in future posts the preliminary work, which leads me to favor Llewellyn over John. Still, keep in mind Holmes's cautionary note:

"It is a capital mistake to theorize before one has data. Insensibly one begins to twist facts to suit theories, instead of theories to suit facts."