LostSouls
30-04-2010, 03:21 PM
My Gt Grandmother Hannah Turner states on her marriage certificate that her father was John Turner who was a watch maker.
However, the only birth record (1853) for a Hannah Turner which looks remotely correct states that the father was a watch maker named Henry Turner.
I have found the marriage of this Henry Turner to a Hannah Blake in 1848 and I have also found the couple living in Galway Street, Finsbury, London on the 1851 census.
It is what happenes after 1851 which is the mystery.
The subsequent birth certificate of their daughter Hannah states that she was born in Strand Union Work House which at first seemed strange as Henry came from what appears to be a wealthy family.
Also I could find no record of either Henry or his wife Hannah on the 1861 census - but I did discover a Henry Turner of the correct age and profession living in Coventry.
What I found was that Henry had remarried in Aston, Warwickshire and apparently abandoned his daughter in London. (The name and profession of Henry's father was the same on both marriage certificates - and incidentally Henry descibed himself as a bachelor at the time of his second marriage).
It would seem that Henry was an untrustworthy and unpleasant character.
In fact Henry probably never knew his daughter because he had almost certainly deserted his family before his daughter was born in the Work House. No suprise therefore that the daughter may have got her father's name wrong - she never knew him.
On the 1861 census I have found a Hannah Turner, aged 8, living in St Sepulchre as a "Boarder" - with no sign of her mother. I therefore made the assumption that her mother had died sometime between the time of her daughter's birth in 1853 and 1861.
Of all the Hannah Turners who died in London within that period only one fits the evidence of correct age and correct place.
However the certificate makes no reference to having been married (which I suppose is hardly suprising if she had been abandoned prior to giving birth to her daughter).
Also the certificate describes the informant's signature as "The mark of Hannah Turner, present at the death".
Now when Hannah Turner died in 1856 her daughter Hannah would have been only 3 years old - and there appear to be no other Hannahs anywhere in the family.
So (at last) my questions:
Is it possible for a 3yr old to be named as the informant on a death certificate??
Perhaps the daughter found her dead mother and was subsequently taken to the Registrar by a neighbour?
Does anybody know of a child being named as the informant??
Also I presume that Hannah's marital state at the time of her death may have been unknown because of the stigma associated with her husband's desertion.
Looking forward to receiving any response.
However, the only birth record (1853) for a Hannah Turner which looks remotely correct states that the father was a watch maker named Henry Turner.
I have found the marriage of this Henry Turner to a Hannah Blake in 1848 and I have also found the couple living in Galway Street, Finsbury, London on the 1851 census.
It is what happenes after 1851 which is the mystery.
The subsequent birth certificate of their daughter Hannah states that she was born in Strand Union Work House which at first seemed strange as Henry came from what appears to be a wealthy family.
Also I could find no record of either Henry or his wife Hannah on the 1861 census - but I did discover a Henry Turner of the correct age and profession living in Coventry.
What I found was that Henry had remarried in Aston, Warwickshire and apparently abandoned his daughter in London. (The name and profession of Henry's father was the same on both marriage certificates - and incidentally Henry descibed himself as a bachelor at the time of his second marriage).
It would seem that Henry was an untrustworthy and unpleasant character.
In fact Henry probably never knew his daughter because he had almost certainly deserted his family before his daughter was born in the Work House. No suprise therefore that the daughter may have got her father's name wrong - she never knew him.
On the 1861 census I have found a Hannah Turner, aged 8, living in St Sepulchre as a "Boarder" - with no sign of her mother. I therefore made the assumption that her mother had died sometime between the time of her daughter's birth in 1853 and 1861.
Of all the Hannah Turners who died in London within that period only one fits the evidence of correct age and correct place.
However the certificate makes no reference to having been married (which I suppose is hardly suprising if she had been abandoned prior to giving birth to her daughter).
Also the certificate describes the informant's signature as "The mark of Hannah Turner, present at the death".
Now when Hannah Turner died in 1856 her daughter Hannah would have been only 3 years old - and there appear to be no other Hannahs anywhere in the family.
So (at last) my questions:
Is it possible for a 3yr old to be named as the informant on a death certificate??
Perhaps the daughter found her dead mother and was subsequently taken to the Registrar by a neighbour?
Does anybody know of a child being named as the informant??
Also I presume that Hannah's marital state at the time of her death may have been unknown because of the stigma associated with her husband's desertion.
Looking forward to receiving any response.