My Head Hurts!

[Patricia Anne]

I have been banging my head against this brick wall for what seems like forever but is in fact only a few months. I walk away from it for a week and then come back and have another session of head banging but the outcome is always the same. I cannot find my ggg Grandfather James Motson. This segment of the family have given me so much trouble with mistranscriptions of the name but I have so far managed to track them all down apart from him.
I thought some new eyes and a fresh approach might prove useful so here goes.
Robert Motson born 1836 aged 5 the youngest and last of the children. Born and living in York Street Boston Lincolnshire. Mother Elizabeth aged 50. No father on census in 1841. (Just by way of coincidence I grew up in York Street, Boston. If only I had known!)
1851 Robert Matson (transcription error) aged 15 Farm Servant at Farlesthorpe born in Boston Lincs.
1857 Lucy Motson Selby born out of wedlock to Robert Motson and Mary Ann Selby. He is not named on the birth certificate so it is purely deduction based on the following:
1858 Robert Motson and Mary Ann Selby Marry in Mumby Lincolnshire on
May 19th. On the Wed. Cert his father is named as James Motson Labourer.
1858 Robert's mother Elizabeth dies.
1861 Robert Molson (another transcription error) and his Wife Mary Ann with daughters Lucy Selby and Hannah are living in Willoughby, Lincolnshire. His place of birth is transcribed as Baston Lincolnshire but should read as Boston.
So all of that fell into place but when I came to look for Robert's father James I can find no trace of him.
The nearest I have got is a James Matson Christened in Swineshead (a village on the outskirts of Boston) on 6/12/1791. The date is about right as Elizabeth would have been born around the same time but I can find no trace of a marriage or of her maiden name. So where was he in 1841 when the census was taken. Have looked for a death in the previous 5 years but can't find one that fits. The only James Motson marriage I can find was in 1840.
Perhaps your better trained eyes and minds will be able to find what I can't.
Thanks
Tricia

[christanel]

Hello Tricia
No wonder your head hurts. I only spent a couple of hours searching and mine is already hurting. I found no more than you (using all the variations of names etc) and keep coming back to my first thought that Robert invented his father James especially for his marriage certificate.
This happens quite often and my own great grandfather had the cheek to add 'gentleman' after the invented father's name.
So you may be looking to parish records to see if there is anything in those to give a clue or two.
I am sure someone will be able to help you.
Christina

[Patricia Anne]

Thanks Christina
I'm pleased it's not only me who can't crack this nut!
You have actually answered my next question about the name on the marriage certificate. Is it possible that the name is not real. There was a George Molson who died in Boston in 1840 and when I first began this I thought George must have been his father his death being the reason he wasn't on the census. It was only when I saw the Marriage Cert with the name of James that I became confused. Is it possible that being the youngest of the children he never actually knew his father's real name. Would the death certificate have his home address on? I have never ordered one before so am not sure what they show.
The other thing I can't get my head around is why didn't Robert and Mary Ann marry before Lucy was born. They were both of age. Just another of life's great enigmas.
Thanks for trying for me Christina I really appreciate it and at some point in the future I'm sure I am going to make that great WHOOP of joy when I find the answer to what was going on here!
Tricia

[michaelpipe]

At least you know one thing - in the 1841 census Elizabeth is referred to as Ind. In most cases this would indicate that she is certainly widowed, so whoever Robert's father was had died before the 1841 census.

Michael

[michaelpipe]

I just had a look at the IGI transcriptions for Boston (via Hugh Wallis' website)

http://freepages.genealogy.rootsweb.com/~hughwallis/IGIBatchNumbers.htm

I noticed that Elizabeth's oldest child was (in the 1841 census) Elizabeth aged 20. There is an Elizabeth bap 25 May 1822, father George Motson, mother Elizabeth.

Maybe this is the family? The next one William b abt 1826 is also there, as are Eleanor (Ellen), Thomas (Modson), Frederick, but not Robert as the cutoff point for this dataset is 1834.

Good Luck in the search for George

Michael

[michaelpipe]

GRO Death Index

George Motson, March Qtr 1840, Boston Reg Dist, Vol 14 Page 203

Michael