Missing link throwing me through a loop

[Funkydslr]

Hello everyone this missing father has puzzled my family for years, and only recently have i taken upon myself to do everything i can to figure it out, but im at a loss.

I'm trying to find the father of someone on my tree (my great x2 grandfather). His name is Alfred Shrigley born 28 Oct 1876 in Derbyshire to his mother Harriet Shrigley b. 1858 in Uttoxeter.

Harriet lived in Uttoxeter with her grandmother. At some point between 1871 and the birth, the family moved to Derbyshire, leaving Harriet behind. In 1876 she shows up at her grandparents house at age 21 in Derbyshire pregnant after leaving where she worked as a house maid (im guessing she got pregnant there and was sent away maybe?)

The family story that ive been told since i was tiny is that Harriet had been working as a maid in a "prestigious" family home and had an affair with someone living there (either the head of the house or a son) and the illegitimate child that was the result is my great x3 grandfather. Now, one story says she was living in or near Uttoxeter at the time, another says she was working at Shrigley Hall in Pott Shrigley (and stole the name). The former seems more logical to me since her family was from Uttoxeter and Pott Shrigley isn't exactly close.If there is truth to the story, is there any way I can find out where she was working at the time? Alfred's birth certificate does list Harriets occupation as a Domestic Servant so she was definitely working as a maid (age 15-18 perhaps?)

If only i could find servant records from homes around Uttoxeter and derby from 1870-1880 i might be able to find out where she was working, but the time she was a servant was between the censuses. So she shows up on the 1871 census at age 12, apparently goes to work as a servant somewhere and then shows up in derby on the 1881 census pregnant with Alfred W. Shrigley.



I hired a genealogist in England to help me and she only offered me some little snippets of information she could find, which was in part this:
"Harriet Shrigley was born in 1859 in Uttoxeter she was raised by her grandmother who was also called Harriet Shrigley, she got pregnant and came to live in Derby, two years after the birth of her son Alfred she married Henry Wright, after the death of Henry Wright she moved in with her son Alfred in Northumberland st Derby, we believe she married George Pegg in later life, evidence for this is the plot number 47639 she purchased for Henry in Nottingham rd cemetry also has interred in it George Pegg , aged 61 buried oct 5 1932 and Harriet Pegg (Shrigley) buried july13 1939 aged 82. we now believe that harriets mother was mary Ann Shrigley born in Kingstone Staffordshire. Mary Ann never married but in the census of 1871 we find her as head housekeeper at Hints hall a stately home owned by John Floyer near Uttoxeter, their are several servants but she is listed as the head housekeeper and John Floyer does not have a wife living with him. The Floyers are an aristocratic family consisting mainly of Bishops and clergymen. Harriet appeared at her grandmothers in the census of 1861 aged two, the birth was never registered. Between the census of 1871 to 1881 she left Uttoxeter and arrived in Derby Pregnant she gave birth to a son Alfred in 1876. The birth was registered in Derby but the fathers name was left blank. In 1878 she married Henry Wright a Tailor he died in 1916.She married George Pegg When she was 66 George was 54 Railway labourer. Henry Harriet and George are buried in Nottingham Rd. Cemetry Derby, plot number 47639".



Its all very confusing to me, i have a .ancestry.co.uk account but im still very lost and cant find out who this man is! Thanks for your help in advance, myself and my family appreciates it!

[Raffaele]

Harriet Shrigley b. 1858 in Uttoxeter

Harriet Shrigley was born in 1859 in Uttoxeter

Not quite - This GRO record seems to fit but born Macclesfield

Births Sep 1858
Shrigley Harriet Macclesfield 8a 81

I suspect the Shrigley name adoption, if it happened, occurred earlier.
Your information I suspect comes entirely from Census data which the age errors above are pretty consistent with.
Grandmother lived in Uttoxter and I guess her birthplace got added to that.

As there are no other Harriet Shrigleys born in England 1856 to 1860 I would buy this certificate and hopefully begin to deal in facts.
What would be interesting is the parents names on the cert. Fundamental genealogy I'm afraid.

You can buy it here - direct using the codes above

http://www.gro.gov.uk/gro/content/certificates/

[RobinC]

Could Alfred's middle name be Wright?

[RobinC]

There is an Alfred Shrigley born in the December quarter of 1876 in the Derby district but there is no mention of a middle name on the registration.

[Raffaele]

Interestingly searching for all Shrigley births one finds a lot for Macclesfield but just one in Uttoxeter.
Could there have bee a mistranscription.
Also looks like Harriet had a twin sister Hannah who died in childhood

Data courtesy of FreeBMD

Births Sep 1858
Shrigley Hannah Macclesfield 8a 81
Shrigley Harriet Macclesfield 8a 81
Shrigley James Uttoxeter 6b 242

Deaths Mar 1860
Shrigley Hannah Macclesfield 8a 84

Births Dec 1876
SHRIGLEY Alfred Derby 7b 520


Marriages Dec 1878
Sargisson Hannah Derby 7b 818
Shregley Harriet Derby 7b 818
SHRIGLEY Harriet Derby 7b 818
Winn John Derby 7b 818
Wright Henry Derby 7b 818

Deaths Dec 1890
Wright Henry 42 Derby 7b 340

Looks like the remarriage as it returned a Pegg/Wright query but Harriet is missing for some reason

Marriages Mar 1924
Fogg Clifford Lee Derby 7b 831
Lee Florence A Fogg Derby 7b 831
PEGG George Wright Derby 7b 831

But she does show here by reversing the search

Marriages Mar 1924
Bloomfield Ada Burrow Prescot 8b 831
Burrow Frank O Bloomfield Prescot 8b 831
Horton Harold Lloyd Prescot 8b 831
Lloyd Elizabeth E Horton Prescot 8b 831
Wright Harriet Pegg Derby 8b 831

[pippycat]

little bit more for the mix from familysearch:

Mary Ann Shrigley Christ. 26 Aug 1827 Kingston, Stafford.
parents: James Shrigley and Harriet.

Maybe a possible for Mary Ann's mother?:

Harriet Shrigley Christ. 12 Feb 1809 St Michael, Macclesfield, Cheshire
parents: Wm Shrigley and Mary


FMp has these marriages for Alfred Shrigley:

to: Harriett Betts 1898
London Road Congregational Chapel, Derby

to: Norah Agnes Normanshaw 1931
St Paul, Derby

(Wonder if Norah could be a second wife for Alfred?)

Alfred Shrigley June 1899 Macclesfield, Cheshire
to either Emma Duffield or Mary Ellen Reed.

Rebecca

[Funkydslr]

Yes, Alfred was my great great great grandfather and was given the name "wright" after Harriet remarried Mr.wright when Alfred was two years old.

When Alfred was in his 20's he changed his last name, and all of his children's names back to Shrigley (presumably because he was told Mr.Wright wasn't his biological father) and went by Alfred Wright Shrigley there after.

This is the closest i can get to a birth certificate for Alfred.

[Raffaele]

Alfred's birth certificate is really no surprise. A lot of us find illegitimate birth's in our families, there is a lot here on the subject, but with no father registered it does get rather challenging. However given the amount of questions you raise about Harriet and how her mother might be ????, her birth certificate might yield a lot if you want to go back further.

If you are searching for Alfred's father then you might need some help from others who have worked on these riddles.

[Jan1954]

You may also find the publication My Ancestor was a Bastard to be of assistance.

[Funkydslr]

Thank you for the help so far everyone! Im going to have to order that book, and do some reading up on how things actually progressed back then when a child was bastardized.

Ive determined that Harriets mother was one of two people, the most likely being Harriet Shrigley born 1841 to her mother Harriet barker (why must there be so many Harriets! @_@). The other possibility was Hannah Shrigley, but her location doesn't quite match up.

Up the tree from there Harriet Barker married James Shrigley who's male side of the family tree was traceable back to the William the Conqueror's uncle.

This little kink with Alfred's father is the only piece thats left on the paternal side of it!

Does anyone knows if anyone else has actually managed to solve this kind of mystery in their trees? I'm sure DNA test with a direct living relative of said family would be the only way to be sure, but who knows, i'm a novice haha.