Thread: Edward Coates b.1845 - Leeds

I am having trouble trying to track the birth, marriage, and parents of my Great-Great-Grandfather. I have been able to track him back to the 1881
census but before that, I have no leads and don't know where to go. It's my brick wall!

Facts I know - Edward Coates appears on the 1881 census and he lives at 11 Altham Terrace, Lincoln, Lincolnshire, England. His occupation is stated as a District Manager for Scottish Legal Life Assurance. Date of birth is 1846 (plus or minus one year) and the census for 1881 and 1891 shows his birth place as Leeds in Yorkshire. He lives with his wife Mary Anne (or Mary Ann on the 1891 census) and his two children Tom (b 1878) and Ernest (b 1880). Both the 1881 & 1891 information appears consistent for all apart from their address (moved to Gorton, Manchester) and Edward's occupation which shows him as a Life Insurance Agent in 1891.

What I’ve investigated - there is a newspaper article online that shows a William Edward Coates who was a District Manager for Star Life Association. This originally appeared related but further investigation found the 1881 census for this chap and he's a different person (age, wife, kids etc.) I've also found an Edward Coates who is around the same age and was born and raised in Skipsea, Yorkshire. This is a long way from Leeds (in those days) and I doubt very much he'd have got this wrong twice on his census records. I also have no proof to show it's the same person.

If anyone has any information or ideas, I'd be glad to hear them. Many thanks!

Summary of information known:-

Edward Coates - Born 1846 in Leeds, Yorkshire
Occupation 1881: District Manager - Scottish Legal Life Assurance
Occupation 1891: Life Insurance Agent

Mary Anne Coates (maiden name not known) - Born 1850 in Leeds
According to 1891 census, she was born in Thirsk, Yorkshire
Occupation: Not listed on either census

Tom Coates - born 1878 in Leeds, Yorkshire
Ernest Coates - born 1880 in Leeds, Yorkshire

Addresses:-
In 1881 they lived at 11 Altham Terrace Lincoln, Lincolnshire, England
In 1891 they lived at 73 Robert Street, Gorton, Manchester, Lancashire.

I suspect their marriage was between 1866 and 1878 and possibly in Leeds. I can't find any marriage records for it though. In 1866 Mary Anne would have been 16 and 1878 marked the year their first child (Tom) was born. I know it can be dangerous to limit the timeframe, especially for olden days, but i'm clutching at straws!

I don't think you can call it a brick wall until you've chased down all the obvious pointers.

If Ernest Coates was one year old in 1881, by my reckoning his date of birth is more likely to have been 1879 rather than 1880. That means his birth registration was possibly -

Births Dec 1879
Coates Ernest Hunslet 9b 304

By the same token, Tom's birth is more likely to have been in 1877 than 1878.

Ordering Ernest's birth certificate (say) will provide the mother's maiden name which you can then use to search for the parents' marriage.

The systematic approach is usually best.

Peter answered this while I was typing, but I'll expand a little:

Have you discounted the Thomas and Ernest Coates whose births were registered in the Hunslet district in Sept qtr 1877 and Dec qtr 1879 respectively? Either of their birth certificates should give the nother's maiden name, which would be invaluable in looking for the marriage.

These births were quite easy to find at both FreeBMD and YorkshireBMD, when two things are borne in mind:

Firstly, there was more than one registration district in the Leeds area. Hunslet is to the south of the city centre, but close enough for it to be called simply "Leeds" when trying to describe it to someone in a different part of the country.

Secondly, while young children's ages are usually fairly reliable in the census (probably especially so where a parent works in something like life assurance), you have to remember that someone described as aged 3 in the 1881 census is more likely to have been born in 1877 (nearly 9 months, early April to December) than 1878 (just over 3 months, January to early April).

Arthur

Superb - thanks both. I'll order his birth certificate today and hopefully that will allow me to progress further.

Many thanks.