me and william mitten - going round in circle

[nataliew]

since I started with my great-great grandfather William Mitten, I feel as tho I've been on a merry dance! I may be on to something but can't see the wood for the trees at the moment
so William Mitten b. Goudhurst, Kent 1839 is traceable in census once he marries Fanny Hyland (1865) and settles in Ticehurst. But nothing for 1841 or 51. He is consistent about year and place of birth so got his birth cert showing me parents of William Mitten and Mary Golden (sometimes Golding - as on 1836 marr. kent accents must do something with -ing / -en inflections! )
with my great new method of wildcards on anc and 1st name plus location searches on fmp, finally found something for 1841 - William Metting / Mitting but right parents, place and dates. shows me that William is second youngest with younger sister of Fanny (1 month old)
so 1851 ... finally found William 'Milton' (looks like Mitten to me!) address of Lady Oakes, Goudhurst - right birth and father but younger sister is Fracise ?? and William snr's wife is Lucy - different date and place of birth.
now I have found a marriage of a William Mitten in Cranbrook in 1847 and a potential bride is a 'Lucy' Maynard. also found a death of a Mary Mitten in Cranbrook in 1843 (no ages given) so could this account for 1851 changes?
interestingly I can find William snr in 1861 living with just daughter Fanny and at the Lady Oakes address (my original 1839 William is off to london and the sea by then!)
so what do we think? has the 1851 brickwall beaten me and am I just going round and round here?!

[strawberrymivvy]

Hi NatalieW

I had a quick look at 1851, I agree it's not very clear but could the "Fracise" be Francis, ie what Fanny is short for? This would then give you right birth, father and sister - and you have a possibility that William Snr remarried.

Also, are you sure that you've a) got right birth certificate, or b) got right spouse for William Jnr? It's just there's another tree on Anc* that has William Mitten married to Fanny Hyland but son of William Mitten and Hannah. If you assume Hannah is his mother, he's on the 1851 census with her in Bexhill...

Maybe a more experienced researcher than me could shed more light - I wish you luck!

[nataliew]

ah funny you should mention the other tree.. that's my mum's cousin also researching the ancestors. she doesn't have the birth cert (as far as i'm aware) and i think got hannah as mother from 'best fit' census I'm certain that he's born in goudhurst (the later census are consistent) and there's only one matching birth...
hadn't considered the 'francis' for fanny so thanks for that!

[Sandyhall]

Hi
Have you got the marriage cert for William and Fanny
March 1865 Ticehurst, Vol no 2b, Page no 121,
This will give you a second proof for his father's name and may also have other family members as wittness.

Sandy

[terrysfamily]

Re: Sandy's post - Found on familysearch pilot site

Groom's Name: William Mitten Age: 23
Bride's Name: Fanny Hyland Age: 20
Marriage Date: 07 Jan 1865 Ticehurst, Sussex, England
Groom's Father's Name: William Mitten
Bride's Father's Name: John Hyland
(Indexing Project (Batch) Number: I05735-1 Source Film Number: 1894294 Reference Number: page 218, #435
Collection: England Marriages, 1538–1973)

[nataliew]

Thank you all! Terrysfamily - the family search website seems to be turning up loads of info on them! I must admit I'd not got to grips with it yet but am opening the tab as we speak.
And Sandy - the witnesses could also prove useful. It would be great if it was William's younger sister...

[Campbell]

dear Natalie, I cant immediately find your original post from 2010 about William Mitten b 1836 in Goudhurst but am looking for information on him also as my great-great-great grandfather through his son Thomas who went to Adelaide and carved violins. I have photos which are said to be of Fanny and William respectively before their marriage, William in a sailor suit.. and I see that you have info on his travels at sea. The only story we have passed down by word of mouth says he jumped ship and there is something to do with Denmark.. we thought at first he may have been Danish but now see the confirmation that the family has long-standing roots in Kent (not sure why he moved to Sussex with Fanny). Can you help by directing me to where you have documented William (we have been using wikitree. Also let me know if you have photos of Fanny and William .. both are levelled on the back seemingly by their son, Tom, but I’d like to compare to be sure they are the right people (Fanny Hyland and not another Fanny). Thanks so much. Shon..

[Pam Downes]

Hello Shon,

Welcome to British-Genealogy.

Sadly, Natalie is no longer a member of the forum, as denoted by the word 'guest' beneath her name.
I have therefore deleted your email address from your post as it will only attract spammers.
Should anyone with information about Fanny and William find your post they can always send you a private message by clicking on your username and then selecting the PM option from the drop-down menu. Just ensure that you keep the email address in your settings up to date.

Pam

[christanel]

As you can see Shon I found Natalie's original post so have moved yours and Pam's new posts to it instead of doing a link from the other to this. Makes it easier now it is all in the one place. Must admit I heaved a sigh of relief when it actually worked for me.
Christina