One or two individuals?

[Megan Roberts]

We quite correctly emphasise to others the importance of facts and good record keeping when drawing up a family tree. I have recently been auditing parts of my tree and think that I may have committed one or more of these sins! What do others think?

Like many, one of my big problems is the lack of diversity of first names, which can lead to confusion, so to try to help I have created a bespoke series of reference numbers for individuals. So the MF numbers listed below are my own reference numbers.

The two individuals that I think I have confused are:
• Martha Gambold (MF103) – Born 1821, Rudbaxton, Pembrokeshire
• Martha Gambold (MF105) - Baptised 30 July 1820, Rudbaxton, Pembrokeshire

I originally showed that MF103, who was the daughter of George Gambold (1778-?) and Martha Howells (1789-1869) died on 10 June 1842 at Stephens Ford, Prendergast, Pembrokeshire, and that MF105, who was the daughter of John Gambold (1788-1837) and Ann Lewis (1765-1826), married John Thomas 7 April 1846.

The death of Martha in 1842 was registered by James Gambold (1814-1890 and the son of John and Ann Lewis Gambold), who also lived at Stephens Ford and was present at her death.

I did not have a note of where the exact marriage date (7 April 1846), had come from, although the England & Wales Marriage Index shows that a marriage took place in the April quarter of 1846, between a Martha Gambold and a John Thomas. The way to resolve this was to purchase the 1846 marriage certificate. That shows that the Martha Gambold who married John Thomas listed her father as John Howells, and was herself aged 56 and a widow!

So it transpires that the Martha Gambold who married in 1846 was neither MF103 or MF105, but Martha Howells (1789-1869), the widow of George Gambold (1778-?).

So which Martha died in 1842?

MF103 Daughter of George & Martha
Baptism Not found
1841 Census With mother & brother, William @ Ramswood Farm
1842 Death Certificate @ Stephens Ford

MF105 Daughter of John and Ann
Baptism 30 July 1820, Rudbaxton Parish Church
1841 Census Not found
1842 Death Certificate n/a


So on looking at it afresh, it can be seen that:
(a) There is no evidence of two births. In the on line Parish record collections for Pembrokeshire there are 4 baptisms for a Martha Gambold:

Baptism Year Father Mother Parish
1786 John Diana Rudbaxton
1818 John Anne Rudbaxton
1820 John Anne Rudbaxton
1845 William Mary Spittal

(b) 1841 Census: There were 3 Martha Gambold living in Pembrokshire:

Birth Year Parish Comment
1791 Rudbaxton Living at Ramswood
1821 Rudbaxton Living at Ramswood
1836 Prendergast Living at Stephens Ford

The 1841 Census shows two separate households, but that census does not identify family relationships within a household. Because of the location, Ramswood, I can be reasonably certain that the elder lady, (born 1791) was Martha Howells Gambold, and likewise because of the location that the younger of the three who does not feature in the list of baptisms, was the daughter of William and Phoebe Phillips Gambold.

Looking at the second one from census list, who was living in the same household as Martha Howells Gambold, it would appear that the assumption may have been made that she must have been her daughter. But was she, as there is no 1841 census record for the daughter of John and Anne who we know was baptised?

(c) There are only two burial records for Martha Gambold in Pembrokeshire, both of which took place in Rudbaxton:

Birth Year Burial Year Comment
1815 1819 This is the younger daughter of John and Anne who pre-deceased the Martha baptised in 1820.
1821 1842 This records that this lady was living at Stephens Ford

(d) Could any of these Martha’s have married and vanished that way? There are only two parish marriage records:

Marriage Year Husband Comment
1786 David Thomas Took place at Narberth and it is not known where she sits in the Family Tree
1810 William Harries Rudbaxton. This was the daughter of John Gambold & Diana Richards.

There is only one civil marriage record between 1841 and 1851, and that is for Martha Howells Gambold as identified above.


Taking account of all of the above I am now minded to conclude that MF103 and MF105 were one and the same person. That is to say, she was the daughter of John and Ann, who was baptised in Rudbaxton, and who at the time of the 1841 Census was living with her aunt Martha (Howells Gambold) at Ramswood, and probably working for/with her, and who died at Stephens Ford in 1842 with brother James in attendance.

Her father John died in 1837, and her step-mother, Margaret, (John’s second wife and widow) remarried in 1839, and in the 1841 Census Margaret is living with her new husband and their new daughter and her 4 surviving children from her marriage to John who were aged between 14 and 3.

In conclusion and for the avoidance of doubt I know think that MF103, the daughter assigned to George and Martha never existed. In other words they did not have a daughter called Martha.

Any thoughts?

[Lesley Robertson]

After reading it twice, I THINK I agree with you, but I’m going to need a pencil and paper to a follow it properly...

[Megan Roberts]

After reading it twice, I THINK I agree with you, but I’m going to need a pencil and paper to a follow it properly...

Thanks. I know what you mean. I've picked it and put it down several times.

[Jomot1]

I would tend to agree that they are the same person. The only record suggesting she was George & Martha's daughter is the 1841 census, where no relationship is given, whereas the baptism and the person who registered her death both point to her being the daughter of John & Ann, who had both died by the time of the 1841 census.

[Megan Roberts]

Thanks Jomot1