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I am posting this with little expectation that anyone can find anything...but I have to try!

OK Mary Ann was born 10 May 1853 and christened in Trowbridge on 19 June 1853, the daughter of James Marchant and Matilda - nee Martin I believe.

Matilda died in 1859 and in 1861 I find Mary Ann Marchant in Roath Cardiff as adopted Girl of William and Sarah Pratt. Sarah was James' sister Sarah Marchant. I then find what I think is Mary Ann as Mary Pratt a servant in Roath in 1871. And after that nothing.

I have not found a marriage or a death or any further censuses. Can anyone help?

As an aside, I have found James in Roath in 1871 as a boarder with James and Rebecca Gale - Rebecca is another sister Rebecca Marchant. And I lose HIM after this.

Any help gratefully received as ever :-)

Jude

Where was she born


Trowbridge, Monmouthshire
Trowbridge, Wiltshire

x

just for ref:-

1861 Wales Census about Mary Marchant

Name:Mary Marchant
Age:9
Estimated Birth Year:abt 1852
Relation:Adopted Girl (Adopted)
Gender:Female
Where born:Trowbridge, Wiltshire, England
Civil Parish or Township:Roath
County/Island:Glamorgan
Country:Wales
Registration district:Cardiff
Sub-registration district:Cardiff
ED, institution, or vessel:26
Household schedule number:75
Piece:4039
Folio:40
Page Number:13
Household Members:
Name Age
William Pratt 30
Sarah Pratt 34
William Pratt 5
Alfred Pratt 3
Selina Pratt 1
Mary Marchant 9


...so although living Wales, she was born Trowbridge in Wiltshire.


and possible1871:-

1871 England Census about Mary Marchant

Name:Mary Marchant
Age:19
Estimated Birth Year:abt 1852
Relation:Servant
Gender:Female
Where born:Devizes, Wiltshire, England
Civil parish:Thatcham
Ecclesiastical parish:St Marks
Town:Henwick
County/Island:Berkshire
Country:England
Registration district:Newbury
Sub-registration district:Thatcham
ED, institution, or vessel:6
Household schedule number:103
Piece:1247
Folio:88
Page Number:42

Australia Marriage Index, 1788-1950
Name: Mary A Merchant
Spouse Name: John Melling
Marriage Date: 1872
Marriage Place: New South Wales
Registration Place: Tenterfield, New South Wales
Registration Year: 1872
Registration number: 3574



This is from a tree on A but the info is conflicting with the marriage record above and the mothers name?




Birth: 10 May 1853 - Trowbridge, Wiltshire, England
Marriage: 9 Nov 1870 - Tenterfield, New South Wales, Australia
Death: 14 Jun 1943 - Tenterfield, New South Wales, Australia
Parents: James Butler, Amelia Woodleigh Turner
Spouse: John William Melling

Gins, Catherine..yes sorry...being lazy. I should have said "she was born in Trowbridge Wiltshire and christened in....." All of the Marchants were from Trowbridge and it seems that first Sarah and then sisters Maria and Rebecca all moved there. And at one point so did their parents James and Maria. In fact Maria died there and afterwards, before returning to Trowbridge, James (senior) and his new wife Selina lived there.

I don't think the 1871 one above (Catherine) is her - I think this is her


Name: Mary Pratt
Age: 18
Estimated Birth Year: abt 1853
Relation: Servant
Gender: Female
Where born: Trowbridge, Wiltshire, England
Civil parish: Roath
Ecclesiastical parish: Roath
Town: Roath
County/Island: Glamorgan
Country: Wales
Registration district: Cardiff
Sub-registration district: Cardiff
ED, institution, or vessel: 27a
Household schedule number: 257
Piece: 5366
Folio: 132
Page Number: 53
Household Members:
Name Age
Edward Whiffen 52
Sarah Whiffen 43
Maud Whiffen 8
Arthur Whiffen 7
Kate Whiffen 6
Elizabeth Whiffen 4
Martha Jones 20
Mary Pratt 18

Jude

Gins - yes seen this Australian connection - and the photos. But the marriage was in Australia when I am sure Mary (as Pratt) was in Cardiff. And the parents are wrong (in this tree)....I just think they have latched onto the wrong christening!

Australia Death Index, 1787-1985
about Mary Ann Melling
Name: Mary Ann Melling
Death Date: 1943
Death Place: New South Wales
Father's Name: James
Mother's Name: Matilda
Registration Year: 1943
Registration Place: Tenterfield, New South Wales
Registration number: 13490


I reckon the tree owner has got their knickers in a twist! This looks like her :-D

............there's also this 1871??


1871 England Census about Mary Marchant

Name:Mary Marchant
Age:18
Estimated Birth Year:abt 1853
Relation:Visitor
Gender:Female
Where born:Semley, Wiltshire, England
Civil parish:Putney
Ecclesiastical parish:St Mary
County/Island:Surrey
Country:England
Registration district:Wandsworth
Sub-registration district:Putney
ED, institution, or vessel:10
Household schedule number:72
Piece:717
Folio:55
Page Number:18
Household Members:
Name Age
Silas Marchant 28
Sarah Marchant 23
Mary Marchant 18


........just to rule this one out, does her father, James, have any connection to a Silas Marchant?

.does her father, James, have any connection to a Silas Marchant? - not that I am aware of.

Marchants in Wiltshire are many (as you are finding!!)....I am as confident as I can be that Mary Pratt in Roath in 1871 - born crucially Trowbridge Wiltshire is her. But after that I have searched under both Marchant and Pratt to no avail. And much as I'd like the Australian connection to be her I remain to be convinced.

Jude

Jude

She could have sailed just after the 1871 census. That death I posted has the correct parents


Another tree!


Birth: 10 May 1853 - Trowbridge, Wiltshire, England
Death: 14 Jun 1943 - Tenterfield, Nsw (New South Wales), Australia
Parents: James Merchant, Matilda Neale

Australia Birth Index, 1788-1922
about Melling
Name: Melling
Birth Date: 1873
Father's Name: John Melling
Mother's Name: Mary Ann
Birth Place: New South Wales
Registration Year: 1873
Registration Place: Tenterfield, New South Wales
Registration number: 19429

Australia Birth Index, 1788-1922
about Sarah Matilda Melling
Name: Sarah Matilda Melling
Birth Date: 1875
Father's Name: John Melling
Mother's Name: Mary Ann
Birth Place: New South Wales
Registration Year: 1875
Registration Place: Tenterfield, New South Wales
Registration number: 20325

Australia Birth Index, 1788-1922
about Mary Ann Melling
Name: Mary Ann Melling
Birth Date: 1876
Father's Name: John Melling
Mother's Name: Mary Ann
Birth Place: New South Wales
Registration Year: 1876
Registration Place: Tenterfield, New South Wales
Registration number: 20990

Australia Birth Index, 1788-1922
about Emma Eliza Melling
Name: Emma Eliza Melling
Birth Date: 1879
Father's Name: John Melling
Mother's Name: Mary Ann
Birth Place: New South Wales
Registration Year: 1879
Registration Place: Tenterfield, New South Wales
Registration number: 24118

Australia Birth Index, 1788-1922
about George Melling
Name: George Melling
Birth Date: 1880
Father's Name: John Melling
Mother's Name: Mary Ann
Birth Place: New South Wales
Registration Year: 1880
Registration Place: Tenterfield, New South Wales
Registration number: 25320

Australia Birth Index, 1788-1922
about Rosana Melling
Name: Rosana Melling
Birth Date: 1882
Father's Name: John Melling
Mother's Name: Mary A
Birth Place: New South Wales
Registration Year: 1882
Registration Place: Tenterfield, New South Wales
Registration number: 28233

Australia Birth Index, 1788-1922
about Ellen J E Melling
Name: Ellen J E Melling
Birth Date: 1883
Father's Name: John Melling
Mother's Name: Mary A
Birth Place: New South Wales
Registration Year: 1883
Registration Place: Tenterfield, New South Wales
Registration number: 30881

Australia Birth Index, 1788-1922
about John W Melling
Name: John W Melling
Birth Date: 1885
Father's Name: John Melling
Mother's Name: Mary A
Birth Place: New South Wales
Registration Year: 1885
Registration Place: Tenterfield, New South Wales
Registration number: 33324

The parents from the last tree Gins posted I think were married Sept/1840 Clerkenwell. There is also a Mary A with Matilda Marchant in Kensington on 1861 census - so that tree could have got it wrong as well. Sorry, dont have a sub to post the census though,

Forgot to add, there is a birth for Mary Ann in Q2/1853 Wandsworth, so I think the tree owner has got marriages confused.

Flip thanks...Just to confirm...this is my reasoning...

This is the marriage of James Marchant and Matilda Martin

Name: Matilda Martin
Date of registration: Apr-May-Jun 1851
Registration district: Melksham
Inferred County: Wiltshire
Volume Number: 8
Page Number: 653 (click to see others on page)

Melksham being the GRO for Trowbridge I believe.

Then this is the christening

Name: Mary Ann Marchant
Gender: Female
Birth Date: 10 May 1853
Christening Date: 19 Jun 1853
Christening Place: Trowbridge, Wiltshire, England
Age at Christening: 0
Father's Name: James Marchant
Mother's Name: Matilda

And this is Matilda's death

Name: Matilda Marchant
Date of registration: Apr-May-Jun 1859
Registration district: Melksham
Inferred County: Wiltshire
Volume: 5a
Page: 74 (click to see others on page)

And then eighteen months later this is the 1861 census

Name: Mary Marchant
Age: 9
Estimated Birth Year: abt 1852
Relation: Adopted Girl (Adopted)
Gender: Female
Where born: Trowbridge, Wiltshire, England
Civil Parish or Township: Roath
County/Island: Glamorgan
Country: Wales
Street Address: View image
Condition as to marriage: View image
Education: View image
Employment status: View image
Occupation: View image
Registration district: Cardiff
Sub-registration district: Cardiff
ED, institution, or vessel: 26
Household schedule number: 75
Neighbors: View others on page
Piece: 4039
Folio: 40
Page Number: 13
Household Members:
Name Age
William Pratt 30
Sarah Pratt 34
William Pratt 5
Alfred Pratt 3
Selina Pratt 1
Mary Marchant 9

Sarah Pratt = Sarah Marchant James' sister

Jude

1901 New South Wales, Australia Census

Name: Mary Ann Melling <<<<49 years old
Locality: Tenterfield
Sub-District: G Population Boundary
County: Clive
District: Tenterfield


I think the only way to go is to send for that marriage certificate

I have just had a very good look at the two trees that have her in them....some dodgy assumptions going on! I am not sure what the marriage certificate would tell me though that might pinpoint her as being MY Mary Ann?

I think Oz marriage certs have both parents names listed, including the mothers maiden name

Gins - thanks. I have a cousin (on my mother's side) in Newcastle NSW...I've messaged her to see if there's anything she can see that I can't!! It would be lovely if it WAS her :-)

OK Many moons later :-)

I recently sent for the will of James Ames Marchant - my great great grandfather and the father of James.

He made his will in 1876 whilst living in Cardiff and owned four houses there. He bequeathed three of these to his three daughters who had moved to Cardiff - Sarah (Platt) Maria (Llewellyn) and Rebecca (Gale). He also made bequests to his sons Alfred and James and his daughter Dorcas (Knowles). Dorcas - and a sister Angelina who died - were late additions to the family (based on the 1841 census in which Maria the mother was recorded as Sarah) so this is the first real proof that she is MINE!!!

Anyway, I digress....so James was alive and kicking in 1876 - I could not find him in 1861 and after 1871 - when I found him with sister Rebecca - I had not found him again. And in the event James died, Mary his daughter was to inherit his share. So she too was alive in 1876 - though where I do not know :-)

Also, brother Alfred - not sure if I had another thread on him??? I have him in 1841 (recorded as William :-S) and 1851 and then he disappears. There are several Alfreds which might be him - but as I pointed out in this thread, there were an awful lot of marchents in Wiltshire!) But he too was alive in 1876...

Any eyes as always greatly appreciated! :-)

Firstly I have two separate but connected (if that makes sense) threads so rather than keep two going I am trying to connect the other one here (please bear with me guys and gals...ooeer too much Jimmy Savile!!)

http://www.genesreunited.co.uk/boards/board/ancestors/thread/1277207?page=1

OK I am having one last throw of the dice to see what I can find out about what happened to James and daughter Mary Ann. I am no further on with them than I was in May. The other thread has helped with brother Alfred. So to concentrate on James and Mary Ann...

James Marchant son of James Ames MArchant and Maria Trolop christened 14/12/1828 at St James Trowbridge Wiltshire.

1841 census (scholar) Mortimer Street Trowbridge
1851 census cloth spinner Mortimer Street Trowbridge
20 April 1851 (don't know where I got date from :-S ) married Matilda Martin (daughter of James and Mary Martin)
Mary Ann born 10 May 1853 in Trowbridge Wiltshire and christened at St James' 19 June same year.
Q2 1859 Matilda dies in Trowbridge
1861 census Mary Ann in Cardiff with Sarah Pratt (james' sister) - no sign of James
1871 James in Cardiff as a boarder - now a coal trimmer - with Rebecca Gale - his sister. Mary Ann (as Pratt) in Cardiff

Thereafter NOTHING....can't find any marriages any deaths any emigrations :-(

So as I say one final throw of the dice to see if anyone can find anything that we have all missed before. If not, it's to bed with this one as one of life's unsolved mysteries!

Crucially I know James and MAry Ann were alive in 1876 though I don't know where either of them were.

Jude

OK 18 months on and I am still stuck on this one!

Only "new" thing is that Mary "Ann" was actually born Mary Clara and then baptised a month later as Mary Ann.

I have studied some of the "Australian" trees in great detail and have concluded that they are prone, in the main, to some speculation

The first child was born in Longford Somerset, the second in Nottingham and the third in Grantham Lincolnshire (all attested by 1851 census in Lincolnshire)

The five siblings born after Mary Ann were all born in Australia.

On a photograph of the death entry, James was said to have been in the colonies for 13 years when he died in 1865...meaning he arrived in 1852. And a private photo of the passenger list for Fleetwood & Francis arrival Australia 18 July 1852

The headstone for Mary Ann melling gives her year of birth as 1857. I know the 10 May 1853 is not her as I now have the certificate.

So I really think all the Australian connection can be ignored.

But what of Mary Ann after 1876 when I know she was alive and still unmarried. Any new eyes greatly appreciated!

Jude