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That's brilliant - thanks Ann. I could kick myself for not having investigated the Coates couple on the 1871 census. It just goes to show how valuable a fresh set of eyes can be.

Mary, the witnesses to the 1840 marriage are Henry Millichip and Isabella Kenney, no relation as far as I know.

Now I know what became of Margaret.
Unless I find her ancestors I don't think I will solve the mystery of the christian name Jeptha.

Thanks again for everyone's assistance.

John & Margaret seem to have 2 living children born after marriage - Edward & Jane plus possible 3 named John who died at less th at 2 years old

Eliozabeth Harrison on her marriage to Richard Jones in 1860 also states her father was Jeptha harrison as does Jeptha on his but he states father deceased

Do you have witness's to Margarets marriage in 1840?

Maryb

1871

Rich Jones 34
Elizth Jones 31
Geo Jones 10
William Jones 7
Rich Jones 4
Joseph Jones 73
Mary Ann Contes 47 (Benjamin Coates)
M Contes 55 (Coates on image)
E Clarke 23
Jane Clarke 16

the Margaret Clark marriage in 1862 - Margaret only age 18

this I think would be Margaret's re-marriage (spelling as original marriage on west midlands BMD)

Margaret Clarke
[Margaret Harrison]
Gender: Female
Birth Year: abt 1815
Marriage Date: 28 Jul 1862
Marriage Age: 47
Marriage Place: Ashted, St James the Less, Warwickshire, England
Spouse: Benjamin Coats
Spouse Gender: Male
Spouse Marriage Age: 38
Father: John Harrison
Spouse's Father: Joseph Coats

Thanks for your interest, I have all the details of the children. I am descended from Elizabeth b. 1839. I'm really trying to go backwards with the Clarks at this moment (the Harrisons are an even more hopeless task!!!)

Jeptha Harrison
England Births and Christenings
Name Jeptha Harrison
Gender Male
Christening Date 11 Jan 1836
Christening Place SAINT MARTIN,BIRMINGHAM,WARWICK,ENGLAND
Birth Date 11 Dec 1835
Father's Name Jeptha Harrison
Mother's Name Margaret

Thank you Mary, I do have this information.
Margaret married John Clark in 1840 at West Bromwich.
She previously had two children Jeptha and Elizabeth.
Margaret was a spinster when she married John Clark and in 1841 they are living with her parents - Harrisons - though the two children have taken John Clark's name at this time (they later reverted to the surname Harrison).
I do not think that Jeptha Harrison senior (the reputed father) existed.
Where Margaret got the name Jephtha from is a separate mystery, since I cannot trace the ancestry of either or Margaret's parents. I have always supposed that it is a name from somewhere back in her family.
Since Elizabeth was only born4 months before John and Margaret's marriage and she was christened as Elizabeth Clark, I think that she is without much doubt actually John Clark's daughter. Who is the father of Jeptha junior, I don't think I will ever find out.
I have Margaret (Clark) in 1861 living with her son Jeptha and his family, a widow. I don't have her after that date. There is a marriage for a Margaret Clark in Birmingham in 1863 but I haven't followed it up yet.
She was legally married to John Clark and they had at least two children together so I don't think she would have died as Harrison.

Margaret had two children before marrying John Clark
Jeptha Harrison 11/12/1835-1866
Elizabeth 1839 to parents Jeptha and Margaret Harrison.

I can't find anything about the dad Jeptha or a marriage for Margaret to John Clark.

Did Margaret die 1865 as Margaret Harrison ??

Maryb.

Thank you Malyon but as I said above, John died before 1861.
In 1841 and 1851 I have him in Birmingham with his family.

could this be john in 1841 west bromwich

England and Wales Census, 1841
Name John Clark
Event Type Census
Event Date 1841
Event Place West Bromwich, Staffordshire, England
Residence Note Oak Road
Gender Male
Age 24-28
Age (Original) 24
Birth Year (Estimated) 1813-1817
Registration District West Bromwich Union
Book Number 5
Parish West Bromwich
County Staffordshire
Page Number 2
Registration Number HO107
Piece/Folio 978/43
Affiliate Record Type Household
HOUSEHOLD

ROLE

GENDER

AGE

BIRTHPLACE

Thomas ??? M 50-54
Ellen ??? F 60-64
Sarah ??? F 13
Ellen ??? F 13
John Clark M 24-28
??? ??? M 25-29 Staffordshire

could this be your john born 1817


Name John Clark
Event Type Census
Event Date 1881
Event Place Barley With Wheatley Booth, Lancashire, England
Registration District Burnley
Gender Male
Age 64
Marital Status (Original) Married
Occupation Farmer Of 44 Acres
Relationship to Head of Household Head
Birth Year (Estimated) 1817
Birthplace Long Preston, Yorkshire, England
Page Number 4
Registration Number RG11
Piece/Folio 4167/28
Affiliate Record Type Household
HOUSEHOLD

ROLE

GENDER

AGE

BIRTHPLACE

John Clark Head M 64 Long Preston, Yorkshire, England
Margaret Clark Wife F 62 Long Preston, Yorkshire, England
John Clark Son M 24 Barley, Lancashire, England
Elizabeth A Clark Daughter F 21 Barley, Lancashire, England

Thank you Ann; there is no indication that my man was a non-conformist but I will keep this one in mind as well.
However, there is a John Clark born in Foleshill on the 1851 census which would seem to rule him out.

Thank you Joonie, I agree that we have to be open minded re. d.o.b. and spelling of surname,; I hadn't seen that one from Lichfield. Worth looking into..
I have found two children for John and Margaret, Edward (1847) and Jane (1855), though there must be more to be found who could perhaps give a clue as to his parents' names.

Thanks Maddie though if this is the right family there would have to be another John born soon afterwards and named for his dead brother.

?????????



John Clark

England and Wales Non-Conformist Record Indexes (RG4-8)

Name John Clark
Event Type Baptism
Christening Date 10 Sep 1815
Christening Place Foleshill, Warwickshire
Father's Name William Clark
Mother's Name Mary Clark
Affiliate Publication Number RG4_3316

there is another possible John

https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:NJD4-5Z6

Name John Clarke
Gender Male
Christening Date 11 Oct 1818
Christening Place Holy Cross, Lichfield, Stafford, England
Father's Name William Clarke
Mother's Name Frances Clarke

I haven't looked into him further, just that you don't want to be too hard and fast on spellings or birthdates, and christenings could have been a while after births

I think this is a dead loss but you never know what a fresh pair of eyes may find.

I have John Clark, who married Margaret Harrison in West Bromwich (Staffs.) on 17h February 1840. His father is named as William Clark, a labourer.

In 1841 John and Margaret are living in Birmingham and he is said to be born OUT of county, aged 24 and a labourer
In 1851 he is said to be born IN Birmingham, aged 35 and he is now a grinder by trade.
By 1861 he has died so that's the end of the information.
I have searched Birmingham, Warwickshire and all the neighbouring counties and cannot find a suitable John Clark born 1816/17 with father William.
There is one family in Burton on Trent, but that John appears still to be in Burton in 1841, which rules him out. In any case, Burton on Trent is a fair way from West Bromwich.
Can anyone find this chap, please? Wife Margaret had a daughter Elizabeth born a few months before they married and I am quite sure that John is the father, which makes him a direct ancestor but with nothing to go on and such a common name, it seems a hopeless task to find him

Thanks
Beverley