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Good Morning Malyon & Sylviain, Thank you for, that we did not know it could be a pet name. So I'll wait for the Birth certificate of Clarence Edmond born about 1903 and see

Thanks again

Sheila xox

my friend was born mary but calld herself may

Sheila ...............

I had another thought in the middle of the night


May was often a pet name for Mary

for example, Princess May of Teck who became Queen Mary on the ascension to the throne of her husband, George V .............. and thus the grandmother of Queen Elizabeth

Thank you for your help xoxo

Looking at the image of the 1911, it does look like May ................... but the handwriting is "wobbly"


She could have decided she didn't like either Maria or Mary, and called herself may

OR her mother, who filled out the form, could have made a mistake.

In any case .............. IF there had been a second child born, that one would possibly only been 1 on the 1881 Census, at the most 2 years old ..................


The baptism was on the 27th April.

The census was taken on April 3 ....................

unless she was born before April 3, she would only have been aged 1 on the night the census was taken, because they had to write down the actual age at midnight on that date, not the age they would be late,r even the next day

OK Thank .What are your thoughts about her appearing on the 1911 census as May Jane ????

no, I don;t thionk there are two babies ................


there is no birth registration for the second baby

The baptism of the first child was on 16 October .................... one possibility is that they had an early baptism for her, perhaps because she was sickly, then decided to have another baptism done later.

There is usually a note in the Parish Register to say when that happens, but I couldn't see it on this one.

I honestly think there is only one baby, who was baptised twice, for some reason.

There is a christening for a Maria Mary Jane BEAN in 16 Oct 1877, there is also a christening for a Maria Mary Jane in April 1879 it was seem that there were 2 christenings 18 months apart. But I can't find a death for the Oct 1887 birth.

I now think that the first Maria dead, and they forgot to have her death registered .

I think they must have decided to baptise her twice ................... perhaps they forgot they'd done it :-D

can't find a death



could they have decided to baptise her twice???

There is only one birth registration for a Maria Mary Jane on Freebmd, and that was the 1877 birth

Births Dec 1877 (>99%)

Bean Maria Mary J Pontefract 9c 123


That does fit with age 3 on the 1881 Census .................. the census was taken on the night of 3 April 1881.

Her birthday was in the latter part of the year, so she would have turned 3 towards the end of 1880, so she would be 3 in April


Edited to add ..................


the age was put on the census, the transcriber had to change that to estimated year of birth.

1881 - 3 = 1878

Sylvialn I think you could be right, if so ?????

let me just post the baptisms for the two babies

West Yorkshire, England, Births and Baptisms, 1813-1910

Name: Maria Mary Jane Bean
Parish: Pontefract, St Giles and St Mary
Search Photos: Search for 'Pontefract, St Giles and St Mary' in the UK City, Town and Village Photos collection
Baptism Date: 16 Oct 1877
Father: William Bean
Mother: Eliza Bean

from image:-

Father occupation:- Boot Maker


West Yorkshire, England, Births and Baptisms, 1813-1910

Name: Maria Mary Jane Bean
Parish: Pontefract, St Giles and St Mary
Search Photos: Search for 'Pontefract, St Giles and St Mary' in the UK City, Town and Village Photos collection
Baptism Date: 27 Apr 1879
Father: William Bean
Mother: Eliza Bean

from image:-

Father occupation:- Shoemaker



My first thought is that the first Maria Mary died and they re-used the name for the next baby

Hello I have what I believe is a bit of a mystery !!!

Maria Mary Jane BEAN born 1878 in Tanshelf, Pontefract. Her parents were William & Eliza BEAN , and christened April 1879 I Tanshelf Pontefract. I have tract her on the 1881 census aged 3, in Tanshelf 1891 aged 13 in Pontefract,1901 she is 23 in Leeds however on the 1911 census she is 33 years and now known as May Jane BEAN, There is a record of her death in1918in the Infirmary Leeds as Maria Mary Jane BEAN.
This is where the real mystery begins ,there is record for Maria Mary Jane BEAN born OCT QTr 1877Parents William & Eliza BEAN ,this Maria was christened Oct Qtr 1877in St Giles Pontefract.. And there the trail seem to end . Please can anyone through some light on it .Most the information I have gathered has been from Ancestry.com

Sheila