Genealogy Chat

I did see this, but on both birth certs of her children it just has her name as Jane Wells, not 'formally ........' I think she may have put Widow so people didn't think badly of her. I did first think that maybe her husband died while she was pregnant, but then I found another child without a father a year earlier. So much for that theory! Vicky X

Jane the mum is show on the census as Widow

Hi Julie, Yes this is my Jane (One of many!). Vicky

Vicky Is this your Jane in the 1901 Jane H Wells Age: 5 Estimated birth year: abt 1896 Relation: Daughter Mother's name: Jane Gender: Female Where born: Leicestershire, England Civil parish: Leicester Formerly St Margaret Ecclesiastical parish: St George County/Island: Leicestershire Country: England Street address: Occupation: Condition as to marriage: Education: Employment status: View image Registration district: Leicester Sub-registration district: South Leicester ED, institution, or vessel: 38 Neighbors: View others on page Household schedule number: 178 Household Members: Name Age Phoebe Hensman 34 Jane Wells 47 Jane H Wells 5

I think you'll probably discover that the young lady invented a father to put on the marriage cert......it happened a lot. And as for her mother having two illegitimate children.......again, not unusual. I have one woman in my extended tree who had at least four children without troubling the vicar!!! And those were only the ones I found with her on censuses..........don't know if any had died! Reg

It's a very complicated story. I have found my gt grandmother on the 1901 census, she only lives with her mother so I ordered her birth certificate - Jane Hamer Wells, she is illegitimate and as her mother is a domestic servant, I thought that the father might be who she worked for. I then ordered Jane's marriage cert, she has put her father as a Richard Edward Wells - this can't be right as her mother's last name is Wells. I thought that maybe her dads name was Hamer as unusual, so I looked in the death records. There I found another child Richard Hamer Wells who was born 1894 and died 1897. I ordered this cert as I didn't think a woman would have had 2 illegitimate children within 2 years.......I was wrong! Again she is a domestic servant. Both children are born at different addresses and her Aunt who was present at both births (also called Jane Wells!), lives at a different address. I thought that if I could find the addresses from the certs, I could maybe find a clue to the father(s). Sorry for rambling, I just needed to put my thoughts in order. I will try findmypast. Thanks Vicky

It can be done, but it is extremely long-winded. You can do address searches on 1891 on findmypast...and on 1901 on the PRO site. Both, however, are pay-to view. Presumably you have an idea of who you hope to find at the addresses.........wouldn't it be better to search for the names? Reg

Does anyone know if you can do an address search on the 1891 and 1901 census' on Ancestry and how do you do it if you can? Thank you Vicky