Genealogy Chat

My ggggrandad James Harris married Mary Saunders in Portsea in Oct 1873 and as expected, there he is on Ancestrys bmd in Dec qt 1873. For some stupid reason (and I wish I hadn't ......!) I had a peek for his missus ...... and she's not there!!! There is no Mary Saunders marrying in that quarter ...... I checked all the Saunders (and Sanders) for the whole year and SHE'S NOT THERE ......... Gawd, does this happen often???? Bev x

Maybe, unless you know different,it is not the right marriage View Record Godwin, Annie 1873 December Marriages Portsea Island Hampshire View Record Harmsworth, Eliza 1873 December Marriages Portsea Island Hampshire View Record Harris, James 1873 December Marriages Portsea Island Hampshire View Record Williams, Edward 1873 December Marriages Portsea Island Hampshire

Sorry Jim, I'm not following you. I found the marriage for James Harris in Portsea, Dec 1873 - 2b 749. I looked for his wife, Mary Saunders, who (should have!!!) married in the same place, in the same qtr with the same ref no. and she's not there! I've come over all panic-stricken. Bev x

Bev, Ancestry aren't always so accurate or complete, so I checked 1837online for you... I could not find a Mary Saunders getting married in this quarter with the right volume and page number (I also checked the previous quarter).... Maybe your James Harris married more than once, and you're looking for the wrong wife? I really don't know what to suggest really...sorry. Sheleen.

Thanks for looking Sheleen but I've got the certificate!!!!! I suppose this is absolute proof that names ARE omitted.......! Bev x

Bev, lol I can honestly say that I have never come across this before. I'm quite intrigued now. Could it be possible that your Mary Saunders was a widow, and perhaps used her previous married name on the certificate instead of her maiden name (or vice versa)? Sheleen

Check the dates again View Record CURRY, John Rogers 1878 June Marriages Portsea Island Hampshire View Record HARRIS, James 1878 June Marriages Portsea Island Hampshire View Record Havill, Annie 1878 June Marriages Portsea Island Hampshire View Record Saunders, Mary 1878 June Marriages Portsea Island Hampshire

Don't suppose Annie Godwin or Eliza Harmsworth are a witness at your rellie's wedding?? merry

Oh dear Sheleen, I dont know whether to laugh or cry ..... no, she wasn't a widow, her parents were Uriah and Mary Saunders and she was about 18 when she married. Trying to be logical here and work out how 'Saunders' could be mistranscribed ...... its the only reasonable answer, lol!!!! Bev x PS Thanks Jim, will check that 1878 one

Clever Jim... thinking outside the box :) Weird though... James Harris with right volme and page number is listed at 1837 as married in last qtr, 1873. 'They' don't like to make it easy for us, do 'they'....lol *UPDATE* 2b 938 is the portsea marriage of James Harris in 1878

OMG, madness it must be .......... there IS a James Harris and Mary Saunders marrying in June 78, but I have a cert which clear-as-a -bell says James Harris married Mary Saunders in Oct 74 ................... is it possible for there to a delay in registering of almost 4 years????? Bev x

Report it to the GRO as omissions ARE made. Read in a family history mag years ago how a lady had looked up her marriage at St Catherine's (forerunner of FRC) and couldn't find her own name in the index, but her husband's name was there. Bound to have happened more than once or twice over the years, but only comes to light when someone can actually prove it by having an actual certificate which identifies both parties who should be there, with same ref. GRO are then supposed to add the omission as a footnote - and looking at the images, this has happened quite a bit. Jay

Is your cert a photocopy, or a handwritten copy? jay

Just to confuse matters even more.... I can't find the corresponding Mary Saunders 2b938 portsea, dec qtr 1878....lol can find a 2b 939 portsea.... Sarah Anne E Saunders.... though image is slightly patchy. Maybe I'll check again. I've come across some frustrating brick walls and annoying mistranscriptions within my family research... but this takes the biscuit. I certainly don't envy you Bev. xx *update* Just noticed... should be looking in JUNE not DEC... sorry

Well I dont know what to think .........! I have a birth cert for their SECOND child, which is dated February 1878 ........ lololol!!!! Bev x

Where did you get your cert from?? I'm sure this isn't the answer, but it sounds good: You said she was a minor in 1874........so someone (her dad??) blows his top and somehow gets the marriage annulled!! Depending on where you got your cert something goes amiss at the registrars/church/GRO....but the happy couple marry when she is over 21.....!! LOL - strange isn't it!?? Merry

Have June 1878 marriages here...saunders.... Portsea only Martha 2b 909 Mary 2b 878 Harriet Jane H 2b 910 Corresponding James Harris: Portsea, 2b 878 So... there is a match :)

I now have six certificates in my possession for events which do not appear in the GRO. Iwrote to the GRO, sending a copy of a marriage which I had found in the local RO, and for which I had PAID the GRO a search fee. They wrote me a stiff letter in reply saying it was @extremely rare, if not unheard of, for an entry to be missed from the GRO. As I say, I now have six such extremely rare occurences! I know this is not quite the same as your situation but it does prove the lie when the GRO says its registers are complete - they arent. After all, they were copied, by hand, from copy books sent in by the local ROs. It defies belief that every single entry was accurately copied, without any omissions. Olde Crone

You say she was ''about 18'' when she married........so what does it say on the 1874 cert??? (Minor??....full age??....or a specific age??) Merry

Sorry I can't keep up! It says 'minor', I havent got her birth cert, but according to censuses she was born 1856. There were quite a pile of Harrises and Saunders in Portsea and Mary and James are hardly rare names. I COULD guess that by coincidence, 2 James Harrises married 2 Mary Saunders, 4 years apart, and by some other coincidence, my Mary Saunders was omitted from the GRO lists .......... Any better guesses out there??? Bev x