General Chat

I think what really gets me is that hes using those names simultaneously! Joseph Baxter = census returns Jeremiah Smith = Parish records & certificates I've been coming back to him time and time again but he seems so elusive.

well im confused but it seems like maybe he was living a double life, i think if ive got it right, otherwise maybe he got in a bit of trouble and seen fit to change his name. hope someone can help you out there and good luck finding more info id be happy to know about my g gran but ive just about given up on her

Made sense from the first. It's just that I wondered, after reading Cambeerwell Beauty's thread. Whenever I come to a brick wall, I do a quick reverse and try another branch. After a few days/weeks etc try again. sometimes something you missed the first time hits you in the eye. good luck Sarah Hazel

Hazel - The re-posted bit was the original, just cut and pasted in a new message. Does that make sense? I swear I talk gobble-de-gook nowadays!

Hazel, I removed that bit and posted it later as GR bunched it all up and made it a real eye sore! Hope I haven't confused people too much!

O.K. you beat me to it, but did you delete your first attempt?

Sarah - what has happened to your original posting with all the details??

I forgot these boards won't let you post your first post nicely :) Is this any easier to read? If not, let me know and I'll piece together a timeline My Mum's Mum is a Smith, a very awkward surname indeed! Her father was called James Arthur and his father was called James. My Grandma reckoned all her family came from Worsbrough, nr. Barnsley where she had been born and so we set about tracing back the family tree. James Arthur was born in 1903 to James Smith and Mary Firth. I have his birth and marriage certs, so everything works there. James (James Arthur's father) was born in 1868 to Jeremiah Smith and Mary Jenkinson. I've got his birth cert and the marriage cert for his marriage with Mary Firth. I've even managed to track down the marriage cert for Jeremiah Smith and Mary Jenkinson in 1865, where he gives his father as Joseph Smith and she gives her father as Francis Fitton. All the above certs prove the family was in Worsbrough from at least 1865. Now here comes the problem! The first census that James SMith (b. 1868) appears on is the 1891 census. He's married by this stage with a daughter. So where is he in 1881? There is no James Smith born abt 1868 in Worsbrough or Barnsley with a mother called Mary who was born in abt 1844 (gathered from her age on her marriage cert) or a father called Jeremiah. Infact Jeremiah Smith's are few and far between in 1881. Ok, so we're at a loss until one day we're messing around when my Mum remember's a story her Mum told her. My Mum's great-grandfather (James b. 1868) had been nicknamed Stiffy Baxter. So my Mum decides to try looking for a James Baxter instead. Low and behold, we find the following census entry Joseph BAXTER Head M Male 41 Darfield, York, England Coal Miner Mary BAXTER Wife M Female 37 Darfield, York, England Frank BAXTER Son Male 17 Darfield, York, England Coal Miner Joseph BAXTER Son Male 15 Darfield, York, England Coal Miner James BAXTER Son Male 13 Darfield, York, England Coal Miner Henry BAXTER Son Male 11 Darfield, York, England Scholar Sarah Ann BAXTER Daur Female 6 Darfield, York, England Scholar Elizabeth BAXTER Daur Female 3 m Darfield, York, England Dwelling 4 Jarratts Buildings Census Place Worsbrough, York, England Family History Library Film 1342113 Public Records Office Reference RG11 Piece / Folio 4609 / 52 Page Number 35 So looking at this entry we guess that Frank is possibly an illegitimate child. This is backed up by the birth of a Frank Jenkinson in the right district in the right year :) We also suppose that Jeremiah must have died between Henry's birth and Sarah Ann's birth and that Mary remarried this Joseph Baxter and had Sarah Ann and Elizabeth. We looked at the parish records and found the christenings of all the children. All the children were baptised to Jeremiah and Mary Smith, even Sarah Ann and Elizabeth. To make it absolutely certain even the children born between 1881 and 1891 according to the 1891 census that belonged to Joseph and Mary Baxter were baptised to Jeremiah and Mary Smith, the names and dates are all the same I can't be going crazy! So I've gone a bit further back and found the 1861 census returns for the area. There is a Joseph Baxter living in Worsbrough. He's actually lodging with Francis and Sarah Fitton. If you remember Francis Fitton was given as Mary's father on the marriage certificate. Mary's staying with her grandmother Hoyland who it turns out had previously been married to a Jenkinson Even in 1901 there is a Joseph and Mary Baxter with their unmarried children who are actually all Smith's. So why? Why change your name so completely? Its not like he switched only his surname. What makes matters worse is that from the census returns we have no idea where Jeremiah/Joseph was really from. Either the place doesn't seem to exist or he's listed as Lancashire, N.K. (Not Known). Any thoughts? Is it really something I have to give up on?

Sarah I am hopelessly confused. Could you re-do your message and just put in date order who you have found and their alias in brackets, together with their relationship to eachother? Then I might be able to have a think. nell

I've been banging my head on this little conundrum for some time and quite frankly I've pretty much given up. I'd be grateful if people could have a read and put forward anything they think I could try! I think the best way for me to explain this is to run through what we found in the order we found it.