William PRICE, Mary's mystery brother! Post 2
In trying to track down Mary's mystery brother, if I'm honest I'm not too sure what to try!
If you look on the familysearch wiki at the information on parishes in the Surrey area, where the 1871 census says he was born, there are firstly a lot of parishes and secondly not all appear to have their records online. So I'm consious that online searching may not find what I'm after because the records are just not there!
However, if we trust that he really is 10 years old, or thereabouts, on the 1871 census, this gives a birth year of 1860 or 1861. As children can be baptised some time after birth (as happened with Martha, born in 1861 but baptised in 1864), I searched on the London Baptism records at Ancestry looking from 1859 to 1864.
Much to my amazement, I found a baptism for William Thomas PRICE with parents William and Eliza PRICE on 14 Jul 1861 at St Mary's, Lambeth. The father gives his occupation as drover. Once again I find myself thinking, surely there can't be two drovers in the Surrey area called William PRICE? However, let's not forget that William PRICE marries Mary VALANTINE on 17 July 1861 at St John the Evangelist, Lambeth ..... just three days later.
Surely this means that they must be different men?
I have another trawl on the 1861 census for William PRICE. Before I was looking for someone who was single. This time I search looking to see if a William PRICE has a wife called Eliza.
This time I find one (but only one) possible candidate!
On the 1861 census in Christchurch, Southwark, they are living at an address which looks like 2 Stiles Buildings. On the particular page they appear on, the address is abbreviated but this is what it looks like on other pages. So we have:
1861 Census - 2 Stiles Buildings, Christchurch, Southwark (Ref RG9 313 F167 Pg66)
William PRICE Head Mar 31 Cattle Drover Surrey, Christchurch
Eliza PRICE Wife Mar 28 Middlesex, St Pancras
No children though, so if the William Thomas being baptised on 14 July is their child, she was clearly expecting at the time of the census. There is one birth registered for a William Thomas PRICE over this time period. The details are as follows:
William Thomas PRICE; mother's maiden name PARKER; 3Q 1861 St Saviour Ref 1D 3
I decided to order this certificate and did so yesterday.
I also wondered whether Eliza PRICE died in childbirth and William, correctly I guess, has the child baptised with Eliza as his mother. However, I can't find a death for Eliza in the 3Q 1861. I even tried with the surname of PARKER, in case they weren't really married, but again ..... nothing.
I also tried to find a marriage on freebmd for William PRICE with anyone with a surname of PARKER for quite a wide time frame of 1845 through to 1861 but I couldn't find anything.
All very odd!
If Martha Ann PRICE was William PRICE's daughter and William Thomas PRICE was his son, clearly two ladies are pregnant at about the same time with his babies! Thus making William PRICE senior a bit of a rum-un!
Or ...... wild guess time ..... what if William and Eliza PRICE weren't officially married but she'd just assumed his name. Perhaps when the child was born in around June to July 1861, Eliza may have suffered from post-natal depression/psychosis and been committed to an asylum (this would explain the lack of a death!) or even run off? William is then in a difficult position with a young baby to look after. If Mary VALANTINE was already pregnant (by another man and not necessarily by William?), offering to marry her sorted out Mary VALANTINE's dilemma and his own?
Proving that is going to be difficult!
I think I need to have a long think about it all!
If you look on the familysearch wiki at the information on parishes in the Surrey area, where the 1871 census says he was born, there are firstly a lot of parishes and secondly not all appear to have their records online. So I'm consious that online searching may not find what I'm after because the records are just not there!
However, if we trust that he really is 10 years old, or thereabouts, on the 1871 census, this gives a birth year of 1860 or 1861. As children can be baptised some time after birth (as happened with Martha, born in 1861 but baptised in 1864), I searched on the London Baptism records at Ancestry looking from 1859 to 1864.
Much to my amazement, I found a baptism for William Thomas PRICE with parents William and Eliza PRICE on 14 Jul 1861 at St Mary's, Lambeth. The father gives his occupation as drover. Once again I find myself thinking, surely there can't be two drovers in the Surrey area called William PRICE? However, let's not forget that William PRICE marries Mary VALANTINE on 17 July 1861 at St John the Evangelist, Lambeth ..... just three days later.
Surely this means that they must be different men?
I have another trawl on the 1861 census for William PRICE. Before I was looking for someone who was single. This time I search looking to see if a William PRICE has a wife called Eliza.
This time I find one (but only one) possible candidate!
On the 1861 census in Christchurch, Southwark, they are living at an address which looks like 2 Stiles Buildings. On the particular page they appear on, the address is abbreviated but this is what it looks like on other pages. So we have:
1861 Census - 2 Stiles Buildings, Christchurch, Southwark (Ref RG9 313 F167 Pg66)
William PRICE Head Mar 31 Cattle Drover Surrey, Christchurch
Eliza PRICE Wife Mar 28 Middlesex, St Pancras
No children though, so if the William Thomas being baptised on 14 July is their child, she was clearly expecting at the time of the census. There is one birth registered for a William Thomas PRICE over this time period. The details are as follows:
William Thomas PRICE; mother's maiden name PARKER; 3Q 1861 St Saviour Ref 1D 3
I decided to order this certificate and did so yesterday.
I also wondered whether Eliza PRICE died in childbirth and William, correctly I guess, has the child baptised with Eliza as his mother. However, I can't find a death for Eliza in the 3Q 1861. I even tried with the surname of PARKER, in case they weren't really married, but again ..... nothing.
I also tried to find a marriage on freebmd for William PRICE with anyone with a surname of PARKER for quite a wide time frame of 1845 through to 1861 but I couldn't find anything.
All very odd!
If Martha Ann PRICE was William PRICE's daughter and William Thomas PRICE was his son, clearly two ladies are pregnant at about the same time with his babies! Thus making William PRICE senior a bit of a rum-un!
Or ...... wild guess time ..... what if William and Eliza PRICE weren't officially married but she'd just assumed his name. Perhaps when the child was born in around June to July 1861, Eliza may have suffered from post-natal depression/psychosis and been committed to an asylum (this would explain the lack of a death!) or even run off? William is then in a difficult position with a young baby to look after. If Mary VALANTINE was already pregnant (by another man and not necessarily by William?), offering to marry her sorted out Mary VALANTINE's dilemma and his own?
Proving that is going to be difficult!
I think I need to have a long think about it all!
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