Genealogy Chat

Crista - following on a bit from the William/Letitia marriage - as he was born @1816 he was likely to be the grandfather of the William Mosson K (maybe William Stephen K) whose birth I cannot find. William Seniors father was John, a Doctor - and came from Ireland, as did Letitia's - hers was a colonel. Regards and thanks Rosi

Hi Rosi, I have often wondered, since doing all this family tree stuff for natural and adoptive families, who both seemed to live in the same area in the 19th century, if I may find I am related to myself! I wonder if anyone else has found themselves distantly related to themselves or their partner by a previously undiscovered link? Love Liz xxx

Yvonne - please where did you get Early Census info for £7.50?: Crista - yes, William Mossen Kearns married Letitia Howard Brough in 1876 - they were both widowed, he was 60 she was 39. I have found her on the 1891, living in apparent luxury, loadsa servants, in a sort of double household as far as I can make out!. She is Lititia Kearns, still a widow, on the 1901. and Hallo, sparkly niece Liz. Nice to see your nose again!! I think your surname - well, Richard's - has popped up again too - as the mother of Thomas Fox in 1844. (not sure without checkiing if that was father or grandfather. However - Thomas' mother was Mary Ann Fox, formerly - well - it looks like 'Leisis' there seems to be clearly 'isis' on the end, certainly two 'i's - but maybe, just maybe, it's Lewis! Rosi

Yvonne, (and Auntie Rosi,) Forgive me for butting in (but then the aforementioned William Mossen IS my ancestor too, so maybe its ok), I was wondering where you went to get your census info for £7.50? Thanks, Liz

Rosi, There's a marriage record for a William Mosson Kearns on FreeBMD to a Kate or a Letitia. The listing you mention for William the 1881 census has him with a wife Martha. Crista

Yvonne - yes, a view of the 1851 or 61 may well solve the problem- but I don't have access as yet. Am throwing out heavy hints however re my birthday and Christmas! Crista - thanks yes I had found Elizabeth. There was also a Richard, born in 1840 but he died when he was barely aged two , poor little chap.

Rosi, There's also an Elizabeth Kearns who is a daughter. Did you have her? Found her by using the same batch number that was listed for William Stephen. ELIZABETH KEARNS Birth: 04 MAY 1836 Christening: 30 JUN 1837 Saint Leonards, Shoreditch, London, England Parents: Father: JOHN KEARNS Family Mother: MARY ANN Batch No.: Dates: Source Call No.: Type: Printout Call No.: Type: C040807 Crista

Thanks Laurie, Mary, Janet, for your encouraging replies. I THINK that William Stephen Kearns and William Mosson Kearns must have been the same person - if he had been born a coupla years earlier maybe the cert would have proved it. By the time 'Mosson' reached my (half) sister's father's generation it had become Mossen, but as far as I can find it was only used as a middle name. When I started on this I was very excited to find a surname 'Mossen' family on the 1901 - (as you say Janet, maiden name of mothers sprung to mind), but as a middle name it goes back a bit further than that it seems- and it looks like it came from Ireland. Again, thank you - I think I am back on track now - or at least doing wider circles! Rosi

Rosi The name Mosson sounds like a surname, and I wonder if it is perhaps the maiden name of either Mary Ann's mother or John's mother? In my family, the name Bradshaw was the maiden name of my Great-grandmother, and most of their children had Bradshaw as one of their middle names. Some used it throughout their lives, but some just left it out. The use of Bradshaw as a middle name continued through to some of their grandchildren too. Janet

Hi Rosi - I've had something like this too. What you have to remember is that if something LOOKS like it's got to be right, then it usually is! People were funny with names - your chap may have taken a fancy to that middle name and given it to the enumerator as a giggle (not quite M. Mouse, but that sort of thing!). I'm not saying it's definitely him, but don't rule it out. My own Grandmother is called Martha Georgina and on the 1901 census she would have been 14. What did I find..... a Georgina M. aged 21. So I immediately thought it couldn't possibly be her. Now, she has a very unusual surname and the birthplace was right, but why the name and age discrepancy? With the help of various people I came to the conclusion that (1) she perhaps preferred being called Georgina rather than Martha (plenty of people use middle names) and (2) the enumerator may have got somewhat confused, as she was one of several servants in the household and all the others were 19, 20, 21 and 22. I can't believe that her employers took her on thinking she was 21! A 14-year old would look quite different. I also recently had a problem with my GGGGrandfather. On a list of him and his siblings' names I found on a particular database, it appeared he was the seventh child of the marriage. I knew from his death certificate that he was born in 1827, but his parents were MARRIED in that year and they were only 23 when they wed, so my mind was boggling somewhat. THEN I found out that he was in fact the FIRST child, but just put in the wrong order on the list for some unknown reason! And so it goes on. One thing to remember, many enumerators were only barely literate themselves, judging from some of the handwriting I've seen and I suspect they sometimes wrote any old thing down, especially names that were "difficult". Also, they'd be in a hurry, especially at the end of the 19th century when populations rose rapidly in the cities. Must have been very hard for them, coming on a house that ten years previously had one or two families in it and suddenly finding it multi-occupied with four! Best of luck and keep up the lateral thinking. Scratch away at a problem and more often than not, it resolves itself! Mary Dartmouth Devon

Hi Rosi, It sounds to me that they are the same person. I've come across similar with my ancestors. Some info has either a middle name or initial and others don't have anything at all. Laurie

I have birth certs for Richard, b 1840 and John Mosson, b 1845, both offspring of John and Mary Ann Kearns nee Purkiss. Problem is that another son, William Mosson Kearns is a direct ancestor, and he is the one I cannot find. I have found a William Stephen Kearns (found on LDS so maybe tricky) with the right parents b 1835 in the right area, (Shoreditch). Is it likely/possible that William Stephen Kearns and William Mosson Kearns are one and the same person? On the 1881 the William Kearns I have found has a widowed mother living with him - by the name of Mary Ann - and IGI shows only William Stephen, son of John and Mary Ann. Sorry - I am still going round in circles - can anyone put me out of my misery - please. Rosi