Objective thoughts on this please

[SaskiaRembrandtVampireHunter]

I've found what may possibly be a fourth child for my g,g,g,great grandparents. His name fits, his parents' names fit, the place of his marriage fits, the place he lived as an adult fits, and so does his job. However, he was born in Somerset in 1824, but his parents were from Nottinghamshire. They married there in 1823 and had a son there in 1825. Is it likely that a lace maker would move from Nottingham to Shepton Mallett (which did have a cloth industry) for a year? Or am I reading too much into this?

Have you tried looking for a christening record for him? Are there two families with the same names in the same area being confused? Have you found him on the 1841 census?

On the face of it it would be unusual for a couple to move and return home within 2 years at that time but there may have been a good reason for it that someone with more specialised knowledge in the lace making industry would know.

I have an ancestor who was born in a different town to everyone else in the family. It looks like the parents probably left the area to disguise the fact that it was a shotgun wedding and came back a couple of years later with their child, once a long enough time had passed that no-one would be counting the months between wedding and firstborn.

Thanks for the replies!

Vecta I have a couple of those too :) In this case though, they definitely were married.

Onetwothreeoops Yes, I've found the christening record - it was in a non-conformist church so also gives his date of birth. The parents are listed as Thomas and Elizabeth (no maiden name for her though :( ) the same names as my ancestors. My Elizabeth was a BLOUNT before she married, and the newly discovered chap has the middle name Blount. And my Thomas and Elizabeth did have a habit of giving surnames as middle names.

I've also found what appears to be him in 1841 in Nottingham, but not with his family. He was 17 by that time and working - although not that far away from where Thomas and Elizabeth lived. He became a tool maker and moved to Birmingham, which is another 'match', because what may be his younger brother was also a tool maker who moved to Birmingham.

As I said above there is a lot of circumstantial evidence suggesting he is 'one of mine', but I'm still not sure ...

Have you got a copy of his marriage certificate? I have found its quite common for siblings to have been witnesses at weddings, that may give you a clue.

The middle name thing is very encouraging and was common in my family too, in fact I've given my DS my mothers maiden name as a middle name!

Is there a lace makers museum or guild? You could contact them to ask about Somerset in the 1820's, they may be able to provide a very good reason for your ancestors travelling there at that time.

That's a good idea! I was thinking a certificate might not help because the father's details would probably be the same, even if it was a different person. But, yes, two of the potential siblings do have quite distinctive names, so it would be obvious it was them IYSWIM. Also, he married twice - his first wife died in 1862, so there is a chance that even if one doesn't help, the other might.

Thank you! That's a big help.