The peripatetic lodger....??

From an "Aaaah" moment a couple of entries ago to an "Eugh" moment this time......

Aliases again, to protect the "innocent"......  Way back in the 1840s John stole two bushels of wheat (presumably to feed his family) and, having been apprehended by the long arm of the law, was duly transported for fifteen years.

Ann, his wife, stayed in the village with their five children and appears in the 1851 census with the notation "husband transported".... oh, and with a lodger called John.  By 1861 she's lost the "husband transported" tag.  And still has a lodger called John.  The same John, by the way.  In 1863, dear reader, she married the lodger.  And wouldn't it be nice to think they lived happily ever after.....?

In 1869 Ann's youngest daughter, Hannah, has a daughter and moves away to deepest Lancashire with her.  And then she marries a chap called John who, coincidentally, has the same surname as her mother's erstwhile lodger.

I didn't really connect the two until I entered a newspaper cutting about Ann & John this morning and then thought...."she didn't, surely?".

Oh dear, reader, I do believe she did.  Lodger John, and husband to mother & daughter, does rather seem to be the same person; same age, same place of birth (small village).  Further investigations are required, if only to dispel the mild feeling of queasiness....

More soon.

What's in a name.......?

Now here's a puzzle: I shall use aliases throughout ........

Fred & Ginger, the parents, are not yet married. Ginger is still married to Mr Bloggs but has left him to live with Fred. Divorce proceedings, citing Fred, have not yet been started by Mr Bloggs.

Child One is born to Fred & Ginger and is given three Christian names, the last of which is his mother's maiden name, and Fred's surname.

Child Two, born 18 months later and still before Ginger's divorce, is also given three Christian names. This time, the third one is his father's surname. Child Two's own surname is his mother's current (i.e. married) surname.

Whilst Child Two's name certainly explains why it took me so long to find him, I am curious as to why he didn't get his father's surname. The only possible reason that I can come up with is that Ginger registered his birth and could only prove her own surname, not Fred's.

Pointless speculation, I know, but........

More soon.

Culpin's Agricultural Implements

So there I was, on the bus coming into the bus station at St Ives and I finally realised what a prime site it was.....

The bus station, you see, is on the site of the old cattle market and, from there, you can see the buildings which replaced my great-great grandfather's forge.  So I strode out, in the rain and before I even had a cup of coffee, to check the view from the other side.

The resulting photos are below.  I realise that this might not be terribly exciting  but it was rather a "eureka moment" for me..... :-D

More soon.

 The view from in front of the former forge site

 The site of Culpin's Agricultural Implements business

Running to the rear of the site, this may be an original building