Originally posted Wednesday, August 29, 2007 on Blogger
I’m currently working on the family of my Great-grandfather Albert Edward Marshall, I. Bertie has always been a source of extreme interest for me. My father was named for him, he was killed in action during World War I (drafted at age 40 with six children), he was a bookkeeper (a trait that has been handed down a few generations) and he is the patriarch of our large population of Southern Californian Marshall/Fitzpatrick’s.
It has been commonly thought that Albert was the youngest of three children born to Richard (b. 1853) and Jane (Lane) Marshall (b. abt 1851). Albert was born in 1877, his two older sisters, Ada and Nellie we’re born in 1873 and 1874 respectively. It has also been thought that Jane had died in Jan 1887 and although I have that date from past research, I have no concrete data to support this.
The 1881 UK census showed John Marshall (62 – aged correctly) as head of household with wife Jane (Talling) Marshall (53 – aged correctly). Also listed are son Richard (26 – two years younger than he should be) and daughter-in-law, Jane (Lane) Marshall (29 – aged correctly). Their daughters Ada (8 – aged correctly), Nellie (7 – aged correctly) and son Bertie (3 – aged correctly). All makes sense at this point, but this is where things start to get murky too.
The 1891 UK census showed Richard (39 – aged correctly) living with SISTER, Jane Marshall (28 – 4 years younger than she should be), son Albert (12 – two years younger than he should be) and two new young children, Florence (2) and Ralph (6 mos). Gone are Grandma and Grandpa Marshall (haven’t been able to find them) and big sisters Ada and Nellie (both would be old enough to be married or working for someone else so could be enumerated elsewhere). Now I know census information can’t always be trusted and officially I have Richard and sister Jane seven to eight years apart, not 11 as suggested in this census. But Jane (Lane) Marshall is no where to be found and these two new children have come into the picture after the “unofficial” date of wife Jane’s death. Are they sister Jane’s kids given the Marshall last name in error on the census? Lots of questions as you can imagine.
I then found (and have since requested copies of) the births of five young children in the same area. Florence Jane Marshall (1889), Charles Talling Marshall (1889 – died same year), Ralph Talling Marshall (1890), Leonard Talling Marshall (1894) and Ethel Talling Marshall (1896 – died same year). Were Florrie and Charles twins? If all the others took Grandma’s maiden name of Talling as their middle name, why did Florrie get Jane? And again, which Jane mothered these children?
The 1901 UK census showed Richard (49 – aged correctly) and wife Jane (42 – which would be correct if this is sister Jane; not Jane Lane who would’ve been 51 if still alive) living with mother Jane (Talling) Marshall (Grandma’s back; 77 – aged correctly) sons Ralph (9), Leonard (7) and daughter Florrie (13).
I have two trains of thought here;
One – Jane (Lane)’s death was erroneously posted. In 1891 she was living with her in-laws Grandma and Grandpa John and Jane (Talling) Marshall, recovering from little Charles death. Sister Jane was living with Richard to take care of the children while mother Jane was convalescing. In 1901 mother Jane is back the dates are just incorrect.
Two – I tend to jump to conclusions without evidence so let me state this to you right now that I do not have backup yet to take me where you’re probably thinking I’m heading. That being said, I think sister Jane moved in to help with the kids when wife Jane died in 1887. Hush-hush stuff happened and 5 children were produced (3 surviving).
In 1901 my than 24 year old great grandpa Albert is no where to be found although family history states he was working for his future father-in-law at this time and this was shortly before he married Amy Songi (“tiny” grandma). How come I can find all the Songi’s (including Amy) and all the Marshall’s in the 1901 census but not Bert? Because I think the “hush-hush” stuff perhaps embarrassed him into changing his name at the time of the census.
With all these brothers and sisters around, none are witnesses at his wedding and none were ever mentioned to my Grandpa or his siblings (I seem to be the first to know about this second family). In fact, family history had stated Richard died young, perhaps suicide, although none of that was ever backed up with facts.
With no evidence to back up either theory I decided to error on the side of mis-information and search for actual proof. Maybe we have living Marshall’s in England to this day since Ralph and Leonard survived child birth.
I could not find anything concrete for Leonard (still looking to date) so I put him aside for the moment. Ralph was a different story though. I found Ralph in the WWI British pension records. Ralph enlisted in 1916 and was medically discharged in 1917. He never served in any capacity other than light labor at Union barracks because he suffered from congenital birth defects (more evidence of the hush-hush theory?). He had a “malformed” chest and at age 28 stated he had never worked, only “a little tidy up for his mother”. It was noted that he was mentally “childlike” and with some effort could manage to write his name, but that was about it. His next of kin was mother Jane. Ralph died in 1918 at the Union barracks in Hounslow where he and mother Jane lived (Hounslow not the barracks), never married and no children.
I’ve sent off for the birth certificates for the four “Talling middle named” children, the marriage certificate for Richard and Jane Lane, and the death certificate for a Jane Marshall born in Cornwall 1847, died in Hounslow 1919. I could be completely wrong with my assumptions… I hope so! If this is our mother Jane she would only have been 72 at the time of death and probably broken hearted that she had lost her son Albert to WWI, all his children (her grandchildren) to America and now her beloved Ralphie.
I’ll update as soon as I get more information or when the certs arrive!
HAPPY 99th BIRTHDAY to my great aunt Lucille Fitzpatrick this Friday, August 31st! Lucille is the wife of my great uncle, the late Frank (Marshall) Fitzpatrick.
