The aim of my 100 ancestors blog is to write briefly about my ancestors. This week I want to write about someone who I am not even sure exists but who has provided a circular conundrum which I am not sure will ever be solved. Let me start telling you about this puzzle with the birth of Henry Bird on 26th April 1853. The certificate is quite clear :
Without going over old ground I can tell you that my 3 x great grandfather, William Bird of Newnham (week #43), built 8 Elizabeth Place and his son, William Henry Bird, lived there for most of his life ...... including when this son was born in 1853.
I also know as a fact that William married Selina Curtis because of an entry in the probate records when he died in 1870. I have confirmed that his son was in the Grenadier Guards and have documented the story of Thomas Ross in Hastings (week #29). There can be no doubt, despite there being a large number of William Birds, and William Henry Birds in particular, that this is the right family and the right certificate.'
All good so far ? When they carried out the census in 1861 I eventually found William and Selina with their child Henry living at 8 Elizabeth Place. This was despite an horrendous mistranscription of their surname and Henry having acquired a middle name, "G" ?
I know that young Henry married in June 1874 and that on the marriage certificate his middle name is revealed as being George. His mother, who had remarried after the death of William, was one of the witnesses.
His father died in 1870 and Henry got married in 1874, so the last census Henry would appear on with his mother, Selina, should be 1871. Indeed, I found him still living at 8 Elizabeth Place aged 17 with a live in cook, Ann de Luce, who was the informant on his fathers death the year before. However, and here is the major puzzle, his mother is said to be Caroline Bird born in France !
Is this right ? How can it be ? Doesn't make sense. I have tried to find someone called Caroline born about 1823 on previous and subsequent census but to no avail. I have also tried to find Selina on the 1871 census as we know she was alive, again without any success.
All I can surmise is that Caroline is really Selina but for some unknown reason she decided it might be fun to have a laugh with the person who came to take the census and put on a French accent and pretended to be Caroline. Sounds ridiculous but sometimes fact is stranger than fiction. We will probably never know the truth but it's fun to guess !!
All I can surmise is that Caroline is really Selina but for some unknown reason she decided it might be fun to have a laugh with the person who came to take the census and put on a French accent and pretended to be Caroline. Sounds ridiculous but sometimes fact is stranger than fiction. We will probably never know the truth but it's fun to guess !!