Genealogy Chat

It might depend on who the informant was for the birth certs, and whether or not they knew, or remembered in the heat of the moment, that Matilda had been born Howard.

But at least (re your oringinal question) we found that George Aspinall had only one wife, and her life story - or at least a snapshot every ten years.

I now have the birth certificates for the 2 children
Mary Beatrice Aspinall b24th Dec 1903 parents George Aspinall and Matilda Ann nee Howard
George William Aspinall b25th Oct 1904 parents George John Aspinall and Matilda Ann Mercer
All lived 7 Seymore Road Northfleet Kent
Mary died 1904.

Thanks for your help I don't actually think I've answered my original question fully but who is to say what is in a persons mind when they decide to use different names?

I have joined Ancestry now though

Assuming you mean England/Wales, the files of less than 0.2% of divorces after 1937 survive.

General info about finding divorce records here:
https://www.nationalarchives.gov.uk/help-with-your-research/research-guides/divorce/

Ancestry has divorce records 1858-1918 for England/Wales.

The register of Scottish divorces from 1984 onwards is online at Scotlands People .website, as is the register of Dissolutions of a Civil Partnership from 2007 onwards..

How on earth can I find info about a divorce whilst the searches say marriage and divorce not all divorces are showing up including mine !!

The Mercers have been mistranscribed as Meteer on GR, as far as 1891 is concerned.

They're properly transcribed as Mercer in other censuses on GR.

Just to add to Shirley's summary above -

in 1901 (posted above) Matilda was with her mother and stepfather and listed under his surname of Dalton .

So she was Howard at birth, Mercer in 1891, Dalton in 1901, and married as Howard.


Re searching for records on Genes -
I don't think any of the helpers here on the boards use GR for research, although it's handy for recent Electoral Rolls searches, and many of us have trees on GR.

But for research we mainly use the subscription sites Ancestry and/or FindMyPast.
We also use free sites such as FreeBMD, FamilySearch, and others.

GR's BMD and census records only cover England and Wales, so are very limited compared with other sites.

Matilda is Annie Matilda Howard at birth registration the illegitimate daughter of Louisa Howard who married James Mercer after she was born

James died about a year after the marriage in 1886

Louisa remarried but seems Matilda ,as she was known, was with the mercer grandparents in 1891 .they seem to have accepted she was James daughter even though there’s no online records to confirm this

When Matilda married she used her birth surname

Why can I not find the Mercer's of Northfleet in a census search on Genes Reunited?

Thankyou all so much for the info. I searched and found a lot of what you have found like 1911 census for George and Matilda plus children.
I looked into George Wiliiam b 1905 on census but birth info says b1904 4th quarter and mother Mercer then I found Mary Beatrice also b1904 1st Quarter mother Howard these birth certificates I have sent off for so we will soon know if they were the same year and who the Mother and Father were. Of course Mary was not in the 1911 census as she died prior to that.
It still befuddles me why there are 2 different mothers names especailly for the first 2 children who were born so close together.
I have only been using GR are any of you using other search programs?
I looked for Matilda Howard but could not decide which one she was as I found a few have you any tips regarding that?

Here's Matilda in 1901, with her mother and stepfather;

Matilda Dalton
in the 1901 England Census
Name: Matilda Dalton
Age: 18
Estimated Birth Year: abt 1883
Relation to Head: Daughter
Gender: Female
Father: William Dalton
Mother: Louisa Dalton
Birth Place: Northfleet, Kent, England
Civil Parish: Northfleet
Ecclesiastical parish: Perry Street All Saints
County/Island: Kent
Country: England
Street Address:
Registration District: Strood
Sub-registration District: Northfleet
ED, institution, or vessel: 09
Neighbors:
Piece: 716
Folio: 88
Page Number: 6
Household Schedule Number: 34
Household Members:
Name Age
William Dalton 52 - District Council roadman
Louisa Dalton 40 - Field worker
Matilda Dalton 18 - field worker
Florrie Dalton 4
Willie Dalton 3
Frederick Dalton 4/12
Frederick Dalton 30 - single, boarder, gardener, Northfleet


Half-siblings:

DALTON, FLORENCE EMILY mms HOWARD
GRO Reference: 1896 S Quarter in STROOD Volume 02A Page 538

DALTON, WILLIAM GEORGE mms HOWARD
GRO Reference: 1898 M Quarter in STROOD Volume 02A Page 582

DALTON, FREDERICK JAMES mms HOWARD
GRO Reference: 1900 D Quarter in STROOD Volume 02A Page 569

GG posted a possible 1901 for Matilad.

However, I think that's this child - here in 1891 with her father and siblings, including sister Maria born in Bermondsey (Ada Maria in 1901).

Matilda Howard
in the 1891 England Census
Name: Matilda Howard
Gender: Female
Age: 9
Relationship: Daughter
Birth Year: 1882
Father: William Howard
Mother: Susan Howard
Birth Place: Greenwich, London, England
Civil Parish: St George the Martyr
Ecclesiastical parish: St Mary Magdalene
Residence Place: St George the Martyr, London, England
Registration District: St Saviour Southwark
Sub registration district: Kent Road
ED, Institution or Vessel: 14
Neighbors:
Piece: 345
Folio: 160
Household Members:
Name Age
William Howard 49
Susan Howard 4
Maria Howard 11 - Bermondsey
Matilda Howard 9
Edwin Howard 5
Albert Howard 3

Looking at the possible marriage of Louisa Howard to James Mercer in 1885, posted by AG -

If Matilda was born before marriage then mother's maiden name would correctly be Howard, but whether James was her Father or not, she became known as Mercer. whilst living with the family. But then correctly married as Howard as that was her birth name.

Birth registration of her children - maybe the question of Mother's maiden name was not well phrased and led to the use of one or the other

A tree on ancestry suggest she is the daughter of Louisa Howard born c1868 north fleet

And

Marriages Jun 1885
Howard Louisa Strood 2a 769
MERCER James Strood 2a 769

Matilda's birth:

HOWARD, ANNIE MATILDA -
GRO Reference: 1882 D Quarter in NORTH AYLESFORD Volume 02A Page 507

Not seeing a birth for her under either name

Seems like she may have been illegitimate and was with grandparents for a time

Who did she name as father on the marriage certificate

1871 England, Wales & Scotland Census
Elizabeth Place, Northfleet, North Aylesford, Kent, England

First name(s) Last name Relationship Marital status Sex Age Birth year Occupation Birth place
George Mercer Head - Male 54 1817 - Kent, England
Mary A Mercer Wife - Female 44 1827 - Kent, England
James Mercer Son - Male 11 1860 - Kent, England
Walter Mercer Son - Male 9 1862 - Kent, England
George Mercer Son - Male 6 1865 - Kent, England
John Mercer Son - Male 2 1869 - Kent, England
Walter Mercer's Census Details
Details taken from the original census record.

Louisa Howard in 1881:

Louisa Howard
in the 1881 England Census
Name: Louisa Howard
Age: 18
Estimated Birth Year: abt 1863
Relationship to Head: Servant
Gender: Female
Where born: Northfleet, Kent, England
Civil Parish: Northfleet
County/Island: Kent
Country: England
Street Address: 1 Victoria Road
Education:
Employment status:
View image
Occupation: General Serv
Registration District: North Aylesford
ED, institution, or vessel: 6
Neighbors:
Piece: 877
Folio: 77
Page Number: 7

???

Marriages Jun 1885 (>99%)
Howard Louisa Strood 2a 769
MERCER James Strood 2a 769

Marriages Dec 1887 (>99%)
DALTON William Strood 2a 885
MERCER Louisa Strood 2a 885


Louisa Dalton
in the 1891 England Census
Name: Louisa Dalton
Gender: Female
Age: 29
Relationship: Wife
Birth Year: 1862
Spouse: William Dalton
Birth Place: Northfleet, Kent, England
Civil Parish: Northfleet
Ecclesiastical parish: All Saints
Residence Place: Perry Street, Northfleet, Kent, England
Registration District: Strood
Sub registration district: Northfleet
ED, Institution or Vessel: 7
Neighbors:
Piece: 650
Folio: 46
Household Members:
Name Age
William Dalton 43
Louisa Dalton 29


James Mercer, son of the Matilda's grandparents ?? (see Matilda with them in 1891 above):

James Mercer
in the 1881 England Census
Name: James Mercer
Age: 21
Estimated Birth Year: abt 1860
Relationship to Head: Son
Father: George Mercer
Mother: Mary Mercer
Gender: Male
Where born: Northfleet, Kent, England
Civil Parish: Northfleet
County/Island: Kent
Country: England
Street Address: 17 Wycliffe Rd
Education:
Employment status:
View image
Occupation: Cement Laborer
Registration District: North Aylesford
ED, institution, or vessel: 6
Neighbors:
Piece: 877
Folio: 86
Page Number: 25
Household Members:
Name Age
George Mercer 64
Mary Mercer 54
James Mercer 21
Walter Mercer 19
George Mercer 16
John Mercer 13


James's death ??:

James Mercer
in the England & Wales, Civil Registration Death Index, 1837-1915
Name: James Mercer
Estimated Birth Year: abt 1860
Registration Year: 1886
Registration Quarter: Jul-Aug-Sep
Age at Death: 26
Registration District: Gravesend
Inferred County: Kent
Volume: 2a
Page: 265

Name: Mother's Maiden Surname:
ASPINALL, DAVID STEPHEN MERCER
GRO Reference: 1917 S Quarter in STROOD Volume 02A Page 968

ASPINALL, HENRY JOHN MERCER
GRO Reference: 1914 S Quarter in STROOD Volume 02A Page 1403

ASPINALL, WILLIAM ALBERT MERCER
GRO Reference: 1912 S Quarter in STROOD Volume 02A Page 1323

18 Cooper's Road, Northfleet, Northfleet U.D., Kent, England

Aspinall household
(7 people)
First name(s) Last name(s) DOB Sex Occupation Marital status Schedule Schedule Sub Number
George J Aspinall 19 Dec 1882 Male Storekeeper Warehousem Married 169 1
Matilda A Aspinall 07 Nov 1882 Female Unpaid Domestic Duties Married 169 2
William A (H) Aspinall 15 Jun 1912 Male Salesman Grocery Single 169 3
Henry J Aspinall 15 ? 1914 Male Printing Machine Mind Single 169 4
David I Aspinall 19 May 1917 Male Maintenance & Loco Fitter Single 169 5
The record for this person is officially closed.
The record for this person is officially closed.

For individual people, records remain closed for a century after their birth (the 100-year rule), unless it can be proven that they passed away before this milestone. Use the ‘Open This Record’ button if you believe that this person is now deceased

David I could well be David S on origianal