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I am trying to find details of James Finch born approx 1864 - this is what I have so far: James' father was Samuel, a farmer, b. aprrox 1815 in Sedgley, Staffs He had a brother names Thomas b.approx 1869 1891 census has James Finch, wife Selina Finch, children Sarah and Selina Finch- all ok with that 1881 census has James with father Samuel Finch and brother Thomas Finch - all ok with that! then I get lost... 1871 census shows Samuel Finch 56 head Sarah Hicklin 33 housekeeper (though I think the age could read 53.v.unclear) James Hicklin 8 son Thomas Hicklin 4 son all born Sedgley Staffs Sarah Hicklin married Samuel Finch Sep 1875 - well after the boys were born. This could mean the boys were born before Sarah and Samuel got together, and therefore their actual father was someone called Hicklin and they just assumed the surname Finch after their parent's marriage. I'm good with that, but I can't find the boys' births registered under Finch or Hicklin! So I go back a bit further...don't have access to 1861 census, so next best thing I look at the 1851 census. BUT I can't find Samuel Finch at all, under any version of the name. I can find a Sarah Hicklin, as the wife of a Charles Hicklin with 2 small children, and parents George and Mary Evans... so I revise my thinking: Sarah was born Sarah Evans, married Charles Hicklin, had Emma and Sarah, then 10 yrs later had her 2 boys, then went on to marry Samuel Finch...doesn't quite add up!! so how about: Sarah was born Sarah Evans, had 2 illegitimate girls, then married Charles Hicklin and later had 2 boys, then married Samuel Finch. That one seems to make sense but I CAN'T FIND ANY RECORDS OF BIRTHS OR MARRIAGES FOR ANY OF THESE PEOPLE IN THE RIGHT YEARS OR PLACES and I want to cry!!! Could some kind soul with plenty of spare time please have a look and see where I'm going wrong? I have really had my money's worth out of ancestry trying to decipher this one and I don't know what to do next. Many Thanks Sarah

Sarah Have you got James and Selina's marriage cert and does his age on that tally with the census info? Don't tell me...the marriage cert says 'of full age', I bet! nell

Hi Nell Just had the marriage cert through, James Finch m. Selina Oakley 6/3/1887, both aged 23, bachelor and spinster. James' father is Samuel Finch, a farmer. Both witnesses are on Selina's side - a sister, and one of her brothers-in law. Sarah

Sarah I tried looking at the Sedgley baptisms on the IGI - they don't go as far as 1864 (as I expect you know) but while I was looking for Samuel, I found a possible sibling: RICHARD FINCH Male Event(s): Christening: 12 MAY 1822 Sedgley, Stafford, England Parents: Father: JOSEPH FINCH Mother: ELIZTH. Not much use I agree! I will have another look. nell

Sarah Clutching at straws here. I found this birth on Ancestry civil reg. Its the right year and Dudley reg district includes Sedgley. Name: HICKLIN, Joseph Record Type: Births Quarter: June Year: 1864 District: Dudley County: Staffordshire Worcestershire Volume: 6c Page: 118 Is it possible they changed Joseph to James after he was registered? nell

Hmmm - I suppose anything is possible, I'll write that down and see if I can get it to fit anywhere. Unless of course his name was Joseph James or James Joseph....thats always a possibility Thank you Nell.

Sarah I can only find this Samuel no other names you have mentioned but 10 marriages for Finches in Sedgley when you need them. No Hincklin marriages on Cds Shirley FINCH, Samuel Marriage Wife: Ann HARRISON Marriage Date: 9 Jun 1840 Recorded in: Sedgley, Staffordshire, England Husband's Father: Richard FINCH Wife's Father: Enock HARRISON Source: FHL Film 1040792 Dates: 1839 - 1844

Sarah Having read through this thread again I think my brain is melting too! I know they are common names, but perhaps these Richard and Joseph Finches are linked in some way. Do you think if Samuel was still married to Ann that might explain why he took so long to get round to marrying Ms Hicklin? This is the civil reg index info for Samuel Finch=Ann Harrison's marriage: Name: FINCH, Samuel Record Type: Marriages Quarter: June Year: 1840 District: Dudley County: Staffordshire Worcestershire Volume: 18 Page: 391 nell nell

Shirley - thanks but I think you just complicated it more!! lmao I had seen that marriage, and made a note of it for future reference, because I thought maybe this was Samuel's first marriage - he appears to have married Sarah Hicklin very late on - they were both about 60 when they married! I put it to one side though, 'cos my head is already spinning, and the more I look into this one the more wives and children come crawling out of the woodwork. Could you possibly send me a list of the Finch marriages in Sedgley - I may be able to tie them up to the siblings I have on file? Many thanks Sarah

Nell - that thought definitely crossed my mind! It would help if I could figure out whether Sarah was a Hicklin or an Evans when the 2 boys were born...do you know anyone with access to 1861 census? At least I could see if Samuel and Sarah were together before the birth of the 2 boys....just a thought Sarah

Possible deaths for the 1st Mrs Finch: FINCH, Ann 1852 March Deaths Dudley Staffordshire Worcestershire Volume: 6c Page: 54 Finch, Ann 1855 March Deaths Dudley Staffordshire Worcestershire Volume: 6c Page: 90 Finch, Ann 1858 December Deaths Dudley Staffordshire Worcestershire Volume: 6c Page: 33 nell

Thanks Nell - all those dates were well before samuel's marriage to Sarah, so the other possibility is that she wasn't free to marry earlier than 1875....

These are all the deaths for Charles Hicklin on ancestry civil reg (which isn't complete) About this database A collection of indexes to Birth, Marriage, and Death records for England and Wales, between 1837 and 1983. More information below « Global Search Results Name Year Quarter Record Type District County HICKLIN, Charles 1840 September Deaths Walsall Staffordshire HICKLIN, Charles 1842 March Deaths Kings Norton Staffordshire Warwickshire Worcestershire Hicklin, Charles 1856 June Deaths Lichfield Staffordshire HICKLIN, Charles 1864 December Deaths Chapel en le Frith Derbyshire Hicklin, Charles 1890 September Deaths Stourbridge Shropshire Staffordshire Warwickshire West Midlands Worcestershire Hicklin, Charles 1896 December Deaths Burton upon Trent Derbyshire Staffordshire Hicklin, Charles 1899 June Deaths Chesterfield Derbyshire Hicklin, Charles 1910 June Deaths Walsall Staffordshire Hicklin, Charles George 1880 September Deaths Birmingham (1837-1924) Warwickshire None of them seem to be the right era for your Sarah's first husband, do they? nell I am equally frustrated by my great-grandmother. Her name was Emma Moore. she married Thomas Matthews in 1865 in Islington and 14 years later to the day he dropped dead, still in Islington. Don't know what happened between May 1879 and 1881 census, but Emma turns up there with her two surviving children by Thomas and a second husband, John Garvie, now living in Greenwich. Emma and John's marriage in not in the GRO indexes. I've been through the marriage registers for the period for all churches in Islington and Greenwich without success. Just as well that my grandmother Annie's father was Thomas and not John! nell

The only one of those that appears to bear any relation to Sarah, is the one who died in Stourbridge in 1890 - that wouldn't explain why sarah waited till 1875 to marry samuel unless, of course, she was never married to charles in the first place and genuinely was samuel's housekeeper who ended up marrying the boss! I can see this one is going to have me going round in circles for a long long time! I'm wondering if it would be worth trying to get hold of a 1861 census CD - surely I could justify the cost against my sanity! lol

Dorothy - there is no young Sarah Hicklin on 1851, but if 33 is the right age on 1871, she would have been about 12/13 in 51 so could have been in service elsewhere. Leigh - PLEASE YES PLEASE!!!! Could you look for Samuel Finch b. abt 1815, Sedgley Staffs - if I can find out where he was and who was with him in '61 I could narrow it down a bit. Many many thanks Sarah

OMG Dorothy - I think you found them!!!!! Those names suggest Samuel and Sarah were not married when the boys were born, but that Samuel WAS the father after all - methinks I will have to send off for birth certs to check :o) And I don't know if you misread, or I mis-typed, but this whole thing is enough to confuse the most level-headed person! lol Many thanks - you may have just halted my brain meltdown temporarily lol Sarah