Genealogy Chat

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If anyone can make any suggestions about this particular little mystery I would be most grateful. In my tree I have a Mary Heatley who married William Harris and had three daughters Ellen born 1873, Leonora born 1876 & Kate born 1878 (all born Leicester). From the census information I reckon that Mary was born about 1846 the question is where? I have her on Some census returns as being born Nuneaton, the same as her husband who was also born about 1846. However on the 1891 census she is recorded as being born in Canada, British Subject! Just to totally confuse matters according to Family lore her daughter Leonora was Irish! I have her birth certificate and she was born in Leicester but my Grandmother maintains that she was told by the woman herself (her Grandmother) that she was Irish. Any Ideas?

How many censuses do you have for Mary? Can you find her with her parents? That would probably give a good indication of her birthplace. If you've got her father's name from her marriage cert you can look for his marriage/birth and work forwards from there. If she was really born in Canada I think she would say that on all the censuses - its not like having two different birthplaces nearby which is an understandable error. nell

Mary may well have been Irish. One of my g g grandfather's came from Ireland but gave a different birthplace in nearly every census - probably couldn't remember what he had said last time. I don't think they liked to admit to coming from Ireland but I haven't discovered why yet. If you look at the front page of GR under census research they suggest that many people had a fear of being moved on from the parish and being sent back to where they came from. Sheila

Bearing in mind there's usually a grain of truth somewhere in family legends I'd guess Leonora's claim to be Irish may have been because one or other of her parents had Irish ancestry. Could it be that her mother Mary was the daughter of a British soldier with an Irish wife - he may have served in Ireland and met his wife, then later served in Canada. Then either Mary WAS born in Canada or at least lived there for a while as a child.

Family lore has it that my ggran was Irish. I fully expected difficulties emerging when I tried to trace her but I'm now back to 1800 (with a shakey possibility of as far as 1524) on her line with not a trace of Irish blood. I can only assume that her name, Cordelia Macaree, sounded Irish to someone.

What is her birthplace on the 1901 census? Is it possible that there were two wives, both called Mary but the first born in Nuneaton and the second born in Canada? Kate.

Hi Sarah For some reason I'm having problems with copy and paste but here are your ancestors in 1851 Bond Street, Nuneaton William Heatley 48 Chelsea pensioner and weaver born Chilvers Coton Catherine 40, charwoman, Ireland Catherine 12 Hull, Yorks Ann 7 Antigua WSI Edward 6 scholar,St Johns CAN Mary 4 Toronto CAN Thomas 1 Nuneaton HO/107/2065 Folio 54 Page 5 Hope this helps Heather

Thank you all, especially Heather for finding what seems to be the right family in 1851. This has been one of those branches that I have looked at, shook my head at and put back in the box, so to find out that there does seem to be some grain of truth in all of it is amazing. And quite rightly I guessed that someone on here would point me in the right direction. Mary's marriage certificate has now made it to the top of the list and will be the next one I purchase! I have also just realised that now I have two seperate lines going back to Chilvers Coton. By the way I'm not exactly sure what an elastic web weaver is but I don't think it was that exciting! Sarah