Mr Allsopp

[Kit]

I have had Mr Allsopp in my tree for many years. He has been a thorn for all that time.

This is how he fits in.

His "wife" is Mary Simpson b 1861 Etruria, Staffs. She is unmarried in 1881 (RG11; Piece: 2770; Folio: 55; Page: 8) and living with her mother Sarah Simpson.

In 1891 (RG12; Piece: 2172; Folio 33; Page 18) she is Mary Allsopp, married, still living with her mother and she has 2 children Susannah and John. There is no sign of a Mr Allsopp.

In 1901 (RG13; Piece: 2605; Folio: 124; Page: 18) she is a widow, living with her children and John Simpson, her brother.

The children are Susannah Grace Mary Allsopp b 1883 and John Simpson Allsopp b 1886.

They are not my direct line so I haven't bought certificates.

Yesterday I had a breakthrough!!!!! Susannah and John's baptism is now on FMP. They were baptised in 1896.

Their father is *drumroll* Thomas and he is deceased and was a clothier.

Can anyone find their marriage or Thomas' death?

A tree on ancestry has them marrying in Leicester but I think that is wrong as her Thomas died 60 years after this one. There is also a death in Leicester which seems to be the right age (assuming death to be from 1891 to 1896) but again no idea why he would be there. The death in Staffs is for a lot older man, possible but I don't know.

Are there any online records for Leicester so I can check details? Thanks in advance for any help.

[James18]

Hi Toni.

On FreeBMD there's this for Jun 1883:

SIMPSON Mary Leicester 7a 348

ALLSOPP Thomas Wakefield Leicester 7a 348

Possible deaths:

Allsop Thomas 40 Leicester 7a 211 (Mar 1891)

Allsopp Thomas 36 Leicester 7a 160 (Jun 1895)

Allsop Thomas 65 Leicester 7a 123 (Mar 1896)

I'd go with the 1895 death, as it has the correct spelling of Allsopp. Would his age be about right? I assume so.

[Mary from Italy]

There isn't much online for Leicestershire, although I believe FMP will be transcribing the records eventually.

I have a few discs, but not much for that period. The Thomas Allsopp aged 36 who died in Leicester in 1895 isn't buried in the main cemetery there. The Thomas Allsop aged 65 who died there in 1896 isn't yours (he's with a wife Sarah in Leicester in 1891, and he's a framework knitter).

I may have found something, though.

There's this possible marriage in Leicester:

Marriages Jun 1883
ALLSOPP Thomas Wakefield Leicester 7a 348
HOWE Mary Ann Leicester 7a 348
MERRIN William Leicester 7a 348
SIMPSON Mary Leicester 7a 348

William Merrin's with a Mary A in 1891, so Thomas Wakefield Allsopp probably married Mary Simpson.

However, there's also this marriage:

Marriages Sep 1889
ALLSOPP Thomas Wakefield St. Saviour 1d 313
FISHER Mary St Saviour Southwark

The second one (which took place in Walworth, parish of Newington, London) is on Ancestry; that Thomas is a tailor's cutter, aged 28, son of William, and says he's a bachelor.

That couple are in Newington on the 1891 census, and his birth place is Tamworth, Staffs - the place where your Mary's two children were born...

[Mary from Italy]

Here he is in 1881 with his parents; occupation: tailor/clothier's assistant.

http://interactive.ancestry.co.uk/75...nSearchResults

[Mary from Italy]

Thomas and his 2nd wife Mary emigrated to Canada in 1920:

http://search.ancestry.co.uk/cgi-bin...AV=-1&uidh=yc2

[Kit]

Originally Posted by Mary from Italy

That couple are in Newington on the 1891 census, and his birth place is Tamworth, Staffs - the place where your Mary's two children were born...

So it looks like he ran out on my Mary and potentially bigamously married the second Mary.

[Mary from Italy]

Yes, looks like it.

[Kit]

Thanks also James for putting up the possible deaths and marriage.

[Kit]

Originally Posted by Mary from Italy

Yes, looks like it.

I've had a look for a divorce. There is nothing on FMP and looking at newspapers shows Thomas Allsopps are bad news. Apparently "thinking" you are divorced is not an excuse for bigamy. (Not my couple)

A bit sad really, I think today I'd have preferred he remained a Mr.