Liverpool & South West Lancashire FHS - Forum

I am trying to find the birth of my grandmother Ada Boston, I have found a baptism record for her in Rodington Shropshire. She was born 30 Apr 1877 but not baptised until 25 Aug 1878 her mother was Emma Pritchard and her father was Frederick Boston. They were supposedly attached to a travelling theatre (so the story goes) but they then settled in Liverpool. On the 1881 census Ada was not with her parents for some reason, they were listed at 22 College Lane, Liverpool and his birth was listed as Cabbage Hall. I cannot find a marriage for them, neither can I find a marriage for Emma when she is living with a Peter Morris in 1901 even though she signs herself as his wife on his death certificate. Any help will be gratefully appreciated.

With the exact date of birth you can apply for her birth certificate at www.gro.gov.uk but where the question is posed "Is the exact GRO reference known?" then you must state NO. This will then give you the opportunity to fill in the information that you do know, such as, date of birth, parents names and where you believe she may have been born.

The GRO will then do a three year search based on the criteria you have given and if they get no result then they will refund your money.

Good info Mary as usual.
Frederick is listed in 1881 as a property holder, 24 I believe Cabbage Hall was part of Tuebrook, help please.(Fred'k could have other first names on his birth rego?)
Emma 23 bn Market Drayton Yorks.(should be Shrops?)
So where is Ada??

Please could you post the full baptismal info and any census you have found Ada on? Many thanks

Just another thought could she have been registered as Pritchard if her parents weren't married. Last thought did she marry anyone after Peter Morris?

The 1901 census for the crew...
RG13 Piece 3416 Folio 6 Page 4
Address: 34 Crown Street, Liverpool.
Peter Morris Head 37 1864 Jeweller - Liverpool
Emma Morris Wife 44 1857 - Shrewsbury, Shropshire
Ada Morris Dtr 6 1895 - Liverpool,
Mary Boston Visitor u/m 77 1824 - Liverpool
William Smith Boarder u/m 20 1881 Dentist - Kidderminster, Worcestershire
Edward Cooney Boarder u/m 46 1855 Boot Binder - Ireland
Peter McGillivery Boarder Single Male 56 1845 Taylor (Coat Maker) Scotland

The child Ada....
Births Jun 1896: Morris, Ada Mary - Toxteth Park 8b 164
Her baptism might show what name Emma used as her maiden or previous name.

Interesting that there is a Mary Boston bn abt 1824 in the household. What relation is she to Frederick?

Where is Ada Boston, your g.mother, in any census? And when, where and whom did she marry?

It appears that Ada Morris is here in 1911,

Name:
Ada Morris
Age in 1911:
16
Estimated Birth Year:
abt 1895
Relation to Head:
Granddaughter
Gender:
Female
Birth Place:
Liverpool, Lancashire, England
Civil Parish:
West Derby
County/Island:
Lancashire
Country:
England
Street address:
15 Prescot St Liverpool
Marital Status:
Single
Occupation:
Clerke In Office
Registration district:
West Derby
Registration District Number:
455
Sub-registration district:
West Derby Western
ED, institution, or vessel:
26
Piece:
22578
Thomas Sykes 42
Emma Sykes 54
Ada Morris 16
Maude Salt 25
Peter McGillivray 57
Thomas Thompson 26

Thomas Sykes and Emma declare married 9 years. A Peter Morris died, Liverpool 1901, age a couple of years out with 1901 birth year.
1902, a marriage in Liverpool, Thomas Sykes, Emily Morris, 8b 241. ???

It does look as if this is Peter Morris' death....
Deaths Sep 1901: Morris, Peter [35] - Liverpool 8b 84

And he was the father of Ada Mary Morris. And it appears that Thomas Sykes made a mistake by referring to Ada as a grand-daughter when she is his step-daughter?

But Ada Morris is not Ada Boston/Prichard bn 1877 although it is strange Emma should name another child Ada.

Perhaps our poster will post more info regarding the connections to Ada Boston, back from her death via her marriage through the censuses to her birth?

The cert for Emma Morris' marriage to Thomas Sykes should reveal some clues as to who she is as well as former names. And there are no births for an Emma Pri(t)chard registered in Market Drayton 1851 - 1861, but there are 5 listed in the 1861 census in Shropshire so we need her father's name.

Thanks to everyone who has replied I will try to answer your questions:
a) I applied to the GRO as soon as I found the baptism record but they couldn't find anything and returned my fee.
b) Yes this is them on 1881 census, I have tried many different angles to find where Ada is (living with grandparents or any of Emma's sisters) but with no luck. Emma was born 17 Feb 1856 in New Caynton, Chelwynd, Shropshire
c) I found the baptism on FMP in the Parish of Rodington Salop(page 24, no 190) - Ada daughter of Frederick & Emma Boston -abode Liverpool, Bap Aug 25 1878 (born Apr 30 1877. The only other census I have found them on is 1891 Class: RG12; Piece: 2913; Folio: 58; Page: 43; GSU roll: 6098023 listed as Emily & Edith Baston. 1901 Ada is with my grandfather Henry Longmore Chapman as his wife (although they didn't marry until 1915) I have searched for Ada Pritchard as my thoughts were that she was illegitimate but came up with nothing. Emma married Tom Sykes 6 Feb 1902 as Emily Morris but I have been unable to find a marriage to Peter Morris or Frederick Boston even thought she always quoted wife.
d) Ada Boston born in 1894 is the illegitimate daughter of Ada Boston ( my grandmother and was my mothers sister). For some reason she was listed as Ada Morris on the 1901/1911 census but she was Ada (nickname Dolly) Boston, I have her birth certificate.. I noticed Mary Boston and presumed it must have been Frederick's mother. 1901 -Database online. Class: RG13; Piece: 3449; Folio: 113; Page: 26. 1911 - Class: RG14; Piece: 22359 Piece: Page 118
22359
e) I think I have covered most of highlights of both Emma & Ada (no 1 & 2), Emma died 23 Aug 1933 in 15 Prescot Street, Liverpool & Ada died 19 Dec 1962 in Rainhill Hospital Annexe, Eccleston.
Well I hope I have covered most of it - it is rather complicated

I'm afraid if the GRO have not found the birth certificate based on those facts that you know are accurate, it would seem that she wasn't registered, sometimes feeding the family had priority over spending money on a registration, sad for us but true to those times.

Have you seen the records for Ada in the Rainhill Hospital? These should be available at the Liverpool Record Office, if you can provide the death details (confirm to him that you have the certificate) and give the reasons you are researching - ie direct family relative, and ask specifically of Roger Hull the archivist, he may allow you to see her records, take a camera as you will be able to photograph the documents. Generally there is a photograph in the file.

Could Ada have been registered under her mother's maiden if her parent's weren't married?

Thank you once again.
I spoke to Roger Hull a few years ago on a visit to Liverpool, he looked for me but couldn't find her records. I contacted him again earlier this year and he came back with the same answer, I thought I may have got something from it but realized my uncle had probably registered it all and he was the one that seemed to keep everything a secret.
I have looked for a long time for her registered as Ada Pritchard but without any luck

Tangled webs and all that....

So the Ada Morris in the 1901 census with Peter and Emma Morris is really Ada Boston, Emma's g.daughter? A case of saving face perhaps?
Births Dec 1894: Boston, Ada - Liverpool 8b 85
Baptism: ST PHILIP - bn: 1894 - bpt: 1894 - ADA BOSTON - mother: ADA BOSTON

That explains the 1911 census entry where Thomas Sykes refers to Ada Morris as a g.daughter. So could the entry for Mary Boston bn 1824 in the 1901 census also be wrong where she is shown as being unmarried.

Question...
When Emma Morris married Thomas Sykes in 1902 what was her father's name and occupation on the cert? I ask in order to find Emma in Shropshire in 1861 and 1871. My thinking is that her daughter Ada was left in Shropshire with relatives/siblings after the baptism in 1878 and could be the reason why Ada was baptised in Shropshire.

For the crew..
Births Mar 1856: PRITCHARD, Emma - Newport [Salop] 6a 744

With regard to a birth registration for Ada [1877] I agree with MaryA's suggestion that it was never registered. The absence of a marriage for the parents presumes illegitimacy and the only Ada Pritchard registered in 1877 died the following year.
Births Dec 1877: Pritchard, Ada - Hereford 6a 498
Deaths Dec 1878: PRITCHARD, Ada [1] - Hereford 6a 350

Note: The village of Rodington where Ada Boston was baptised is between the towns of Wellington and Shrewsbury just within the borough of Telford & Wrekin. Might be a clue as to where she is in 1881. Also the registers for Newport where Emma was registered are held at Telford & Wrekin so Ada could be in that area in 1881.

Bit of a leap in the dark, but Noseyoap mentioned Emma Pritchard bn 1856 as being born in Chelwynd, Shropshire.
This is her baptism I think...
Baptism: Emma Pritchard
Baptism date: 11 May 1856
Denomination: Anglican
Place: Chetwynd
Father's first name(s): William
Mother's first name(s): Mary Ann
County: Shropshire
Archive reference: P60/A/2/2; Page 69; Record set: Shropshire baptisms

And the family in 1861...
RG09 Piece 1891 Folio 80 Page 13
Address: Whitchurch Road, Agden, Whitchurch, Shropshire.
William Pritchard Head 37 1824 Miller - Drayton, Shropshire
Mary Pritchard Wife 27 1834 - Drayton, Shropshire
Jane Pritchard Dtr 6 1855 Scholar - Rodington, Shropshire
Emma Pritchard Dtr 5 1856 Scholar - Caynton, Shropshire
Hannah Pritchard Dtr 2 1859 - Drayton, Shropshire

For the crew...
Emma Pritchard in 1871....

1871: RG10 Piece 2805 Folio 104 Page 5
Rodenhurt Road, Rodington, Wellington, Shropshire
William Pritchard Head 44 1827 Journeyman miller - Stanton, Shropshire
Mary Ann Pritchard Wife 37 1834 - Drayton, Shropshire
Jane Pritchard Dtr 16 1854 - Rodington, Shropshire
Emma Pritchard Dtr 15 1856 - Sambrook, Shropshire
Hannah Pritchard Dtr 14 1858 - Drayton, Shropshire
Eliza Pritchard Dtr 7 1864 - Malpas, [Shropshire]

Note: The YoBs in red have been corrected in accordance with the respective baptism information.

Looking at the marriage of Ada Boston in 1915 she states she is a widower and her father Fred Pritchard an actor. Her husband Henry Longmore Chapman was a widower. Presumably one or other of the parties wasn't free to marry unto 1915.

I suppose the big question is where is Ada in 1881 and 1891.

If you are interested there is a description of Rainhill Hospital as it was, http://forum.liverpool-genealogy.org.uk ... 292#p84292

This is the correct family you have - Father William & mother Mary Ann. I have checked the 1881 census for the sisters & her parents but she is not there, the only possibility is that she is with Fredericks mother but there are quite a few Mary Boston (if that is her name) living in Liverpool.
Ada & Henry did not get married until 1915 because he had a wife in Carrickfergus, (Mary Ann) who died in 1914. The marriage certificate is a blinder of lies - Henry is actually 70 yrs old, Ada was not a widow and her fathers name was incorrect, I presume Pritchard was put her mothers surname down in error instead of Boston.