Liverpool & South West Lancashire FHS - Forum

Hello,

My great-grandmother was a Mary Hays (born 1856) who married Richard Adams at St Michael's. Toxteth Park on the 25th July 1878. The marriage certificate says her father was a William Henry Hays (deceased) but does not give his occupation. On the 1881 and later censuses Mary's birthplace is given as Liverpool.

I've had absolutely no success in trying to trace Mary or her father in any census records. What I'm beginning to wonder is whether there is some confusion about the spelling of the surname Hays. Whilst the family itself may spell it as Hays, is it likely that any census or electoral poll enumerators would write it down as Hayes and therefore I should be broadening my search to include both spellings ?

Any thoughts or observations on this would be hugely appreciated as I've got nowhere fast trying to trace her ancestry.

Many thanks, Gordon

Without having yet checked any earlier censuses, my opinion is that it would be very common for a surname such as Hays/Hayes to be spelt differently, most of the time the name would be written by either a vicar, registrar or enumerator and it would be their idea of the spelling that would be noted.

I see that Mary did sign her own name on her marriage so presumably she could read and write and she would have grown up spelling it Hays, however her father may not have been able to and so perhaps relied on others with no way of checking.

There is a Catholic baptism you may like to keep in mind for Mary Hayes born 20 March, baptised 25 March 1855 at St Patrick, parents William Hayes and Ellenor Postlethwaite, godparents Joseph Shaw and Margaret Hunt.

Don't forget 'Heyes', either. My family spelt it with an 'e', but I've got records with Hayes and Hays as well.

I also have another branch of the family where the surname is spelt differently between siblings, intentionally.

Fledge wrote: the surname is spelt differently between siblings, intentionally.

Out of curiosity, do you know the reason for this?

Folks, thanks for all the replies and apologies for a tardy response. I've been away on holiday for the last week. I'll check out the Catholic baptism but I think it's a bit too early for the Mary Hays I'm looking for and to the best of my knowledge the family was pretty much all Anglican (with the exception of one Society of Friends marriage).

Gordon.

MaryA wrote:

Fledge wrote: the surname is spelt differently between siblings, intentionally.

Out of curiosity, do you know the reason for this?

I wish I did. Personal preference, I suppose.