Mary Ann CORFIELD

Hello Carol

You say that Mary Ann CORFIELD was born on 6 Sept. 1872.  Where did you get this information and where was she born?

Have you found an entry in the registration of births to tell you when and where her birth was registered?

Mike

Carol,

There is an entry in the GRO births index for a Mary Ann CORFIELD - which was registered in the September quarter of 1872 in Wolverhampton. The mother's maiden name is shown as HARRIS.

Is the Wolverhampton registration district consistent with Mary's place of birth on her various census records?

Peter

Hi Michael,

I know the dates as she was my Gt Grandmother and I have her death cert.  It is the correct birth certificate that I can't find to ascertain her correct mother.  There are several Thomas Corfields (her Father's name) but there are two marriages registered at the same time.  I have been following Eliza Jones (as have several others on Ancestry!!!) but I  have also been told that this is incorrect.  I have now tried Hannah Hodnett and Mary Ann Thomas but so confusing.  Have to go and visit churchyards.

Carol

Hi Peter

I did order this cert. but it is not correct for my purposes.  Many thanks.

Carol

Hello Carol

Remember that the information given on a Death Certificate is provided by someone from a later generation so perhaps you need to consider the possibility that they didn't get the birth details exactly correct which then leaves you trying to establish what might be right and what might not be.

What was the date of her death and where had she been living at the time of her death?  This might help to locate her on the census which should help to establish her place of birth although at the moment I can't see an obvious entry.

There is an entry in the 1939 Register which I presume is your relative which gives her date of birth as 6 Sep 1873 (not 1872). At this time she was living at Walcot, Allscott, Wellington with her husband William H and two other females.

Mike

Carol,

Working on the basis that Mary's second forename was Annie, rather than plain Ann, there is a birth registered in Atcham in 1872 for a Mary Annie CORFIELD with the mother's maiden name of JONES.

However, one fly in the ointment regarding this birth is that it is showing (on the GRO site) as being registered in the 1st (Jan/Feb/Mar) quarter of 1872 - and not in the September quarter (or later).

In the light of this, what comes to mind is that the birth date of 6 September 1872 on Mary's death registration in 1976 might just possibly be her baptism date.

Do you know her date of baptism? If not, as the Broseley baptism records (although curated by Shropshire Archives) are accessible on Findmypast then what they might reveal could be helpful.

Peter

Thomas Corfield and Eliza (nee Jones) are on my Family Tree. It seems their daughter Mary Annie was born in the 1st Quarter of 1872.      In the 1891 census they are all living in Pontesbury. 
I am descended from the Jones side. 

KMB

Carol & Kathleen,

From Ancestry sources, it looks as though the Mary Annie whose birth was registered in the 1st quarter of 1872 was born on 14 January 1872 & baptised on 26 February 1872.

Additionally, in the 1939 Register she was residing with her sister & brother-in-law Alice Isabella & Thomas Leigh Jones. At that time she was a single woman and it would seem that she remained so unto her death in 1952.

Peter

On the 1911 Census is says your Mary Annie was born in Broseley. On 1901 it says something like Posenal which I can't find so I think it might be a spelling error.         You don't say how you know her father was Thomas, do you have her marriage certificate?        Could she have been married to a Corfield before she married William Cooke. There are lots of Mary Ann's married to a Corfield. The Corfields are a very large family in Shropshire.

KMB

Hello Carol

Like Kathleen I did wonder if Mary Ann had been married previously but when you look at the image of her marriage certificate to William Henry COOKE on Find my Past it clearly shows that she was a Spinster.  The image is here for those with a subscription.

Whether Mary Ann CORFIELD was born in 1872 or 1873 she would not appear in the 1871 census but she does appear in all later census as follows:-

1881 born Pontesbury, Shropshire living Stone Bridge, Eyton, Wrexham name Mary Annie
1891 born Pontesbury, Shropshire living Pontesbury name Mary Annie
1901 born Posenal [sic], Shropshire living Frodesley (probably Posenhall, just west of Broseley)
1911 born Broseley, Salop living Frodesley

The place of birth given in 1881 and 1891 will have been provided by her parents and should hopefully be correct.  After her marriage in 1892 the place of birth stated in 1901 and 1911 may have been provided by Mary Ann herself or perhaps more likely by her husband which could explain the location error.

Mike

Carol,

I now have a clearer awareness of the confusion that you have been experiencing and, feeling less & less that Mary was the daughter of Thomas CORFIELD & Eliza JONES, instead I am drawn to the thought that she may have been the daughter of Thomas CORFIELD & Hannah HODNETT.

With regard to this view, I sense a certain symmetry between the following:

1. the fact that Thomas & Hannah were married, on 26 August 1872, in Benthall

2. their first child Mary Ann's place of birth in the 1881 census was also Benthall

3. your great-grandmother's places of birth in the 1901 & 1911 censuses were, respectively, Posenhall and Broseley. 

Added to which, Mary & William Cooke were married in Much Wenlock - all of these locations falling within the Madeley Registration District (whereas Pontesbury fell within the Atcham RD).

That said, as I am sure you are already aware, whilst (from their 1911 census record) Thomas & Hannah had 5 children (all still then alive) and for all of the 4 born after her there are entries in the GRO indexes which show their mother's maiden name as HODNETT, there is no corresponding GRO entry for Mary Ann.

In the light of this I am struggling to understand why her birth was apparently not registered - particularly given that it had been 'legitimised' by her parents marriage just a fortnight before she was born.

Again I wonder if the baptism records, this time for Benthall, might contain the elusive nugget of gold that you are seeking.

Peter

Hi Peter and all the above,

I have previously tried everything that you all suggest but I am very grateful for all your input.  I knew Mary Ann and all her children, Edwin being my very close Grandfather.

Carol

Hi Kathleen B

I have her marriage certificate and it shows Thomas Corfield as her Father, and it was her only marriage, but I am having difficulty tracing the birth certificate.

I agree, there are a lot of Thomas Corfields that it could have been, I have traced all the marriages.

Carol

Having looked at the Certificate I notice that one of the witnesses was John Hodnett. Could this be a clue? 

The pages for Benthall parish baptism for part of 1872 and 1873 are missing on the FMP pages.  However, Mary Ann , daughter of Hannah and Thomas Corfield is shown on 1881 census, aged 7, born in Benthall along with sisters, Emma, Alice and Sarah.

as above Peter finds that Thomas and Elizas daughter didn't in fact marry, I agree with that.   Perhaps the 1921 Census will help, when it eventually appears!

Hi Peter

I have come to the same conclusions. I knew her quite well (her son, Edwin, was my Grandfather whom I was very close to) and I wish we had spoken about her parents, but that didn't happen.

I have searched for baptism records, also, to no avail.

Many thanks for your reply.

Carol

Thank you all for your input

Hi. We also have Corfield ancestry from Broseley. William Corfield(1824-1899) married Harriet Hartshorne(1829-1878) and were parents to my great grandmother Sarah Ann Corfield(4-12-1862 to25-2-1927). We think Williams father was Daniel Corfield (1799-1839) who coincidentally married Marina Hartshorne(1801-1845). These could be the parents of a son Thomas who married your Mary Ann. We have not yet researched any siblings of our G G grandfather William. Good luck.