findmypast blog

Our expert Stephen Rigden answers your questions:

‘I have real family history problem that I am unable to solve and hope you can advise me of how to get out of the deadlock.

1. On 1 March 1868 at Ivy Cottage, Kennington Green, Lambeth, a baby girl, Gertrude Foote Patman, was born to Samuel Patman, architect, and Mary Ann Patman (formerly Foote).
2. On 26 April 1868 at St Mark’s Church, Kennington, Gertrude Foote Patman was christened and the baptism entry shows her father as Samuel Patman, surveyor, of Montague Road, Uxbridge.
3. 1869 voters’ register shows Samuel Patman at 89 Vauxhall Walk, Kennington, in Princes Ward.
4. On 7 June 1888 William Thomas Wills, my partner’s grandfather, marries Gertrude Foote at St Mary’s Church, Hardwicke, Bucks. Her father is not listed on marriage certificate. She was a spinster working as a servant.
5. On 25 February 1889 a baby boy, William George Patman Wills, was born to William and Gertrude at Waddesdon, Bucks.

Now this is all I can give you as I have been unable to trace the marriage of Samuel Patman to Mary Ann Foote. Neither can I find record of Samuel Patman in any census before or after 1868 and nothing in the 1871 or 1881 censuses as a married couple with baby Gertrude etc. In (4) you see that Gertrude loses her father’s surname when she gets married but in (5) she recognises her father’s name by using it when she names her first born son.

There is just one big mystery which despite many hours of searching I cannot solve so I am really hoping you can help.’ From Peter

Steve says: “This is not the sort of question which permits a quick or easy answer. However, in light of the inconclusive nature of your research to date, it is probably safe to conclude that Miss Foote and Mr Patman were not married. It was quite easy to register a birth, or baptise a child, as if the parents were married and without producing evidence of marriage of the parents. Whether or not the child was born illegitimately, the absence of a marriage certificate creates immediate problems when researching ancestry, as one is deprived of the age of the father and the name and occupation of his father, which are recorded on marriage certificates and are essential in confidently ascending to the earlier generation.

Moreover, as you cannot find a candidate Samuel Patman on census returns either side of 1868/69, a second and more tentative conclusion I would draw is that he may have been born outside England & Wales and his stay in the country may have been transitory. This assumes that his name is as stated and he did not have an alias. His name is not especially common. A quick search on the internet shows a 34-year old Samuel Patman leaving London aboard the Indus on 10 April 1871 and arriving in Brisbane on 20 July 1871. No occupation is shown. He was travelling in 2nd cabin, rather than in steerage, which might be consistent with his putative professional status.

There is of course no evidence that this is one and the same individual as the father of Gertrude. He would have been born circa 1837 which, being on the cusp of English & Welsh civil registration, is not ideal for research purposes and, of course, as suggested earlier, he may have been born elsewhere. However, if you have no other leads, you may wish to pursue the Australian migrant with view to eliminating him from your enquiry or tying him in.”

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Tags: Ask the Expert

This entry was posted on Monday, February 15th, 2010 at 3:06 pm and is filed under Ask the Expert, Tips. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.