I've got a bit of a problem. My previous research led me to believe that my great grandfather (as above) was the son of James Smith and Mary Seamark. Now, however, having obtained his marriage certificate, I see that his father is named as Thomas also. Is there a possibility that the Vicar, when he noted the marriage in his records, got it wrong and noted my great grandfather's own name down as 'Father' rather than his actual father's name (who, incidentally, if it was James, was dead by that time). I've checked the 1871 census and found my great grandfather after he was married, and he states his place of birth as Stagsden. I've therefore checked the 1851 and 1861 censuses and the only Thomas born at the right time in Stagsden is in fact the son of James as I thought, and not Thomas as is noted on his marriage certificate. Is there anywhere I can double check, and if so, where would I need to go. Allan Smith Sheffield, England Researching:- SMITH, RIDDY, WALLINGER, WELCH & TOMKINS from Bedfordshire & Bucks (up to mid 19th century) ELMES (or ELMS) from Northants (up to mid 19th century) SMITH & DAVI(E)S from Oxfordshire & Hunts (Mid 19th century) SMITH, DAVI(E)S, WORSNOP, BAILEY, ASHMAN & WHITELEY from Sheffield (1870's onwards)

I've come across a lot of cases of wrong fathers' names in marriage records. Typically the groom's name is replicated, or the bride's and groom's fathers' first names are confused. (Interestingly, Thomas's name is abbreviated to Thos in the 1881 census, but at first sight looks more like Jas. and could easily be interpreted as James.) I presume that the certificate you have is for his 24 Dec 1867 marriage to Martha RIDDY in Stagsden. It would be interesting to know what father's name is shown for Thomas's later marriage to Ann BRADSHAW Mar Q 1879 in Sheffield (Vol 9c, p. 553). Terry Barcock, Director, 153 Ltd "Websites that work" www.153.co.uk Design, hosting and support for E-business and Database Applications 11 Gladstone Avenue, JOHNSTONE PA5 0RD (UK) Tel +44 (0)1505 615360 -----Original Message----- From: Allan Smith [mailto:asmith_driver@hotmail.com] Sent: 29 March 2006 08:38 To: BEDFORD-L@rootsweb.com Subject: [BDF] Thomas Smith, born Stagsden abt 1845 I've got a bit of a problem. My previous research led me to believe that my great grandfather (as above) was the son of James Smith and Mary Seamark. Now, however, having obtained his marriage certificate, I see that his father is named as Thomas also. Is there a possibility that the Vicar, when he noted the marriage in his records, got it wrong and noted my great grandfather's own name down as 'Father' rather than his actual father's name (who, incidentally, if it was James, was dead by that time). I've checked the 1871 census and found my great grandfather after he was married, and he states his place of birth as Stagsden. I've therefore checked the 1851 and 1861 censuses and the only Thomas born at the right time in Stagsden is in fact the son of James as I thought, and not Thomas as is noted on his marriage certificate. Is there anywhere I can double check, and if so, where would I need to go. Allan Smith Sheffield, England Researching:- SMITH, RIDDY, WALLINGER, WELCH & TOMKINS from Bedfordshire & Bucks (up to mid 19th century) ELMES (or ELMS) from Northants (up to mid 19th century) SMITH & DAVI(E)S from Oxfordshire & Hunts (Mid 19th century) SMITH, DAVI(E)S, WORSNOP, BAILEY, ASHMAN & WHITELEY from Sheffield (1870's onwards) ==== BEDFORD Mailing List ==== To do a search of the Bedford Archives go to http://searches.rootsweb.com/cgi-bin/listsearch.pl Enter Bedford in the box