Hi Listers. My GGG Grandfather Joseph HISCOX (1816-1907) "adopted" the surname CAVE when he was a child when his mother Ann HISCOX married George CAVE at St Michael, Bristol in 25 Jan 1825 (date from IGI). In later years Joseph could call himself (or is recorded as) CAVE on censuses but on BMD data (like children's births/christenings (with one exception) seems to be recorded as HISCOX, HISCOCK(S) or with Cave as middle name (rather than surname). I won't tell you how much confusion this caused but you can imagine. Although I have been researching 20 years, I only found out about the HISCOX bit earlier this year when what now turns out to be a distant cousin in Australia emailed me about their ancestor Frederick Hiscox CAVE who originated from Bristol. After a bit of digging I found his birth registration & those of all his siblings (including my gg grandmother Ann "CAVE") as "HISCOX" mostly with Cave middle name & had a wonderful "eureka" moment. Anyway, I got to wondering if Joseph HISCOX was illegitmate or his mother Ann HISCOX had been a widow when she married George CAVE in 1825. Does anyone have access to the marriage register for St Michael for 1825 could check for me to see if this information was recorded there. . I cannot identify a christening for Joseph who was born Thornbury, Gloucestershire c1816 so have no info on his father. His marriage certificate as "Joseph HISCOX" in 1838 just says "deceased" in the column for father so his mother's marriage status on her wedding in 1825 maybe the only clue. I have no problems if he was illegitimate or not but I am curious & it is another piece to the expanding puzzle that is my tree. Thank you Pippa Binnie

On Fri, 29 Oct 2010 09:40:58 +0100, Pippa Binnie <pippab@tiscali.co.uk> wrote: > My GGG Grandfather Joseph HISCOX (1816-1907) "adopted" the surname CAVE > when he was a child when his mother Ann HISCOX married George CAVE at St > Michael, Bristol in 25 Jan 1825 (date from IGI). > Anyway, I got to wondering if Joseph HISCOX was illegitmate or his mother > Ann HISCOX had been a widow when she married George CAVE in 1825. Does > anyone have access to the marriage register for St Michael for 1825 could > check for me to see if this information was recorded there. Hi Pippa, The entry in the B & A FHS Marriage Index Vol 8 Diocese of Bristol 1813-1837 confirms the marriage of George CAVE and Ann HISCOX. www.bafhs.org.uk The groom was a bachelor, but the status of the bride wasn't noted. A long shot is that, if she was a widow, Ann could have been the Ann BAILEY who married Charles HISCOX at Minchinhampton, Gloucestershire on 3rd. September 1815. Source GFHS Gloucestershire Marriage Index 1800-1837 www.gfhs.org.uk You could check for baptisms of children of this Gloucestershire couple and burial of the husband to add them to or eliminate them from your research. If Charles and Ann were together in the 1841 and 1851 censuses, then this is the wrong couple. Josephine -- Josephine Jeremiah www.ianandjo.dsl.pipex.com