On 14/12/2014 21:37, brightside S9 wrote: > On Sun, 14 Dec 2014 16:55:13 +0000, Tickettyboo > <[email protected]> wrote: > >> On 2014-12-14 12:58:43 +0000, brightside S9 said: >> >>> 1871, 1881, 1891, 1901 and 1911 census images show an Esther Lenton >>> married to a John Lenton >>> >>> Ancestry search: Esther Lenton >>> Birth: 1847+/- 1 >>> Birth place: Gosport Hampshire. >>> (all exact) >>> >>> >>> However I cannot find a marriage for them. GRO has one marriage for a >>> Lenton to an Esther dated 1860 - too early >>> 1911 census information states 14 children, 9 still alive. >>> >>> 1871 census shows 1 child Alice Mary, aged 1, born Portsmouth. Alice's >>> birth is registered as LINTON. >>> GRO SEP 1869 Linton Alice Mary Portsea 2b 435 >>> >>> There is also a birth for John Frederick LINTON >>> GRO JUN 1867 Linton John Frederick Portsea 2b 414 >>> and his death >>> GRO JUN 1867 Linton John Frederick 0 Portsea 2b 274 >>> >>> These births indicate a possible marriage before 1867. >>> >>> I can also find two trees in Ancestry with John and Esther and 14 >>> children (list doesn't include John Frederick, so that would make 15 >>> children, but in 1911 aged 75, married for 45 years, memory might be >>> problem). 1 tree gives marriage date as 1866 but the reference is >>> from census. >>> >>> In 1871 census John Lenton's occupation is a Gunner RN[M] [retired]. >>> I have had no luck finding any military record(s) for him. Could his >>> marriage have been noted in military records? >>> >>> Anyone care to try and find this 'marraige'? >> >> Real long shot but the GRO index has a John LENTCH who married an >> Esther LANCE in Q3 1866, Portsea >> If it were me I'd be emailing the local registrar to ask if they'd >> check their register to see if the GRO index has a trancription error. > > > Thanks tickettyboo, GRO has a birth for Esther Lance MAR 1847 > Alverstoke 7 30. > > Alverstoke reg district was later split between Fareham, Portsmouth > and Gosport. > > Esther in the census from 1871 to 1911 gives her birth place as > Gosport, 1846/7. > > She was christened at Holy Trinity, Gosport 6/6/1847, parents George > and Anna Lance. > > It looks very likely that you found the right marriage. > > There doesn't seem to be any Hampshire local BMD site to check out a > local record. I think I will just go for the marriage cert from GRO. > It is John's father that interests me. > > Thanks again. > I've read this rather too late to be of much use, but this is all consistent with what I have. I'm Esther Lance's first cousin thrice removed, and I have her marrying John Lenton, a Gunner in the Royal Marine Artillery, in Portsmouth in 1866. He seems to have joined the Marines too early to be in the records available on-line from the National Archives, and the family seem not to have been church people - there are no obvious (Anglican) parish register records in Portsmouth for their marriage, nor for their children's baptisms. I only have thirteen children recorded for them, out of the fourteen alluded to in the 1911 census, but John Frederick looks like a possibility, at least. I'm not sure whether I shall pursue this, as Esther is just a little too far away for me to be inclined to invest in BMD certificates for her and her children, particularly wholly speculative ones. Perhaps one day I shall, if I ever feel uncomfortably wealthy. John Gibson.