On 2011-07-18 5:03 AM, Christine Benson wrote: > His probate is to Elizabeth Edith > WHITE (wife of Charles Ernest WHITE) and the death certificate says E.E. > WHITE Granddaughter was present at the death. Well with the probate I would say the marriage to Charles and the 1901 entry you have found do seem to match the Elizabeth E Benson found with William in 1891 and also the boarder in 1871. This looks like his birth Births Sep 1871 White Charles Ernest St. Saviour 1d 117 Yes I'd assume that the 1861 with David Thos Court is the future Miss Benson and Mrs White Please note David Thos b1829 is born Wasing Berkshire the same as Mrs Elizabeth Benson b1801 so perhaps David is a son of Elizabeth? It could be him b1832 at Oriel College in Oxford in 1851 as born Margson, Berkshire but I cannot find the place LDS https://www.familysearch.org has this David Thomas Court baptism/christening date: 28 Aug 1822 baptism/christening place: ST MARY WHITECHAPEL,STEPNEY,LONDON,ENGLAND father's name: David Thomas Court mother's name: Elizabeth Ron Lankshear -Sydney NSW (from London-Shepherds Bush/Chiswick) try my links http://freepages.rootsweb.ancestry.com/~lankshear/

Hi Ron and All, Many, many thanks Ron for your reply. I have now overcome one obstacle only to find there are some more behind it! But I'll go through it in order. I am a bit puzzled. Who is the boarder in 1871 you are referring to? Have I confused you? Or have you found a census record I haven't? Certainly Elizabeth Edith COURT seems to be at the heart of this mystery but I have found a reference to her birth on FamilySearch that puts it 30 May 1860 in Wiltshire to David COURT and Eliza. Whereas the 1861 census puts it St Luke, London. Whichever, how does she get the surname BENSON since she appears to be a child of the marriage? I had noticed that David Thomas COURT was born Wasing, but I had not come to any conclusions from it. If he was a son of Elizabeth who married William BENSON then Elizabeth Edith would be a step-granddaughter. I can see William might refer to her as a granddaughter but I still don't get how she would be called BENSON. David is born 1829 and 1832 in 1861 and 1871, not 1822. So are they the same man? So I looked for David Thomas COURT b 1822 in 1841 and eureka!!! I found :- Name: Davd Tho Court Age: 18 Estimated Birth Year: abt 1823 Where born: Middlesex, England Civil parish: St Marylebone Hundred: Ossulstone (Holborn Division) County/Island: Middlesex Country: England Registration district: St Marylebone Sub-registration district: Christchurch Piece: 677 Book: 14 Page Number: 5 Household Members: Name Age Willm Benson 35 Elizh Benson 35 Davd Tho Court 18 Sarah Kersey 24 John Lamotte 30 Sarah Lamotte 45 M E Lowing 20 William is a Stationer and David is an Apprentice. Not quite sure where the rest come in and I can't read some of the occupations. So it looks as if David could be the son of a young Elizabeth but I have no idea how to find out. There is a marriage of William BENSON to Elizabeth MILES in 1930 in Aldgate. Both are single. But no marriage to a COURT. There is a marriage of a David Thomas COURT to Elizabeth PLATT in 1821 in Whitechapel which could be the parents of David jnr but if that is the case it would appear not to be the Elizabeth who married William. So did they just adopt him or did he marry a daughter of theirs? And why the difference in age and birthplace? And I am still not sure if Elizabeth Edith COURT is the same person as Elizabeth E. BENSON and if so how? (It's like climbing a mountain - when you get to what looks like the top you see it stretching away ahead of you.) Many thanks again Ron for leading me to the 1841 census record. Have you or has anyone else any more inspirations? Any ideas etc. gratefully received. Christine -----Original Message----- From: Ron Lankshear Sent: Monday, July 18, 2011 4:26 AM To: Christine Benson Cc: London Mailing List Subject: Re: [LON] BENSON mystery On 2011-07-18 5:03 AM, Christine Benson wrote: > His probate is to Elizabeth Edith > WHITE (wife of Charles Ernest WHITE) and the death certificate says E.E. > WHITE Granddaughter was present at the death. Well with the probate I would say the marriage to Charles and the 1901 entry you have found do seem to match the Elizabeth E Benson found with William in 1891 and also the boarder in 1871. This looks like his birth Births Sep 1871 White Charles Ernest St. Saviour 1d 117 Yes I'd assume that the 1861 with David Thos Court is the future Miss Benson and Mrs White Please note David Thos b1829 is born Wasing Berkshire the same as Mrs Elizabeth Benson b1801 so perhaps David is a son of Elizabeth? It could be him b1832 at Oriel College in Oxford in 1851 as born Margson, Berkshire but I cannot find the place LDS https://www.familysearch.org has this David Thomas Court baptism/christening date: 28 Aug 1822 baptism/christening place: ST MARY WHITECHAPEL,STEPNEY,LONDON,ENGLAND father's name: David Thomas Court mother's name: Elizabeth Ron Lankshear -Sydney NSW (from London-Shepherds Bush/Chiswick) try my links http://freepages.rootsweb.ancestry.com/~lankshear/