Dear Brian I do agree with you that something is very strange with the details of both certificates and the census of 1871. However, she married both times away from South Shields and she is on the 1871 census as ELEANOR ROBSON although listed as unmarried. However, I have found many times when sorting through my family trees the census details whether someone was married or not unreliable. Many times couples said they were married when they were not - just living together. Next time I am up in Newcastle I will visit the NDFHS and bring my evidence with me to discuss this in person. It always helps to have a fresh eye on the details which I might have missed. Many thanks for the details about the criminal offences - that I find fascinating and must look through the rest of my family details to find more of these - I know there are a few! Marion As you say, your evidence still doesn't explain why she would claim to be "of full age" when she had nothing to gain. Nor does it explain why, if your scenario is correct, she would claim to be single in 1871 thus labelling herself as an unmarried mother. So she has committed two criminal offences - providing incorect information to a Registrar and to a Census Enumerator - and labelled herself as a fallen woman, without gaining any sort of advantage. Although your evidence sounds convincing, there's something very strange here. Brian -- Brian Pears (Joint List Admin - NORTHUMBRIA Mailing List) .. Please remember to snip most of the earlier message before you post any reply...... Thank you! The NORTHUMBRIA FAQ page is located at <http://www.bpears.org.uk/NorthumbriaFAQ/> http://www.bpears.org.uk/NorthumbriaFAQ/ ------------------------------- To unsubscribe from the list, please send an email to <mailto:[email protected]> [email protected] with the word 'unsubscribe' without the quotes in the subject and the body of the message