Hi all This is one of those little puzzles sent to keep us interested in family history. Sorry about the length of the message but the detail is essential to the query. I have a marriage record (source West Yorks marriages on Ancestry) where the parties details are given as: 24 Dec 1883 at Halifax parish church Joseph Saville 21 bachelor, coal miner of Lightcliffe. Father: John Saville, coal miner Sarah Jane Barritt 20 spinster of Lightcliffe. Father: Thomas Barritt, mechanic Sarah Jane is my puzzle. In subsequent census records she gives her place of birth as Hipperholme then Brighouse.   In census records before the marriage the only records that fit are: 1881 as an 18 year old boarder with a Ramsden family in Halifax, 1871 as an 8 year old scholar at the Blue Coat school in Halifax. The school is for orphaned children. Another pupil is a 12 year old Thomas Barrett. Nowhere can I find her in association with a Thomas Barrett as her father. However, on 29 Nov 1863 a Sarah Jane Barrett, the daughter of William Robinson Barrett and Eliza, was baptised in Halifax parish church. Born 3 March 1863. (source West Yorks  baptism records on Ancestry). Sarah Jane was the youngest of seven children for which I found baptisms for this family. Free BMD does not include any other suitable birth record at around this time. Tom Barrett, born 1859 was their fifth child. William died in an accident on 4 July 1869 (fell down stairs at the Lower George Inn in Halifax). I cannot find a record for Eliza and her other children in 1871. The only other later records found are for two of the children who were to marry later. Now for the bit that Roy might have an opinion on. I am making an assumption that these details, before and after the marriage, are for the same Sarah Jane. My argument is that since her father died when she was 6 years old, the only family she remembered was her brother Thomas at the Blue Coat School. She does not appear to have any other family contact. At her marriage she could only think of Thomas as her family and named him as her father rather than leave the space blank and be considered illegitimate. Since she signed the register we must further assume that she was literate. I will be grateful to hear from anyone with information about Sarah Jane or even a view re her parentage. Regards Roger Family History Research: GILL, BERRY, CHARLESWORTH, ROBINSON and many others in the Holme Valley, south of Huddersfield. http://www.roger.d.gill.btinternet.co.uk/index1gen.htm http://rogergill.me.uk

Roger, I'd try to find William's occupation in 1861. If Sarah b1863 was the youngest of 7, there would be others born by 1861. See if father's occupation was related to a mechanic. I'm wondering if he wasn't Thomas William or William Thomas. West Yorkshire baptisms should show name of father and possibly mother. Look for all the other children and check names and occupation. I'd also try for the parents' marriage to see what names he might have used and his occupation. Peter