Hi All,
First off, my apologies for losing track of who first posted this information, but my thanks to whomever it was. It's an intriguing subject, to which I have added some further information.
Abberline's marriage to Martha Mackness
Quarter 1 1868
Islington
Vol 1b Page 244
Martha's death registered as follows:
Quarter 2—June 1868
Oundle—[Northamptonshire, south-west of Peterborough]
Martha Abbeline (sic) aged 25
Vol 3b Page 123
This would suggest that Martha was born in 1843. There is no birth of a Martha Mackness registered in that year. However, there is a birth registered in Oundle as follows:
Quarter 4—December 1847
Martha Mackness
Oundle
Vol 15 Page 272
If this is the Martha who married Abberline, she was 21 at the time of her death, not 25.
This Martha Mackness is listed in 1861 as follows:
Exeter Arms, Middleton, Northamptonshire
Head: Joseph Stafford aged 46 born Ashley - Wheelwright and Publican
Wife: Ann Stafford aged 49 born Middleton
Daughters in law:
Martha Mackness aged 15
Jane Mackness aged 13
Sons:
John Stafford aged 9
Thomas Stafford aged 5
(I would suggest that "daughters in law" is, because of the girls' ages, unfeasible. The most likely explanantion is that this should read "Step daughters" i.e. they were the daughters of Ann Stafford by a previous marriage).
In 1851 the two girls, Martha and Jane, are again listed as "daughters in law" to the same couple.
In 1871, Jane Mackness is listed in service at Market Harborough, Leicestershire.
Martha is listed in the household of Joseph Stafford under the name of Martha Sarrington with her husband, Samuel, which obviously excludes her from being Abberline's Martha.
But it does seem odd that this Martha was born at Oundle and Martha Abberline's death was registered in the same place.
I have added the following information—
Samuel Sarrington married Martha Mackness at Aston (Warwickshire) in March 1871, three years after Abberline's wife died. So they are definitely not the same person.
In exactly the same month and year as Martha Abberline's death, we find another death—
Quarter 2—June 1868
Wellingbro' [(Wellingborough) is about 16 miles south-west of Oundle].
Martha Mackness aged 67
Vol 3b Page 84
If the age is correct, this Martha Mackness was born in 1801, 36 years before BMD records began.
A search through the BMD between 1837 and 1855 reveals only two instances of a male Mackness marrying a woman named Martha—
June 1851—George Mackness and Martha Dixon—Huntingdon (16 miles south-east of Oundle)—Vol 14 p 255
Sep 1854—Josiah Christopher Mackness and Martha Anne Bell in Bath—Vol 5c p 1081
SUBSEQUENT BIRTHS
Sept 1853—Martha Jane Mackness born in Thrapston (6 miles south-west of Oundle)—Vol 3b p146
Sept 1855—Martha Mackness born in Huntingdon—Vol 3b p233
Presuming these children weren't born out of wedlock suggests perhaps that Martha Jane was the child of George Mackness and Martha Dixon, and Martha the child of Josiah Christopher Mackness and Martha Ann Bell. The same presumption rules out Martha Sarrington (b.1847) being the child of these parents.
If either of these children were Abberline's first wife, then the Martha Mackness born in 1801 gave birth late in life (aged either 52 or 54). And it also means that when at the age of 25 Abberline married Martha Mackness in 1868 she was either 15 or 13 years of age.
Interesting, too, that mother and daughter may have died within days of one another.
It's all very perplexing. I don't know what the legal age of marriage was in 1868, so it would be appreciated if someone could throw some more light on this subject.
Regards,
Simon
First off, my apologies for losing track of who first posted this information, but my thanks to whomever it was. It's an intriguing subject, to which I have added some further information.
Abberline's marriage to Martha Mackness
Quarter 1 1868
Islington
Vol 1b Page 244
Martha's death registered as follows:
Quarter 2—June 1868
Oundle—[Northamptonshire, south-west of Peterborough]
Martha Abbeline (sic) aged 25
Vol 3b Page 123
This would suggest that Martha was born in 1843. There is no birth of a Martha Mackness registered in that year. However, there is a birth registered in Oundle as follows:
Quarter 4—December 1847
Martha Mackness
Oundle
Vol 15 Page 272
If this is the Martha who married Abberline, she was 21 at the time of her death, not 25.
This Martha Mackness is listed in 1861 as follows:
Exeter Arms, Middleton, Northamptonshire
Head: Joseph Stafford aged 46 born Ashley - Wheelwright and Publican
Wife: Ann Stafford aged 49 born Middleton
Daughters in law:
Martha Mackness aged 15
Jane Mackness aged 13
Sons:
John Stafford aged 9
Thomas Stafford aged 5
(I would suggest that "daughters in law" is, because of the girls' ages, unfeasible. The most likely explanantion is that this should read "Step daughters" i.e. they were the daughters of Ann Stafford by a previous marriage).
In 1851 the two girls, Martha and Jane, are again listed as "daughters in law" to the same couple.
In 1871, Jane Mackness is listed in service at Market Harborough, Leicestershire.
Martha is listed in the household of Joseph Stafford under the name of Martha Sarrington with her husband, Samuel, which obviously excludes her from being Abberline's Martha.
But it does seem odd that this Martha was born at Oundle and Martha Abberline's death was registered in the same place.
I have added the following information—
Samuel Sarrington married Martha Mackness at Aston (Warwickshire) in March 1871, three years after Abberline's wife died. So they are definitely not the same person.
In exactly the same month and year as Martha Abberline's death, we find another death—
Quarter 2—June 1868
Wellingbro' [(Wellingborough) is about 16 miles south-west of Oundle].
Martha Mackness aged 67
Vol 3b Page 84
If the age is correct, this Martha Mackness was born in 1801, 36 years before BMD records began.
A search through the BMD between 1837 and 1855 reveals only two instances of a male Mackness marrying a woman named Martha—
June 1851—George Mackness and Martha Dixon—Huntingdon (16 miles south-east of Oundle)—Vol 14 p 255
Sep 1854—Josiah Christopher Mackness and Martha Anne Bell in Bath—Vol 5c p 1081
SUBSEQUENT BIRTHS
Sept 1853—Martha Jane Mackness born in Thrapston (6 miles south-west of Oundle)—Vol 3b p146
Sept 1855—Martha Mackness born in Huntingdon—Vol 3b p233
Presuming these children weren't born out of wedlock suggests perhaps that Martha Jane was the child of George Mackness and Martha Dixon, and Martha the child of Josiah Christopher Mackness and Martha Ann Bell. The same presumption rules out Martha Sarrington (b.1847) being the child of these parents.
If either of these children were Abberline's first wife, then the Martha Mackness born in 1801 gave birth late in life (aged either 52 or 54). And it also means that when at the age of 25 Abberline married Martha Mackness in 1868 she was either 15 or 13 years of age.
Interesting, too, that mother and daughter may have died within days of one another.
It's all very perplexing. I don't know what the legal age of marriage was in 1868, so it would be appreciated if someone could throw some more light on this subject.
Regards,
Simon
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