Looking for the right Ann Connor and parents in Ireland, early 1800s?

Question

Hi,

I'm trying to get a bit of clarity around my 3x GG 'Ann Connor', who has proven to be the single remaining elusive ancestor at this point in my tree.

This is what I've gathered on Ancestry so far if that helps: https://www.ancestry.co.uk/family-tree/person/tree/176849208/person/202292187161/facts

The main bit of evidence is a marriage certificate with John Fleetwood in 13 Jun 1853 in London, this lists her father as John Connor, a baker > https://search.ancestry.co.uk/cgi-bin/sse.dll?indiv=1&dbid=1623&h=1340613&ssrc=pt&tid=176849208&pid=202292187161&usePUB=true

The 1871 census has her under her married name of Ann Fleetwood (miss-transcribed as Mine Fleetwood, I think), as born in Ireland > https://search.ancestry.co.uk/cgi-bin/sse.dll?indiv=1&dbid=7619&h=29027544&ssrc=pt&tid=176849208&pid=202292187161&usePUB=true

I've saved some other resources but I may have got the wrong person. I imagine Ann Connor and John Connor are very common names, so trying to unpick where the jump from Ireland to London happened.

Answer 1

Unfortunately not all of us are ancestry members.  Where and when did she pass away?  Do you have an obituary?

Unfortunately birth, marriage and death records were not required in Ireland until the 1840's, although some parish records are available before that time.  Early Census records only list the heads of households but sometimes one can find mention of a person in newspapers or historical writings of the area they came from.  It is to find where they came from which can be a challenge although sometimes it is given in the history of the family or death records, or marriage records or obituaries, etc.  

Yes Ann, sometimes short for Jane and John Connor names are very very common.  

I would be happy to give it a try if you might share a bit more information with us.

Comments

Hi there,

Thank you for your reply. Here's everything I know so far:

According to Ann Connor/Fleetwood's marriage bans and the 1871 census, she was likely born sometime between 1829 and 1831.

Along with the marriage records for her and John Fleetwood, the 1871 census is the other main record I have for her, where she is recorded as living in the parish of St Luke's, London, with her 7 children:

Mary / Thomas / Rosina / Kate / Harry / William / Emma

In the 1881 census, John Fleetwood is living with three of his children in Shoreditch and is down as a 'widower', so it may be Ann died inbetween 1871 and 1881. However, the only death records I can find for an Ann Fleetwood of the right age after 1871 aren't until 1905.

I have however found a record of an Ann Connor of the right age, born in Limerick but living in Shoreditch in the 1891 census, so I wonder if her and John separated and she reverted to her maiden name? There are at least 10 Ann Connor's of about the right age who died between 1871 and 1905 that could possibly be her.

Her name might be recorded variously as Connor / Conner / O Connor in some records (eg. the birth certificates of her children)