Who was Edward Marriott, allegedly born 8 August 1860

Question

My g-g - grandfather, Edward Marriott, married my g-g-grandmother, Louisa Jessie Haddy, at Ardwick, Lancashire, on 12 June 1879. They both claimed to be 21, which was untrue. She was 20. He was ~18 going by the 1939 register in which Edward Marriott gives his full birthday as 8th August 1860. He died 14 August 1942, at Irlam.

But who was this man? He claims in 1939 to have been born in Wilford Nottinghamshire. Earlier census returns referred to Nottingham, or Nottinghamshire.  But GRO UK had no record of his birth, and nor does FreeBMD UK.  He just seems to appear out of nowhere at his marriage in 1879.

At his marriage in 1879 he claimed to be the son of John Marriott, a baker (deceased). At his marriage in 1910 he claimed to be the son of John Charles Marriott, master baker (deceased). I can't find John Marriott either.

I cannot find a correct Edward Marriott or a John Marriott (baker) in the 1871, 1861 censuses, nor earlier for John.

Yet Marriott seems to be a local Nottingham name. Surely even if this was a made up name, Edward could not have realised the links between Marriott and Nottingham unless he had genuinely come from that area?

I have also looked up Marriott as a middle name and Marriott as the mother's maiden name.

I am about to start researching what happened to every baby Edward (any surname) born in Nottingham in the 1855-1865 decade. Arghhhh!

I don't think it is possible to electronically search the census by occupation is it? I would have to just do it it census by census reading the handwritten record?

My research is on Ancestry UK or free searches, so anything on the other sites may be passing me by. No other family tree seems to have managed to get back before his 1879 marriage either.

Any ideas for lines of research would be gratefully received.

Best wishes!

Answer 1

Findmypast has this, maybe searching for the witness might help?

First name(s) Edward

Last name Marriott

Age 50

Birth year 1860

Occupation Cotton Goods Buyer & Salesman

Marital status Widower

Year 1910

Marriage year 1910

Marriage date 17 Aug 1910

Place Stanley, St Anne

Denomination Church Of England

Diocese Liverpool

Residence Kirkdale

Father's first name(s) John Charles

Father's last name Marriott

Father's occupation Master Baker, Deceased

Spouse's first name(s) Annie

Spouse's last name Mills

Spouse's age 50

Spouse's birth year 1860

Spouse's marital status Widow

Spouse's residence Stanley

Spouse's father's first name(s) James

Spouse's father's last name Wrigley

Spouse's father's occupation Cotton Goods Buyer & Salesman

Witness 1 Ridings J Heath

Witness 2 Margaret A E Mills

Witness 3 Mary Violet Marriett

County Lancashire

Country England

Licence or banns Licence

Archive

Liverpool Record Office

Archive reference 283-STA-3-4

Register type Marriages

Register year range 1907-1913

Record set Lancashire Banns & Marriages

Category Life Events (BDMs)

Subcategory Parish Marriages

Collections from England, Great Britain

Comments

John Marriott

 in the 1861 England Census

Name:	John Marriott
Age:	26
Estimated birth year:	1835
Relation:	Head
Spouse's name:	Emma Marriott
Gender:	Male
Where born:	Loughborough, Leicestershire, England
Civil Parish:	Belper
County/Island:	Derbyshire
Country:	England
Street address: Occupation: Condition as to marriage:	View image
Registration district:	Belper
Sub-registration district:	Belper
ED, institution, or vessel:	10
Neighbors:	View others on page
Household schedule number:	23
Piece:	2510
Folio:	41
Page Number:	5
Household Members:	Name Age John Marriott 26 Emma Marriott 28 Joseph Marriott 4 Edward Marriott 2 John Marriott 3/12

Source Citation

Class: RG 9; Piece: 2510; Folio: 41; Page: 5; GSU roll: 542982

Source Information

Ancestry.com. 1861 England Census [database on-line]. Provo, UT, USA: Ancestry.com Operations Inc, 2005.

   

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Thanks Marion!  The 1910 marriage was Edward Marriott's second marriage, but that gave me the idea of taking a closer look at his first marriage for clues.  There are two leads that I think are well worth following up:

1) The address where he was living (9 Dewsbury Place) was, I think, in Hunslet Leeds.  Hunslet had a number of Marriotts living there at the time, so I am going to dig into those to see whether there is a connection.  I have found nothing definite so far, but there was one family of Marriotts living only around the corner at Dewsbury Road.

2) The two witnesses, who appear to be a married couple, George and Rebecca Dodson.  Hopefully they won't just turn out to be a pair pulled off the street for the purpose.

Thank you for giving me some ideas!

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Thanks Eddie!  I have taken a closer look at that one, and it rang a bell so I think I'd spotted it previously too.  What troubles me about that one is that although we have a John/Edward Marriott connection, in 1871 that Edward was working as an apprentice Wheelwright, moving later into beerhouse assistant (1891) and then Edward still seems to be alive at the 1939 Register and is a retired brewery director.  He did very well for himself, that's for sure, but unfortunately he is a different Edward Marriott.

Thank you for delving for me though :-)

Answer 2

Edward consistently gives his birthplace as Nottingham in the censuses after he is married, but in 1911 (not 1939) we get the extra titbit of Wilford.

There is a birth in 1859 of a Thomas Edward Marriott in Basford District, Nottinghamshire, which Wilford would have been under.
https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:26TQ-XN5

Thomas Edward's birth reg at the GRO:

MARRIOTT, THOMAS  EDWARD   MMN:	CALLISS
GRO Reference: 1859  J Quarter in BASFORD  Volume 07B  Page 165

The original image of the marriage entry for Edward Marriott to Louisa Jessie gives John Marriott as father, not Clements:
https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/3:1:S3HT-X9JZ-MH?cc=1788853&wc=M6FH-JZ9%3A143838901%2C145213901%2C145279501

In 1861 there is an Edward Marriott, born in Hyson Green, Nottinghamshire with parents, John Marriott (a lace maker, born in Quorndon, Leicestershire) and Sarah (born in Nottingham). Older siblings were John, Barnett and Leonard.
https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:M78F-J7B

In 1871 this one is recorded as Edmund.
https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:VB65-19K

However he is still with his parents in 1881 so we can rule him out.
https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:Q27K-J855

There is also:
1861, Thomas E Marriott (1) Living in Back Street, Ruddington With father, John (framework knitter, born in Hathern, Leicestershire), mother Sarah (born Kegworth, Leicestershire) with two siblings, Rd.John and William
https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:M78H-1NV

In 1871, Thomas E Marriott (1) was living with his father and mother, John Marriott (a framework knitter, born Hathern, Leicestershire) and Sarah (born Kegworth, Leicestershire) and four siblings, at Hob Lane, Codnor and Loscoe. https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:VB65-1F1

NB I give links to the familysearch entries, but note that the placenames have been mangled. I've looked at the original image to determine the correct placenames.

Note that Quorn(don) and Hathern are only 5 miles apart and that Kegworth is on the Nottinghamshire border with Leicestershire. Wilford and Hyson Green are less than 4 miles apart, so it is easy to confuse these two families.

 I'd say this second one is your man. First and second forenames were pretty much interchangeable in the period in question and as Edward is not found before his marriage, I'd say it's because he's using a different forename. His father is clearly not a baker though.

 

 

Comments

John Marriott married Sarah Callis 1845 Q3 Loughborough district. This would be Thomas Edward Marriott's parents.

https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:2DHG-9SZ

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Also, Edward's occupation was buyer of cotton goods in 1911. This is consistent with Thomas Edward's father's background in cotton framework knitting.

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Thanks Gillian!  You are quite right, I put Clements when I meant Marriott (Clements is my name).  I have now changed that in my original question, to avoid further confusion.

I had come across the John/Sarah=Edward combination before, but I had eliminated the first family group without realising that there was a second John/Sarah family group.  Thank you for spotting that, I will take a closer look at them.

Last night I came across a John Marriott (baker) in Nottingham in the 1880s but absolutely no evidence that he had ever married or had a family. So that then threw possible illegitimacy and a mother with a different name into the mix as well. Fun times.