Any ideas that might help please William Taylor and Sarah Ann Rathbone marriage

Kelda

New Member
Apologies if I'm posting in the wrong place...

I'm hoping someone will have an idea that might help me. I've been searching for years for the marriage of my maternal 2nd great grandparents - William Taylor and Sarah Ann Rathbone (my direct maternal line) - also with the dfferent spellings of Rathburn, Rothburn, Rathbourne and Rothbourne. He was a journeyman Glass Blower as was his father and brothers. I have her death certificate which gives her age as 31 years in November 1888. Her birth has been problematic, but myself and my cousin narrowed it down to the most logical one of 1857 in Hulme. William was born in 1852 in Manchester. Two of his older siblings were born in Staffordshire and it seems their births were in a workhouse. Now on the 1881 census, he has a 10 year old cousin staying with him who was born in Birmingham.

I've searched via ancestry, findmypast, the local BMD searches online, the local records office (years ago), the local Latterday Saints church library. In fact, I'm not sure at this point where I haven't looked. I cannot find a marriage for the couple anywhere.

At this point, would you give up and assume they just lived together as married, her taking on his surname? Or can you think of anywhere I could possibly search that hasn't as yet occurred to me?

Many thanks in advance - both for reading this post and any ideas you might have!
 
Could she be Sarah Anna Rathbourne father Georgii mother Mariae formerly Kelly, baptised 6/1/1861 St Mary Ashton under Lyne?
Also did you consider Sarah may have married as a widow?
 
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Welcome @Kelda :)

Okay, stay with me on this - I might be right, but I could be barking up the wrong tree... :rolleyes:

June quarter 1873 (vol 8d, page 398) has the marriage in Manchester of a Sarah Anne RATHBONE, possible husbands being William HOLT and William MADDISON.

Thought that I would check them out. Looking for a birth for a William HOLT, I found one that was registered in Salford RD in 1852 (8D/62 June Q) with the mother's maiden name of TAYLOR.

I was wondering if something happened to William's father and he started to use his mother's maiden name as his surname.

This happened on more than one occasion in my own family tree but, as I said, it could be completely incorrect.... :sceptical:
 
Perhaps not.

Just found the marriage certificate on Ancestry and it has William's occupation as that of Bleacher, as was his father John.

Drat.
 
If the 1857 birth you have for Sarah Ann is correct then she would have only been 17 when daughter Emily was born in 1874 and would have needed consent to marry, so perhaps her parents objected? I can't find a birth for her in 1857 in Hulme though, only one in 1854:

RATHBONE, SARAH ANN mmn CLARKE GRO Reference: 1854 J Quarter in CHORLTON Volume 08C Page 60
(Lancashire BMD confirms the sub-district as Hulme)

Baptism: 8 Oct 1854 St George, Hulme, Lancashire
Sarah Ann Rathbone - [Child] of Joseph Rathbone & Sarah (formerly Clarke), Prestbury 1841
Born: 4 May 1854, Abode: 68 Clarence St Hulme, Occupation: Labourer
(From Lancashire OPC)

This would still make Sarah Ann under age though, so perhaps that was still the reason?
 
However, there is a marriage in 1878 of a Sarah Rathbone to John Faulding at St Mary the Virgin Eccles.
John is a bachelor, Sarah a spinster. Sarah is 23 (1855) Her father is Joe Rathbone, stone mason.
There is only one Sarah Rathbone baptised, Lancashire OPC with father Joseph Rathbone, that being the one mentioned in post #5. So possibly not the Sarah who married William Taylor.
 
But not every Lancashire baptism is on LancsOPC, and there's more than one Sarah Rathbone with a father named Joseph in the census. I also couldn't find a birth registration for 1857 in Hulme, which was why I questioned it.

In 1861 the Sarah Ann from the baptism at post#5 is at 14, Hancock Street, Manchester. RG9/2962/116/28
Joseph Rathbone 44 Night Soilman born High Lee (sic) Cheshire
Sarah 43 wife b Poynton Cheshire
Francies (sic) 8 daur b Hulme
Sarah Ann 5 daur b Hulme
Sarah Clarke 77 Lodger, Farmers Widow b Cheshire

Sarah Taylor consistently says she was born in Hulme
In 1851 this Joseph & Sarah are in Hulme with two sons
In 1871 they are at Edmund Street Court, Manchester RG10/4048/142/46

RATHBONE, SARAH ANN mmn CLARKE GRO Reference: 1854 J Quarter in CHORLTON Volume 08C Page 60
(Lancashire BMD confirms the sub-district as Hulme)

--------------------------
In 1861 the other Sarah's with fathers named Joseph include:

66, Canning Street, Manchester RG9/2935/96/27
Ann Rathbone 32? widow b Settle, Yorkshire
+ various children including
Sarah A Rathbone 5 born Manchester
Samuel J Rathbone 2 born Manchester

In 1851 Ann was with her husband, Joseph (a Smith) at No. 3 Canning Street, Manchester

RATHBONE, SARAH ANN mmn HUNT GRO Reference: 1856 J Quarter in MANCHESTER Volume 08D Page 128

--------------------------------------------
22 Francisco Street, Manchester RG9/2958/100/21
Joseph Rathbone 40 Iron Plater b Preston, Lancs
Sarah 28 wife b Staffordshire
Sarah A 5 daur b Manchester
Georgina 4 daur b Manchester

I can't put the GRO reference on because its temporarily down, but the mmn for this Sarah Ann was MORRIS and the RD is again MANCHESTER (not Chorlton)
 
6/9/1843 St Mary the Virgin Eccles
Joseph Rathbone bachelor Pendleton
Anne Hunt spinster Pendleton
Grooms father John Rathbone spinner
Brides father John Hunt spinner.
Sarah Anne Rathbone mmn Hunt June 1856 Manchester.
Father Joseph Rathbone died 1858 age 37 Ancoats.

1851 family in Canning Street
1861 70 Canning Street
Ann Rathbone widow 39 Yorks
Mary 16 cotton weaver
JOHN 14 glass boy
William 7
Sarah A 5
Samuel J 2
All born Manchester
1871 family is in Mill Street
Quite possible your Sarah Anne Rathbone is Sarah Ann HUNT considering she and William had a son John as both Ann and Joseph had fathers, John.
Samuel Joseph was baptised 6/2/1859 registered Dec 1858, mother Ann at Ancoats. Note his father Joseph died at Ancoats in 1858.
 
But that birth (mmn HUNT) isn't in Hulme, its in the subdistrict of Ancoats, which is a different area. The OP said she'd found a birth in 1857 in Hulme and there isn't one, so it seems that either the location or year has been wrongly stated in the original post.

However, the bigger question is the one asked by the OP, ie did Sarah Ann and William Taylor marry, and I would say almost certainly no.
 
I was just giving suggestions as to why they may not have married, ie Sarah Ann being either 17 or 20 when daughter Emily was born, depending on the year of her own birth, so not 'of full age'.
 
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