Inspired by FreddieRabbit's recent query on marriages of female ancestors, I wonder if anyone can find out what happened to my ancestor's half sister Jane Ashton McDonald? My ancestor was Elizabeth Ashton, and I think Jane was the illegitimate child of one of her two brothers, Andrew Ashton or Thomas Ashton. I'd like to see Jane's marriage, to see who she said her father was! Jane was baptised when she was two and a half, at St Mary RC, Osbaldeston, near Blackburn on 3 Nov 1864, with the baptism saying she was born 23 Mar 1862. Only her mother was given - Catharina McDonald – but Jane was baptised with the middle name Ashton. The baptism is on Lancashire OPC. Something must have happened to Catherine McDonald (married? died?), and this RC baptism probably marks the moment that the Ashton family scooped the little girl up. In 1871 the Ashton family had moved to Liverpool, and they can be seen at 1, Bickerton Street, off Lark Lane, where Jane was listed as Jane McDonald, visitor, 9, born Blackburn. (RG10/3804 f142 p52) In 1876 a Jane Ashton was confirmed at Our Lady of Mount Carmel RC Church, Liverpool (all the details suggest it's the right Jane) and in 1877 she was godmother (as Jane Ashton) to Elizabeth (née Ashton) Lee's son James. In 1881, still at Bickerton Street Liverpool, Jane is now Jane Ashton, aged 18, "daughter" of old Ann, but I think she was really her granddaughter. (RG11/3652 f34 p1) There is nothing after that. In 1887, at the baptism of Elizabeth (née Ashton) Lee's son Thomas, the godmother was a Jane Dutton. I have looked but not found a matching marriage of an Ashton to a Dutton (or was she married as McDonald?). The index of Liverpool RC marriages has no marriages of a Jane Ashton from 1880 to 1890, but two Jane McDonalds: 1882 OL Good Help to George Joseph Savage. 1885 St Mary Highfield Street to Thomas Wade. I looked both of those marriages up, but none of the addresses of the parties are in the right areas of Liverpool, I don’t recognise any of the witnesses and the brides' father's names look "real". I don't think either if them is "my" Jane, nothing rang any bells. So now I'm running out of steam with Jane. Did she marry in C of E? Didn’t she marry at all? (Where was she in 1891 in that case?) Did she move away from Liverpool? Perhaps in service somewhere? Did she die before 1891? It's a bit of a forlorn hope, but if anyone can cast fresh eyes on her, I'd be grateful. Barbara
Heavens above, but there are a lot of Duttons in Lancashire However, I didn't find one who married a Jane Ashton/McDonald. Perhaps she was a quite different Jane altogether. Have you traced Jane Ashton McDonald through the Censuses? Yes, sorry, you have, and then she was abducted by aliens as so often happens with our dearly beloved ancestors. I'll take a look, but my eyes aren't particularly fresh; in fact, I think I need some new glasses I did find a Peter Ashton Dutton who married either Emily Josephine Brandwood or Elizabeth Ann Williams in Warrington R.D. in Q4 1881 (vol 8c; page 188) but he might just have been put there to ease and mislead you into thinking there could be a link
There is a death, and the burial of a Catherine McDonald in Ford Cemetery on 1st March 1863. It seems to be the only one which would fit as she was about 43 when she died, so of an age still to be having children in 1862. Other candidates were too old. I looked up Ford Cemetery and found "find a grave" there, but none of the Catherine McDonalds had headstones, seemingly.
I'm sorry about the mistake which I've only just noticed; I shouldn't stay up so late I meant to say "to tease and mislead you" Mea maxima culpa, especially as I re-read my posts for spelling and grammar mistakes (once a teacher, always a pedant )
I wish I understood how Ancestry class the records they offer according to the information you give them. I tell them someone called Jane was born in Blackburn, then moved to Toxteth Park, so they throw thousands of Janes, Ann Janes, Sarah Janes and Mary Janes at me, born in Blackburn, but still living there ... I change the birth place, in the hopes that they will home in on that, but not a single Jane was born there - according to their records, and this out of nearly 200,000 ... I repeat the information that she lived in West Derby/Toxteth Park, the number of records goes up, as do the variations on the name Ann, but the birth place remains untraceable. It has probably been mistranscribed, just like the whole family who were supposedly born in Lincolnshire, when it clearly said LIVERPOOL ... Soon there won't be enough smilies to express my displeasure, so I shall take a break. Unfortunately, I do not have even a slim, let alone a chunky KitKat to make me feel slightly better ...
I empathise with your frustration Old Stoneface, I too have tried the search using Blackburn or Clayton le Moors for birth place and living in West Derby or Toxteth or Liverpool, the Ancestry search engine did NOT listen to me and offered Janes' with middle names, Jane as a middle name. And what are the sliders all about I set them to exact but still I'm presented with Mary Jane, Sarah Jane etc living in Blackburn.
Thank you both for looking, anyway. This Jane has a fairly common name, so she just disappears into the woodwork after 1881. I presume she married, but to whom? Or did she go to work in service many miles away? How would we identify her if so? Regrettably, neither of the Ashton brothers had any children, so there aren't lots more godparents called Jane [something] to follow up. I am fairly resigned to not finding her, but if I did I would be interested to know what she said about her father. As for her mother Catherine McDonald, thanks for the suggestion of a burial at Ford Cemetery, Liverpool, but I have no reason to think Catherine was ever in Liverpool. She had her illegitimate child (Jane) somewhere in the Blackburn area. Two and a half years later something happened, meaning little Jane was passed over to the Ashtons. My guesses are that Catherine wasn't looking after Jane properly, or that she had an offer of marriage but the husband-to-be woudn't take Jane, or that Catherine died. This would all be in the Blackburn area. Litte Jane may never have been baptised, or may have been C of E, but the Ashtons, an RC family, had her baptised Catholic when they took her in. As I said, I guess little Jane's father was one of the Ashton lads, which would explain why their mother, Ann Ashton, adopted her. Sometimes after many years, someone who knows something about the subject of the thread pops up with the answer, so here's hoping! (Edited to change a "who" to a "whom", since Old Stoneface confessed to being an ex-teacher!)
Whoops I didn't read the original post thoroughly - the worst of confessions for an ex-teacher. I built a tree for Jane on A. to see if she turned up at any of her half-siblings' abodes at Census time, but that was asking too much, it seems. And they're d**n short on shaking leaves for Jane, too. As she was confirmed as Joanna, I tried that, but it didn't work, either. I'm afraid you seem to have got yourself a brick wall with Jane, Barley Were there any nunneries at the time in Liverpool? Perhaps she thought she should expiate the sin of her parents? One of my branch ancestors, from Liverpool, became a nun, but she went somewhere else, and I can't remember who she was to look her up and find out where Too many relations!
Thanks again. She's a tough one, isn't she? I have to say that a nunnery is a pretty good idea. I have hearsay about my great grandmother Elizabeth Ashton (Jane's elder half sister) being a "very devout lady". so perhaps Jane was, too. Barbara
