Was Elizabeth Hunter real or even relevant?

Murfomurf

Murfomurf

Well-Known Member
There is a William Dowman whose birth registration is ASSUMED by me to be this:

DOWMAN, WILLIAM DOWMAN ELIZABETH HUNTER
GRO Reference: 1838 M Quarter in LINCOLN UNION Volume 14 Page 418.

Until he married he is shown on Census as the son of John Dowman who had married Sarah Walker (not my relation):
Marriages Sep 1838
DOWMAN John Lincoln 14 567
WALKER Sarah Lincoln 14 567

All the other children have their mmn as Walker.

Can anyone find a marriage for John Dowman before the one to Sarah Walker?

I would like to know the genetic lineage of William Dowman as one of his direct descendants is said to be my cousin. The only surname that is common in my family is DOLMAN not DOWMAN so I also wondered if the surname had been accidentally altered on John's side.

 
On the marriage of John to Sarah on 20th August 1838 in Hackthorn, Lincolnshire, it says John was a bachelor.

William Dowman was baptised on 20th January 1939 in Hackthorn, to parents John & Sarah Dowman. John was a labourer.

I wonder if he was the child of John Dowman and Elizabeth Hunter but John went on to marry Sarah and they brought him up as theirs.
 
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OK. Thank you- so I will continue on the assumption that Elizabeth Hunter gave up her baby to be brought up by John Dowman and his new Wife Sarah? But should I just assume that Elizabeth Hunter and John Dowman were William's biological parents and trace back the lineage through John and Elizabeth? That's what I will do, but I don't know if it's advisable. It's rather hard to work out if present-day people are descended from ELizabeth Hunter or Sarah Walker.
 
I must admit I have not seen a birth registration at the GRO before where they give the mothers full name, in this case 'Elizabeth Hunter'. It's usually just the surname, ie, Hunter.
 
Chimp said:
...not seen a birth registration at the GRO before where they give the mothers full name...
Click to expand...
I have only seen a few, but they are probably just the result of confusion about whether the mother's name before marriage should be the full name or just the surname. In this case the single mother giving birth may have died mid-way so when there was no other parent to fill in the details, a virtual stranger may have registered the birth, including the mother's Full name to avoid confusion.
 
I have found a partial solution for the unusual Birth Reg of William Dowman. He WAS the son of Elizabeth Hunter, but his father was a Benjamin Dowman who had married Elizabeth Hunter 17 Apr 1817:
Metheringham, Lincolnshire, England; FHL 1542195; Benjamin Dowman and Elizabeth Hunter!
All the Family trees of DNA Matches for male Dowmans from Lincolnshire had included William as the son of John, but when I traced further back than 1839 to see what family John came from, I found his brother Benjamin and the marriage. John DID have a son named William, and another 8 children with Sarah Walker, BUT his William Dowman didn't make it into the GRO.
He is in FreeBMD, born in Spilsby, not Lincoln, and I will have to submit a request for him to go into the GRO:
FreeBMD:
Births Mar 1838
Dowman William Spilsby 14 511
 
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