Thread: Abigail Facer born 1868 Rotherhithe

Hi,

I wondered if anyone had any ideas on a brick wall I have come up against.

I have an Abigail Facer in the 1881 census (spelt Abigal), age 13, daughter of Benjamin Facer, Blacksmith. Reference: RG11 578.

My problem is that I can find her absolutly nowhere else. She is not with the rest of the family in 1871, nor in 1891.

If I do a search on her name the only record that comes up is the 1881 census - no birth, death or marriage!

I have been pondering over this for ages and it is really bugging me.

Does anyone have any ideas, please?

Thanks.

I wonder if Abigail was just a visitor, perhaps a friend of Maria who happened to be staying overnight when the census was taken. Families very often did not bother too much if the info was right or wrong and may not have given her surname, or the census guy was so busy scribbling he automatically put 'ditto'.

Another possibility, but not sure how common it was then is that Abigail was not christened Abigail but decided she wanted to be called by that name. Have you checked for other female births to the Facers in 1868.



I think it is more likely though that Abigail is not a Facer - maybe her mother was? You could try looking for the name Abigail amongst nieces on the mother Sarah's side - that's if you have the names of Sarah's siblings and their marriages.

Don't know if any of this helps, but I know how frustrating it is to have a puzzle like this.

Happy hunting

Paula

Hi,

Thanks for your reply - I hadn't thought that perhaps she was a visitor or came from somewhere else in the family. I'll certainly cast my net wider around the family to see if she appears anywhere else.

Regards.

The query is solved!!!!!



Just thought I'd finish off this thread with the solution.



I had a sudden thought that Abigail was not a Facer, although recorded as Facer in the census, because her mother was widowed prior to her marriage into the Facers.



I have now tracked a birth certificate which confirms that Abigail was, in fact, born from her mother's first marriage. Sadly born after the death of her father, but now I can place her correctly in my tree.



Thanks for all previous suggestions. It's a good feeling to finally place someone correctly.