Finding The Link

At this point I needed a change of direction, so I decided to look at the Hoole marriages and find as many Suttons and Holdens as I could, which proved to be very successful, but what came as a bonus was the marriage of Dorothy Sutton, Henry’s mother to Robert Harrison. I had not found her on any census figures since she was 17, and as her son was living with his grandparents, I thought perhaps that she had died. Was Robert Henry’s father? I don’t know but I don’t think so as he is younger than Dorothy and would only have been 16 when Henry was born.

Another look at the census figures shows Robert and Dorothy in 1881, 1891, and 1901 with quite a large family, living in Hoole (although many of the children were born in Sollom so they must have lived there for a time). Further investigations show that Dorothy died in April 1909 while Robert lived to be 101yrs old.

The second bonus from the marriage records was John Sutton to Margaret Alice Woods (daughter of Richard and Alice Woods), and witnessed by Thomas Holden and Alice Woods. These witnesses were Margaret’s parents, and if Alice was Mary Ann’s illegitimate daughter, then Margaret Alice was her aunt, making John her uncle by marriage. Margaret’s Great Uncle!

Alice’s birth certificate proves this to be correct.

If I can prove that William Holden is definitely John Holden’s son then Margaret would be related to Mum both through the Suttons side and the Holdens, although neither way would make him a true uncle, but I cannot find any trace of William’s birth. And then it comes to me! Of course I have William’s marriage to Margaret Bonney. ‘William the son of John Holden, joiner.’

Some things puzzle me about Uncle John. Why was he buried with his parents and what happened to his wife and daughter? My cousin who was brought up in Hoole remembers going to Margaret’s (John’s wife) to buy ice cream. It seems she used to make it and sell it from her cottage in Town Lane, by the Black Horse pub in Hoole. I know that his daughter Alice was alive when I was young as I remember her, but I don’t know what happened to her. I tried to look for their deaths in the Parish register, but the records for after 1940 are still at the church but as and there is no vicar there now, access to the records is proving difficult.

The other puzzle yet to be resolved is from where did John Holden originate, and where, or if, he married Cecily Johnson. I shall just have to keep on searching.

CONCLUSION
John really was my mother’s uncle. He was Margaret’s Great Uncle by marriage on her Mother’s side and a first cousin once removed on her father’s side.

So who had the greater claim to Uncle John!

Introduction & Contents

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