12 Aug 2023

Today I ordered the marriage certificate for Henry Arthur Alcock and Anastasia Cody in 1886. Because they married in Ireland I had to order from HSE. The service asked for an exact date of married but I entered 1 Dec 1886 because I only have the quarter found from the Civil Registration Marriages Index on Ancestry. Hopefully they will be able to find it.

I took another look at the marriage between Jane Hinksman and William Fisher. They married in 1839 in Earsham, Norfolk. Jane later died in 1840 and I was wondering if I could find William Fisher in the 1841 census. It’s always been a intriguing what happened to Jane’s children Richard and Mary. They were both in the workhouse in 1841, but did they ever live with their mother and her new husband. Also, how did Jane meet William and why did they marry? What was Jane doing at the time?

I think a clue might lie in the witnesses to their wedding, William and Margaret Fisher, who I suspect are relatives of Jane’s mother, born Jane Fisher.

Previously I have found a William and Margaret Fisher aged 57 and 52 living in Cratfield, Suffolk in 1841, which is about 10 miles from Earsham.

However today I found a William and Margaret Fisher in Earsham itself in the 1841 census:

William Fisher, age 49, ag lab, born in county
Margaret Fisher, age 51, born in county
George Fisher, age 20, born in county ¹

These are much more likely to be the William and Margaret who witnessed Jane’s wedding. Earsham is about 6 miles from Beccles and 5 miles from Geldeston where William Rouse lived and where Jane died in 1840.

I wonder who George is.