William Adams 1826(?) - 1870 (General)

by Jefff , West London, Middlesex, Monday, February 23, 2015, 19:44 (3555 days ago) @ nigeldownunder

Hi there Mike - you've really been doing some homework!
I had found all of these entries, bar the last one.
I looked at the image of the 1851 census for Eliza Taylor/Cutter, and in my opinion the form seems to describe her as a "W"idow, notwithstanding the transcription that says she's unmarried. In fact, poor old Eliza was married 3 times, firstly to John Cutter as we already know, then to George Taylor, whom she married on 24th September 1842, a year after John Cutter's death at age 29:

Hi Nigel,
on reading your post I thought I'd try and find George's burial before the 1851 Census, sadly not a rare name at all but I cannot see an obvious (ie local) candidate in the PRs. That said, I don't know his age, don't think it's mentioned in this thread, do you know it please ?. I couldn't easily find him in the Census etc,

However, viewing the 1851 Census for Eliza, without wishing to appear "picky" I must say I disagree with your interpretation of the Census regarding what looks like a "U" crossed with a "W" next to Eliza. Admittedly it's part-obscured by an enumerator's mark, but to me it clearly appears to be the same "U = unmarried" mark as has been used many times through these census pages. I did wonder if it was a ditto mark, but no judging from the rest of the pages.

Helpfully, a few entries above Eliza is William Jones age 72 who is described as "Widw", for "widow", and is indeed living with another lady who's clearly not his wife.
Unfortunately and in typical fashion for me! I didn't see this entry until after I'd browsed thro the Census pages AFTER Eliza's entry, looking for a "widow", until I reached the base of page 10, where this word is again used against William Davis, aged 61, head of a house with his daughters but no wife.

So, in this instance it seems to be a correctly-transcribed Census by a conscientious enumerator, and I wonder if George has really died, but just gone awol, or working away etc ?

http://interactive.ancestry.co.uk/8860/MONHO107_2444_2444-0627/16766254?backurl=http%3a...