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Thank you again Emma - thats probably what I will do, certainly seems the next logical step. Its such a shame censuses were only done every 10 yrs - its always the years in between that you need to look at! lol

Sarah, Another possiblity! Selina is born illegitimately or not, her Mother then goes on to marry a James Finch and Selina takes his name. She could be on the census under another surname altogether. Have you sent off for the birth certificate for Lottie? If not, I would consider that as a next step. If the certificate comes back with Father James a collier then it is a good bet that this is your Lottie. Using Lottie's bc would hopefully enable you to find James Finch and Mrs Finch!! That in turn should lead to Selina somehow. Emma x

Thank you Emma! I also found a James Finch who married Sarah Cooper in 1903 in Pontypool, so that could tie in with the birth of Lottie Finch that Crista found for me. All sounds very likely, as Selina also had a sister called Sarah, and names did tend to get carried down from generation to generation... Chances are that if Sarah is Selina's mother, they weren't married when Selina was born, or that Selina's mother was someone entirely different. Of course this could always be a wild goose chase, and a totally different set of people, but anything is worth a try :o)) Sarah

Sarah, The James information I posted is from the 1891 census. Emma x

...and I just read that HMS Monarch was towed into Malta for repairs in 1885, then returned to England where she underwent a major modernisation scheme between 1890 and 1897.....and Selina claims to have been born around 1890 ish ...could just be coincidence, but stranger things have happened!!

Emma - what year is that? I just found a record for James Joseph Finch in 1881 as leading Seaman on HMS Monarch (please don't ask - I have no idea how I got to it, but its there!! lol) Sounds like its the same person as the age matches and he was born in Monmouth - I'm also working on the theory that Selina told porkies on her marriage cert and was younger than she claims, but if this James is her father, it could explain why they don't seem to appear together anywhere...its possible Selina was illegitimate, which would make finding her even more complicated! I can't say enough thank you's to cover all the help I've had - if I can ever do anything to return the favour, please ask!! Sarah

Sarah, I think the James that June found is this one: James Jos Finch, head, mar, 30, commissioned ? coast guard, Monmouthshire Mousnarith Ellen, wife, mar, 30, Cardiganshire Newquay Elizabeth E G, daur, 2, Cardiganshire Newquay at 1 Glau Dau?, Llanfaelog, Anglesey Source information: RG12/4678 Registration district: Holyhead Sub registration district: Bryngwran ED, institution, or vessel: 13 Folio: 106 Page: 9 Emma x

your very welcome Sarah, i know how you feel, i've just recently found my great great grandmothers birth after looking for it for nearly a year, it turned out she was born where she said she was on census, and on her marriage certificate she said her fathers name was John but infact it was isaac, funny things are ancestor did, makes it very hard for us to find them, but we keep trying, i'll keep an eye out and if i find any thing i'll let you know, all too happy to help, june

Oh June - I'm starting to get all excited again! Thats another definite possible! Maybe I'll be able to eventually narrow all these possibles down into likelies, and then I won't have to spend quite so much on certs trying to confirm the info! lol Thank you June.

hi Sarah, Ihaven't found a birth for Selina, but i did find a possible birth for James her father on bmd, James joseph Finch born Monmouth 1860 if it's any help, hope it is a help june

Aaah now that is a distinct possibility! I know her husband's family didn't approve, so chances are hers didn't either!!

Another possible reason for the change of surname is that she did'nt want her family to know she was getting married as she may have fallen out with them or they did'nt approve so she distanced herself by getting wed under a different surname.

Thanks Crista - at least I can eliminate that one from my list of possibles - seems its the only way forward.

George Following the info you found I've looked again and found a family with the surname Crimp (father james, daughter Selina) but chances are this isn't the right one, as james is listed as a Greengrocer! But again, it certainly looks like I need to widen my search and try to find them under a different surname. Do you reckon in years to come our ancestors will have these problems?? lol

Sarah, Unfortunately, I think this family really is Miles as I can find births for 4 of the children on FreeBMD and the marriage to Priscilla Trinder, plus corroborating evidence on the 1881 census. Crista

The there could be a heap of reasons for the change of surnames, main one: Enumerators error ie the census person had other things on his mind at the time

wow - thanks George - that looks promising. Do you reckon its likely her name was changed to Finch? The marriage cert definitely says she was a spinster, surname Finch, and her father was James Finch, but I suppose if her name was changed for some reason it was likely she would state her father's name to be the same as hers. She does have on the cert that her father was a collier, so that bit matches up... It certainly gives me another angle to work on! Thank You!! Sarah

Think I've found her under Selina Miles, got the following on the decoder James Miles, 43, b Pontypool, Working Hand Pump at Colliery, Priscilla, wife, 40, b Coleford, Gloucester Elizabeth, 15 Selina, 12 Margaret, 10 Frederick, 7 Alfred, 2 Lillie, 5mths All children born Pontypool. Hope this helps George

Thanks Crista - I've made a note of that...could very well be connected! Sorry it took me a while to reply - I've been concentrating on my other names for the last few days, but every now and then I look back through everything I have to see if I can find a snippet I've missed. Have been using the 1901 census decoder and listing every name I can think of that may have had some connection to Selina, but nothing has come up so far. I can't even trace her marriage to her second husband - if I could get a copy of that cert it might help. Thanks anyway to everyone who has tried to help me Sarah

Sarah, There aren't that many Lotties on FreeBMD but there is this one in Pontypool. Perhaps this is her sister. Births Mar 1903 Finch Lottie Pontypool 11a 166 Crista