disputed death

Hi Stephen, this one took some real digging. You may have seen me poking around, making some additions over the past couple of days. I believe I have found a couple of promising leads.

Because Benjamin has been proving a bit hard to trace I began with the children to see if their records contained any crumbs to work back from. So there may be some crossover with what you already know but I think it's important to show the working.

The couple doesn't appear to have been big on baptisms (only two, for John and William Henry) but all children were civilly registered. Civil records on the GRO index list mother's maiden name, so I've cross-referenced all the children born in the area between 1842 and 1874 with an Ainsworth mother, eliminated children that belonged to other Bolton/Ainsworth couples, and added the pertinent record details to the children under "Birth". You can use that information to find and add the correct Civil Records on FS if you so choose.

You'll notice I added a daughter, Mary (1848-1849) which brings the total to 11, matching with what the article regarding the protection order states. Whilst Elizabeth Catherine's birth was registered in December of 1866, it's possible that she was in fact already born in May of that year, as a close search doesn't produce any other children to this couple. It was not uncommon for there to be, at times, a delay in registration.

As searches for both Benjamin and Agnes in the 1861 census were fruitless, I instead used William Henry Bolton's details and I believe I have found the family in this record. The reason it wasn't coming up is because the couple are recorded as "Richard" and "Alice". Ordinarily I am vary wary of 'similar but different' records as too often they are incorrectly forced to fit a profile. But in this case I feel pretty confident.

Here's why:

1. I did close census searches in 1851 and 1871 and could not find corresponding records for a matching family.
2. All the living children appear in this record exactly or within a year match.
3. Notably, their residence is listed as Union Buildings. In August the preceding year the family were recorded living at 40 Union Buildings in their son, Adam's, burial record (1860-1860).

Additionally, my experience of the English census transcripts is that they are heavy on transcription errors.

I haven't seen the original document myself, but that would be next steps to a) check for an address number, which are often listed but not transcribed. and b) to see if the names of Alice and Richard are transcription errors or, it's possible you might have a a legitimate alias on your hands. It's plausible, given Benjamin's constant issues with money, that he was flying under the radar.

Original copies can be viewed on Ancestry and, I believe, FindMyPast. If you don't have a subscription you can access these for free at most public libraries and there are also folks on here that will generously do a look up if you put out a request.

The record itself is currently attached to the remains of a Frankensteined family that I started to unpick. The remains are stub ID's created off the record that would need to be merged into your family once (if) the record is confirmed.

I could not find Benjamin in the 1871 census either. I also tried searching for "Richard" without luck. It's possible he's been mis-transcribed beyond search parameters, he was using another alias, or perhaps he was out drunk that night and the census taker missed him. Of course he may have died but I do believe he was still alive at the time as Agnes lists herself as married, not widowed or divorced.

No record appears to exist for an English divorce, these were hard to come by at that time, particularly for less well off folks, so it's possible Agnes simply styled herself that way after immigrating. If they were no contact, she wouldn't have known he'd died. You'll notice I attached a couple of records for her and some of the children's immigration in 1872. It seems their son, Richard also relocated to the states, but separately. Son Thomas may have died previous to 1866 (to fit with the numbers in the article, but I could not find an exact match for a death. He was still living in the above 1861 census)

There is also no record of Benjamin immigrating to the states. I believe he may possibly have died in 1874 and this is his indexed death record. There is no sign of him in the 1881 census and the record I linked is the best, actually exact, age match searching between 1871-1881. It is also geographically plausible. Unfortunately there is no corresponding burial record and I don't believe the full civil records are available without purchase (£3.00 for an unofficial Jpeg from the GRO). So knowing definitively is tricky. He seems to appear in newspapers for drunk and disorderly up until 1869 in and around Blackburn.

I hope that's of some help to you in getting your research a little bit further along. Let me know if you would like anything clarified, and do let me know how you get on if you get hold of that original 1861 census record. Hopefully it's the fit I think it is!

Happy to be of help. Though sorry not to have been able to add much you don't already know.

Bravo on finding the baptisms for the three Adams, that's more than I was able. As far as the birth date for 1862 Adam, you should absolutely feel confident to make the change to the 29th January 1862. You may notice I flagged the inconstancy of birthdate and registration, but as I didn't have a concrete replacement, I left it as is. Rule of thumb, If you have conflicting birthdates, go with the one given at the time of birth. Often death and burial records can be a bit off as the informant is a secondary source and can be any number of steps removed from the individual in question. You've demonstrated how thorough you are in your research, and if you include that evidence or reasoning when making changes to profiles, your contributions are only going to be a benefit to the tree.

Speaking of, that death record for a Benjamin Bolton in 1874 - with the information that he is a baker, you're right, that's definitely not him. The profession rang a bell for me and that individual is Benjamin Bolton (MDG9-KCT) married to Julia Gibson and living in (surprise surprise) Salford. I hadn't paid much attention to the census record I'd seen him in previously because his birthdate is constantly 1818 throughout his life. Another example of the informant not having the correct information.

I don't see the 1861 census attached, I suspect it was removed. The forum rules are a little ambiguous on what original record images can be shared and what can't. But it essentially comes down to copyright, I think. Nevertheless, if you've seen the original and think it's a match that's what matters! If you'd like a second option you can message it to me directly (envelope icon top righthand of your screen), otherwise I think you can go ahead and attach the record to the family and merge in that duplicate family I linked previously. (I note you mentioned you're new to the platform, so if jumping into that many merges straight away feels daunting, let me know and I'm happy to take care of it).

I was frustrated not to have been able to find more of use, so I had a bit more of a hunt today, and think I have found something quite significant! Over at the Lancashire Archives I found a record of Recognizance dated 16 Jul 1779 description as follows:

Recognizance for Benjamin Bolton of Ramsgreave, weaver, to abide by and perform such orders as shall be made concerning the **** child of Elizabeth Thornley of Ramsgreave, singlewoman

Sureties: Richard Harwood of Ramageave, weaver and William Bolton of Samlesbury, weaver

From the 1851 census we know your Benjamin was from Ramsgreave and had worked as a weaver. I like this for a match.

I believe the child in question is Barbara Thornley (9K6F-15P) daughter of Betsy Thornley. There were only three Thornley children registered without mother's maiden name (indicative of possible illegitimacy) between 1866-1879, I was able to eliminate the two boys and Barbara was left. I've furnished her profile and attached her relationship to Benjamin so you can peruse as you like.

Which brings me back to the question of his death. I don't want to send you chasing after every death record for a Benjamin Bolton that has a passing resemblance, But there is possibly maybe a match in this record for Benjamin Bolton, died 1886, aged 69, Blackburn. This makes his estimated birthdate 1817, four years older, but as we've established ages at death are somewhat flexible. so maybe…

It does leave the question of where on earth he was on the 1871 and 1881 census nights (not with the Thornleys, I checked). Maybe he really was fond of an alias… He seems to have had a fair amount of run ins with the law or maybe he owed people money…