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ColleenMaguire118 (ancestry member name - John actually)

Jul 14, 2018
Greetings again David,

Well I now know why you were having such a nightmarish time sorting out the parents of William Bridge 1859. This is a very difficult task.

I do believe his mother’s first name was Frances but I can find nothing to indicate what her maiden name was nor whether she was married to Charles Bridge but it does appear Charles had been married before to Elizabeth Wheeler who dies in 1861. Was Charles keeping 2 houses between 1859-61? I really can’t say.

I see there were other children born to Frances and Charles besides William Charles b. 1859. When William Charles is married in 1879 he lists Charles, a bricklayer as his father.
When the later born children marry they do the same thing but in each case Charles is said to be deceased. None of the marriage bans list the mother’s name unfortunately.
Nor could I find a birth record for William Charles Bridge.

There are a few possible birth records for his younger brother Harry in 1869 showing in the England & Wales, Civil Registration Birth Index, 1837-1915 but without ordering the actual record it is unclear if any of them is the right Harry and whether they would list the mother’s maiden name (the one for Islington seems the most likely). There is one for sibling Jane Elizabeth Bridge b. 1872 for Islington that I am sure is correct so you may want to start there or with the youngest Albert b 1874 (his birth was in Bermondsey). Hopefully something in them will be helpful re the parents names.

The census are interesting too.
Francis lists herself as a widow beginning in 1881 and does so thereafter until her death.
But was Charles really dead or had he abandoned the family as he appears to have done earlier in the case of Elizabeth Wheeler?
There is a death record for a Charles Bridge for 1874 which could be correct and should be checked.

Next, I tried to search out Charles' birth family. I believe they were this couple:
William Bridge
BIRTH 1799 • Glemsford, Suffolk, England
DEATH 26 APR 1863 • Stanstead, Suffolk
AND
Elizabeth Crisell
BIRTH ABT. 1796 • Stanstead, Suffolk, England
DEATH 04 JAN 1883 • Stanstead, Suffolk

Now this is where things get interesting. Elizabeth had a number of siblings. The youngest was Charles Crissell b. 1799. That Charles had a son John Crissel b. 1833 who appears to have married someone named Charlotte (last name unknown). John would have been Charles Bridge’s 1st cousin. Lo and behold there is a Charles Bridge who is living with John and Charlotte as a lodger in 1881 and 1891 in Brixton! Is this your Charles Bridge? This Charles first lists himself as single, then as widowed. I suppose if he is referring to Elizabeth Wheeler and never married Frances that would be true. I think this appearence of a Charles Bridge in a Crissell household is too striking a coincidence not to be meaningful somehow. Did Francis and her children believe him to be dead or were they simply treating him as such? I did find a reference (since lost) to the death of a Charles Bridge in the London area in 1905/6? Perhaps that is your ancestor.

The other Mystery is where all these people are in 1861. Unfortunately, I could not find Charles and Frances or their son William anywhere in that time period which is odd.

In trying to help you I made some quick additions to our tree that I will leave up for a few weeks in case there are any references that could help you before I prune it back to what I usually have up for persons not in our direct line.

If I were you I would also try searching the surname Crissell in your DNA matches. Perhaps you will find descendants of other close Crissells to help you out?

Hope this is all is of some help. Good luck!
John

Citations

• Elizabeth CRISELL
• Charles BRIDGE
• William BRIDGE