The James Butcher Conundrum

 

The James Butcher Conundrum

Once upon a time, in the fishing port of Lowestoft in Suffolk County, England, there were many families with the surname Butcher.  The common trade among most of the families was fishing.  But while most families could distinguish themselves from another, there were two families who claimed a young maiden as one of their own.  Both of these families lived in the same town, had the same surname—Butcher, and the father of each family were fishermen.   Within each family, they shared a common first name among 7 of their children.  But more problematic is that they each had a son named James born in the year of 1802. Problematic is an understatement.  It is a genealogist’s nightmare. 

What is known with some degree of certainty is that James Butcher married Mary Ann Liffen on December 25, 1830 in Lowestoft.  Beyond that, it isn’t known which of the boys named James Butcher married a woman named Mary Ann Liffen.  It is certain that Mary Ann was born on July 17, 1809 in Lowestoft to Edmund Liffen and Mary Leggett. And census records from 1841 and onwards reveal that James Butcher and Mary Ann Liffen probably had twelve children.  Their children were:

1.      James Butcher Liffen (1830-    )

2.      John Samuel Butcher (1832-1898)

3.      Sarah Ann Brown Heavers Butcher (1837-1909)

4.      Ann Elizabeth Butcher (1838-1898)

5.      William Saunders Butcher (1842-1910)

6.      Louisa Butcher (1844-1911)

7.      Susannah Butcher (1845-1911)

8.      Daniel Butcher (1846-1876)

9.      Ann Maria Butcher (1848-1849)

10.  James Liffen Butcher (1849-1917)

11.  Mary Ann Butcher (1850-1898)

12.  Harrier Rachel Ann Butcher (1852-1913)

Baptismal records kept by the church in Lowestoft made it fairly easy to identify the children named James by their parents, birth date and the date of baptism. 

But was the James Butcher who married Mary Ann Liffen the son of Benjamin Butcher and Frances Mullender or was he the son of John Butcher and Letitia Blithe/Bligh?

Here is an overview of each of the Butcher families:

Benjamin Butcher was a fisherman.  Benjamin was born in 1772 in Lowestoft to Benjamin Butcher (1745-1804) and Sarah Crispe (1747-1841).  He was baptized in the Parish church of Lowestoft on August 29, 1772.  On July 1, 1794, Benjamin married Frances Mullender (1772-1846) at St. Margaret’s in Lowestoft, Suffolk, England.  He died on January 4, 1847.  It is believed that Benjamin and Frances had ten children.  The known children of Benjamin and Frances Butcher are:

1.      Benjamin Butcher (1795-1825) married Mary Allerton at St. Margaret’s in Lowestoft in 1818.

2.      Sarah Butcher (1797-1868) married Samuel Fletcher at St. Margaret’s in Lowestoft in 1820.

3.      Elizabeth Butcher (1799-1878) married William Dowling Bobbitt in Lowestoft in 1823.

4.      James Butcher (1) (2 Feb 1802-    ).

5.      William Butcher (1804-1887) married Elizabeth Symonds at St. Andrew’s in Gorleston in 1824.

6.      Matthew Butcher (1806-1880) married Dinah Doy at St. Margaret’s in Lowestoft in 1832.

7.      Ann Butcher (1809-1889) married Thomas French at St Dunstan, Stepney, London in 1854.

8.      John Butcher (1811-1841) married Mary Baxter at St. Margaret’s in Lowestoft in 1836.

9.      Samuel Butcher (1814-1840) in not know to have married.

10.  Mary Butcher (1818-1856) is not know to have married but had two sons—William and John.

John Butcher was a fisherman.  John was born about 1771 in Lowestoft to Henry Butcher (1748-1831) and Elizabeth Spurden (1750-1791).  He was baptized in the Parish church of Lowestoft on May 4, 1774.  On July 18, 1797, John married Letitia Blithe/Bligh (1778-1865) at St. Margaret’s in Lowestoft, Suffolk, England.  He died on September 23, 1846.  It is believed that John and Letitia had twelve children.  The known children of John and Letitia Butcher are:

1.      John Butcher (1798-1884) married Elizabeth Davy in the Parish Church of Lowestoft in 1821.

2.      Mary Butcher (1799-1820) married Samuel Goldsmith Day at St. Margaret’s in Lowestoft in 1818.

3.      Henry Butcher (1801-1875)

4.      James Butcher (2) (26 Sep 1802-    ).

5.      William Butcher (1806-1888) married Jane Elizabeth Wood at St. Nicholas in Great Yarmouth in 1837.

6.      Benjamin Butcher (1807-1893) married Sarah Bracey at St. Margaret’s in Lowestoft in 1833.

7.      Samuel Butcher (1809-1897) married Sarah Shaul Davey Calver at St. Nicholas in Great Yarmouth in 1831.

8.      Letitia Butcher (1811-1887) married John Jarmaney/Jarman at St. Nicholas in Great Yarmouth in 1840.

9.      Matthew Butcher (1813-1893) married Mary Ann Ward at All Saint’s West Hartlepool in 1839.

10.  Jane Butcher (1815-1895) married William Stebbings at St. Margaret’s in Lowestoft in 1841.

11.  Joseph Butcher (1817-1874) married Rebecca Snudd at St. Margaret’s in Lowestoft in 1840.

12.  Mary Butcher (1821-1891) married James Mowbray at St. Hilda, Hartlepool in 1845.

 

 

The paternal parents of both sons were not close relatives.  John Butcher, the father of James Butcher (2), is the great grandfather of wife of 2^nd cousin 1x removed of James Butcher (1).  Lowestoft wasn’t a huge city in the early 1800’s and both James were fishermen.  It is possible their families had met, especially since both James Butcher’s were fishermen, as were their father’s.

When researching through Ancestry, I also found a third Butcher family. Along with other children, they too, had a son named James Butcher, born February 16, 1808 in Lowestoft and he was the son of Thomas B. Butcher (1782-1837) and Margaret Farrer (1782-1849).  In at least three of the family trees I found, they all stated that it was this James Butcher who married Mary Ann Liffen in 1830.  I was able to quickly discount this relationship since most of the census records show James Butcher to be at least 7 years older than Mary Ann Liffen who was born on July 17, 1809 in Lowestoft.  It is more likely that James Butcher, born in 1808 married Elizabeth Blomfield on December 26, 1832 in Dunwich, Suffolk, England.

My search for the correct identification of James Butcher began with the Baptismal records from St. Margaret’s Church in Lowestoft.

Baptismal Records from the Parish Church of St. Margaret’s, Lowestoft, Suffolk, England

James Butcher (1), the son of Benjamin Butcher (1772-1847) and Frances Mullender (1772-1846) was born on February 2, 1802 and baptized in the Parish Church of Lowestoft on February 5, 1802.

James Butcher (2), the son of John Butcher (1771-1846) and Letitia Bligh (1776-1865) was born on September 26, 1802 and baptized in the Parish Church of Lowestoft on September 27, 1802.

The Marriage Registration in the Parish Church of Lowestoft

James Butcher and Mary Ann Liffen were married in the Parish church of Lowestoft on December 25, 1830.  The marriage was witnessed by John Heavers and Elizabeth Butcher.  Perhaps there is an opportunity to identify which James Butcher married Mary Ann Liffen.

Searching for Clue Number 1.  The Marriage Registration in the Parish Church of Lowestoft.

James Butcher and Mary Ann Liffen were married in the Parish church of Lowestoft on December 25, 1830.  The marriage was witnessed by John Heavers, brother-in-law of the bride (husband of Sarah Liffen—the eldest living sister of Mary Ann) and Elizabeth Butcher.  Now the issue is identifying to whom Elizabeth Butcher is related.

This is probably the best clue we have in identifying the James Butcher—No. 1 or No. 2—married to Mary Ann Liffen.  Both, James Butcher (1) and James Butcher (2) were born in the same year which makes identification by age difficult using census records or marriage banns.  In this case, the Banns did not list the ages of the bride or groom. The only distinction to be made between them is the date of baptism, one in February and the other in September.

James Butcher (1) had an older sister named Elizabeth.  Elizabeth Buther was born in 1799 and died in 1878.  She would have been about 31 years of age at the time of the marriage between James and Mary Ann. However, she did marry William Dowling Bobbitt in 1823, so by 1830 it would have been natural for her to sign her name as Elizabeth Bobbit and not Elizabeth Butcher.

James Butcher (2) did not have a sister named Elizabeth. However, his oldest brother, John Butcher (1798-1884) was married to Elizabeth Davy (1800-1881). Her married name was Elizabeth Butcher and at the time of the wedding she would have been 30 years of age. 

Given that the bride chose her brother-in-law to be the witness for their marriage, would it make more sense for the groom to choose his sister-in-law, Elizbeth Davy?  If this is the case, then it was James Butcher (2) who married Mary Ann Liffen.  If the groom chose his eldest sister to witness the marriage, and, if she signed her name using Butcher instead of Bobbitt, then it would be James Butcher (1) who married Mary Ann Liffen.

I would favor the choice of James Butcher (2) as the husband of Mary Ann Liffen, primarily because of Elizabeth Butcher's signature as a witness to the marriage.

Searching for Clue Number 2.  Census Records.

Searching for any census record where either parent was living with or nearby James and Mary Ann Butcher. Or, it could be a census record showing James living with or nearby a brother or sister whose name was unique to the family.

I was able to review every available census for the years 1841, 1851, 1861, 1871 and 1881 and found James Butcher and Mary Ann Butcher (nee Liffen). 

The census for 1841 showed that 137 males were not enumerated because they were out Mackerel fishing.  John Butcher and Letitia Butcher (nee Blithe/Bligh) are listed in the 1841 census and Henry is the only son still living at home and was not out fishing.  His brother, Benjamin was also home, but listed in a different household, along with his wife Sarah Bracey and daughter Mary and son Benjamin.  His brother Joseph along with his wife Rebecca Snudd were also home during the census. And most of the children for John and Letitia Butcher were able to be identified in the same census for the Lowestoft area along the Beach Road.  Among the residents in this same census were James Butcher and his wife Mary Ann.

Absent from this census report were Benjamin Butcher and his wife Frances Mullender as well as any of their children.

Using an assumption that the Butcher family living on the Beach Road in Lowestoft during the 1841 census were related to John and Letitia Butcher, it becomes most likely that the James Butcher, with his wife Mary Ann, in this census was also related to John and Letitia Butcher and not to Benjamin and Frances Butcher.  This provides evidence that it was James Butcher (2) who married Mary Ann Liffen.

Searching for Clue Number 3.  Find-a-Grave Records

The records within Find-a-Grave indicate that the husband of Mary Ann Liffen was James Butcher born on February 2, 1802.

 

There isn’t any indication that the association of James Butcher and Mary Ann Liffen was founded on anything which would resolve the issue once and for all.  There is no picture of a gravestone with the birth date engraved on it with the name of Mary Ann also inscribed on the tombstone.  This may also be an association mistakenly made by any number of family members who cannot agree on who married Mary Ann Liffen.

But if the information in Find a Grave is accurate, this would mean that it was James Butcher (1) who married Mary Ann Liffen.

So, who was married to Mary Ann Liffen?

The tendency is to rely heavily upon the census data of 1941 since it seems to include all the members of the John and Letitia Butcher family and there isn’t a known census which includes the Benjamin and Frances Butcher family for 1941.

I have ascribed the marriage to James Butcher (2).  Information on the death and marriage for James Butcher (1) is scarce, since much of Ancestry has mixed results in the confusion caused by the conundrum of James Butcher.  But I believe the marriage witnesses and the 1841 census data play an important role in making this decision.

Hopefully, someone can help to clear up this mystery.