What happened to Susannah Smith?
Q My 5x great grandmother, Susannah Smith, married Thomas Lovell in 1844 and William Bullen in 1854. In 1874, William married Emma MacDonald, as a bachelor.
However, Susannah witnessed her daughter Sarah’s marriage in 1881 along with Thomas Sawyer (listed as Sarah’s stepfather in 1891). Can you tell me anything about what happened to Susannah after 1881?
Amber Cawson
A William and Susannah appear to have separated in the early 1870s, with William becoming a bigamist on his marriage to Emma MacDonald in 1874. The entries in the marriage register for the marriages of
William and Susannah’s children revealed that Susannah reverted to her previous married surname after the separation, as she witnessed the marriage of her daughter, Mary Ann Frances, as “Susannah Lovell”. Although Susannah and Thomas Sawyer were not legally married, it is clear from her signature when witnessing her daughter Sarah’s marriage that by December 1881 Susannah had assumed Thomas’ surname, which she spelled “Sayer”. A quick comparison of the signatures of “Susannah Lovell” and “Susannah Sayer” confirmed that they were written by the same person.
To locate Susannah in the 1881 census, search for her under “Sayer” and “Lovell”, as well as “Sawyer” and “Bullen”. If still unsuccessful, leave the surname field blank and search for a Susannah, born at South Weald between 1820 and 1890.
Since Thomas is shown as widowed in the 1891 census, I searched for Susannah’s death under “Sa(w)yer”, “Bullen” and “Lovell”. I found one possibility: Susannah Sawyer, aged 60, registered in January– March 1891 at West Ham. As Thomas was living at West Ham in April 1891, I suggest you obtain the death certificate.
Katherine Cobb