Have I smashed my brickwall?

QIt is possible that I have knocked down a brick wall but how can I find proof? I would like to confirm whether Ann RUSDELL née MARSHALL (the wife of Henry RUSDELL although no marriage found), born 1806 in Yorkshire (no other birthplaces given on the 1851, ’61 or ’71 Census) is the same person as the younger sister of the William MARSHALL who was born in 1793 at Cawood, Yorkshire (1851, ’61 and ’71).

There are recorded baptisms for eight children to a William MARSHALL and Mary née ARMSTRONG in Cawood, Yorkshire that include William baptised in 1793 and Ann baptised in 1806. The father’s occupation changes from weaver to flax dresser in 1797. Is that likely? I would like this to be ‘my’ Ann!

To eliminate Ann MARSHALLS who would have remained in the area, I looked for marriages in Cawood and found a marriage to William SIMPSON of Bolton Percy on 15 Aug 1820: the 1851 Census shows two Ann Simpsons married to Williams, one Ann was born Hull, the other Burley, so this marriage is eliminated. Cawood registers show a burial for an Ann MARSHALL in 1810, but she was a widow.

I tried an 1841 search for just Ann (no surname) born 1806 +/- 1 year, in Cawood and that gave two possibles, Ann and John GREEN, a farmer, who by the 1851 was remarried so presume this Ann died before 1851 and Ann and Robert ABBEY a schoolmaster but this Ann was born in N. Burton according to the 1851 Census, so both eliminated.

Ann moved to London via Bedfordshire before 1835 and later lived mostly in Bayswater, Paddington. Her first child with Henry RUSDELL was Mary Ann born in 1833, in Dunstable. If she is ‘mine’ one of her grandmothers was Mary the other was Ann!

William moved to London before 1836 – a child’s baptism shows an address in Oxford Street. James MARSHALL of Marshall and Snelgrove was in Oxford St/vere St. Later he lived and worked in the Edgware Road. Both these addresses are significant as the first means he was living close to his cousin James MARSHALL of Marshall and Snelgrove and the second was just around the corner to Ann.

Between 1843 and 1861, Ann RUSDELL b. 1806 and family lived at 11 Salem Gardens, Bayswater, Paddington. Other close relations of this Ann lived at numbers 7 and 22 Salem Gardens. Mary Ann RUSDELL born 1833, the daughter of Ann RUSDELL née MARSHALL born 1806 married Edward STRAND from number 22 and they lived at number 7 in 1861. If I am right this Mary Ann STRAND née RUSDELL b. 1833 would have been a niece to William MARSHALL.

William MARSHALL left properties in his will proved 1872 but written January 1866 which included number 6 Salem Gardens. The Marylebone Mercury of 25 August 1866 reports that William MARSHALL, the owner of number 7 Salem Gardens had not complied with a vestry sanitary order regarding the drains. Given that his will states that he owned number 6 in January 1866 and that the newspaper said he owned number 7 in August 1866 I wonder if at some stage around the mid 1860s this road was renumbered. I wonder also if Salem Gardens became Moscow Road. I have tried electoral rolls for occupiers without success.

If I can crack this, the family story which says we were related to the Marshalls of Marshall and Snelgrove would be established. The above condenses many years of work which has been done alone and with the venerable shop keeper’s descendants but no one has yet found proof.

Sylvie Sillince

AI have to say that I am instinctively uncomfortable about trying to prove that A and B are related; it is much better to do as you have done and investigate all possible options before reaching a conclusion.

Weighing up the collection of clues – Marriages, or the lack of recorded marriages, are a perennial problem in family research. Even where a marriage did take place it didn’t always make its way to the GRO records, which are significantly deficient in some places. Divorce was difficult and expensive in those days so if there was a split the parties may subsequently have passed themselves off as being married to their new partners in the next census. If there was parental disapproval the couple may well have sloped off and lived together without going through a religious or civil ceremony. I don’t attach much weight to lack of evidence of marriage. Plenty of people described themselves as married when legally they weren’t.

I don’t think a change of occupation for William in 1797 from weaver to flax dresser is improbable. The Marshall/simpson marriage in 1820 is highly improbable as your Ann would only have been fourteen at the time, so you are fairly safe in eliminating that. Mary and Ann, whether in combination or not, are common names. Children were often named after their parents or grandparents but this is tenuous as proof of relationship and ought not to be given much weight.

Researching the addresses – Salem Gardens no longer exists and its place is taken by a large building on Salem Road which appears to be upmarket flats. It is certainly not the same as Moscow Road which is longer and runs further south. I found several online references to Salem Gardens, including to No 6, at www. openwindowslearning.co.uk/victorianbayswater.htm – you may find this helpful as it names the occupants of some of the houses and the owner of the road. I take leave to doubt the author’s assertion that Salem Gardens became Salem Road as both are shown on the Ordnance Survey map for the 1860s. Nor have I found anything to suggest the houses were renumbered.

That leaves the possibility that William Marshall owned both houses but had sold 7 by the time he died. Leasehold properties at 13-17 Salem Gardens and in Salem Road are listed for sale in the London Gazette of 22 June 1875, following an order in the High Court. It seems that in the 1840s Salem Gardens consisted mainly of houses in multiple occupation. Why they were developed into the existing building on Salem Road I have not been able to ascertain. The area is well covered by local historians and you will find out more by contacting them.

It’s not clear from your question what the relationship is between James Marshall (of Marshall and Snelgrove) and your William Marshall. Are you sure they are cousins? From subsequent correspondence it looks as if this is in the ‘educated guess’ category and needs further work before it can be proved. Before coming to a definitive conclusion I suggest you do more research in the Bayswater area. DF

I wonder if at some stage around the mid 1860s this road was renumbered