Was my great grandfather born on the Isle of Wight?
QMy grandfather always said his father Joseph Barnes was from the Isle of Wight. I cannot find his birth record there, but found a possible entry in Ditchling, Sussex. Joseph married in 1877 – his father is named as Samuel. On the 1881, 1911 and 1921 censuses, Joseph is recorded as born in 1852 on the Isle of Wight, but on the 1891 and 1901 census it’s Brighton. I can’t find him on an earlier census. What next? Jude Rainbow
ABegin by examining your information, and asking whether you have overlooked anything. People sometimes adjusted their age, and the father’s name on a marriage certificate may be incorrect. A fictitious name could cover up illegitimacy, or if the father had died some years previously, his name may have been guessed or a stepfather’s supplied. Expand your search by a few years and include births/baptisms where the father is not Samuel.
Joseph seems to have been associated with both Brighton and the Isle of Wight. Search the censuses for a Barnes family with a connection to both places. Might the name have been transcribed as “Burns”? Search, too, for Barnes wills from either area; is Joseph mentioned?
In 1881, Joseph was in the Royal Artillery, which may explain his absence from the 1871 census. Try searching the 1871 British Army Worldwide Index on Findmypast ( findmypast.co.uk). Compiled from pay lists, this index includes basic details that can be used to search service records.
I did note a Joseph Barnes a born on the Isle of Wight in 1852 in the General Register Office (GRO) birth indexes. This child may have died later that year, but check to make sure. Since births could be registered without a given name, search for ‘Male’ Barnes births. Also note possible baptisms, since some births went unregistered in the 1850s. If you have time, follow through all possible Joseph Barnes entries in census and marriage records. Katherine Cobb