Finding George Courtney c1841

What's in a name?  Is it George or Arthur - George Arthur, Arthur George and for good measure and just to keep you on your toes, what about George William?     Courtney or Courtenay - so many possibilities....   This list is an attempt to list everyone I've looked at, those still in contention or if not, why not.  The Research Summary  is being continually updated and has more information on those still in contention.  This page is an attempt at a ready reckoner and to demonstrate my exhaustive research to find our mystery mans origins! Or, given the lack of DNA matching to the Courtney surname, should I be looking for someone else entirely?! Over the last couple of decades, I've looked for all possible candidates born between about 1830-1850.  My primary focus has been on candidates not recorded in the 1871 census, but this may not be a foolproof approach. Our George - is listed as Arthur George Courtenay in the 1871 census, b1841 Mar...

In the 1891 census Abigail describes herself as a widow, the census was recorded on the night of 5th April 1891.  We cannot find George, Abigail or their daughter Alberta in the 1881 census , where did they go after all living together in Woolwich in 1871?  What happened to George? I went in search of death records between the dates of these two censuses under various names, the following were extracted from FreeBMD UK for the period between 1871-1891.  Arthur 'George' indicated he was 30 years old at the time of the 1871 census, so if he died between 1871-1891 he would have been roughly between 30-50 years of age. Hans Christian Andersen's deathbed at Rolighed, Østerbro, Copenhagen (Wikimedia Commons) Arthur Courtney/Courteney/Courtenay/Courtny - all too young! * 1873 Arthur Baldwin Courtney, aged 0, St Thomas;  * 1877 Arthur Frederick Courtney, aged 3, Holbourn; * 1879 Arthur Courteney, aged 7, Camberwell; * 1885 Arthur Ernest Courtney, aged 0, Alderbury;...

After establishing that we may have some Romany DNA I started looking into how to research in this area in particular from a DNA point of view.  Three key sites of interest included:- The Romany and Traveller Family HistorySociety - joined FTDNA RomanyDNA Project - quite restrictive on who joins FTDNA Celtic Travellers - joined  I also created a resource page at Wikitree - British Romany Resources . It was on the Celtic Travellers site that I found a reference to a list of known surnames.  The Traveller Tinker Gypsy Surname Index of Great Britain  last updated 8/03/2010.  Under the name COURTNEY, two suggestions.  1841 Census St Austell, Cornwall and 1851 Census Scotland.  How these names came to be on this list are unclear.  Needless to say, I've now researched these families to see if they connect to any other Courtney's that have been subjects of interest in the past. 1841 St Austell - Nicholas COURTENAY The reference to the 1841 was actuall...

NOTE: This post is just a teaser!  I need to document more of the genetic evidence, but this is being written as part of the SAG DNA Blogging Group, so here goes the story so far.... ***** Continuing with my DNA analysis looking for the origins of my maternal 2nd great grandfather - Arthur/George/William Courtney/Courtenay. Many years ago now I discovered my mother had a large X match at GEDmatch with a female from England, it was two segments, totalling approx 92cMs.  This was a very big match and generally a sign of a close relationship.  However, the X chromosome can behave differently to the other autosomes and the relationship could be more distant than it seems. I attempted to contact the match back in 2018 and had no reply.   In 2019, I turned to Facebook sleuthing as she had an unusual surname.  I sent messages to people with that name in England asking if they had tested and could they be the person I matched?  I had a reply from one of them saying...

According to the records on Find My Past for the 1871 England Census there were 70 records for the name COURTENAY recorded at Middlesex.  This equates to 31 family groups.  Could George be related to one of them?  I am progressively adding links to these families at Wikitree.   Filling up the census paper.   Punch 1851 PD 1.  Mile End Old Town, Jeoffries Terrace      * Maria COURTENAY b1829 in Blois, France (possibly a Courtenay by birth?)      * Louisa TURNER b1847 (husband William b1841)     * Henry COURTENAY b1857     * Percy COURTENAY b1862     * John COURTENAY b1867 2.  Bethnal Green #1, Nelson Place      * Elizabeth COURTENAY b1841 nee McLenan (widow of Robert J COURTENAY of Ireland)     * Augusta COURTENAY b1859     * Sydney COURTENAY b1864     * Adeline COURTENAY b1868 3.  Bethnal Green #2, Charles Street    ...

Before I created this blog, I was publishing my research theories on George's profile at Wikitree .  In 2016 a fellow Wikitreer asked me ' Have you considered John Courtenay's (1775, Ireland-1851, London) grandsons?'  She went on to suggest that one of them was named George who was baptised in 1848. This was an extremely attractive suggestion as these Courtenay's were from Waterford, an area suggested by my grandmother as an ancestral place I have yet to find.  However, was this George too young to be my ancestor?   Could his birth date in the 1871 census have been overstated by 13 years?   His twin daughters were born in 1871, so if he was their father he would have been around 24 which still seems plausible. George Courtenay was born in Middlesex in about 1847 and baptised on 8 Jan 1848, his parents James Courtenay and Louisa Ward.  The grandson of John Courtenay 1775 who married Mary Hogg.  The line traces back to Ensign Edward Courtenay...

Edith Courtenay is listed as the daughter of Arthur 'George' and Abigail in the 1871 census.  However, it is unclear whether she is in fact the biological daughter of George.  Edith was born in Forton Hampshire in 1867, her birth was registered under the name of PAICE and no father listed on the certificate.    Edith's son Albert was born in 1886, whilst known as Courtney in all records throughout his life, his birth was also registered under the name of Albert PAICE .   This suggests that perhaps Edith knew she was not the child of Arthur 'George'.   At the time of the 1881 census, she and her sister Abigail are lodging at Madiera Vale, in the small village of Holdenhurst with William and Jane Brown.   Martha Paice nee Marsh and Henry Paice , are also visiting;   Henry and Martha are half siblings to their mother, Abigail nee Paice.   A  Downer family is also living next door. Holdenhurst, Moule map c1835 By the time of the 1891 censu...

At the time of the 1871 census Arthur 'George' and Abigail were living at 14 Sun Street Woolwich, with their three daughters.  Nurse Ann Muggeridge (nee Webster aka Rudd) was also in attendance.  Read more about connections to Nurse Ann Muggeridge on my earlier post by clicking here .  14 Sun Street appears to house 3 seperate families, the Courtenay's, a family by the name of Hawkins and a nurse by the name of Howlett. Surnames of adjoining neighbours include Cook, Williams, Butler, Green, Cooler, Davis, Gower, Clarke, Reeve and Higgs. 1871 Census - Image courtesy Find My Past If you help with any of this research,  please use the contact form on this  blog or send me a private message via  Wikitree ,  Ancestry   or  Facebook . ********** This blog is dedicated to finding my second great grandfather Arthur 'George' Courtney c1835.   To see a summary of my research  click here .  If you can help answer any questions raised...

Arthur or George or William?  Courtney or Courtenay?  Which is it, or is he someone else entirely? 'George' remains my most elusive ancestor.    I published my first blog about our mystery man, my 2nd great grandfather, the father of Mums paternal grandmother Abigail COURTNEY in 2018.  You can view that post  on my genemonkey blog at  Wordpress .   You can find all I know about him and his descendants at  Wikitree.   I call him George as that is the name his wife and descendants have used in the records. This entire blog is dedicated to documenting everything I have looked at in terms of finding my elusive 2nd great grandfather.  You can find a summary of my research  here , but please note it is a progressive 'works in progress' . Essentially, there are only 3 key records of his existence, all of which are conflicting!  Note:  The age in the census actually says 30 (not 36), so his birthdate is probably c1...