No, not those Simpsons, mine are far harder to find.  There are 4 of them-

 

1. James Leman Simpson  (1776  1849)  –  my ggg grandfather

2. his wife Mary

3. their daughter Mary – (1826-?)  – my gg grandmother and mother to Clara Guy (see earlier blog)

4. their second daughter Clara.

 

1. James Leman Simpson has whetted my curiosity – the name Leman is unusual (always a bonus for family history searchers) and is sometimes seen as Lemon which could be a surname passed on from his mother’s side.  In the 1841 census he is noted as a piano tuner living in Finsbury, but his daughter Mary was born in Naples in Italy, so the family must have lived there for a while. On his death certificate his occupation is given as “artist”. So, I will try to find out –

 a) more about his parents and birth

b) something about the piano tuning trade – did he go to Italy for this?

c) is there any record of him as an artist?

 

2. I know nothing about Mary Simpson except her name and the fact that she outlived her husband, so the usual birth, parents etc details remain to be unearthed.

 

3. Mary Simpson, daughter, married Robert Capon Guy and the main mystery with her is when did she die?  She was still alive in 1871 (census)but Robert remarried in 1875, so she must have died in the interim (unless they were divorced, highly unlikely  but worth checking).  I did send away for what looked like a very good possibility, correct name, age and district, but it turned out to be a single woman, domestic servant, who died as a result of burns after her clothes caught fire at the stove – poor woman!  So, with Mary I must

a) look further in the deaths records

b) check divorce records – never done that before, divorce was not common then, so I’ll need to find out how to go about it

c) check later censuses just in case she is still alive – perhaps living with mother and/or sister Clara or one of her older children

d) check to see if there were any children born between 1862 (Clara) and her death (when found)  – she had been having children every 2 to 3 years until then, so there may be more.

 

4. Clara , daughter – I know very little of her, need to do all the usual checks.

 

Well, that lot should keep me going for a while!!