I am currently looking for the mother of Elizabeth Ann Barton b. 1805, married William Hutchings b. 1799. As it happens, there are two other people on Ancestry.com who have her in their family trees. However, although both agree on the mother’s Christian name (ie Elizabeth), they have different ideas on the surname (Pearce cf Gardner).
Of course, I have explored both and found parish records for both –
1. 1797 26th February at St Nicholas Rochester a John Barton married Elizabeth Pearce
2. 1800 27th May at St Marys Chatham a John Barton married Elizabeth Gardner.
How do I choose between the candidates? I did think that perhaps John’s first wife died young and he remarried quickly (not an unusual occurrence ). However, in the first marriage, John is named a widower and Elizabeth Pearce a widow and I have to wonder if it is likely he was already widowed twice and remarried by 1800 when he would have been about 23 years old.
So, which Elizabeth shall I choose and on what grounds?
I guess I could just toss a coin!