Hello Maureen

I looked back at your old messages and then at other people's trees on Ancestry----most intriguing !

I came across something which I hadn't seen in your messages or the trees:

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copied and pasted from Ancestry:

England & Wales Christening Records, 1530-1906
about Tom MacGain Harding MacGain
Name: Tom MacGain Harding MacGain
Gender: Male
Christening Date: 25 Feb 1892
Christening Place: Tranmere, Cheshire, England
Mother's name: Annie MacGain

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Unfortunately there was no option to look at the scanned image so I don't know if the mother's name was so badly written that it was mistranscribed. But it's difficult to see that Martha could be misread as Annie. Is it possible that the Hardings never knew the names of Tom's parents and so just guessed ?

There are so many questions which have less than satisfactory answers. Here are a few thoughts:

1) Are there relatives in your family who know beyond doubt from lifetime experience that Tom McGain Harding's birthday was April 12th ? Or does the 12th April 1891 birth day information come solely from relatives having ordered what they believe to be his birth certificate ? Is there any possibility that your Tom was a different child from the one whose parents were given as William McGain, civil engineer, and Martha Watterson/Watson (presumably so badly written that Martha's maiden name was difficult to read ?) As far as you know, has anyone seen the actual entry in the birth register, or only a transcribed copy from GRO ? What address did Martha give on the birth certificate ? It would be great if you'd scan it and attach it to a message so we can scrutinise it.

William McGain, future husband of Martha Watterson, was a labourer in 1881 so it's hard to imagine that he'd become a civil engineer 10 years later. Was Martha embroidering the truth, or was this a different William McGain ?

2) Was the "Mary McGain, lodger, married, 30, b Wolverhampton, Stafford" at 118 Borough Road, Birkenhead on 5th April 1891 , the mother-to-be of the baby named Tom/Thomas McGain who was adopted by Job and Mary Harding?

3) If Martha McGain nee Watterson was the mother of the baby adopted by the Hardings, did she use a different name (and birthplace ?) while she was living in Birkenhead for the birth ?

4)
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1911
Shore Road, Port St Mary

Ancestry's transcription:

Name Age
James Watterson 53
Martha Mc Gain 49
Annie Mc Gain 26
Ann Jane Halsall 52

all b Rushen
JW head
Martha Mc Gain sister married (28 years, 2 children/both alive)
AM niece
AJH boarder

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So was Martha telling the truth when she claimed to have had 2 children ? Was the mother of Tom McGain b 12th April 1891 a completely different person ?

Or did she have a 3rd child and manage to keep it a secret from her family ?

Jean