Thats very kind of you, Lynne. I just love to dig, and anything that even touches a Gelling gets me in there.

Something to consider is that you might never find a burial for first wife Mary Ann or a marriage for second wife Jane Fell. Mary Ann might be still alive, but husband William has moved on.

I have something similar with my g-g-grandparents William Gelling and Catharine Kewley who married in 1841 after several children had already been born. William is listed as a widower. I can't find a first wife anywhere. My guess is this mystery woman finally died, or else she disappeared early and he had to wait some kind of statutory limit. Was there a limit in those days? There's 7 years from first baby 1834 to marriage.