Can anybody find Amos?

[Mary from Italy]

I thought I'd put up a query about this guy before, but a search hasn't turned up anything, so perhaps I didn't.

The man I'm looking for is Amos Squire or Squires, born Woodhouse Eaves, Leicestershire in 1842, son of Samuel and Ann (birth registered as Squire).

I have him on the 1851 censuses with his parents:

http://search.ancestry.co.uk/iexec?htx=view&r=5538&dbid=8860&iid=LEIHO107_2087_2087-0278&fn=Amos&ln=Syuire&st=d&ssrc=&pid=9684181

and in 1861, when he's an apprentice butcher, living next door to his future wife Elizabeth Tompkin(s) and her family in Leicester:

http://search.ancestry.co.uk/iexec?htx=view&r=5538&dbid=8767&iid=LEIRG9_2282_2287-1065&fn=John+W&ln=Tompkins&st=d&ssrc=&pid=21605098

In 1865 he married Elizabeth at St. George's Church, Leicester (I have the cert). He was a butcher at the time of his marriage.

The problem is that I can't find any trace of him at all after the marriage.

In 1871, Elizabeth is living with her parents at the same address (132 Wharf Street, Leicester) as in 1861; she says she's married, but Amos isn't with her:

http://search.ancestry.co.uk/iexec?htx=view&r=5538&dbid=7619&iid=LEIRG10_3271_3274-0261&fn=Elizth&ln=Squires&st=r&ssrc=&pid=24450746

In 1880 she remarries, to my GG-grandfather William Wood North (who coincidentally had a butcher's shop at 134 Wharf Street in 1875). I don't have that cert, but I know it was the same Elizabeth who married both men, because her brother John Widdowson Tompkin was a witness to her marriage to Amos, and also William Wood North's executor.

I'm curious about Amos because I can't find a likely death or census entry, and I'm wondering if he actually had died when Elizabeth remarried. Haven't found an emigration either.

Can anyone find anything I've missed?

[Nell]

Mary


Have you tried looking for him with just his initials, he might be in some kind of institution.

[Mary from Italy]

Yes, that drew a blank too, unfortunately.

[Nell]

I thought you probably had! Well, he might just be one of those irritating chaps who just doesn't appear on censuses. Or he might have emigrated. Or he is badly mistranscribed.

Pity we don't know if Elizabeth describes herself as a widow on the 2nd marriage cert - not that it would mean she was of course!

Do you know if this is a connection:

Name: Henry Amos Squires
Birth: Jan 1869 - Grantham, Leicestershire, Lincolnshire

[Tom Tom]

Have tried on the 1871 but turning up nothing... sorry.

[Mary from Italy]

I don't think the Grantham one is connected, Nell, but thanks for the suggestion. Grantham is actally in Lincs; I've followed an Amos Squires born in Lincs c. 1847 through the censuses, and there seems to be no connection at all with my Amos.

Thanks for trying, Tom - isn't it annoying!

[Merry]

I tend to think the combination of a missing husband followed by a remarriage for the wife in combination with no death reg for the husband suggests one of these:

He emigrated

He went into the services and died abroad

He changed his name to avoid being found

He died with a different name or died out of the UK

He died with no name (ie the authorities didn't know who the body was)

He died and was thought to be somone else

Most of the above probably after being estranged from his wife/family

[Mary from Italy]

Yes, I'd already thought of some of those. Beginning to wonder if I've found yet another bigamous marriage in my tree.

[Merry]

Did he have any children with his wife?

[Mary from Italy]

No, not as far as I can see. There are quite a few Squire(s) births in Leicester, but I haven't found any baptisms, and there are no children with Elizabeth on the censuses, or with the grandparents, so I assume that if there were any, they'd died before 1871.

[Mary from Italy]

Just noticed on the new LDS site that a Benjamin Squires from Woodhouse Eaves died in Ontario, so I'll have a closer look at Canadian records.

[Merry]

Just noticed on the new LDS site that a Benjamin Squires from Woodhouse Eaves died in Ontario, so I'll have a closer look at Canadian records.

Oooh, interesting! *crosses everything*

[Mary from Italy]

Hm. There's an Amos Squires of exactly the right age in Michigan in 1880, with a wife and children, but he says he was born in Canada, and that his father was born in NY and mother in Canada. Still, worth investigating a bit further just in case.

EDIT: no, I've found him on earlier censuses in Canada, so he isn't mine.

[Merry]

How annoying!

[Mary from Italy]

No luck so far.

I've found Benjamin Squire's emigration to Canada in 1871, and his marriage, census, death and burial records in Canada. No sign of Amos, though.

Benjamin, born c. 1824, was the son of John and Mary (according to his marriage entry), possibly from Woodhouse or Woodhouse Eaves (not sure where the LDS has got that information from, though).

There's a matching Benjamin with the right age and parents living in Woodhouse Eaves in 1841. Amos's parents were also living there, but there are no baptisms for the area on the LDS site, so I can't tell if or how Amos and Benjamin were related, although I imagine they were.

Benjamin's Canadian records were quite easy to find, but there's nothing showing up for Amos, so either he didn't go there or he used a different name.

[Kit]

It's interesting that she married the apprentice butcher and then the real butcher from the same shop, unless her parents were surrounded by butchers.

[DKel]

Hi Mary

I found your query seconday to some research I was doing on a Squire family of Woodhouse Eaves.

There is an Amos Squire who died on 8 March 1876, a 32yo native of England. His grave is in Greenwood Cemetery, Brantford, Brantford Township, Brant County, Ontario, Canada. On initial inspection it could be him.

I'm interested to know the details of Amos grandparents and great grandparents if you have them. A brother of an ancestor of mine is a Samuel Squire of Woodhouse Eaves born 23.11.1811. His parents were Joseph Squire and Mary Foulds. Joseph's parents were Thomas Squire and Ann Sarson. Mary's parents were Benjamin Foulds and Ann Haddon. Is this the same family?

Cheers
Darran

[Mary from Italy]

Hi Darran, nice to hear from you.

According to his marriage cert to Elizabeth, Amos was the son of Samuel Squires, hosier, and an Amos Squire was living with parents Samuel and Ann in Woodhouse at the time of the 1851 census. That Samuel was a master stocking maker, so I assume it's the right Amos.

There were two children called Amos Squire born between the 1841 and 1851 censuses in the Barrow on Soar RD, which includes Woodhouse: one in 1842 and one in 1845. However, there's only one Amos Squire(s) born in Leicestershire on the 1851 census (and no obvious death for the other one).

My Amos was aged 9 in 1851 and 19 in 1861, which fits well with the 1842 birth.

The Brantford burial does look interesting (I've found it on interment.net now, thanks), but I think it's unlikely to be my Amos, unfortunately. According to the familysearch site there was an Amos Squire, born England, in Brantford in 1851 (aged 8), 1861 (aged 16) and 1871 (aged 23). This clearly can't be my Amos because he was in England at the time of the 1851 and 1861 censuses, and in 1861 he's living right next door to Elizabeth Tompkin, who he married 4 years later.

I would guess that the Amos born in Leics. in 1845 emigrated with his family before 1851, and was the one who died in Brantford. If so, he won't be the son of Samuel and Ann, because the other Amos is in Woodhouse with those parents in 1851.

I'm afraid I don't have any other information about the Squire(s) family; I'm descended from William Wood North's first marriage, and I was just curious to know whether his second marriage was bigamous or not.

Mary

[Mary from Italy]

There's this marriage in Chatham, Kent County, Ontario in 1875; it doesn't relate to my Amos because the parents are wrong. No idea if it's the same Amos who died in Brantford:

4149-75 (Kent County) Amos Harris SQUIRES, 30, farmer, Canada, Raleigh twp, s/o of Ebenezer & Hannah, married Charlotte LOBDELL, 20, Canada, Harwich twp, d/o David & Mary, witn: John E. SQUIRES Jnr. & John E. SQUIRES Snr., Twp. of Harwich, January 14, 1875, Chatham

http://homepages.rootsweb.ancestry.com/~maryc/kent75.htm

This Amos and wife Charlotte had a son Joseph born in Chatham on 25 January 1876. I haven't found Ebenezer and Hannah's marriage or their son Amos's birth/baptism yet.

[DKel]

Hi Mary.

I was hoping I may have had something for you.

I had noted the 1842 and 1845 Amos also.

I have a Samuel Squire in my family, who I have not investigated yet. I had noted a marriage between a Samuel Squire and Ann around the correct time in the correct area, but had not linked it in as my Samuel yet. When those names came up in your query I thought it was worth asking.

Will investigate further... amongst the numerous other searches I have on the list to do.

Hope you get there one day.

Regards
Darran

Incidentally... one thing to note is Squire and Squires are 2 distinct families in Woodhouse Eaves, however some transcription errors in data have seen confusion arise between the 2 families... making research a little more challenging

[Mary from Italy]

Yes, I'd noticed that, which does complicate things.

Good luck with your search!

Mary

[DKel]

Mary

If I may trouble you, what age do you have Samuel and Ann as in the 1851 census? Do you have a maiden name for Ann ?

Thanks

[Mary from Italy]

Samuel was 37 and Ann 35, both born in Woodhouse and living in Eaves Street, Woodhouse. He was a master stocking maker employing 6 men and 3 boys.

His nephew Collin Squire, 12, born Woodhouse, was living with them. Collin was with a Thomas and Mary Evans in 1841.

I assume this is the correct marriage:

Woodhouse, 3/3/1834
Samuel Squire OTP, bachelor
Ann Foulds OTP, spinster

[DKel]

Thanks Mary

The Samuel I will be looking at was born 23.11.1811.
The 1851 census derived dob of 1814 is close enough for it to possible it is the same person.

The nephew doesnt fit in with anything I have yet. However if on census he is with another family in 1841 and then his uncle in 1851, I would not have seen him on census with his family. (If my family he would be a child of Isaac Squire, who was married in 1834 also. Census data for Isaac suggests he had a child in 1835, then another in 1851. I would think there have to be others in between, so Collin in 1839 could fit.)

The marriage you have listed was the one I was provisionally looking at. Of note my Samuel Squire mother is Mary Foulds. There are quite a few marriages between Squire and Foulds in Woodhouse Eaves. I cant find any alternate marriage records for Samuel which may fit.

Thanks. This gives me a little more to explore with. I havent looked at this line yet, but it is starting to look interesting.

D :)

[DKel]

And if it is indeed the same Samuel, I will also be keen to follow up on Amos.