Untangle me.....

[samesizedfeet]

1861 census: RG9; Piece: 2746; Folio: 24; Page: 14

Joseph Houghton, c1810, Windle, Lancs HEAD
Margaret Houghton, c1816, Sutton Lancs, wife
William Houghton c1848, Sutton Lancs, son


1871 census:RG10; Piece: 3869; Folio: 38; Page: 6

William is now married and living with his wife but just down the page is a John Houghton also born Sutton, Lancs.

Living with John is:

Joseph Houghton, c1810, Windle, Lancs "Boarder"
Margaret Houghton, c1816, Sutton, Lancs "Mother"



So - if Margaret is his mother surely Joseph is his father. Unless John is from a first marriage - but if he's spiteful enough to refer to his stepfather as a "boarder" why take his surname?

Or else I could have yet another series of intermarriages in one family.

I've been at work for 7 hours and my brain isn't coping well with this at the minute. (only 2.5 more to go)

Any one with clearer vision very welcome to point out the obvious to me

Z
x

[samesizedfeet]

panic over - some straight thinking found them n 1851 where they are all one happy faimly.

See, work is BAD for you. It took me nearly 20 minutes of fretting to figure out I just had to find them in 1851

[Olde Crone]

Zoe

Worry not!

I often have similar problems where my dim ancestors have misunderstood the instructions for filling in the census and put things like "visitor" to describe the woman I know is their mother, lol.

OC

[Nell]

I found a girl once, as a "boarder" with an elderly lady who turned out to be her grandmother, twice married and widowed. It was only when I traced the grandmother's second marriage I discovered this.

I also have in my husband's family a poor lad who is described as "servant" when he was the householder's son!!!

[ElizabethHerts]

My great-great-grandmother had a "visitor" with her on the 1891 census. It was actually her granddaughter from her first marriage. She was living with her daughter and son-in-law and their son (my grandfather) and was the householder. It took me ages to discover this was indeed her granddaughter, and I don't think my mum ever knew!