Mysterious name change?

I had spotted a likely marriage of one of husband's Flemings, Janet b 1840 to James Smith coal miner in 1860 in Patna but could find no further trace of them.
I thought no more about it until I had an email suggesting that Janet was the wife of James Scullion. Further investigation revealed that they were recorded in the 1861 census as Scullion. I got the marriage certificate from scotlandspeople for more information. It was the right Janet Fleming and his parents were Hugh Smith, seaman and Sarah Mclean.
Ancestry research goes so much better when there are more than one of you researching and coming at it from different angles. The Scullions were from Ireland. We locate the family in the 1851 census at the Netherton Coal works in East Kilpatrick, Dunbartonshire. Sarah Scullion is a widow, a house servant, born Ireland 1811. Three children are with her John Scullion 20 a coal miner, Mary Ann Scullion 18 a dressmaker and the aforementioned James Scullion all born Ireland.
In the 1861 census James and wife Janet (Fleming) along with baby Elizabeth (named after Janet's mother following Scottish naming patterns) are at Gartnavel Farm in the parish of Govan in Glasgow and with them is his mother Sarah aged 50 formerly a servant. He is still a coal miner.
So why was he calling himself Smith when he got married? I and the other researcher exchanged emails with all sorts of suggestions and I posted a query on the talkingscot forum. At last, an experienced researcher came up with what I am satisfied with is the solution.
Irish James, the nervous groom, would be asked his name. "Smith" was how the registrar heard it. When asked father's name he answered Hugh. Since James was illiterate (from his x mark on the marriage certificate) and Janet was barely literate (from her handwriting) they did not know that the wrong name had been recorded. Sometimes you just have to picture the situation!
Baby Elizabeth, born in December 1860, is registered by her mother as Elizabeth Fleming Smith. I can only presume that Janet had the marriage certificate with her to prove the baby was legitimate. The next child John born 1863 is registered Scullion with no mention of Smith. The only other mention of Smith is on wife Janet's death certificate where Smith is middle name of her husband, informant their son John.
I have emailed scotlandspeople to ask how the Scullions could have sorted this out, if there is a record of it.
As for James's father Hugh who was deceased by 1851, he is variously recorded as a seaman, a farm servant and a seaman in the US navy! Another mystery to be solved!

Check out the siblings and in-laws!

I always include other members of the family, brothers and sisters, the in-laws and even check out the neighbours who often turn out to be family members.

Sometimes I chide myself that I have too much information, but often it turns out to be useful information.

Having the siblings on your tree makes it easy to find the correct family in other censuses, even with surname mistranscriptions.

When children are orphaned, which happened often enough, they are taken in by other family members, grandparents, aunts and uncles, older siblings.

Here is a recent example.

Christina Moffat Smith daughter of a Muirkirk shoemaker, married a butcher from Galashiels George Fairbairn. They had 3 children before George died in Monte Video, Paraguay in 1868. Quite what he was doing in Paraguay is still to be discovered, but another researcher found his death notice in a Gala newspaper.

The 2 oldest children were with the Smith grandparents in 1871 in Muirkirk and in 1881 she and all three children are with her family in Muirkirk. I had to search long and hard for Christina and 2 year old Agnes in 1871. It was only by going through her siblings in turn that I found her. In 1871 they are in Glasgow with 2 of her brothers and a nephew (son of another brother).

Even when you find people lodging with another family with an unknown name, check for marriages between the two names. For example, today I found Mary Oliphant and husband Hugh Philp visiting Thomas Methven and wife Margaret. A quick check for Thomas and Margaret's marriages reveal her to be Margaret Oliphant. Result!

George Thompson, or is he?

I was contacted this week by a lady whose great grandfather married into my Raes in 1888. She was having trouble finding anything on him earlier. On the marriage certificate in Ayrshire his name is George E Ellerington Thompson, father William Thompson gardener and mother Rachel Thompson, maiden surname Ellerington, deceased.

From the 1891 and 1901 censuses he was born about 1852 in England (big place).

I though with such a distinctive name he would be easy to find. Silly me.

First I looked for his parents' marriage, on the IGI and freebmd. Nothing. Then tried for a birth using various wildcards to account for spelling variations eg Thom*on would include both Thomson and Thompson spellings. Also drew a blank. Asked if she knew what the other E stood for - it was Edgar. He had an earlier first marriage in Ayrshire in 1884. His father William was an engine driver then. Seemed a bit different from gardener. So tried Edgar too. Nothing.

Then concentrated on the mother Rachel Ellerington. I found her in the 1851 census in Yorkshire, working as a house servant. This must have been quite soon before the birth of George. Tried looking in Yorkshire for his birth. Still no luck. Looked for a death for Rachel Ellerington. Nothing. Then looked for a marriage just of Rachel, not William Thomson and found one in 1857 to either Henry Canty or Barnabas Clark Pottle - you just get the names on the page for all the marriages and have to work out the pairings for yourself. I tried Henry Canty first and bingo here they are in 1861 census in Lincolnshire and in 1871 along with an Edgar Canty who is too old to be Henry's son. George Edgar must be illegitimate. I should really have thought of this sooner. But it contradicts the information George gave on both his marriage certificates.
Given that he was known as Edgar in 1861 I tried for Edgar Ellerington and, whoopee, there he was. I also found him in 1861 census as Edgar Ellerington with his Ellerington grandparents.
But where did "George" come from and who was "William Thomson"? Grandfather William Ellerington was a gardener and stepfather Henry Canty was an engine driver. Could William Thomson be made up? And if so, why?

Wondered if Edgar Ellerington had a criminal past. Happily that doesn't seem to be the case.

I still have to locate him in 1881 census. On both marriage certificates he was working as a pit bottomer. In the 1891 and 1901 censuses he was working in a pottery in Cumnock. He died in 1905, only 52. His wife had already died so he left 5 orphans under the age of 16.

I found the death of Rachel (Ellerington) Canty in 1871 aged 37. The previous but one entry was for Rachel Canty age 0. Seems like she died not long after giving birth.

The only hope may be the 1881 census. No Edgar Elleringtons. But lots of William Thomsons - none fit. But who knows what name to search under? Only thing that is definite is he was born in Hornsea in the third quarter of 1853. Any suggestions?

Footnote on 6 Sep: Working on the premise that he knew his father was William Thompson, then WT had to have been around in Yorkshire in 1852 so had a closer look at 1851 census and have found a possible William in Sculcoates (about half an hour from Hornsea) whose father was George. He has emigrated to USA by 1856 which would account for no further sightings of him! Absolutely no way of proving any of this, unfortunately.