Hi Liz
Thank you for the prompt response. No doubt that Emma and Mary were illegitimate. No
Father is given on their birth certificates or on Emma's marriage certificate. If IGI
is to be believed, the record of their christening in October 1852 shows that Charles
Ansell was their father. He was a widower when he married Naomi in 1857. My belief is that
he was previously married to Mary who died suddenly (Visitation of God) in August 1852. In
a later census return his daughter Mary's surname is given as Ansell.
At some point I must go to England and look at the parish records in HALS, Hertford. I
need also to check WILLIAM Catley and SUSAN Carter m. 2 June 1805 at Codicote. They had a
daughter SARAH christened 30 June 1805 at Wheathampstead (IGI again). A SARAH Catley aged
30 was living in Kimpton at the time of the 1841 census.
Thanks again
Anthony