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John GRIGGS
1873 - 1873 (~ 0 years)
Has 15 ancestors but no descendants in this family tree.
Set As Default Person 
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Name John GRIGGS Relationship 
with Teresa Ann GOATHAM Born Dec Q 1873 Thanet Reg Dist, Kent, England 
- GRO ref: GRIGGS, John q4 1873 Thanet RD 2a 804; GRO online index shows mother's maiden name as Solly
Gender Male Died Dec Q 1873 Thanet Reg Dist, Kent, England - Unlike this siblings, older and younger, John was not with his parents at the time of the 1881 census, so it seems probable that this was his death.
GRO ref: Griggs, John q4 1873 aged 0 Thanet RD 2a 459
Siblings2 brothers and 2 sisters Half-siblings1 half sister (family of Stephen EPPS and Mary Ann SOLLY) Patriarch & Matriarch 
George GRIGGS, b. Abt 1744, d. 1784 (Age ~ 40 years) (2 x Great Grandfather)
Elizabeth, d. Yes, date unknown (Great Grandmother)Person ID I28978 All | England: Kent Group (in Go(a)tham One-Name Study), All in the Goatham / Gotham One-Name Study Last Modified 17 Jul 2019
Father James GRIGGS, b. Dec Q 1837, Mutrix, Margate, Kent, England , d. 9 Aug 1912, Holly Lodge, Lower Whitfield, Dover, Kent, England (Age ~ 75 years)
Other Partners: Louisa m. Mar Q 1893Mother Mary Ann SOLLY, b. Abt 1836, Yorkshire, Northdown, St. Peters, Broadstairs, Kent, England , d. Jun Q 1892, Eastry Reg Dist, Kent, England (Age ~ 56 years)
Other Partners: Stephen EPPS m. 28 Jan 1855Married 11 Apr 1862 St. John the Baptist Church, Margate, Kent, England - GRO ref: Griggs, James to Epps, Mary Elizabeth q2 1862 Thanet RD 2a 993
Details from PR entry (image on FMP, viewed 16 July 2019)
With a mother's maiden name of Solly recorded in the birth registration for their children, I searched for the marriage of a James Griggs to a Mary Ann Solly, and similar. I found none, suggesting Mary had married under a different surname. Fortunately the 1881 census shows a daughter not found by searching for Griggs with a mother's maiden name of Solly. In her case the mother's maiden name was recorded as Epps. It is not uncommon for a woman's previous married name to be recorded instead of her maiden name, or if she was known by two names before marrying for both to be used on the registrations of birth of different children. With Mary most likely having married James as a widow I looked for a Mary Ann SOLLY to an EPPS and found the one shown here. This not only fits what I was looking for, but Stephen and Mary Ann are not found in the 1861 or subsequent censuses, suggesting the marriage was not a coincidence involving a different Mary Ann SOLLY. Also, looking for EPPS birth registrations with a mother's maiden name of SOLLY found just the one, so nothing to rule out Mary Ann as the one who married James. At the time of the 1861 census Mary Ann and her daughter were with her parents, in 1871 her daughter was still (or again) with them; again nothing to rule out Mary Ann wife of Stephen as the one who married James. The death of a suitably aged Stephen EPPS between 1855 and 1862 would add weight to my theory that the two Mary Anns are one and the same. However, there is none in the death registration index. At first I thought he was probably a marineror fisherman or similar and had died at sea - no body, no death registration (or burial). However, when he married Mary Ann he was recorded as a thatcher. So had he died? - that is, was Mary Ann free to remarry?
I returned to looking for the marriage of James Griggs, this time to a widow Mary Epps rather than a spinster Mary Solly. I found one which half fits: it records spinster Mary Elizabeth EPPS, daughter of Michael EPPS. Was this coincidence, the marriage of a different James Griggs (there were quite a few in the area). I don't think it was.
If the priest had mistakenly thought she was a spinster and recorded her as such and therefore assumed her father's surname this would not explain the middle name. Was she marrying bigamously and changing small details to hide this? I think she was.
My reasons for thinking Mary Ann who
1. Father's Christian name of Michael for both brides; not the commonest of names (both also record him as a labourer but this is so common it adds little weight to the argument)
2. A witness at both marriages was a Sarah Elizabeth Solly - Mary Ann Solly had a sister with this name, and most often witnesses were siblings.
3. In the 1861 census Mary Ann EPPS née SOLLY is living in Northdown Road; when she married 'Mary Elizabeth EPPS' place of residence is shown as Northdown.
3. I can find no other marriage of a James Griggs to a Mary Ann to fit.
4. I can find no baptism of an Mary Elizabeth Epps to fit.
5. If this marriage is the right one but spinster Mary Elizabeth EPPS is not really widow Mary Ann EPPS née SOLLY then why does she appear as Mary A in the 1871, 1881 and 1891 censuses?
Family ID F11166 Family Group Page | Family Chart
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Event Map Click to hide 
Born - Dec Q 1873 - Thanet Reg Dist, Kent, England 
Died - Dec Q 1873 - Thanet Reg Dist, Kent, England = Link to Google Earth (if installed; see link below to install) Pin Legend 
