Joseph Stephen

annie1 · Post by **annie1** » Tue Aug 28, 2007 9:10 am

Hi All,

For Two years now I have been searching for the death of a Joseph Stephen, he was b. 1820 in Benholm, Kincardine.

I found Joseph married to a Jane Barclay and have the couple in census from 1861-1891, then Jane dies in 1894, at Colthill Edzell, where they were residing in the 1891 census, she was the widow of Joseph Stephen, no problem I thought in finding Joseph's death!!!! but no!!

I have tried all variations of Stephen, as he was named Joseph Stiven in the 1851 census, I even tried just using Joe as a first name, now I am hoping someone can offer me fresh ideas for this search as I am truly stuck!

Ann

Russell · Post by **Russell** » Tue Aug 28, 2007 10:29 am

Hi Ann

You are right about him disappearing off the map !
The nearest I could find were John Stephen b 1822 d 1894 in Banchory Devenick and another John Stephen b 1818 d 1901 in Fordoun.
Even with wild cards and a vivid imagination nothing else came up even extending his age range widely nothing was coming up at all. It looks like he was not in the same county when he died.
Recently I had to track all the children in one family to find out where their mother was actually staying when she died and she had travelled from Fife across to visit her sister in Port Glasgow not one of her children at all. Most inconsiderate!!
The only thing which attracted us to her name among a dozen others was her age. At least her sister got that right which is more than you can say for many other Death entries we have found

I guess you will need a few more clues to point you in the right direction to find him.

Russell

Post by **AnneM** » Tue Aug 28, 2007 10:34 am

Hi Ann

I have to say that I think your ancestor was abducted by aliens!! He does not appear to have died in Scotland. A quick look at FreeBMD has not given me anything in England either but they do not have all the records.

Anne

annie1 · Post by **annie1** » Tue Aug 28, 2007 12:47 pm

Hi Russell & Anne,

Thank you for your replies, I do like the Alien abduction

Well it would make good reading!!!

The couple had no children together, which might have helped, I have three possibilities:

Was Jane Stephen( Barclay) really a widow?
Did he drown and maybe his body was never found?
Could someone who registered his death have got his name wrong?

Oh Well, I am off to rake out some old notes and start from scratch again, I do like a good mystery

Ann

DavidWW · Post by **DavidWW** » Tue Aug 28, 2007 2:39 pm

Alien abduction is a suprisingly popular theory

but I've yet to come across a proven case

It may be that the record is hiding behind a completely impenetrable index entry, - and that could be back at the time, never mind more modern times, in which case you are st****d, I'm afraid.

There are a couple of possibilities, however......

Firstly, did any kids emigrate?, if only to England?, as it's not unknown for even quite elderly people to emigrate to join a child, - I can quote a couple in their 70s journeying to NZ ...........

Secondly, while you've tried wildcards, have you tried them on the basis of the initial letter of the surname being mis-indexed, - "St" strikes me as a combination that could easily be misread.

In other words, search on the basis of *phen or *ven, or even *ph*n or *v*n, along with the given name; if there are too many hits then decrease the number by refining the search by means of restricting the geographical area and/or setting a value for his year of birth.

It's most likely that the record is there somewhere ...... but it's always possible that it was (a) missed out of the index, or (b) never made ........

David

PS I can also quote several cases where the wife reported herself as a widow, when she was not, including one of my own great-grandmothers !, - in other words don't ignore that possibility, i.e. a later date.
dww

Post by **AnneM** » Tue Aug 28, 2007 3:26 pm

No luck with a leading wildcard. Alien abduction looking increasingly likely.

Anne

Russell · Post by **Russell** » Tue Aug 28, 2007 5:00 pm

Hi Ann

Tried Googling for Benholm and out of several pages of sites only one possibly relevant one came up.

http://freepages.family.rootsweb.com/~wlonie/pafg20.htm

At least this one proves there were others of the Stephens family name staying in that area.
Like David, I have yet to find a verifiable alien abduction(doesn't put me off trying though!).

Russell

annie1 · Post by **annie1** » Tue Aug 28, 2007 7:34 pm

Hi All,

I tried leading wildcard too Ann, David, thank you for even more tips and advice, do you mean that the death might not have been registered? or just no record. I had looked at Ellis Island a while back as the same thought crossed my mind, but nothing!
I have about 20 Stephen's from the Benholm area Russell, but I checked all the cousins and brothers but he's not there.
I had a look at the families that moved further away too, but he's not there, he had always been a farm servant, but was an annuitant at the age of 69, I dont know where the income came from or could it have been savings?
Maybe he did just take off!! Oh well, back to the Alien Theory for now, ahem!!

Ann

Currie · Post by **Currie** » Wed Aug 29, 2007 5:53 pm

Hello Ann,

A search on SP of all Counties for the death of a Joseph Stephen born 1820 +/-10 brings up only one result i.e. a Joseph Stephen born 1820, died 1875 in Angus. Have you had a look at this death?

I guess it depends on how rock solid is your 1881 and 1891 census info.

I've no idea of what the chances would be of a farm servant suddenly becoming the recipient of an annuity sufficient to be his main means of support but guess it would be a bit out of the ordinary.

Any other possible discrepancies in 1881/1891? Could you have the wrong census info? Maybe Jane acquired another Joseph Stephen for 1881/1891.

Anyhow to get back to the point it all depends whether you think the 1875 death is worth checking.

Hope this helps.
Alan

Post by **paddyscar** » Wed Aug 29, 2007 6:49 pm

A very long shot, but have you thought of someone perhaps reporting/recording his name as Stephen Joseph, rather than Joseph Stephen? Perhaps the person reporting his death (perhaps a co-worker/employer) was not very long acquainted or very upset at the circumstances.

Frances