Hannah had a little LAMB

I’ve just spent a few days revisiting some old research and came across some notes I wrote regarding the LAMB family (starting with Reuben Henry LAMB):

Reuben Henry LAMB

18 April, 2005
Found in 1901 census with parents William & Hannah & sister Rosannah. In the same house(? – 1 & 2HC2 Willow Row) is Alice Green unwed mother of 3 year old son John Thomas. She is not listed as head – relationship is mother but she is only 30 so not mother of head William LAMB. Could she be William or Hannah’s sister – maybe Hannah’s maiden name is Green?) (Look for record of Hannah Green)

Find Hannah’s maiden name – marriage to unknown Bates. the marriage would be between 1872 – 1897 (SOLVED – see next entry)

22 April, 2005
Found William & Hannah in 1891 census – here Hannah, Rose & another son John are recorded under the name ROLLETT. Hannah is listed as married (not to William – he is single) and is William’s ‘housekeeper’.

This confirms Rose RICHARDS’ memory (of Rolletts) but Reuben’s birth certificate lists mother as Hannah BATES so this is probably her maiden name. The record of a Hannah BANNER (nee BATES) marrying a William Henry is confusing. Will need to find record to confirm this – marriage to WH should be between 1891-1898 (Reuben’s birth). Perhaps she married again before William Henry or perhaps this was bigamous (ROLLETTS may have gone AWOL)

William is listed as a sweep but is neither employer/employed. This could reflect his journeyman status (1901 census).

13 October, 2007
Found marriage record of Ann BANNER marrying William Henry LAMB in 1891 (IGI) – Her father is listed as James BATES and his as John LAMB. So this seems very likely to be them.

Found marriage record of Hannah BATES marrying Alexander ROLLETT in 1872. He was living with a Selina BANKS (possibly married to a Henry BANKS in 1874 nee GARTON) [in the 1881 census] but they were both recorded as married with 2 children of each other’s surname.

Hannah/Ann’s parents may be James BATES and Ann TILBURY who married in 1854. By the 1861 census, Ann was listed as a widower.

Could the name BANNER come from her mother’s new partner? Hannah was very young when her father seems to have died. OR perhaps Hannah used a false name to hide the fact she may not have been divorced?

The residence and profession match the 1891 census entry AND Reuben’s birth certificate, so this must be the same people but WHY has Hannah used a different name other than ROLLETT?  Her marriage record to Alexander has the same name and profession of her father (who has died before 1872).  She already lists herself as a widow – why not use the Rollett surname?  Could the clerk copying the entry have misread Rollett as Banner? It’s possible.

It’s also possible that Hannah had lost contact with her ex-husband and so labelled herself a widower in order to marry William – since Alexander Rollett still seems to be alive throughout the next few censuses.  I would need to see the original marriage entry to put that issue to rest.

UPDATE: I have come to the conclusion that Hannah used the name Ann BANNER when marrying William to hide from authorities the fact that her husband, Alexander ROLLETT was still alive.  Divorce was at the very least expensive and likely would not have been granted in those times (more info). Interestingly, Hannah continued to use the name Rollett and Lamb interchangeably through the rest of her life.

Next Steps:

• View original marriage entry of Lamb/Banner marriage to check for mistranscription no mistranscription
• Follow the trail of the Rollett children for any other clues
• Research adult chimney sweeps in the Victorian era