Family name of Isabella, wife of John Neal or Neill, married before 1798 Portsea, Hampshire, England

Question

Isabella was married to John Neal.  There are a couple of sources referencing a marriage to John Neal or Neill, but the dates do not match up  None of the sources in the research function give Isabella's birth family name., hence her actual age nor parents identities.  Any help would be much appreciated.

Answer 1

You've got Isabelle and John married in 1805, but 3 of their children were baptised several years before that date.

Comments

FindMyPast has a 1891 news story apparently referencing Isabella - it might have her birth name. Unfortunately, I don't have access to it.

---

That suggests that Isabella was widowed before the birth of the first Neal child in 1798.  Then panky was hankyed.

---

I have no access to that either.  1891 is a tad late though for a family with 1760ish birthdates.  Still, it would be good to find out what it says.

---

It might be something about one of the children, then referencing the parents.

---

It seems irregular, tho, that the register would have her name as Isabella/Bella Neal/Neill if she was not, in fact, legally entitled to that name.

If the register did. This should be checked.

---

People have been known to tell porkies to hide a social stigma.  They are not the only members of my family to have similar irregularities.  One other one was a widow who had children keeping house for a bachelor, and bearing him a child before they wed.  The Census records sorted that one out.

---

Yes, Isabella was indeed listed in the baptism records of her children as "John and Isabella/Bella Neal/Neill", as if they were married.

Interesting that the first two - sons John and Michael - were baptised at St Mary's Portsea, where the parents were married as "Neal", but the two daughters at St Thomas Portsmouth, as "Neill".

Neither of the parents were literate and may not have known the proper spelling of their name, leaving it to the parish clerk to record it as he would.

They were both "of this parish" at Portsea, but if Isabella's first marriage were at Portsmouth, that's a much bigger search.

---

As Lois has already pointed out, John Neal was baptised in Portsmouth in 1798 to "John and Isabella Neal". It would not be recorded like that if John and Isabella weren't married so you can forget the 1805 marriage, in a different parish, between John Neill and Isabella Robinson. It's a different couple.

I subscribe to FindMyPast but can't see this 1891 story. If someone can post a link or instructions I'll look it up for you.

---

I fear that link must be buried under dozens of different searches by now.

You're right - I kept trying to fit that marriage into the baptismal records, but it just doesn't.

---

I am descended from Elizabeth, bourn 1803, so this is kind of important.

If it is not Isabella Robinson, widow, the only other candidate was Isabella Atkinson, for which Ancestry.com has one record. She does not appear on any of the other sites that Roots Search links to. There is an Atkinson married to John Neal in Durham both born 1821 in the Ancestry list of trees.

---

Name:	Isabella Atkinson
Gender:	Female
Marriage Date:	19 Oct 1795
Marriage Place:	Romsey,Hampshire,England
Spouse:	John Perry

---

Interesting, but not a lot of help unless Miss Atkinson was incredibly unlucky in her choice of husbands. ;)

The search goes on.

---

That was the only listing at Ancestry. I believe Atkinson can be crossed off the list.

Tis better to have an Unknown than a wrong name. An Unknown may one day become known, the wrong name can endure forever.

---

Just so.  Ill delete the wedding record and edit Isabella's profile.