Sephtons

Hello I'm looking to find an ancestor of mine a Sarah Mitchell Linn Born 1900/1901 who in 1941 married a William Henry Sephton Born 1887 was aged 54 when married in Coventry, on the marriage certificate both had been married before & both their previous partners had died. At this stage I don't know who these previous partners were as I can't find marriages for them, they may have married in another county in England. At the moment all I have on Sarah is this marriage certificate with William in Coventry, she was born in Scotland. Her Father was John Linn, William Henry's father was a William Sephton. So I am trying to find when Sarah & William passed away, this may or may not be in Coventry, and was hoping someone could help me the addresses on the certificate are, Sarah lived at 48 Eden Street & William lived at 741 Stoney Stanton Road Coventry. Hope someone can assist me. Kind regards Murphyslib

Hi Murphyslib and welcome to the forum. First of all I do know that Scottish records are not as accessible as English ones so if Sarah returned to Scotland you may have a problem. I have had a quick look at Ancestry and I don't want to lead you on a wild goose chase but a Sarah M Sephton married Finlay J McDonald 2nd qtr 1944 ref 6d 1750 is it possible that William Henry Sephton died and she remarried. There are a couple of William Henry Sephton's who died between 1941 and 1944. Good luck with your search.

Hello, Murphyslib, could you post a scan of the marriage certificate? In my experience a widow's married name appears on the certificate, sometimes with her maiden name, and her married name will be different to her father's name. As Annewiggy says, Scottish records aren't as easy to research but let's see what we can find in England!

There is a Sarah Linn on the 1901 Scotland census. She is 2 months old at the time, daughter of John Linn, aged 29, and his wife Jessie, aged 25. She has a sister named Agnes who is 4. Sarah was born in Midcalder, Midlothian and at the time of the census is living in Yellowstruthers cottages, Midcalder. I cannot see a census image on Ancestry. However, someone has a Linn/Lind family tree which contains this record and in this tree Sarah's father is shown as John Mitchell Linn, son of Andrew Steele Lind and Sarah Mitchell. There is no further information about your Sarah Mitchell Linn in this tree but there is more about the Linn/Lind family. Let me know if you need any information I can find about Sarah's ancestors.

Hi thanks for your reply, I have all this information you stated, I'm just looking for both 1st marriages + both deaths for Sarah & William, I don't know how to upload an image on this site yet, Regards Murphyslib

Hi thanks for your reply, will have to give this a thought, it is possible that William died and Sarah married again for a third time. Regards Murphyslib

Based on censuses, BMD data and some guesswork: The only item that does not tie up is William's date of birth which I believe to be c1881. There are no William Sephton births in the area for 1886-1888. William married Mary Ann Riley in 1903. In the 1911 census they have been married for 8 years and are at 741 Stoney Stanton Road with 1/3 living child Arthur. She died in 1932, and he married Sarah M Linn in 1941. He died in 1944. More speculatively, she remarried in the same year to Finlay James McDonald and died in Coventry in 1966. Finlay died in Bournemouth in 1973. These Sephtons appear to be unusual in that they do not appear to be part of the large Sephton family of canal boatbuilders.

Thanks, Murphyslib. Elusive lady, isn't she? I can't quite make out her occupation from the image but I'm not sure that would help in finding her. I've tried finding this particular William Sephton on Ancestry but there are quite a few around Coventry at the time. I did discover that there was a William Sephton at 741 Stoney Stanton Road as far back as 1912, thanks to Spennel's Directory, but could not find the property on the 1911 census. There were also Sephtons living in Eden Street at that time. Obviously we (or at least I) don't know when Sarah came to Coventry but it occurred to me that perhaps someone on this list who has access to 1930s directories might be able to look up both addresses and see who was living there. The Eden Street address may or may not house Sarah's family in the thirties but it's worth a shot.

Hi all, does this help? William Henry Sephton 741 Stoney Stanton Rd - 1926/7 Coventry Directory (I don't have Eden Street on file). William Henry Sephton 741 Stoney Stanton Rd - 1955/6 Coventry Directory. William Sephton 16 Eden Street 1955/6 Coventry Directory. Frank James Duffy 741 Stoney Stanton Rd - 1955/6 Coventry Directory. All Sephton's from 1935/6 Coventry Directory; Alfred 11, Tusses Bridge (Walsgrave). Andrew, 281 Lythall's Lane. Arthur, 14 Sutton Stop. Bertie, 29 Hurst Road. Frank, 54 Henley Road. George, 28 Hawkesbury Lane. Jas (James), 88 Wheelwright's Lane. John, 172 Alderman's Green Road. John, 144 Cross Road. John, 32 Eden Street. Oliver, 32 Sutton Stop. Richard, 284 Grange Road. Thomas Enoch, 26 Queen Street. Tom, 30 Hawkesbury Lane. William Henry, 741 Stoney Stanton Road. Wm, Henry, 155 Longford Road. Wm, Frederick, 12 Tusses Bridge (Walsgrave).

Hi Annewiggy Thanks for the info, I have now sent for the Sefton/McDonald Marriage in 1944, and await to see what it throws up. Will keep you posted. Regards Murphyslib

Hi philex31 Thanks for the info, I have now sent for the Sefton/McDonald Marriage in 1944, and await to see what it throws up. Will keep you posted. Great information on the 1911 Census thank you, just have to find when Sarahs first marriage was and to whom, I know she was still in Scotland in June 1920 as she was a witness at her sister Agnes's wedding and still named Sarah Mitchell Linn. Regards Murphyslib

Hi Heathite Many thanks for your this information, further research required to find out just how much it helps, but just looking at it Im excited about it all. Regards Murphyslib

Hi Primrose May thanks for your help with this, Sarah's occupation was an Examiner Machine Tools Works, and Williams was a Viewer Motor Works. Regards Murphyslib

Be sure and let us know what you find out. I'm still wondering how Sarah's surname was still Linn as a widow - she married a cousin, never married but claimed to be a widow, someone made a mistake on the certificate???? Intriguing!