Robinson family struggles

I am comforted by the belief that every family history research progression runs into difficulties. However, I am beginning to think my difficulties may be too much to bear. I have run into a dead end in the research of the English branch of my family tree. Much of the difficulty comes from the cruel reality of how fleeting life was during the industrial revolution of the mid-19th century, and how tracing family history can be complicated by early deaths and missing records.

My ancestor, Wilberforce Holden Robinson was born in a suburb of Manchester, UK, in 1858. This part of the story is well evidenced, by an official birth record form the General Register Office and Anglican Church records:

I have been able to document Wilberforce’s mother, Mary, quite extensively. She was born in 1821, in Thistleton, Lancashire. Her maiden name was Thompson. She married a man named Richard Robinson in 1837 and they had two children, Richard and Agnes. In 1847, Richard Robinson, Sr., died of a fever, while they lived in Little Bolton, Lancashire. Richard’s death was documented in two separate newspapers.

In 1851, a census record indicated Mary lived in Southport, Lancashire, with her two children, Richard and Agnes. The record indicates she is a widow.

The next records including Mary are the birth record and baptismal record of her sons, Joseph and Wilberforce, in 1855 and 1858. The father of the sons is Joseph Robinson. Yes, she had children with another Robinson.

However, this is were I have a hole in my research. I can’t locate any marriage records for Mary and Joseph. I expected to find a marriage record in between the 1851 census record, and the birth of Joseph, Jr., in 1855.

After the records referencing her sons, the next record I can find of Mary is another census record in 1861. This record again indicates Mary is a widow and lives in Blackley, Lancashire, with children, Agnes, Joseph, and Wilberforce. There is also another record in 1861 for Mary. This record is another birth record for a child of Mary’s, Alice.

On this record, the father filed is left blank. It is not clear what the blank father field means. It could either suggest Mary did not know who the father was, or possibly that the father had died. This will have to remain a mystery. However, I feel like the latter explanation is more plausible due to the fact that the census record in that same year did not list Joseph and showed Mary was a widow. This would suggest Mary’s second husband, Joseph, died during 1860 or 1861, after the conception of Alice.

This is the point of my search that creates frustration. I would like to identify Joseph Robinson. However, I can’t find any information on when or where he was born. I also have conflicting information about what his occupation was. On Wiberforce’s birth record Joseph is listed as a “Drysalter,” on Wiberforce’s baptismal record Joseph is listed as a “Builder,” and on Wilberforce’s later marriage record Joseph is listed as a deceased “Clerk in the Holy Orders.”

Mystery remains, but I will continue the pursuit and discover the next branch of my Robinson family tree.