Genealogy Forum UK

Hi folks,

I'm hoping somebody might be able to point me in the right direction with a problem I'm having. One of my families change their name and I can't work out why? I suspect bankruptcy but that's only on the basis of a frail grand parent's comments. Here's what I know.

Arthur Benjamin Stafford (1865, Birmingham) married Angelina Duley (1867) in Birmmingham (1892). They had seven children in Birmingham between 1892 and about 1899. They are listed in the 1901 Census in Birmingham. By 1911 two of the children have died and another three children born, however, those latter children were born in Redditch. The family appears in the 1911 Census (with all the people and ages, etc) in Redditch. However, in the 1911 Census the family is listed using the "Duley" name. This coincides with a comment by a local known to the family that "some of them were Staffords and some of them were Duleys"

So somewhere between Census night in 1901 and when the next child was born in 1904, the family moved to Redditch and changed its name. The bankruptcy story obviously has some merit.

Any ideas how I could follow up on the bankruptcy idea? Were any records kept at that time? Does anyone have any other ideas or explanations?

Appreciate any and all help.

Cheers

David

Look in newspapers for the bankruptcy court cases.

I have had families change their name to the wife's maiden name because the in-laws were worried about the name dissapearing.

i.e. the only way the family name will continue is via the Son In Law changing his family name.

I know of at least two occurances of this happening in my tree.

In Australia we also go a lot of families changing name to dissaosicate themselves from a convict past.

Try googling their names, I did that with one of my lot and came up with something from the London Gazette.

Thanks for all the suggestions folks - now off to track them down!

Cheers

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