Winder History - A Crossroads, Part II

With a still limited, but somewhat enhanced factual base, it's time to consider/speculate about the major uncertainties of Winder family history during the 1850's and early 1860's.  There is evidence which suggests that by the mid 1850's, Mary Ricketts had left home and was no longer on good terms with her father, Samuel.  Samuel's 1854 marriage to a woman six years his senior after both had been widowed for a number years may have been due to love or at least mutual attraction, but it was not uncommon for poor people in 19th century Britain and America to remarry simply to maintain their households.  Mary's leaving home for whatever reason could have been part of Samuel's motivation for the second marriage.   Whether this is accurate or not, Mary's giving birth to two children some place other than her father's home (especially having one in the workhouse) seems to speak volumes about their relationship or lack thereof.  Finally Samuel himself died in the very same workhouse in April of 1879 at a time when William and Mary very likely could have afforded to take him into their own home in Worcester.

Marriage Certificate of Samuel Ricketts and Ann Wilcox

Whether a family split was attributable to Mary's two illegitimate children is impossible to say, but it brings us to the main question of the father of the two boys.  There are, of course, limited possibilities; William was the father of both James and Arthur, the father of only Arthur or was not the father of either boy.  Another possibility is that William was James' father, but no Arthur's, but that seems to fly in the face of common sense.  The simplest and, therefore, the most likely answer is that William was not the father of either child.  Under this scenario, Mary has two children with a man or men, she couldn't/wouldn't marry, moves to Worcester after leaving the Martley workhouse and meets William, who she then marries.  This would also explain the nine month gap between William's discharge (which meant he was free to marry) and their July, 1862 marriage.

Birth Certificate of James Ricketts (Winder)

While this may be the most likely explanation, it's not a big reach to believe William was Arthur's father.  Arthur was conceived some time in the second quarter of 1860 and William was in Worcester on recruiting duty for all of 1860.  William and Mary could easily have met then and conceived a child, with Mary having no alternative to the workhouse when Williams was recalled to his regiment in Ireland about the time Mary was due to give birth.  We need to bear in mind that army privates like William couldn't marry without permission which was reportedly given less than 10% of the time.  The workhouse has a justifiably bad reputation, but the experience varied from place with some being more than satisfactory.  It's not impossible that the best temporary alternative for Mary and her two small children was to live in the workhouse for part of the eight months William was in Ireland.  This does not, of course, explain the nine month gap between the subsequent discharge and marriage.

Birth Certificate of Arthur Henry Ricketts (Winder)

The most difficult possibility to prove is that William was also James' father and that William and Mary somehow managed without marrying until William had earned his discharge and, more importantly, his pension.  The greatest obstacle is to explain how William and Mary were in the same place in the second quarter of 1856 as they appear to have been over 120 miles apart.  Victorians traveled more than we might think, but there is simply no information about either of them other than the military records and Mary's being in Astley in January of 1857.

Summary of William Winder's service record for the first half of 1856

There is, however, evidence that something out of the ordinary was going on William's life.  First, of all, he spent most of the period from December 1858 to February 1859 on furlough which was most typically granted to deal with family problems or issues.  Then from June of 1859 to December of 1860, William was on recruiting duty in Worcester.  That wouldn't be so unusual except that William was in the Staffordshire regiment which would normally have recruited in that county, not Worcestershire, the home base of William's old regiment, the 29th.  All of this suggests special reasons to be in Worcester.  Finally, although it's a generalization, pre-marital sex was not uncommon for Victorians, but sexual promiscuity was not.  Based on how Mary lived the second half of her life, having two children out of wedlock without marrying seems out character.

Summary of William Winder's service record for 1859-60

The major question for us as James R Winder's descendants is whether William was his biological father.  No matter what, William was clearly James' de facto father from age five on, so William's story is our story as well.  The issue is really whether William's ancestors (who remain unidentified) are our ancestors as well or is the male line unknown and unknowable so many years later.  Logically it seems unlikely William was the biological father, but emotionally I'm not so sure.  All of that 1858-60 activity seems too much of a co-incidence and the almost 30 years of the Winders married years seems like a carry over from what came before.  We need, I think, to continue the story and everyone can draw their own conclusions.