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My 3x Great Grandfather was Henry Charles Pynn (1833-1894). I am trying to figure out who his parents were.

This is his Marriage Certificate to Eliza Pickering. His father is listed as John Henry Pynn, a Shipwright.

Henry Charles & Eliza Pickering Marriage Certificate

The next source I have is his Baptism record, here his parents are listed as "John Tho. & Charlotte" John is a Shipwright the same as in the Marriage Certificate. (Bottom entry on picture)

Henry Charles Pynn Baptism

The only two census results I can find for Henry Charles Pynn are the 1881 Census and the 1891 Census. As shown in the pictures below:

1881 Census: 1881 Census 1891 Census: 1891 Census

I can't find any other records relating to his parents. I'm looking for reasonable proof as to who his father is or an explanation as to why his father is listed under different names. As well as who his mother is.


Source List (in chronological order):

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  • Linking to Ancestry.co.uk or other subscription sites for individual records is only useful to the community members who happen to have a subscription; only they can see what record was meant. It's better to include the relevant information (including an archive reference) in the question itself so that people can look at the census return on whatever site they can access.
    – Jan Murphy
    Nov 1, 2015 at 18:11

1 Answer 1

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I'm sure you've been over these questions already, but just in case ...

Firstly: there's a Henry Pym, Butcher & General servant born Woolwich in the 1851 census at Sheerness working for a Henry Pilmer, Master Butcher. Class: HO107; Piece: 1628; Folio: 199; Page: 19; GSU roll: 193529

Secondly: Your image, if I read it right, seems to say the marriage to Eliza Pickering was in Chatham - but the GRO says Lewisham? I didn't think the registration districts were that large?

Lastly: How sure are you really that the baptism is his? There's little to connect this to the marriage. There are seem to be a few John Henry Pymms in Chatham (as opposed to Woolwich), and notably the one who died 1894 "retired foreman from Her Majesty's dockyard" (shipwright?) (Ancestry can't give a useful citation to the National Probate Calendar for this.)

That John Henry appears to have also been the son of a John Thomas Pymm, and a "Mary" - but Mary seems to have been married to a Thomas Ladd come the 1851 census.

i.e. there's a bit of distance between Chatham/Sheerness and Woolwich - makes me uncomfortable. The error in his father's name could be perhaps be explained as just the fog of time, given his father might have died when he was 5 months old, but then I also wonder why the marriage record doesn't also say "deceased", as seems to be the case on most marriage records I've encountered. Also the change of occupations from father to son (Shipwright to Butcher) and then to Cabman seems a little odd.

There is a John Thomas Pymm who married Charlotte Dodkins 23 Oct 1831 in Shoreditch and may be the same person who was buried 8 Dec 1833 in Woolwich.

There's no obvious birth details for Charlotte - this could be her second marriage. But no obvious marriage of a Charlotte to a Dodkins preceding this, either.

Sorry for just adding to the confusion, I expect.

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