In this article I mentioned a suggestion by KW that I was possibly following an incorrect line in my search for ancestors of Ellen ASHFORTH (née Ellen TOMLINSON 1855-1943). In a number of emails KW provided data outlining an alternative line through one Samuel TOMLINSON 1826-1854 and one Rhoda RIDAL 1826-Deceased. I agreed that this seemed much more plausible than the line I was following through William and Rebecca NEWBOULD.

To read my earlier article regarding William and Rebecca NEWBOULD please click here.

Eighteen months later I have picked up on this again. Re-studying all the data KW provided I decided to explore some of these lines of research with regard to Samuel TOMLINSON 1826-1854 and Rhoda RIDAL 1826-Deceased.

Now one of the problems I have had with Ellen ASHFORTH (née Ellen TOMLINSON 1855-1943) is her constantly changing forename. Ellen, Eleanor, Ellenor and Helena have all appeared in various documents, yet as my mother recalls the family knew her as Leah. A further problem is that of never having found a birth or baptism record for Ellen, though I would expect her date of birth to be circa 1855. Many hours of searching has never provided enough concrete evidence to warrant requesting a birth certificate.

Searching the census for Ellen ASHFORTH (née Ellen TOMLINSON 1855-1943) (including all of Ellen's likely forenames) eventually lead to the household of William and Rebecca NEWBOULD at Totley, Sheffield, Derbyshire. Now this area of Sheffield is not one I would ever associate with my line of ASHFORTHs. So I was always a little sceptical about this research and never really took it much further. This scepticism increased when I received a copy of the marriage certificate for my gg grand parents William Henry ASHFORTH 1873-1926 and Ellen ASHFORTH (née Ellen TOMLINSON 1855-1943). This records Ellen's father as Samuel TOMLINSON 1826-1854 which of course adds more doubt to my research.

Some time later I was contacted by KW whose research also included a need to find the ancestors of Ellen ASHFORTH (née Ellen TOMLINSON 1855-1943). KW was also sceptical about the line I was following and suggested an alternative line of Samuel TOMLINSON 1826-1854 and Rhoda RIDAL 1826-Deceased. Eventually KW emailed an outline of the reasoning for this alternative line, though I must admit at the time I was not totally convinced, I think partly due to Samuel and Rhoda having married at Rotherham, another location which had never figured in my ASHFORTH research.

I noted KW's research, intending to eventually get along to the archives in Sheffield and examine the parish records. Unfortunately at the time I was very busy with research into my Jacklin line and life in general, and finding it difficult switching from one line of research to another (my brain seems not to cope with interchanging sets of names, dates and places), I never did make the time and it got placed on the back burner.

So back to the present and having considered all of KW's research I agree that the line of Samuel TOMLINSON 1826-1854 and Rhoda RIDAL 1826-Deceased is almost certainly correct and will update my GEDCOM to reflect this. I will gradually go through this journal and add updates to my previous articles. I will also try and book some time at the archives office in Sheffield.

Updates:
2010-10-09 My mother is convinced Eleanor was in her early nineties when she died. I expected her date of birth to be 1855 give or take a couple of years but searching earlier than 1855 may produce results.