Was John Common a Bigamist?

My 4xgreat-grandfather, John Common, was baptised in Longhorsley, Northumberland (north of Newcastle), on 30 Aug 1779.¹ By 1805 he was resident in Red Lion Street, Wapping and on 27 July 1806 he married Mary Oldfield, daughter of a Yorkshire-born coal-ship owner.^2,3,4

 

Figure 1: The Ruins of St Helen, Longhorsley, photographed by Susan Law, 27 June 2019.

The couple lived around the Wapping waterfront producing children at regular intervals up to 1815 (William Oldfield 1808 at 115 Wapping St, Frances born 1809 at Wapping Wall, Mary born 1811 at 64 Wapping Wall, Henry born 1813 at 64 Wapping Wall, Ann Maria born 1815 at 64 Wapping Wall). In the baptism records for these children, John is listed as a grocer, not very different from the “victuallers” who organised the work gangs who unloaded the coal ships.^5,6,7

The production of children continued in 1817 with Sarah Barbara Common but she was born and baptised in St George in the East. Two final children followed: Robert Robinson born 1819 in Wapping and Jane born 1822 in St George in the East. In these baptism records, John is stated to be a “Coal Undertaker”.^5,7 Note that Robert, Robinson, Sarah and Barbara are all names in the pedigree of the Commons family in Longhorsley (see Figure 2).

 

Figure 2: Ancestors and siblings of John Common of Longhorsley (generated from Legacy Family Tree).

At this time the surname Common was rare in the East End of London. However in 1815 a John Common of unknown origin married Elizabeth Mary Sheffield in Bethnal Green.⁸ In 1822 William John Sheffield Common was baptised in Shadwell, close to where the first John Common resided. William had been born in 1818.⁹ This family was living at 18 Star Street, Wapping and John was a “Hat Maker”, different from the “Coal Undertaker” listed in the later “John and Mary” baptisms.¹⁰

However, there were changes made to the baptism entry: William John’s surname had originally been entered as “Sheffield” but this was struck through and replaced with “Common”, then “Sheffield” added as a third given name. The handwriting on the correction is different from that of the original entry.⁹

 

Figure 3: Baptism entry of John William Sheffield Common.

Note that the marriage took place in Bethnal Green, where the first John would have been unknown, but the baptism took place in Shadwell, the area in which he had been living for nearly twenty years. The modified baptism entry could support possible bigamy because if it was the same John Common the Shadwell clerics would have known of the pre-existing marriage. There is no indication of when the correction was made.

In 1826 the last two children of John & Mary (Robert, 1819 and Jane, 1822) were baptised at St John of Wapping and the 1829 the Post Office Directory lists a single John Common as a silk hat manufacturer of 48 High Street Shadwell.^5,10

In 1830 Elizabeth Common age 34 of High Street was buried at St Paul, Shadwell.¹¹ This is the right age for the wife of the 1815 marriage. In 1834 Mary Common of Spring Street Shadwell died age 50 and was buried in the Ebenezer Chapel, Shadwell.¹² This is the right age for the wife of the 1806 marriage. On 18 July 1836 John Common witnessed the marriage of William John Sheffield Common.¹³ The signature is similar to the other John Common signatures.

Figure 4: Signatures of "John Common" from: Marriage Licence Allegation 1806; Marriage entry 1806; Marriage entry 1815; Marriage entry of W. J. S. Common 1836 (witness).

 

So between 1815 and 1836 we apparently have two Johns with two families. Unfortunately from this point on the records indicate the existence of only one John Common. Apart from his death registration, the age is correct for the John from Northumberland, but the records are inconsistent with regard to his occupation:

• 24 July 1840: John Common of Shadwell, widowed, disabled labourer born c. 1781 admitted to the Mile End Workhouse at Ratcliff.¹⁴
• 23 October 1840: John Common of Shadwell, widowed, disabled hatter, born c. 1780 admitted to the Mile End Workhouse at Ratcliff.¹⁴
• 6 June 1841: Census, John Common, age 60, hatter, not born in Middlesex resident in the Mile End Workhouse in Ratcliff.¹⁵

The age in these records is consistent with John from Northumberland. The crucial piece of evidence is the 1851 Census where John Comnon is listed as a widowed pauper, age 69 (i.e. born c. 1782), a journeyman hatter born Northumberland/Newcastle.¹⁶ This information combines the occupation of the second John with the age and rough birth place of the first.

The death and burial entries in 1858 which form a series with the workhouse and census records give John’s age as 71, but this could be a transcription error for 77, consistent with the earlier information from the Workhouse.^17,18

So was John Common from Northumberland a bigamist? If so it was a risky thing to do because at this period in time bigamy was a criminal offence which carried a jail term (though there is no record of this happening to John Common). This is one case where a genetic link would be helpful.

Sources

1. Baptism of John Common, baptised 30 Aug 1779, St Helen’s Church Register, Longhorsley, Northumberland, England, page 46,  unnumbered, FHL microfilm 252593, item 1.
2. Land Tax records for John Common 1805-1809, Ancestry Australia, ‘London, England, Land Tax Records, 1692-1932’, accessed 14 Sep 2020.
3. Marriage Licence Allegation for John Common & Mary Oldfield, Faculty Office of the Archbishop of Canterbury, London, (photocopy purchased from the Society of Genealogists, 2006).
4. Marriage of John Common & Mary Oldfield, married 27 Jul 1806, St John of Wapping Church Register, Wapping, Middlesex, England, page 38, number 113.
5. Baptisms of  William Oldfield Common (1 Jun 1808), Robert Robinson Common & Jane Common (16 Apr 1826), St John of Wapping Church Register, Wapping, Middlesex, England.
6. Baptisms of Mary Common (30 Aug 1812), Henry Common (12 Sep 1813) & Ann Maria Common (4 Jun 1815), St Paul’s Church Registers, Shadwell, Middlesex, England.
7. Baptisms of Frances Common (28 Jul 1809) & Sarah Barbara Common (10 Aug 1817), St George in the East Church Registers, Middlesex, England
8. Marriage of John Commons & Elizabeth Mary Sheffield, married 26 Jun 1815), St Matthew Bethnal Green Church Register, Bethnal Green, Middlesex, England, page 131, number 391. Ancestry.com.au, accessed 14 Jan 2011.
9. Baptism of William John Sheffield Common, baptised 3 Feb 1822, St Paul’s Church Registers, Shadwell, Middlesex, England, Ancestry.com.au, accessed 13 Jan 2011.
10. The Post-Office London Directory, entry for John Common, Ancestry Australia, accessed 14 Sep 2020.
11. Burial of Elizabeth Common, buried 10 Jul 1831, St Paul’s Church Register, Shadwell, Middlesex, England, page 20, number 160, Ancestry.com.au, accessed 28 May 2011.
12. Burial of Mary Common, buried 16 Sep 1834, Ebenezer Chapel Registers, Shadwell, Middlesex, England, unpaginated, The Genealogist, accessed 15 Nov 2011.
13. Marriage of William John Sheffield Common & Mary Ann Gann, married 18 Jul 1836, Saint Matthew Church Register, Bethnal Green, Middlesex, England, page 249 number 745, Ancestry.com.au, accessed 21 May 2010.
14. Admission of John Common to Mile End Old Town Workhouse, Ratcliff, 24 Jul 1840 and 23 Oct 1840, Ancestry Australia, ‘London, England, Workhouse Admission and Discharge Records, 1764-1930’, accessed 11 Jul 2020.
15. Census record for John Common, aged 60, Mile End Old Town Workhouse, Ratcliffe, Middlesex, 1841 England and Wales Census, The National Archives HO107/713/24, UK Census Collection, Ancestry.com.au, accessed 11 Jul 2020.
16. Census record for John Common, aged 69, Mile End Old Town Workhouse, Ratcliffe, Middlesex, 1851 England and Wales Census, The National Archives HO107/1553/853, UK Census Collection, Ancestry.com.au, accessed 10 Jan 2021.
17. Death Register entry of John Common, died 6 Jan 1858, registered March quarter 1858, Stepney registration district, General Registry Office, England, vol. 1C, p. 388, no. 43.
18. Burial of John Common, buried 12 Jan 1858, Tower Hamlets Cemetery, Mile End Old Town, Middlesex, Ancestry Australia “London, England, City of London and Tower Hamlets Cemetery Registers, 1841-1966, accessed 10 Jan 2021