James Nutt seemed to be a lovable rogue and had led us a merry chase over the last few years
Trying to unravel the lies and deception has, at times, been a bit of a nightmare James was born at Gunness in 1842 the eldest of 3 sons of a farmer, also James and his wife Ann Blackburn
When James the elder died in 1886 the farm was left to James but he went bankrupt in 1890 when the price of crops plunged to an all time low
He was tying himself up in knots with 2 women on the go along with several children but he settled down with Sarah Lane until he died in 1918
James lied about his age on quite a few occasions but he never lied about where he was born
Naomi Wright/South
Naomi was born in Asterby and married David South in 1870 and they had a daughter Maria in the same year but she survived for less then a month
On Naomi and James marriage certificate their status was shown as widow and widower which we later found out was untrue in both cases
We have searched and searched for another marriage for James and to date we have not found one
We knew Naomi had been married before so did some research on her husband David South, we found him in the 1881 census alive and kicking near Grimsby boarding with Elizabeth Farmery who he later married
So that gave us at least 2 bigamists and 1 liar
Divorce was very rare amongst the ordinary people during the 19th century and although it was fairly common to enter into a Common Law Marriage I don’t think there were that many bigamists
We later found James had left Naomi to set up home with another woman who also bore his children
On the 1881 census she is shown as WIFE not HEAD James was with his Father on the 1881 census night
Naomi is showing as WIFE on the 1891 and 1901 census’ but HEAD on the 1911
James is missing from the 1891 census but we found him living with Sarah who was calling herself wife in both the 1901 and 1911 census
Naomi’s son Sydney drowned in the Trent in 1908 and in the newspaper report she claims to be a widow; the jury gave their fees to the WIDOWED mother of the deceased which led us on the wrong track for quite a while
The 1911 census asks how many years married to this marriage and Naomi has added an extra 10 years to the actual time which if true would have made all the children born in wedlock
James and Naomi married in 1887 but Naomi had 4 children before their marriage
Florence South was registered at Scunthorpe register office in 1877 but we can’t prove whether David South or James Nutt was the father
James Nutt South 1880 we are assuming James is his father as he was christened just James Nutt illegitimate child of a married woman
Hannah Nutt South 1881 again assuming James is her father
Percival Nutt South 1883 my grandfather
Sydney Nutt 1887
Elsie Nutt 1895
Florence came along in 1877 and was registered at Scunthorpe but we suspect that David had long gone by then as we found him in the 1881 census lodging with Elizabeth Farmery, his wife to be in Grimsby and that James Nutt is possibly her father
Elsie was born in 1895 by which time James had set up home with Sarah Jane so I have a feeling that James was not the father
Naomi lived in New Trent Street, Ealand, a small rural community in the late 1800s and I should imagine everyone knew each others business so Naomi must have had quite a trying time keeping the knowledge of her 4 illegitimate children secret and the fact that James had left her or she had left him after he became bankrupt
Whether Naomi knew about James’ other woman it is impossible to say and we believe that her children never knew they were illegitimate because apart from birth certificates everywhere we have looked gives Nutt as their surname, we have checked with the registry office and they have no record of any name change prior to marriage.
Sarah Lane/Layne
Sarah was born in Sturton By Stow in Lincolnshire and in 1881 she is on the census as Housekeeper to James’ father also a James
Sarah married a William Layne in 1876 but he died in 1878 which makes it very confusing at times being born a Lane and marrying a Layne
Jessie Nut Lane born 1882 Doncaster on census but we have the birth certificate showing she was actually born in Wrawby as Jessie Nut Layne 23 November 1881
Bertha Nutt 1888 Doncaster
Dorothy Nutt 1890 Doncaster
James Alfred Nutt 1892 Holmfield – 1984 Yorkshire
Arthur Reuben Nutt 1895 Woodhouse Grange Sutton Upon Derwent Yorkshire
George Henry Nutt 1899 Woodhouse Grange Sutton Upon Derwent Yorkshire
Jessie married Henry Sawdon Westmoreland using the surname Lane in 1900
Facts
James was having money trouble by early 1890 we have letters and court papers to prove this
Bertha was living with her husband just 400 feet away from where Florence lived with her husband and where Naomi Died in Sheffield during the 1930s did the two families know each other?
Questions
Did Naomi have to move from Asterby and her family when her marriage to David failed?
Was her marriage to David a shotgun wedding and when the child died did they decide to split up or did one of them just walk away?
Why did Naomi move to Scunthorpe seems a fair distance for a young woman to move or were her and David still together when David moved to Grimsby and the marriage failed when they moved there [who on earth would want to live in Grimsby]
How did James and Naomi meet, James was a farmers son and in 1881 she was a dressmaker would they have been likely to meet socially
Why did James lie on his marriage certificate, was he stringing Naomi along as James the younger had been born seven years before they married, did Naomi know Sarah and think James was married to her, perhaps Sarah moved and James then said she had died.
As far as how neighbours would think would it be so unusual for unmarried couples to live together in the late 1800s.
Sidney left a note before he drowned which mentioned a young lady who he was seeing was she married
On Elsie’s marriage certificate in 1921 and James’ in 1910 James is shown as a farmer and not as deceased which made us think that he was still alive we now know he died in 1918
Had Naomi’s children no contact with their father since at least 1908 when Naomi was calling herself widow Naomi was still calling herself wife in the 1901 census so what happened between 1901 and 1908