Help concerning finding one of my UK ancestors?

A Uk/Irish based website, so lots of links, BUT you will not find all you need online to prove ancestry simply as there are not records online to do so and that includes familysearch, ancestry and find my past or any other website ........... http://familytimeline.webs.com/apps/links/

Bear in mind that civil registration didn't begin until 1837 prior to that it is only PRs so after 1837 you have 2 potential records to seacrh for and cross reference, then the 1841 census although still limited as in 'it doesn't give relationship' (so you can't assume Charles is her father from the 1841, check the 1851 for relationships) or in the 1841 county of birth ( unless born in the country the census was taken in so just a yes in county or no, not born in county) so by then 3 potential records to cross reference to prove ancestry ( 2 primary and 1 secondary)

Add: just looking on freebmd there are 10 potential Mary Ann Bennett's born in Gloucestershire alone, any one of them could be your, or none of them

Add: In family search COLLECTIONS ( NOT RECORDS) it also has

Name: Mary Ann Bennett

Gender: Female

Christening Date: 21 Nov 1841

Christening Place: St. Philip and St. Jacob, Bristol, Gloucester, England

Father's Name: William Bennett

Mother's Name: Jane

and more COLLECTIONS...

Name: Mary Ann Bennett

Gender: Female

Christening Date: 2 Sep 1841

Christening Place: Stroud, Gloucester, England

Father's Name: Richard Bennett

Mother's Name: Harriett

Add: It is also worth noting that in the 1841 census ages were rounded up/down to the nearest five years, so the age you see is often not their real age, and many didn't know when they were born they guessed or the enumerator guessed

Add: Alister it is always difficult when you are not used to another countries record system, my advice to you is to go to the last person you have PROVED information about ( your x3 real records) before you jump to Mary Ann....then recheck/research again from them. Once you can PROVE a county in the UK, then check out GENUKI ( on the links page I gave you) that will give you lots of information, geography, history, records available and where they are and that may help you not only look at other availble records but also dates they are available.

The other advice would be to register with rootschat ( links page) which is a good, very active UK forum , free and with lots of knowledgable people who are often local to the area as i live there or have/are researching there, but bear in mind that you need to be factual, what records you have to prove ( not what you think) to get the best possible help....on there is also local websites to each county eg 'Gloucestershire Resources' suggest you post in Beginners unless you are 100% sure it is Gloucestershire either way you will get help and don't be worried about asking for cites as many people have their own personal scanned PRs and will often send you an image of the record you are looking for

Are you sure she was born in Bristol? And how sure are you about the year of birth?

I've found the marriage reference on FamilySearch, but it says nothing about her place of birth (British marriage records usually don't give places of birth, only place of residence at time of marriage), only that her father is Charles Bennett and that she was 19 at marriage (the 1841 date is an estimation by FamilySearch based on the age given, not a date given in the marriage register itself. Estimations are often wrong, people sometimes lie about their age and, as this a transcribed record, not one where you can view the actual document, you cannot rule out the possibility that the person who uploaded the data misread the age in the original document).

Unless you have other documentation (e.g. a later census after she was married) which gives her birthplace as Bristol, she could have been born anywhere.

Also please note that the Bristol Parish Records on Family Search are not a complete set - just because you can't find a Mary Ann Bennett baptised in Bristol at the right date doesn't mean there wasn't one - it could be that FamilySearch does not have the records of the church where she was christened.

I also have family in Bristol, but I have yet to find a good free website with Bristol records, I'm afraid.

I've found a Mary Ann Eliza Bennett, daughter of Charles and Elizabeth, baptised St Philip and Jacob, Bristol on the11th February 1838, but I don't think she can be your woman, as she appears to marry William Barber Waters in 1869.

ETA: Thanks for the further details.

British marriage records of this time typically give the bride's and groom's ages (and sometimes not even that if they are over 21 - it often just says "of full age"). They do not normally give year of birth. FamilySearch tends to "helpfully" add an estimation of birth year.

If Mary remarried, she would probably be listed in the marriage records under her first husband's surname (i.e. as Mary Ann James), not her maiden name. It is very rare for English married or widowed women at this time to be known by their maiden name. I wouldn't entirely discount the possibility of the woman who married William Barber Waters being your relative, but I would have thought it highly unlikely.

Instead of asking question so I can do research for you, I will suggest that you try going to a public library of Family Search Center. Some libraries have access to some of the British subscription sites. The Family Search Centers have access to 12 or 13 subscription sites at no cost to the patron as well as volunteers that can assist in research.

England & Wales Marriages, 1538-1940 about Mary Ann James

Name: Mary Ann James

[Mary Ann Bennett]

Gender: Female

Birth Date: abt 1840

Age: 29

Father's Name: Charles Bennett

Spouse's Name: Solomon Lumber

Spouse's Age: 32

Spouse's Father's Name: Henry Lumber

Marriage Date: 21 Nov 1869

Marriage Place: Bristol, Gloucestershire, England

----------------------------

1871 England Census about Mary Ann Lumber

Name: Mary Ann Lumber

Age: 29

Estimated Birth Year: abt 1842

Relation: Wife

Spouse's Name: Soloman Lumber

Gender: Female

Where born: Bristol

Civil Parish: Westbury

Ecclesiastical parish: St Matthew

County/Island: Gloucestershire

Country: England

Registration District: Clifton

Sub-registration District: Westbury

ED, institution, or vessel: 1

Household Schedule Number: 36

Piece: 2567

Folio: 7

Page Number: 6

Household Members:

Name Age

Soloman Lumber 42 labourer b Bristol

Mary Ann Lumber 29

Louisa Lumber 9

Henry Lumber 7

Charles Lumber 4

Ada Lumber 3

Child 5 Hours

----------------------

1881 England Census about May A. Lumber

Name: May A. Lumber

Age: 40

Estimated Birth Year: abt 1841

Relationship to Head: Wife

Spouse: Solomon Lumber

Gender: Female

Where born: Temple Bristol

Civil Parish: Clifton

County/Island: Gloucestershire

Country: England

Street Address: 16 Avon Square

Marital Status: Married

Education:

Employment status:

View Image

Occupation: Boiler Maker Wife

Registration District: Barton Regis

Sub-registration District: Clifton

ED, institution, or vessel: 2

Neighbors: View others on page

Piece: 2479

Folio: 80

Page Number: 80

Household Members:

Name Age

Solomon Lumber 53

May A. Lumber 40

George Lumber 5

William Lumber 3

---------------------

1891 England Census about Mary A Lumber

Name: Mary A Lumber

Age: 50

Estimated Birth Year: abt 1841

Relation: Wife

Spouse's Name: Soloman Lumber

Gender: Female

Where born: Temple Bristol

Civil Parish: Newton

Ecclesiastical parish: St Stephen

Town: Newton

County/Island: Cheshire

Country: England

Street Address:

Occupation:

Condition as to marriage:

Education:

Employment status:

View Image

Registration District: Ashton Under Lyne

Sub-registration District: Newton

ED, institution, or vessel: 7

Neighbors: View others on page

Piece: 3286

Folio: 109

Page Number: 61

Household Members:

Name Age

Soloman Lumber 62

Mary A Lumber 50

George Lumber 15

Polly James 2 grandchild

----------------------------

1911 England Census about Mary Ann Sumber

Name: Mary Ann Sumber

Age in 1911: 71

Estimated Birth Year: abt 1840

Relation to Head: Mother

Gender: Female

Birth Place: Bristol, Gloucestershire, England

Civil Parish: Newton

County/Island: Lancashire

Country: England

Street Address: 331 Dukinfield Rd Hyde Cheshire

Marital Status: Widowed

Registration District: Ashton under Lyne

Registration District Number: 468

Sub-registration District: Newton

ED, institution, or vessel: 5

Piece: 24401

Household Members:

Name Age

Ada Thompson 43 Head married 11 years

Mary Ann Sumber 71 Mother b Temple Parish Bristol

Polly James 22 daughter b Duckinfield Rd Hyde

William Affleck Thompson Son b Hyde

--------------------------

England & Wales, FreeBMD Death Index, 1837-1915 about Francis John James

Name: Francis John James

Estimated Birth Year: abt 1838

Date of Registration: Apr-May-Jun 1867

Age at Death: 29

Registration District: Clifton

Inferred County: Gloucestershire

Volume: 6a

Page: 85

Have you been to rootsweb.com and looked at their BMD?