Go to start of previous page ("Anne & Gilbert")
So returning to the four statements listed in the introduction to this story -
- I have not checked whether Gilbert Bolden was at Durham University but it seems quite possible as his family originally came from the north.
- The surname of Anne's first husband is wrong, Williams instead of Wilmshurst, but this seems to have been a name that the family did use, possibly to cover up their connection with Wilmshurst and his crimes. (Obviously the fact that William snr was still alive when Anne remarried isn't mentioned).
- The impression that Gilbert was sorting out the estate of Anne’s first husband after his death is incorrect. Gilbert may have been involved in handling the estate while William was in prison but Anne had met Gilbert because he was helping get William moved from the asylum. The comment that he was handling the first husband's estate was presumably to cover up how they really met and the bigamous marriage.
- Presumably there is some truth in the story of the two girls but it seems likely that a part of the reason for the move and downsizing was due to the possibility of William discovering that Anne had remarried bigamously.
Added to this the fact that Anne repeatedly gave the wrong place of birth in census returns, probably the wrong occupation of her father on her marriage certificate, she presumably misrepresented what had happened when petitioning for Williams release and that Gilbert and Anne lived together for many years before getting married, the tendency of Annie Webster to only focus on her important, and presumably reputable ancestors seems to have missed a lot on this particular branch; though it was information that she was presumably unaware of.
Go to Table of Contents Go to next page ("Timeline Summary of Events")