He Lives?

*Just so you are aware, we were told that we are done posting for the semester so we can concentrate on our next big assignments. So this will be my last post until the end of April. I just wanted to tie up the loose ends for now.

Clue #2

In order to make sure my research was thorough, I decided that I should explore the idea that Susannah left Thomas Hughes to go to America, and that he was still living in England. Thomas and Susannah were found together in the 1851 census, the year after they were married. Susannah Tonks left with her son Job to America in 1856. That means I need to search for Thomas Hughes in the 1851 census. We know from the 1851 census that Thomas was born in Willenhall, Staffordshire.

I did a census search for Thomas Hughes living in Staffordshire, England. And this is what I found in the 1861 census:
This is the only Thomas Hughes that was living in Staffordshire with the birthplace of Willenhall. To make sure that there were no other Thomas Hughes born in Willenhall, I did the same search in the 1851 census. The only Thomas Hughes that came up as being born in Willenhall is the Thomas Hughes that married Susannah! So that means this should be our guy.

If you look closely at this census, you will see that Thomas Hughes is an unmarried lodger. I find that interesting because he does not say he is divorced. But it doesn't say that he is married either. So I wonder if this really is our guy. I don't think we have quite enough information here.

The best thing for me to do is order those death certificates so I can determine if he died or if Susannah left him. I don't have any answers yet, but hopefully the death certificates will help!