c1824 - 1891
He names his father as John Smurthwaite, a shoemaker. However I have found no John Smurthwaite shoemaker in any of the census' but he could have been deceased - although he is not marked as deceased on the certificate.
I have searched at the records office in Durham for the baptism of John but the only one I have found was for 1822 John, illegitimate son of Ann Smurthwaite - the baptism is in St Helens Auckland and place of abode is marked as Toft Hill. There is a burial entry for an Ann Smurthwaite at Toft Hill in 1827.
And so John Smurthwaite is my biggest brickwall - did he lie about his father on the marriage cert or is he really son of John Smurtwaite and there is some reason why I cannot find him in the census or find another baptism? (There is a John Smurthwaite with a son John in Cockfield but he is marked as a coal miner - a big difference to shoemaker).
If anyone has any information or ideas on John then I would be very pleased to hear from them.
children of John Smurthwaite and Eliza Hardy