James Newton

Finding the origins of James Newton is not easy.

He was born before 1837, so there is no birth certificate. There is no father's name on the marriage certificate —

A look at the parish register, however, reveals (at a stretch) that the writer started to write a name beginning with 'J' and
then turned it into a line —

15 years later, the same James Newton married again —

But who was John Newton, painter?

The current state of knowledge about the mysterious James Newton is laid out here.