The elusive brick wall

[ElaineMT]

My first interest in family history was as a teenager, as my parents’ parents had died when they were children, so I never knew any grandparents, and was curious to know about them. But I didn’t start researching until the late 1990s, when I was in my 40s, and it wasn’t until the 1911 census was released that I was able to confirm a suspicion – that my maternal grandmother’s husband had died 5 years before my mum was born! Since then my main goal has been to try to discover who my maternal grandfather was, and just this year through a chance email to a DNA match I discovered that he and his half sister and a 2nd cousin of theirs are all DNA matches for me, so their maternal line (the line they link on) would appear to be the missing line where I will find my maternal grandfather (other DNA matches also tie in to this line). This is a family from the Bethnal Green area of London, and my mission is to find a male of the family who could have been in Deal, Kent, in 1918, during WW1, as my mum was born there in March 1919. One piece of evidence which has come to light during my researches is that he was a 'temporary soldier' who had a liaison with my grandmother. It is my unsolved brick wall, most others having been knocked down by perseverance!

 

[canadianbeth]

My mission is to find a male of the family who would have been in Woodford (London?) in 1907, as that is when and where my 16-year-old grandmother was sent to service (from the workhouse); my Dad was born in 1908.

 

[At home in NZ]

a male of the family who would have been in Woodford (London?) in 1907

In 1907 Woodford was in Essex. There is a Kelly's directory for Woodford 1907 here that might be of assistance.

 

[peter]

It is my unsolved brick wall,

You should be able to solver it using DNA - roughly a quarter of your tens of thousands of DNA matches will be connected to you through your unknown grandfather.

most others having been knocked down by perseverance

Every time we knock down a 'brick wall' there are always at least two more 'brick walls' on the other side - so there is plenty of fun still to be had!

 

[janeinspain]

To all you wonderful Lost Cousins wizards out there, I'm hoping you may be able to help me where to search with a brick wall or whether you think I should just give up.
I have been as concise as possible. I am trying to trace my great grandmother Jessie Elizabeth Gray.
My great-grandfather Edgar Edward Gray born 1873 married Jessie Elizabeth Moody dob 11/12/1875. They married 5/9/1896. They had 4 children one of which died in infancy. The last record I can find of Jessie is on the 1911 census with Edgar a few weeks before the birth of their fourth child (birth certificate shows same address as census)
Two years later in 1913 Edgar has the first of three children with another partner. They never married and I have found the notice of her change of name by deed poll to Gray in the London Gazette, I have presumed that he was not free to marry. From 1918 until his death in 1941 he lived at 194 London Road, Twickenham (London Electoral Rolls) and once they received the vote two of his three daughters from his first marriage lived with him and his second family. The third having married.
These are the steps I have taken to trace Jessie. Gray is not a good name to research so many! Purchased a few death certificates for Jessie E Gray where age at death would have been similar to hers but because there were a lot kept it to the Lambeth area where she was last known. Searched 1913 electoral roll for house where they were living in 1911 but their house wasn't listed and from 1918 it had new residents. Looked on electoral rolls at the possibility of her living with other relatives and with her children once they were no longer living with their father, but no luck. I have the marriage certificates for both her daughters who married, the other remained a spinster, but she was not a witness. I also have the will of my g.grandfather just in case he left her any kind of allowance but no luck there. I've searched the 1939 register just using Christian name and dob hoping for better luck with 1921 census when it's released.
My great-aunt gave my mother a very detailed list of her father's brothers, sisters, complete with all their respective husbands, wives and children's names. However when it came to details for her father she only listed his 7 children not the name of either her mother or step-mother. From this I have therefore assumed that maybe her mother abandoned them and that when she died her death was registered in another name.

 

[canadianbeth]

You mentioned that Jessie's fourth child was born just after the 1911 census. I am wondering, since reading the other post about depression, if Jessie did not, in fact, suffer from post-natal depression and was admitted to an asylum, where she remained. Especially since Edgar had another "wife" in 1913 but was apparently not free to marry her.

 

[peter]

First a reminder that it's not a 'brick wall' - a 'brick wall' is something that stops you getting back further, whereas this is just a loose end that needs tying up.

I agree with canadianbeth that it's likely she went into an asylum - I was about to post the same suggestion myself. (the scenario you describe is typical).

If she was in an asylum then it could have been some distance from where she lived - when my grandmother went into an asylum in 1910 after the birth of her first child the asylum was 11 miles away from her home. She was released 8 months later, and had a second son in 1916 (otherwise I wouldn't be here) but many women were less fortunate.

This site might help you identify possible locations.

If she was in an asylum she'll be shown only by her initials in the 1921 Census, and there's no guarantee that the information that is shown will be accurate (there were a couple of discrepancies in the case of my grandmother - she was released the day after the 1911 Census). There could also be errors in her death registration.

Emigration is another possibility, but very much less likely. There aren't many scenarios in which she would leave her children behind.

If you're lucky the admission and discharge registers will have survived, but don't expect to find any medical records (I didn't).

 

[janeinspain]

Thank you Peter