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I'm trying to locate a David William Phillips. He married in 1921/2 in Grimsby, ( I have a marriage certificate) he fathered a daughter in 1922 and then disappeared in 1923.

On marriage he was a fisherman and his father was named as a Jack Phillips (deceased) trade :Carter.

At the time of his childs birth he was listed as a motor lorry driver.

We don't know where David went or why he left. He may have gone on to start a new life with a new family unsure of where he came from. If anyone had a David William Phillips in their family and unsure of his whereabouts in the early 1920s please get in touch.

A carter (his fathers trade) was also another term for a lorry driver maybe he went to carry on a family trade - anything will help

Thank you

How old was he on the marriage certificate?

If you could identify his siblings (e.g. in 1911 census) it might be possible to find children of the siblings and ask whether they have any news of their uncle.

Btw, he married in 1921, June quarter; no need for approximates!

PM from Rachael (sent directions for adding to thread!):


On his marriage certificate he was 21, but so was Gladys his wife, she was born in 1899 sohe could have beem older than 21.

They married at the Baptist Tabernacle Church in Grimsby.

His daughter ( my nan) is still alive and I've been trying to find any information at all about him for the last 10 years.

I have him on the electoral roll in Grimsby in Spring 1923 but after that he disappears.

Any tips??????

Thank you

The witnesses on the marriage certificate - can you identify them? Probably relations of Gladys ...

If they might be related to David, it could help. Add their names here - sometimes it's possible to identify someone who looks like a complete stranger as the married sister of the groom, for instance.

Both the Ellams on the wedding certificate were Gladyss parents. They were both living with them in 1922 when thier daughter was born.

Samuel Ellams and I think it was either Annie (Gladys mother) or Wilfred (Gladys' brother)

I'm not finding a Phillips-Goodwin birth in Grimsby in 1922-3 -- ?


Edit - I get it, Goodwin wasn't Gladys's birth surname; just found the birth.

I've poked away at the 1911 census, to no avail so far. Big problem is that we have no idea where DWP came from, it seems.

Couldn't find a Jack or John Phillips who was a carter, or living with an appropriate David ...

1901 census:


Name: John Phillips
Age: 26
Estimated Birth Year: abt 1875
Relation: Head
Spouse's Name: Annie
Where born: C Camberwell, London, England

>> Occupation: Contractor's Carman

Civil parish: Camberwell
County/Island: London

John Phillips 26
Annie Phillips 24
Thomas Phillips 1
David Phillips 9 months


Looks like this one would be the above David:

Births Dec 1900
Phillips David Camberwell 1d 916

Well, 1911 is a bust, except that this looks like that household:

> PHILLIPS JOHN 1874 37 Camberwell London
> PHILLIPS ANNIE 1876 35 Camberwell London
> PHILLIPS THOMAS 1901 10 Camberwell London
PHILLIPS EMILY 1903 8 Camberwell London
PHILLIPS SARAH 1905 6 Camberwell London
PHILLIPS RICHARD 1908 3 Camberwell London
PHILLIPS ASSATH 1910 1 Camberwell London

And yes indeed:

Deaths Sep 1901
Phillips David 1 Camberwell 1d 558


So that household is ruled out, promising though it looked.

And I think I'm fresh out of ideas!

Have deleted the duplicate thread for Jack Phillips - bit new to this community message board. All tips are greatly appreciated as I really want to be able to pass some info to my Nana who is now in her late 80s.

Thank you

I have scrounged the 1901 and 1911, to no avail.

You may have one of the common situations almost all of us have somewhere in the tree -- "Jack" was a made-up person.

David's parents may have been unmarried, his mother a Phillips and his father a Jack, for instance.

If this was the case and he was born an illegitimate child would this have been recorded anywhere?

I feel like I've been living / breathing this etc for some time now:-) On which note I will start again with it tomorrow with a fresh mind.

Here is a possibly interesting household in 1901 -- the mother appears to be recently widowed.


Name: David Phillips
Age: 3
Estimated Birth Year: abt 1898
Relation: Son
Mother's Name: Mary

Where born: Plaistow, Essex, England

Civil parish: West Ham
Registration district: West Ham

Mary Phillips 34 - born Wapping
Alexander R Phillips 15 - born Ireland
Sidney H Phillips 10 - born London, Vauxhall
David Phillips 3 - born Plaistow
Frank Phillips 1 - born Plaistow


Births Mar 1889 ?
Phillips Sidney Harry L W. Ham 4a 132

Births Dec 1898 ?
Phillips David William W. Ham 4a 118

but also:

Births Sep 1897
Phillips David W. Ham 4a 105
Births Dec 1897
Phillips David W. Ham 4a 101

Births Jun 1900
Phillips Frank W. Ham 4a 69


What it kind of looks like is that the two youngest are a different family - a remarriage, or second partnership. The older children may actually have had a different surname.

I can't find any of them in 1891. Or 1911.

I wonder whether it might be an idea to get the Frank birth cert - as the one most positively identifiable - and see who the father was.

The births of children born to unmarried parents were recorded in the usual way.

If the father consented, he could be named on the certificate, whether or not the child was registered in his surname. Otherwise, the child was registered with just one parent named, in the mother's surname. (In that case, a middle name was often a clue to the father's surname - this was the case for my mum's aunt born in 1890 - but it didn't always happen of course.)

Certificate for Frank has been ordered!!! Hopefully this will give me some answers either way.

Thank you for the advice :-)

I feel I'm grasping at straws, but we all have to buy a few pigs in pokes along the way. ;) Let us know what it says!

I know what you mean about grasping at straws!!!! -My next step is to search the trees again on here and see if anyone has Frank etc on their tree and may be able to shed some light.

Thank you so much for your help

1911 census

Just run out of credits but abaout to order more!!! BUT...

There is a Frank Phillips in an institution in1911 Stockwell Orphanage for fatherless boys and girls

Also an Alexander R Phillips in West Ham
A Sidney H Phillips again in the same area

Its leading me to believe that Mary died and the children all ended up scattered, Alexander and Sidney may have their own households - will check when I get more credit, Frank has ended up in an institution and will keep investigating David. It may be the right family we'll just have to see