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Missing Grandmother

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ProfilePosted byOptionsPost Date

Carol

Carol Report 6 Sep 2010 14:09

OK. Thanks very much for your help :)
Carol

Shirley~I,m getting the hang of it

Shirley~I,m getting the hang of it Report 6 Sep 2010 14:02

adoption didnt start til 1927
A death entry for Ernest is on page i of this thread , the informants name may help

Carol

Carol Report 6 Sep 2010 13:54

I'm not sure when adoption came in but could this have been a possibility?

Shirley~I,m getting the hang of it

Shirley~I,m getting the hang of it Report 6 Sep 2010 13:43

not the surname i sent but sadly this may be Kathleen
Name: Kathleen Mary Hollands
Birth Date: 9 Sep 1926
Death Registration Month/Year: Jan 2002
Age at death (estimated): 75
Registration district: Brighton
Inferred County: Sussex
Register number: A8B
District and Subdistrict: 4521A
Entry number: 34


Cant see a marriage though French to Hollands or via the name i sent, Rowlands

Will leave this one posted so its not duplicated BUT think this lady was nee Hooper married in 1948. So not your lady

Shirley~I,m getting the hang of it

Shirley~I,m getting the hang of it Report 6 Sep 2010 13:40

But to have remarried even bigamously she must have left Ernest so the children could still have been put into care Unless she left them with Ernest !!

Carol

Carol Report 6 Sep 2010 13:36

Hi, I don't think the marriage to Ernest George French was bigamous, as Ethel was only 20 and I can see that her mother was a witness to it. I think if the rumour that there was a bigamous marriage was true, that it came somewhere between 1926 - 1931 and maybe this is where the name Holmes came from (as on my mother'sbirth cert it Ethel was put her surname as Holmes-French).

Shirley~I,m getting the hang of it

Shirley~I,m getting the hang of it Report 6 Sep 2010 13:31

Reading this am i right in assuming the marriage to Ernest French was Bigamous? if so maybe she put the children in care when they parted There is a possible marriage for Ronald which will PM Also found one for Kathleen .PM,d too

Carol

Carol Report 6 Sep 2010 13:19

I have just received copies of the birth certificates for Ronald George French (16/08/1923) and Kathleen Mary French (09/09/1926) and once again these are definately children of my grandmother Ethel Marena French (nee Stevens). I am absolutely astonished - my mum is 79 next month & has just discovered that she had (or possibly still has) a brother & sister!! On the birth certs the registration district is Battle, sub-district Bexhill in the County of East Sussex but what is amazing, is that it gives the place of birth/residence of mother as 5 Beauport Buildings, Hollington. I have tried researching this but so far haven't been able to find anything out but will keep trying. What I am unsure how to do now is to try & find out what happened to Ronald, Kathleen & husband Ernest, as by 1931 (when my mum was born) they were not on the scene. My mum's birth certificate states father unknown, so I am pretty sure it wasn't Ernest. Any tips would be greatly appreciated.
Many thanks.
Carol

Carol

Carol Report 25 Aug 2010 14:52

Thank you very much for all this information! Will read and digest.
Carol

Flick

Flick Report 25 Aug 2010 14:33

1891

Name: Annie F Hench
Age: 32
Estimated birth year: abt 1859
Relation: Wife
Spouse's name: Herbert W
Gender: Female
Where born: Brede, Sussex, England

Civil parish: Battle
Ecclesiastical parish: St Mary
Town: Battle
County/Island: Sussex
Country: England


Registration district: Battle
Sub-registration district: Battle
ED, institution, or vessel: 4
Neighbors: View others on page
Household Members: Name Age
Herbert W Hench 36
Annie F Hench 32
Rhoda J Hench 13
Spencer H Hench 11
Annie L Hench 6
Frederick P Hench 2 ***********PERCY in later records
Horace J Hench 1/12

Flick

Flick Report 25 Aug 2010 14:27

1901

Name: Herbert Thonch
Age: 47
Estimated birth year: abt 1854
Relation: Head
Spouse's name: Annie L
Gender: Male
Where born: Whatlington, Sussex, England

Civil parish: Battle
Ecclesiastical parish: St Mary and St Martin
Town: Battle
County/Island: Sussex
Country: England


Registration district: Battle
Sub-registration district: Battle
ED, institution, or vessel: 3
Neighbors: View others on page
Household schedule number: 24
Household Members: Name Age
Herbert Thonch 47
Annie L Thonch 43
Frederick Thonch 12
Horace J Thonch 10
John H Thonch 7
Alice Thonch 2
Ernest G Thonch 8 months

Flick

Flick Report 25 Aug 2010 14:20

1881

Name: Herbert French
Age: 25
Estimated birth year: abt 1856
Relation: Head
Spouse's name: Anna Laura
Gender: Male
Where born: Whatlington, Sussex, England

Civil parish: Whatlington
County/Island: Sussex
Country: England

Condition as to marriage: Married
Occupation: Carter (Ag Lab)

Registration district: Battle
Sub-registration district: Ewhurst
ED, institution, or vessel: 6
Neighbors: View others on page
Household Members: Name Age
Herbert French 25
Anna Laura French 22
Rhoda Jane French 3
Spencer Herbert French 1
__________________________________________________

Daughter Rhoda in 1901

Rhoda J French 23 Sussex Brede Sussex Burwash General Servant Domestic

Flick

Flick Report 25 Aug 2010 14:10


--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Marriages Jun 1877 (>99%)
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

****French Herbert Rye 2b 4
Sargent Charles Rye 2b 4
Smith Hannah Rye 2b 4
****Weller Anna Laura Rye 2b 4

Flick

Flick Report 25 Aug 2010 13:33

This makes the birth look good....................
1911

Person: FRENCH, Ernest
Address: Little Park Cottages Battle

Cost:
You will be charged 10 credits for a transcript and 30 credits for an image, unless you have purchased a subscription for this set of records.



FRENCH, Herbert Head Married M 56 1855 Carter On Farm Sussex Whatlington Parish VIEW
FRENCH, Annie Wife Married
34 years F 52 1859 Sussex Brede Parish VIEW
FRENCH, Percy Son Single M 22 1889 Blacksmith's Striper Sussex Battle VIEW
FRENCH, Horace Son Single M 20 1891 Farm Labourer Sussex Battle VIEW
FRENCH, Elsie Daughter F 12 1899 School Sussex Battle VIEW
FRENCH, Ernest Son M 10 1901 School Sussex Battle


10 children born in marriage - 2 have died

Flick

Flick Report 25 Aug 2010 13:30

Hi Carol..me again!

Was Ernest's second name George? Was he 22/23 when they married?

If so............

Births Sep 1900 (>99%)
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

French Ernest George Battle 2b 56


Carol

Carol Report 25 Aug 2010 13:09

Firstly, I hope I am posting this in the right place!
Secondly OMG! OMG! OMG!!
I have just received the copy of the marriage cert (kindly advised by Flick) for Ethel M Stevens and Ernest G French (April 1923, Battle). I can't believe it, but it is def my grandmother Ethel Marena Stevens!! Now I have got over the shock and stopped blubbing I need to find out more! Flick also stated names of 2 children Ronald G French (Q3 1923 Battle 2b 73) and Kathleen M French (Q4 1926 Battle 2b 56). I am going to order copies of these certs now but am interested to know where Flick found this information (forgive me if I am being thick but as stated before, I am new to all of this!!). How would I go about finding out what happened to this marriage (i.e. did Ernest die) and what happened to the children, as they certainly weren't on the scene or ever spoken about when my mum was born in 1931. On the marriage cert it states Ernest as gardener (domestic), residing at Marley Lane, Battle, father is Herbert French, farm labourer. Ethel is shown as domestic servant (parlour maid), residing at Wood End, Crowhurst. I am also intrigued to find out whether Ernest had a brother called Philip, as my mum is sure that the name Philip French was mentioned.
Thank you all so much for your help so far.
Carol

Carol

Carol Report 18 Aug 2010 11:06

Thank you. I have got this marriage cert and for some reason my grandmother told a few porkies on it! She changed her father's surname to French and also her maiden name to French (when they were both def Stevens)! Maybe this was to save face as her daughters's (my mum Myrena Pearl) surname was French??!!

Moody Blue

Moody Blue Report 18 Aug 2010 11:04

Possible birth and death for Ernest George French:-

England & Wales, FreeBMD Birth Index, 1837-1915
about Ernest George French
Name: Ernest George French
Year of Registration: 1900
Quarter of Registration: Jul-Aug-Sep
District: Battle
County: Sussex, East Sussex
Volume: 2b
Page: 56


England & Wales, Death Index: 1916-2005
about Ernest George French
Name: Ernest George French
Birth Date: 30 Jul 1900
Death Registration Month/Year: May 1985
Age at death (estimated): 84
Registration district: Eastbourne
Inferred County: Sussex
Volume: 18
Page: 442

Moody Blue

Moody Blue Report 18 Aug 2010 10:57

for info only

Marriages Jun 1940
Bell George M French Staines 3a 180
French Myrina E Bell Staines 3a 180

Carol

Carol Report 18 Aug 2010 10:40

I forgot to say, I know the marriage details for Samuel Bell was not the right one, as she married a George Michael Bell in 1940.