Genealogy Chat

See below,i will try and explain

It's my birth father again,James Townsend. Another tree on GR (tree owner is no longer a member) has him born Lincoln abt 1924,and a sister Marjorie again abt 1924 Lincoln. The only near birth references are as follows James (mmn Turner) Lincoln 7a 883 Q2 1923 Marjorie (mmn Snell) Gainsborough 7a 1108 Q4 1923 Marjorie (mmn Booth) Newark 7b Q1 1925 I have a marriage cert for James (and i know it is definately his) from Dec 1945,age 22,father is John. The 1923 birth is to John Townsend and Annie (formerly Turner) No death for Annie and no remarriage for John to a Snell or Booth that i can find. How to prove who is or isn't related and work backwards please. Could they be unregistered twins (although the birth cert does not have a time of birth quoted). Could they have different mothers? Need some ideas on this everyone.Please Glen

I would put Marjorie in the 'Folklore' folder. Unless you know for sure that you had an Aunty Marjorie, how sure can you be that the other researcher is correct?

My mother was certain that her aunt was called Marjorie, but it turned out that Marjorie was her middle name. Could be something similar in this case? Kate.

I did wonder that myself,the other tree owner is a daughter to James (and therefore my half sister and niece to Marjorie)). James had a 'talent' for having children to several women (he fathered at least twelve kids that are known off). Unfortunately i can't get back in touch with my half sister and don't know how to ensure i get the right family back from James. Glen

Hi Glen it could definately be a middle name thing, before I had any contact with my birth family I found a half brother of my birth Nana called Reginald. when I finally made contact after a while my BM mentioned her uncle michael - I told her about my tree and she found out that he is Michael Reginald, but only he and my birth Nana knew about the Reginald part! Rebecca x

Right from 1920-1926 i have the following mmn Turner 2xbirths,both Lincoln mmn Snell 3x births,two in Lincoln,one in Gainsborough mmn Booth 1 birth,Newark The only James is mmn Turner The Marjorie births are for Snell and Booth Am i being too resticted with the districts?They are all within 20 miles of Lincoln,should i cast the net wider? Glen

People were certainly very mobile in those days, even buying cars. Is there anything work related which may indicate a possible reason to move?

John (father to James from 1923 birth cert) is a general labourer,and still recorded as a labourer on the 1945 wedding cert (although he by then was deceased) I don't really fancy trawling the death index,but maybe there might be something in the district for the death that might be handy to know. I certainly can't place a John Townsend-Annie Turner marriage at the moment,(save for the Isabel A Turner mentoned in my other thread which was Greenwich in 1920) Glen

None of the female births i have found have the middle initial of 'M',so if Marjorie is a real name then i don't know who it belongs too,and there are no Margaret births in the area. The only other James births are from much further afield,the nearest to Lincoln being Mansfield and Sheffield,after that it's the North East and South East. Glen

All depends where in Lincoln. At the moment the major hospitals are Boston, Skegness, Lincoln and Grantham or Nottingham. Newark also had a maternity wing. Although my mum lived in Newark I was born in Nottingham as I was a complicated birth. My dad's wife lived Ilkeston and had her baby in Nottingham. Not sure about 1924 though but what other refs could match except for the place and was it a legitimate birth?

In 1923 the districts came under 7a for Lincoln,7a for Gainsborough (noted as Gainsborough) and Newark came under 7b. Lincolnshire generally came under the 7a number,but had numerous districts,Lincoln district is relatively small,about a 8-10 mile radius The 1923 birth for James(i have the cert) indicates a legitimate birth,and is for Lincoln City itself. Glen

But we don't know if Marjorie is a legitimate birth do we? Also do you have the marriage cert of your father's parents?

I have the marriage cert for James (1945) and a birth cert for a James born 1923,Lincoln.The name of the father matches on both certs,as does the occupation,so that looks hopeful. I haven't been able to locate a marriage cert for John Townsend to Annie Turner (the parents named on the birth cert). I have various Ann/Annie Turners and varied John Townsend marrige refs but none of them are for John to Ann/Annie. The nearest possible is John Townsend to Isabel A Turner in Greenwich Q3 1920,but i have gone back to 1912 (although Q2 on Ancestry is missing) No certs for Marjorie Townsend have been obtained. Glen

2 things Annie could be a form of anything and I had a birth cert specifying that a mother's maiden name was Daft but she married under her illegitimate maiden name of Screaton so that was a pain to sort out.

Pippa I have pm'd you with some more details and names,(known reliies of James) which i don't wish to post on here. Hopefully you can see method in my search. Yeah i know what you mean about the Annie part of the equation,not really a great help at all is it. Glen

Glen, Do you have a dob for James? Rose

Glen, Even though Sheila is no longer a paying member she can still receive and respond to emails. Rose

Dismissing the abt 1924 as a 'guesstimate' year,and taking the fact that the 2 certs i have both quote John as father of James i believe the dob is 12/05/1923. I know his marriage cert is the correct one (15/12/1945) and quotes age as 22,still residing in Lincoln,although the marriage was in Middlesborough. If you name search James Townsend b1924 there is only one,(in this other tree) Glen

Re the paying membership I did try via GR some time ago with no luck,eventually i managed to trace the tree owner via the electoral roles and 'Friends Reunited'. I did speak to her on the phone but she has moved since and doesn't have the same e-mail addy from her GR days,or phone number. Based on what she said at the time she hasn't done the family tree thing,just wanted to find half siblings. Sadly i do not have current contact details for her Glen