Genealogy Chat

Hello all you night owls......spent the last couple of hours tracking a family back from 1901.Came to an unceremonious standstill with a bizarre entry......1881 6 ,Holland Place London,Mary E. Dunn widow aged 38 with her son and granddaughter Joseph and Annie.They are quite a boring lot really -next 60 years stayed in london,modest jobs etc.The difference here though is Marys place of birth..........Barbados!!!!!! What on Earth was she there for-born c 1843,as yet mother and father unknown.Query=what was her maiden name? and what was Mr.Dunn's first name? Their son was born c 1863(joseph) in london.All the family seem to have come from London.

Well, a few thoughts... Her father was at a sugar plantation. Barbados is a mis-tran for...erm...Paddington???Or St Barnabas???(Running out of ideas here) I was startled to find one side branch of my family born in the 1840s, in such places as Prussia, France, Germany and Austria.Further investigations proved their father was an Engineer who invented the torpedo and was employed by various heads of state. One daughter married into the Von Trapp family (the Hills are alive....) and another married a cousin of the Emperor Franz Josef. On the other hand, another branch who lived in Salford, Manchester, are confidently transcribed as being born in Salford, MARS!!! Olde Crone

definitely says Barbados West indies-whats strange is that the generations didnt amount to much-she was a launderess !!

Alter I'm about off to bed myself, but Military seems to spring to mind - was there any activity in the area when Mary would have been born? I'll see how far you've got tomorrow Night Elly

If the 1881 census gives Joseph's birth as c. 1863, then it will probably be between June qtr of 1863 and March qtr of 1863. The only Joseph Dunn I can find born in London on 1837 is this one:- Joseph Dunn, birth Dec. qtr. 1862, Kensington, 1a, 70. You could order the certificate giving his mother's name as a checking point and this will give you his father's name. Perhaps Mary's family were abroad with the army when she was born. Kath. x

How about he was an irish dunne(with an e) ,went abroad,came back to england as a dunn(without an e)-hence havent found a marriage-or thay got married in barbados,came over and had joseph in london ?

is it def mary.e dunn. just looked on igi records and found a mary A and a joesph martin dunn had a child called Joesph thomas frederick dunn on 26/06/1863, christened 13/07/1863 at old church, saint pancras, london. dont no her madien name but could this be mr dunn?

This is Joseph Martin Dunns marriage but one partner missing Marriages Dec 1862 Baker Mary Ann Butterwick Pancras 1b 98 Dunn Joseph Martin Pancras 1b 98 Meek Charles Pancras 1b 98 Deborah

This one has a Mary Ann Eliza Marriages Mar 1863 DUNN William Bethnal Gn 1c 500 ELFORD Alfred Bethnal Gn 1c 500 LEWIS Mary Ann Eliza Bethnal Gn 1c 500 Thats the only Mary E I can find Deborah

Youve gone down the same road as me a few hours ago-i thought the lewis name was going to be it-I shortlisted Cowley,Hamshire,Keen,Nevill,and lewis as possible maiden names because they were all Marys that married a Dunn between 1860 and 1863 in london area-none of them are listed as born barbados as younger girls-they all were born in london. I suspect her middle name is Eliza or Elizabeth,possibly ellen.

Kathleeen-yes that must be josephs birth,he is constantly refferred as born kensington,in later censi.,and is the only one I can find that fits nicely-that cert would I hope answer a few things.

Barbados means bearded. The island got its name because of the mossy plants that hang from the trees. Founded in 1628 by a tiny group of British settlers, Bridgetown is home to approximately 40 percent of the island's population. There is quite a lot on Barbados English connections and it only became fully independant from England in 1966. Seems there were a lot of ships back and forth trading in the early 1800s Deborah

Keep getting Happy Genes errors again!! Have you found Mary and her son on the 1871 census,she may have been a widow already by then Deborah

Perhaps he was a merchant seaman then....the fact that she was widowed,and had to work as a laundress afterwards implies he left very little for her.

Yes,Perhaps she ran away from her rich family,with a sailor and came home to England with him, Deborah

mmmmmsounds promising !!! Im getting sore eyes now,think I'll turn in-thanks for taking an interest.

Yes Im off got to be up in 4 and 1/2 hours,sorry we didnt solve it ,still its fun to imagine the way things may have been Deborah

Hi, perhaps she was the daughter of a servant that went with the family to Barbados or the daughter of a man in the navy or army who was stationed there? And just a thought - is there any dark skinned members in your family line?

Just started looking at this one, but to start with Mary's age is transcribed as 58 not 38 on the 1881, and although there is a thick line through the first digit, looking at the bottom loop of it, it does seem to match the other 5's on the page more than the 3's. Also, since she has a grand-daughter Annie age 7, it's not very likely she would be only 38. And the other household at the same address is headed by a Lewis Dunn age 29, presumably he is another of Mary's sons? Born Middlesex Brompton. I would guess that Annie might be Lewis's daughter (he has wife Martha E. age 27, daughter Ellen age 5 and James L. age 1 living with him). So I don't think you should be looking for Mary's marriage around 1862 since Lewis would have been born about 1851. I will keep digging and post some more up in a while. Kate.

Next instalment.... as I thought, Lewis is Mary's son. If you look for them on the 1871 ancestry has the surname mistranscribed as 'Dum'. They were still at 6 Holland Place, and Mary's husband is James, a gardener aged 58, born Kensington. Mary's middle initial is definitely E and her age definitely 48, birth place W. Indies. They have loads of children including Lewis and Joseph, all born in Kensington. The oldest one is 23. Kate.