Genealogy Chat

My Great Grandfather left my Grandfather and his siblings when they were very young and he was never seen again! I am researching and have found out alot about him! His name was Sydney Seager and he died in Hendon, London in 1957. I am curious to know about him, what he looked like etc! I think there must be someone alive now who knew him as he didn't die till 1957! I'm not sure how to go about finding anyone though! I know his last address and this was where he died, and also where his second wife lived until 1960! Is it worth writing to the addresses in that street on the off chance that someone still lives there who did when he was alive, or is it an extreme long shot? Any other ideas who i can find out more about him!

Thanks
Hayley

I'd be more inclined to write a letter to the local paper.

Do you think they would print one for me?

Maybe a local paper would put a note in a letters column or similar.

To be neighbours and know the family 40 plus years ago would be a long shot but a check of electoral lists for then and now might show people who haven't moved away.


Gwyn

I would start by searching for him using the tree search on this site - see if anyone else has him on their tree

Peter

Would i have to go somewhere to search the electoral register for then?

Who was the informant on 2nd wife's death certificate. Chances are that they cleared the property and might have photos.

It might be worth tracking them down.

Gwyn

I've tried that, noone has him, well they do, but I already know them and they don't know anymore than me, thanks though x

She lived in the house until 1960, and she died in 1960 in Brighton, at an address I don't know and the informant was the Funeral director!!!

Did she...or he leave a Will?
There might be clues there.


Old electoral lists are kept at main libraries or archives / Record Offices local to the house address.

Gwyn

I sent for his will so i know he didn't leave one, i am not sure about her though so i could send for that!

I have searched all of his brothers and sisters but always come to dead ends!

He had 7 children, one of whom was my Grandfather and nonw of them saw him after a young age! His second wife didn't have any children, and they had none together!!!

Hi,

Were his parents George William + Winifred Apps

If so, we know that he was around 5' 6" tall, slim, fair complexion, with grey eyes and brown hair.

He also had a mole on the left side of his back !!

Dea x

No, they weren't his parents, but thanks anyway!!!!!!!

What a shame !!!

I have just found this one's service records and there is loads of info.

As a matter of interest - when and where was your Sydney born and who were his parents?

Perhaps I could find something?

Dea x

He was born in 1885 in London and his parents were Samuel Seager and Emma Gardner x

Hi Hayley,

I had a similar situation to you a couple of years ago so I thought I'd copy and paste a thread I put on the boards then to show you what I did. Copy and pasted below:-

......

I know this is the wrong board for this but I know more people on here.

Some of you will know that I have been trying to find my granddad’s death for more than 3 years. He left my grandmother and their children in the 1920’s and we didn’t know what had become of him.

On Thursday I managed to get a marriage certificate for his second marriage after stumbling across the reference for it during searches for something else (he was 60 at the time and I wasn’t sure if the marriage would be his). IT WAS.

The certificate gave me an address in Hastings, and on the advice of Helen Little Nell (thanks again Nell) I emailed Hastings Reference Library to ask if they could check the Electoral register taken just before the war. That’s all I asked for.

Today I have had numerous emails from them giving me addresses, other people living with them, and then Obituary notices for both my granddad and his second wife, details of a daughter they had, and her husband, details of the funerals, who sent flowers, who performed the ceremonies and the name of the funeral directors. Even the last known address of his daughter in 1984.

The gentleman who sent me all the information must have worked non-stop all day on this for me and I will be forever in his debt.

You can’t imagine how I feel today.

Don’t give up everyone. From knowing nothing about my granddad I now have all this information – in just one day!!!!

.......

After getting the above information I wrote to the newspaper that had carried the obituary notices and asked if they would publish a letter giving my grandad's daughter's name and last known address and asking if any of their readers knew of her or her whereabouts.

They did this the very next week and on the day they published the letter, I had an email from her sister-in-law giving telling me that grandad's daughter was still alive and giving me her current address. We are now in regular contact by letter (she doesn't have a computer). She had known that her father had been married before but not that he had three other children from his first marriage.

I was worried that she wouldn't want to know about her father's first family but she was very interested and glad that I made contact.

I would say it's worth trying anything. I hope you get the sort of help I did from Hastings Library.

Kath. x

Thanks Kath x

Funnily enough before you replied I found the Hastings site and i have emailed them asking them who was on the electoral register for 1960 at the address down for my g.grandfathers second wife on her death certificate! She dies in October 1960 in Hastings, but was on the electoral register at the address in Hendon where she lived with my G.grandfather in 1960 aswell. I'm not sure why she had moved to Hastings or who with etc, so hoping the electoral register for the address on her death certificate may tell me a little more!

All i really want is to know about him and what he looked like! Noone knows x

Maybe the Hastings address was a nursing home or similar?

Have you done a search on Google for the address?

Gwyn

The man at Hastings Library who helped me was called Roger but unfortunately he has now retired.

My grandad's daughter did not have any photos of her father which was a great disappointment for me as we didn't have any. However when I sent her a photo of myself and my dad at my wedding she said she couldn't beleive how much like her dad my dad was, so at least I have an idea of what he was like.

Kath. x

Sorry, I deleted the last post as I clicked twice.

Kath. x