Hello friends!
We are back, but not in the best of health! Jack’s skin cancers took ages to heal (but thankfully they have now!) and the change of temps between Queensland and Tassie were a heck of a shock to the system. But we are hanging on like barnacles and firmly believing that this Winter has got to end soon… hasn’t it??? They keep saying Australia has had one of the warmest Winters on record but I think they forgot about us down here! Remember ‘global warming’ – we wish!!!
I am still waiting on Edward’s birth certificate and dreading yet another to add to my collection of “not the right one!” I got his DOB from the fact that on his Death cert (attached), it gave his age as 21. As he was born in June, I worked on 1917 as being his 21st year and worked back from there to 1896. Fortunately, there was only ONE entry for an Edward Evans in the June Qtr of 1896, so I am keeping everything crossed pending its arrival! You see, I should have listened to Fred, who had given young Edward’s age as 15 in the 1911 census! I shall post it on here asap!
Hugo: The photos were fabulous! Such memories. And yes, Mull, Ivor Shields did live in #2. As for ‘cramped quarters’, it certainly was! I can recall sleeping in a bed with my Mum and 2 sisters while my brother’s cot was next to the wall. And NO running hot water! And an outside dunny. In Winter, it was dire! And no light in the outside dunny, so you could only read ‘the news’ (aka, the toilet paper!) during daylight! But I wouldn’t have swapped it for quids! Happy days!
<Certificates can be costly if you pick the wrong one> – you’re not wrong! I’ve got quite a collection of “wrong ‘uns” now! But at least for every wrong one, it’s one step closer to the right one!
<Fred and Ann Parry were your mother's foster parents, I was wondering if you have tried or wanted to trace your mother's biological parents> – yes, we did, but sadly only found her Mother after her death! (Her Mother’s death, that is!) She’d had a new family by then and they were afraid of tarnishing their Mum’s reputation, so we didn’t impose any further on them. It happens like that sometimes. As it was, my Mum always looked on Ann Parry as her mother and when she had lost all other memories to her Dementia, she always retained Penrhynside as her home! In fact, she was always known as “Ann Parry’s dtr”, hence why we feel closer to them than the ‘real McCoys’!
Thanks for looking thru all those baptism records for me! I had a look in Llandudno Library on one of my visits (probably last century now!) and got myself stumped for many years because I thought the Frederick Parry in there was the son of David Parry, the tailor, and it wasn’t the right Fred after all! So it just goes to prove my point that Welsh genealogy is the hardest on the planet!! But interesting about <Dafydd, son of Ann Evans address 14 Tyn Y Coed Terrace> It certainly makes you wonder, doesn’t it. But, as you will see from my response to Helig, I’m not yet happy with Jane Evans being Edward’s Nain (and therefore Ann’s Mother):
Helig: Regarding the 1901 Census. I also wondered if that might be ‘Uncle Ted’ but felt that it probably wasn’t. Two reasons for this:
1. Where was his brother Thomas Richard? If Ted was there, I’d have expected Tom to be there too, as he’d have only been about 7 himself.
2. On Fred and Ann's marriage cert of 1903, it gives her Father's name as Edward but does NOT say he was 'deceased' (as it does for Fred's Father) So Grandad Edward SHOULD have been alive in 1901 and his wife would not have been a Widow?
I sometimes wonder if I get too ‘smart’ for this as you can so easily over-think things. Maybe they had separated and she listed herself as a ‘widow’ for the sake of decency? But it still doesn’t tell me where Tom was. But the hint about sending away for Tom and Jane’s marriage cert is a good one – consider it done!
*BTW, has anyone else dearly missed that “check” that the ONS (sorry, it's the Passport Office now, isn't it!)that used to offer a check that you were getting the right certificate? You used to be able to specify ‘definite’ info (such as the Mother’s name) and if the certificate you ordered didn’t agree with your check, you only got charged 3 pounds, instead of 7 – wish they still had that available, it would have saved me a fair bit! (And I don’t just mean the difference between the 7 quid and the now 9.25!)
The other thing about Census records, etc, is that you have to be very careful with whoever transcribes them. I used to transcribe for Free BMD and they have very strict rules about what you can put down. But with some transcribers, they sometimes have to guess the poor writing - and some of the results can be hilarious! Which is why it is so good to be able to see the actual record yourself and decide what a word really was. The trouble is, first you have to find the record - not easy if the surname has been wrongly transcribed to start with! Took me ages to find my Grandfather, Hodgson Sutcliffe, who'd been transcribed as Tutcliffe! This little icon reminds me of what transcribing can be like:
http://threetownsforum.co.uk/forum/Smileys/SoLoSMiLeYS1/drunk.gifAnyway, I'm attaching 3 documents.
1. Edward Evans' Death certificate - even though he was killed in action in Belgium, they still issued Death certs for people as if they'd died at home.
2. Edward Evans' 'death card' - which actually gives his age as 22
3. Fred and Ann's marriage certificate. Although I have labelled it 'possible', I am pretty satisfied it is the correct one! As you can see, Fred's Father is listed as 'deceased' but Ann's isn't.
That's all for now - but hopefully by Tuesday, Edward's birth cert will arrive! Fingers crossed!