Can you help me locate my maternal grandmother, who vanished after my mother was born?
QAlthea Gould (born 30 April 1890) was my maternal grandmother. However, my mum never knew her mother because Althea disappeared after my mum’s birth, leaving the baby with the family who she was a maid for. I’ve found Althea’s parents and siblings, but no trace of her going abroad or dying. I’m desperate to find out what happened to her.
Jean Kelly
ASince 1911 is the latest census available, other sources have to be used for searches later in the 20th century; these include electoral registers and the 1939 Register. The British Library holds the national collection of printed electoral registers, while local ones can be found in county record offices. Many have been indexed and are available online, including those for 1832– 1932, which can be viewed on findmypast. co.uk. Searching these, I found Althea at 24 Duke Street, Hinckley, Leicestershire, in 1929. She seems to have left the address shortly afterwards, because she does not appear in the register for the following year.
The 1939 Register is also a useful tool for locating individuals. On both findmypast. co.uk and ancestry.co.uk you can search the register using various criteria including date of birth. Although I couldn’t find Althea when searching for her by name, you could try looking for her using just her forename and/ or date of birth; consider that she may have married or started using a different forename.
Ancestry’s index to outward passenger lists includes two Miss A Gould entries, born in approximately 1889, who left England for Sydney, Australia, in 1929 and 1932; might one of these be Althea?
Consider, too, the possibility that she moved to Ireland or Scotland. Civil registration indexes for Ireland are only available on Ancestry up to 1958, while those for Scotland can be accessed via the ScotlandsPeople website ( scotlandspeople.gov.uk).
Since Althea is an unusual name, have you tried searching for her in local newspapers? Many titles have been digitised, and indexes are available online through britishnewspaper archive.co.uk and Findmypast. If you think that she may have migrated to Australia, then you should check the country’s newspapers via trove.nla.gov.au.
You could also try looking for more information about her parents. Althea may be mentioned in a report of her parents’ funerals, or for that matter be included in their wills. Administration of the estate of Althea’s mother, Sarah Ann, with will annexed, was granted in 1937. Obtaining a copy might resolve the question of what happened to her. You can order this online from probatesearch. service.gov.uk for £1.50.