Who were my great grandparents?
Q
We have come to a dead end with our research, because there is no obvious information about my grandfather’s family – every lead brings us back to the same point. My grandad was born on 5 August 1927, in Fulham. His name was James John Crowe. His mother’s maiden name may have been Fox. We cannot find his father or siblings. Any help or advice would be appreciated. Roy Crowe
A
Your first step should be to obtain a copy of the birth certificate of James John Crowe, registered in 1927 in Fulham, South-West London. That would confirm his date of birth, and the names of his parents. Without it, we can’t be absolutely certain that the entry is your grandfather, although it does seem to be very likely.
If we risk working from the index entry alone, which does indicate a mother’s maiden name of Fox, then the next search is for a Crowe–Fox marriage. However, there is no likely record to be found, which forces us to look elsewhere.
Using the date of birth you have, there is an entry of interest in the 1939 Register. James G Crowe, born on 5 August 1927 and still at school, is living in Orbain Road in Fulham in the house of Thomas and Violet M Burr (born on 22 August 1896). Despite the incorrect middle initial, this appears to be your grandfather and in the same household are other children (aged 17 and five) with the surnames Hookey and Burr. Although the 1939 Register doesn’t give relationships, this appears to be a complex family group.
Given the different surname, it is unlikely that James is the son of Thomas Burr. Could he be Violet’s son, perhaps from a previous marriage?
We know that your grandfather’s mother’s maiden name is probably Fox, and a search finds that Violet Fox married Edward Hookey on 1 June 1914 at St Peter’s, Fulham.
A badly damaged First World War army service record for Edward Hookey survives. It confirms Violet and Edward’s marriage in Fulham and mentions addresses in Bedfont, Middlesex, and Orbain Road, Fulham.
Edward seems to have survived the Hookey registered in Fulham in 1925. He was 39 years old, which matches with his age on the service record.
Next we find that Violet M Hookey married George J Crowe in Fulham in 1926. This would be the marriage that leads to the birth of your grandfather in 1927. The electoral register for 1927 shows George and Violet living together at 19 Orbain Road.
Sadly, Violet seems to have quickly been widowed again, because there is a death recorded for George John Crowe at 19 Orbain Road in 1929. He was 81, many years older than Violet, and left an estate of over £2,700 – a substantial amount at that time.
Violet M Crowe then married Thomas G Burr in Fulham in 1930.
Looking for children born to these marriages, using the maiden name of Fox, I found four Hookey children (in Staines in 1915 and 1916, and Fulham in 1919 and 1922); only one Crowe child – your grandfather in Fulham in 1927; and two Burr children (in Fulham in 1932 and 1934). Violet Mary Burr died in 1963.
All of this information needs to be checked and confirmed with certificates, but the evidence suggests that your great grandparents were Violet Mary Fox (1896–1963) and George John Crowe (1848–1929).