How can I locate my wife’s great grandparents?
QI am trying to find the parents of my wife’s grandfather Arthur Roberts (born c1878/9). He married Emily Louisa Gough on 26 December 1901 at St Mary Newington in London. The certificate shows he lived at 5 Harmsworth Street, London, and his father was Arthur Roberts, tailor. I’ve searched the census and BMD records for Arthur junior’s family to no avail. Can you help?
Mike Rudd
AI found a 1911 census record for Arthur, living with Emily in Surrey. There were two children: Leslie W and Arthur E. You can check this is correct by searching the General Register Office (GRO) birth indexes for children of these names with mother’s maiden name Gough. On the census return, Arthur gave his place of birth as “City of London”.
Like you, I could not find an obvious entry for the same Arthur in the earlier census records. His marriage register entry gave his address in December 1901 as 5 Harmsworth Street, Newington. Just in case he was there at the time of the 1901 census, I looked up this address on findmy past.co.uk. I found Emily Gough living there with her brother and sister, but no Arthur.
Arthur senior may have died around the time Arthur was born, and may not appear at all on the census records. Look for any young Arthurs living with a widowed mother and deaths of Arthur Roberts in London. Arthur may have been the illegitimate child of a Miss Roberts, and given the name of Arthur as his father on his marriage for the sake of propriety. Search for birth records with no mother’s maiden surname (“–” in the GRO’s own indexes). I also spotted a few entries for an Arthur of the correct age in the London workhouse records on ancestry.co.uk, worthy of further investigation. If Arthur appears on the 1939 Register, search for any births recorded with that exact date of birth. Also, his children’s names could be clues to the identities of other members of his family.
Karen Cummings