Why was 6 year old John Robert Donaldson left behind when his parents moved 350 miles south?
John, my husband's great grandfather,
was born in 1854, the son of Robert Donaldson, a shipwright, and
Isabella Walton of South Shields, a town on the north east coast of
England, dominated by the sea and maritime activity. An obvious next
step in research was to find the family in the 1861 Census, but
frustratingly, in the days before online records, this proved impossible
to trace. Yet all the indications were that direct Donaldson
descendants had remained in South Shields down the generations.
It was only much later the opportunity to do national searches online revealed that, by 1861 Robert and Isabella were at Portsea in Portsmouth on the south coast of England. With them were two young sons Thomas, aged 4, born South Shields and one year old Frederick W. (Walton perhaps after Isabella's maiden name?) born at Portsea, indicating a move c.1857-1860. But there was no mention of their eldest son, John who would have been 6 years old.
How had the family travelled 350 miles from South Shields to Portsea, by rail or more likely by sea? Was work the reason, with Robert now employed at Her Majesty's Dockyard as a shipwright? Why was John not with them? Many questions!
Back
in South Shields, I returned to the 1861 census and found John's
maternal grandparents, John and Hannah Walton, with the household also
including their grandson John Robert Walton aged 6. This must be "my"
John Robert Donaldson, mistakenly recorded in the census with the wrong
surname. An entry in the 1871 census gave further confirmation - a
John Donaldson, aged 16, born c.1855 was living at the home of his
maternal uncle Robert Walton. Death records showed that John must have
lost his grandparents (and his home) in 1868.
Eight year later John married Jane Elizabeth Rushton. and they had four sons - John Robert, Henry, Thomas, Frederick and one daughter Isabella. Interestingly these names echoed those of his siblings in Portsmouth. For Robert and Isabella had more children - Thomas, Fredrick, Henry, Robert, Charles, Isabella and Alfred.
The
fact that John retained the name of his father and mother for his
eldest son and daughter suggests that the split had been amicable. One
cannot help wonder did the two families ever meet again.
Why
was Maria Rawcliffe, my great grandmother, recorded on her birth certificate as Maria, but in later official records, called "Martha Maria" - on her 1877 marriage certificate, her 1881
census entry, her burial record and my grandfather's 1907 birth
certificate?
This was a puzzle, as Maria's granddaughters, who were still alive, referred to her as Granny Maria.
Further research established that Maria's youngest sister was christened Martha, born 20th January 1863, and died 22nd May 1863. Maria would only have been just three years old then, so could hardly have remembered her youngest sister. Moreover their mother Jane died two years later, so could not have kept the memory alive of baby Martha for very long for her other daughters. So why did Maria adopt her name along with her own? We shall never know!
This was a puzzle, as Maria's granddaughters, who were still alive, referred to her as Granny Maria.
Further research established that Maria's youngest sister was christened Martha, born 20th January 1863, and died 22nd May 1863. Maria would only have been just three years old then, so could hardly have remembered her youngest sister. Moreover their mother Jane died two years later, so could not have kept the memory alive of baby Martha for very long for her other daughters. So why did Maria adopt her name along with her own? We shall never know!
 |
| Maria Danson, nee Rawcliffe (1859-1919) with her only daughter Jennie (after 8 surviving sons) and granddaughter Annie Maria |
Why
did Maria's sister Alice and family (husband John Mason, a general
labourer, and six children under 11 years old) emigrate from
Fleetwood, a fishing town in Lancashire to Brooklyn, New York in
1886-7.
No Rawcliffe family had connections with New York. Alice and John had a further five children in New York (three dying in infancy). My big blog success story was a descendant making contact with me and contributing stories and photographs on the family.
But no light was shed on the decision to emigrate. I must investigate John's family to see perhaps if anyone had gone ahead to persuade them to make the leap to a new life in America.
But no light was shed on the decision to emigrate. I must investigate John's family to see perhaps if anyone had gone ahead to persuade them to make the leap to a new life in America.
Alice and John Mason and their eight surviving children c.1920's
Why cannot I trace the birth certificate of my grandmother Alice English, born c.1884 in Bolton, Lancashire?
Alice is my major brick wall that I have written about a few times on my blog. I would love to find out the name of her mother, but despite exploring various avenues, sources, social media, and message boards etc., her early life before she married my grandfather remains unknown. I cannot trace a birth certificate and In one possible cesnus entry she is a live in domestic servant - so no help there.
The 1911 census cites her birthplace as Bolton, and the 1939 register gives her date of birth as 23rd September 1884, confirming what I was always told that we shared he same birthday. But Bolton Registrar has no record of her. I am still hunting!
These Questions remain mysteries and I may never know the answers - another factor that makes family history so absorbing. But I am still on the Quest - and not for Quitting!
****************
I wonder did Alice change her surname at some stage? Could she have been fostered or informally adopted. One of those cases and hoping digitisation breaks something out. Definitely no quitting!
ReplyDeleteI also wonder how young John felt to be left behind with his mother’s parents. You’d think it would have had some level of psychological impact. Perhaps the grandparents were being left someone to love and not be lonely. As you say, so many questions.
Yes, it has been suggested to me that Alice may have changed her name and that she could be the illegitimate daughter of a Mary Welsh - and Alice Welsh became Alice English ??? A bit far fetched perhaps - but how can I prove it. I don’t know.
ReplyDelete