Good afternoon all you experts.
In reasearching my family tree I have hit a massive brick wall, see my earlier post:
Good afternoon to you all. Are there any brickwall demolision enthusiasts out there??
(Apologies for the spelling error, I've only just noticed that on that day I couldn't spell demolition!!!!)
This is a general cry for help as I seem to be getting out of my depth and losing my focus.
I suppose (to start with) that I am very lucky, in that I have a very rare surname; Cressingham (and it's variants, Crossingham, Crassingham, Crossinggum etc.), so records, by and large, are very easy to trace and the person's relationship to me is virtually guaranteed somewhere down the line.
But one little family group of 'Cressinghams' have evaded all of my (and other more experienced researchers) best efforts to figure out their ancestry.
This has left me to believe that the gentleman in question either: -
Was the illegitimate son of one of the young ladies or gentlemen of the family, who was 'hidden' away from the rest... But to my, my father's, or my grandmother's knowledge there were never any family murmurings of such an event or person.
Or: The gentleman in question is not in fact a Cressingham, and he, his wife and his daughter lived out their lives under an assumed name...
His name?? Hugh Montrein Cressingham, Wife, Eliza Ann (Rossetter/Roisetter) and their daughter Lylie Montrein Cressingham (Married name Van Baerle)
The strange thing is that I know more about them as a family unit than I do of any other Cressingham of a similar age. I have photographs of Hugh and of Lylie, I have the originals of Hugh and Eliza's wedding and Hugh's death certificates. Plus very much more.
Hugh was allegedly born in 1863 either in Brighton or Hurstpierpoint....
But before 1882 (when he enlisted in the Bedfordshire Reg't in Kempston, Bedford) he is a ghost, and I cannot find his parents either.
Sooooo; after all of the above preamble my questions are: -
If he were a 'back stairs baby' or indeed was truly a Cressingham how could he not appear in BDM or censuses between 1863 and 1882? and why don't his parents appear.......Ever??
And if he took on an assumed name 31st March 1882 to effect his attestation into the British Army. How could he then live out the rest of his life without ever being 'found out'? He served in the army until 1920, ended up as Quartermaster and Honorary Lieutenant Colonel awarded the DSO & DCM and finished his military career working in the war office.
Hugh died in 1946, Eliza in 1948 and Lylie in 1960.
Given the above 'bare bone' facts... Were there no points or events in a person's life between 1863 and 1946 where they would have been required to provide 'incontrovertible documentary proof' of their identity and/or history??
I'm really just fishing, to see if anyone more experienced than myself in this genealogy malarkey can re-focus me; as I am now way outside of my sphere of knowledge and feel that I am just floundering around in murky waters that are rapidly threatening to engulf me.
Very best regards
Paul Cressingham.
In reasearching my family tree I have hit a massive brick wall, see my earlier post:
Good afternoon to you all. Are there any brickwall demolision enthusiasts out there??
(Apologies for the spelling error, I've only just noticed that on that day I couldn't spell demolition!!!!)
This is a general cry for help as I seem to be getting out of my depth and losing my focus.
I suppose (to start with) that I am very lucky, in that I have a very rare surname; Cressingham (and it's variants, Crossingham, Crassingham, Crossinggum etc.), so records, by and large, are very easy to trace and the person's relationship to me is virtually guaranteed somewhere down the line.
But one little family group of 'Cressinghams' have evaded all of my (and other more experienced researchers) best efforts to figure out their ancestry.
This has left me to believe that the gentleman in question either: -
Was the illegitimate son of one of the young ladies or gentlemen of the family, who was 'hidden' away from the rest... But to my, my father's, or my grandmother's knowledge there were never any family murmurings of such an event or person.
Or: The gentleman in question is not in fact a Cressingham, and he, his wife and his daughter lived out their lives under an assumed name...
His name?? Hugh Montrein Cressingham, Wife, Eliza Ann (Rossetter/Roisetter) and their daughter Lylie Montrein Cressingham (Married name Van Baerle)
The strange thing is that I know more about them as a family unit than I do of any other Cressingham of a similar age. I have photographs of Hugh and of Lylie, I have the originals of Hugh and Eliza's wedding and Hugh's death certificates. Plus very much more.
Hugh was allegedly born in 1863 either in Brighton or Hurstpierpoint....
But before 1882 (when he enlisted in the Bedfordshire Reg't in Kempston, Bedford) he is a ghost, and I cannot find his parents either.
Sooooo; after all of the above preamble my questions are: -
If he were a 'back stairs baby' or indeed was truly a Cressingham how could he not appear in BDM or censuses between 1863 and 1882? and why don't his parents appear.......Ever??
And if he took on an assumed name 31st March 1882 to effect his attestation into the British Army. How could he then live out the rest of his life without ever being 'found out'? He served in the army until 1920, ended up as Quartermaster and Honorary Lieutenant Colonel awarded the DSO & DCM and finished his military career working in the war office.
Hugh died in 1946, Eliza in 1948 and Lylie in 1960.
Given the above 'bare bone' facts... Were there no points or events in a person's life between 1863 and 1946 where they would have been required to provide 'incontrovertible documentary proof' of their identity and/or history??
I'm really just fishing, to see if anyone more experienced than myself in this genealogy malarkey can re-focus me; as I am now way outside of my sphere of knowledge and feel that I am just floundering around in murky waters that are rapidly threatening to engulf me.
Very best regards
Paul Cressingham.
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