Please help! Having managed to trace the rest of my tree back to 1580, I can't even get my paternal family name, Harrison, back to the censuses. After years of effort, it's driving me bonkers.
Here's what I know (I can give exact dates if needed):
William Thomas Harrison, b. about 1883 (don't know where), m.1915 to Elsie Louisa Turner in Bristol. d. bef. 1937. Served in the 15th Hussars and then the Royal Engineers, entering France in 1915 and discharged to the reserves in 1919. William's father was Alfred Harrison (of whom I know nothing).
Elsie died in childbirth in 1921 at Chipping Sodbury and their 3 children were admitted to Brisol Orphanage, Ashley. I've sent off for the records from The Muller Foundation.
The 3 kids were:
Lilah Harrison (I know nothing of her, but it could be Lilah's birth that her mother died at)
Dennis George Harrison (my grandfather), b.1917 in Bristol, m. 1942 to Florence Dale, d.1974 in Stafford. Served in the RAF, on MTBs in the Indian Ocean. They had a son Dennis Frank Harrison.
Cecil William Harrison, b.1915, m.1937 to May Eastlake in Porthleven, d.1944 in a motorbike crash serving as a dispatch rider, Royal Signals. Buried at Porthleven/Helston and shown on the Porthleven war memorial. They had a daughter Margerita Harrison in 1938.
In short, quite a sad tale. The sequence of dates show William getting married a week or so before being shipped out to fight in France, then a week before his first son was born. He survives the war only to lose his wife in childbirth, then his kids to the orphanage. Not sure what happens to him after that, but he's dead by 1937.
In trying to get beyond William, I feel I've exhausted BMD indexes and can't find WW1 service/pension records (only his medal roll card). The infomation from the orphanage is my last hope, but somehow think it won't help with the million dollar question - where was William Thomas Harrison born? I know it was abt. 1883 and his father was Alfred Harrison, but with such a common name I can't get a definite fix on the 1891 or 1901 censuses.
Any advice? Anyone? Please!
Thanks
Kevin
Here's what I know (I can give exact dates if needed):
William Thomas Harrison, b. about 1883 (don't know where), m.1915 to Elsie Louisa Turner in Bristol. d. bef. 1937. Served in the 15th Hussars and then the Royal Engineers, entering France in 1915 and discharged to the reserves in 1919. William's father was Alfred Harrison (of whom I know nothing).
Elsie died in childbirth in 1921 at Chipping Sodbury and their 3 children were admitted to Brisol Orphanage, Ashley. I've sent off for the records from The Muller Foundation.
The 3 kids were:
Lilah Harrison (I know nothing of her, but it could be Lilah's birth that her mother died at)
Dennis George Harrison (my grandfather), b.1917 in Bristol, m. 1942 to Florence Dale, d.1974 in Stafford. Served in the RAF, on MTBs in the Indian Ocean. They had a son Dennis Frank Harrison.
Cecil William Harrison, b.1915, m.1937 to May Eastlake in Porthleven, d.1944 in a motorbike crash serving as a dispatch rider, Royal Signals. Buried at Porthleven/Helston and shown on the Porthleven war memorial. They had a daughter Margerita Harrison in 1938.
In short, quite a sad tale. The sequence of dates show William getting married a week or so before being shipped out to fight in France, then a week before his first son was born. He survives the war only to lose his wife in childbirth, then his kids to the orphanage. Not sure what happens to him after that, but he's dead by 1937.
In trying to get beyond William, I feel I've exhausted BMD indexes and can't find WW1 service/pension records (only his medal roll card). The infomation from the orphanage is my last hope, but somehow think it won't help with the million dollar question - where was William Thomas Harrison born? I know it was abt. 1883 and his father was Alfred Harrison, but with such a common name I can't get a definite fix on the 1891 or 1901 censuses.
Any advice? Anyone? Please!
Thanks
Kevin
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