The winner of Who Do We Think You Are 4th June 2009

[jennie]

is .........

Smiley Sammy


Well done i hope you get brick walls knocked down.

[borobabs]

Congratulations Smiley Sammy hope you get few brick walls dawn babe ;;;go on go for it girl

[Rosi Glow]

Good luck with your brick walls Sammy

[vikki brace]

Well done Sammy, hope I can help in some way

[Smiley Sammy]

WOW!!!!!!! So excited it's me!!

I would love some help with these sticklers please...


I have LAURA BESSANT on 1891 census aged 2mths

Esther Bessant 30
Alice Bessant 6 (this is my great grandmother)
Laura Bessant 2/12

Living in Portsea Hants

I have Lauras birth certificate -
Laura Annie Bessant born 20/1/1891
Mother: Esther Bessant mn Blake - Father: William Bessant
28, Little Southsea St
Southsea

This is the first & last sighting of Laura, I cannot find her in 1901 or 1911, nor have I found a marriage or death.
Her mother Esther Laura Bessant died in 1898.
Alice Bessant is living with her aunt Sarah Bessant in 1901 in Folkestone, no sign of Laura though.
Her father William is a lodger in Gillingham Kent in 1901.
This has stumped me for several years I would love to know what happened to Laura.
Thank you
Sam

[Smiley Sammy]

2nd problem....

I have this family in 1901

James Cook 30 Kent N/K
Emily Cook 28 Hardwicke Glos
Emily Cook 3 Gloucester
James Cook 1 Gloucester
Living at Gloucester Place, Gloucester

same family in 1911

James Cook - 38 Invalid - Ireland
Emily Cook - 33 Hardwicke Glos
James Cook 12 Gloucester
George Cook 9 Gloucester
Leonard Cook 5 Gloucester
Henry Cook 2 Gloucester
Emily CooK 1 Gloucester
married 14yrs - 5 children, 4 living 1 died.
Portland St Gloucester

I have Emily jnrs death cert in 1905, she died in a fire. They then seem to have had another daughter and also called her Emily.
I have 2 of the boys births certs, it gives their mmn as Booth. (Leonard was actually Dolphin Leonard Cook)
I know James birth place is different on each census and Emily snr has only aged 5yrs between census, but I'm sure it's the same family.

I cannot find a marriage for James & Emily nor can I find a birth for Emily jnr in 1897/8 so I cannot get any further back with this family.
James snr was James William Cook, sometimes William James Cook, so that doesn't help much either!
Their marriage would be such a breakthrough, just to have their fathers names.
Thank you for any thoughts
Sam

N.B. Emily Cook Snr died in Sept q 1957 aged 82yrs - Gloucester

[margaretmarch]

Sammy,
Do you have a sighting of William Bessant in 1891?
I've checked BMD on Ancestry for a death for Laura - all variations I could think of and short of going through the images for that 10 years 1891 to 1901 I can't think of anything else to do. I would definitely go through the images if I were you, just in case it's been missed of the transcriptions or maybe there's some images missing for that period? Have you checked on FreeBMD and Findmypast?
Margaret

[margaretmarch]

Sammy,
Wouldn't Emily seniors death certificate give her maiden name? I know they do now but not sure when that started.
Margaret

[dicole]

Its interesting -James only ages 8 years in a 10 years census and Emily only 5 - I hate it when they do that ! Could Emily have been 23 in 1901, not 28 ?

Also they seem to have 5 living children, not four, plus 1 Dead - James, George, Leonard, Henry and Emily. Someone cannot count here.

Does Emily jnr's death certificate say how old she was in 1905 - does it match with the census age ?

Di

[Smiley Sammy]

Thank you for your help
Margaret, I cannot see William in 1891 but he was a corporal in 1881 & a Telegraphist in 1901 so I assume he was away fighting or at sea. His father was in the Navy.

Also, I have Emily snrs maiden name from her son Leonards birth certificate, it's Booth.


Di, you make an interesting point about the number of children stated in 1911, James also did not fill in the relationship of everyone to him, maybe one is a nephew or neice, but maybe he did not fill the form in correctly.

Emily Jnr was 8yr at death
Sam

[dicole]

Re Laura Bessant

If her mother died while she was very young, perhaps she began using the name of the family she was living with and is recorded that way in 1901 - which means its going to be really hard to find her.

Where were William and Esther born, did they have other siblings who might have taken Laura - particularly a sister with a different married name ? does a Laura suddenly appear in their family in 1901 ?

This is a good mystery and so is Emily Cook - good luck on getting some clues

Di

[dicole]

Di, you make an interesting point about the number of children stated in 1911, James also did not fill in the relationship of everyone to him, maybe one is a nephew or neice, but maybe he did not fill the form in correctly.

Sam

Very helpful man, your James !

"Don't tell 'em anything, I don't want the government to know my business"

a lot of people like(d) to make a small protest by not doing the census properly. 100 years from now, our descendents are going to worry about the number of people of the Jedi religion !!

[Smiley Sammy]

Di I just checked Esthers siblings, good suggestion, she had 3 younger half brothers, Alfred, Frederick & Thomas Wheable.
They are all married in 1901 but none of them have Laura.

William had one sister and a brother who died at 1yr. His sister Sarah Francis Bessant has Alice in 1901, no Laura.
Sam

[vikki brace]

Thank you for your help
Margaret, I cannot see William in 1891 but he was a corporal in 1881 & a Telegraphist in 1901 so I assume he was away fighting or at sea.

Sam

Hi Sam

I am just looking through this thread, soI don't duplicate Margarets hard work, but I just spotted what you said about William, There is a web site (which I will find for you) which lists the various conflicts British troops have been involved in and also where some units were based through the years.

If you know which unit he served with it might be worth taking a look, you could also contact the Nationa Archives to see if they hold any records relating to his service

[vikki brace]

Sorry Sam I can't seem to find the web site, but as soon as I can remember it, I will let you know.

It might be worth tracing the burial of Laura's mother, and searching the burial register to see if Laura died and was burried with her mother. All death should have been registered but the fact is that some did slip through the cracks.

[Smiley Sammy]

Can I ask if it's possible to find out if a soldier was awarded the Military Cross in WW2, without getting his army records?
Thanks
Sam

[Mary from Italy]

I think it may be in the Gazette:

London Gazette Home Page

[Mary from Italy]

Just been having a look at the Cook family, but drawn a blank so far.

I can't see a likely birth for an Emily Booth at around the right time, nor can I find her in 1881 or 1891 - have you had any luck?

Did they have another child in 1914?

[Gwen@coggiecorner]

I've looked for the Cooks and Bessant but so far drawn a blank. I've just searched the 1911 census and found a Alice Bessant born 1885, aged 26, living in New Forest, this could be your Alice but no credits left to view the document. I was thinking if I found Alice I might find Laura

[Smiley Sammy]

Hello Mary, I have found my chap in the London Gazette being promoted to Captain & then acting Major but no mention of receiving the MC. It's just that I have a photograph of him and it says Major Harry Merry M.C.

Also, no definites for Emily or James on any census prior to 1901 because the names are so common.

Gwen, Alice was married by the 1911 census, I have the print out for her & her family but no Laura.

Thank you all for looking