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This query comes from Dr. Lawrence Miller in California:
I was born in Liverpool in 1945. My father is from Southampton, my mother was born in either Fishguard or Swansea, Wales. My father’s father died mysteriously in Southampton sometime in the early 1930’s. I want to
find out how he died, and trace the family tree. My father’s name is Walter Thomas Masters Grant, he was born in 1927 (or 1914) I believe. I do not know my grandparents (my father’s parents first names, I know that my
grandmother’s maiden name was Masters, her mother was Cohen but that’s all.
She was from Cornwall, and married (I think his name was William) Grant. They lived in Southampton and had 13 children. I am curious. Can you help me in this matter?
Our expert, Steve Rigden comments:
“Thanks for your question. You should be able to find answers very soon!
This sort of problem is usually fairly easily solved by a systematic approach to the available online records, namely the indexes of birth, marriage and death for England & Wales. To solve the problem in this instance, these are the steps I took:
1. Searched for the marriage of a Walter Thomas Masters Grant before 1945. Entry found for a Walter T M Grant marrying an Ann C Kiely in September quarter 1943 in Swansea registration district.
2. Searched for his birth in the period 1911 to 1928. Entry found for a Walter T M Grant born in March quarter 1914 in Southampton registration district. This gave his mother’s maiden surname as Passmore.
3. Searched for the marriage of a Grant to a Passmore in the period from 1890 to 1914. Entry found for a William Henry M Grant marrying Minnie Passmore in March quarter 1899 in Southampton registration district.
4. Searched for the death of a William Henry M Grant between 1914 and 1945. Entry found for a William H M Grant dying in March quarter 1926 in Southampton registration district. He was 49 years old.
You can now apply for the 1926 death certificate of William Henry M (presumably Masters) Grant to find out cause of death. You can do this online or by post (as you live in California, I would not recommend the phone!). Go to the official General Register Office of England & Wales website for details – . The index references for the death entry (needed to order a copy of the death certificate) are vol 2C, page 17.
I also looked up the family on the 1911 census for you. This shows the Grant family living at 2 Threefield Lane in Southampton – William aged 34, a coal porter, wife Minnie aged 30, and their children Ellen, William junior, Alfred and Violet (older siblings of your father Walter). All were born in Southampton.
With this information, you should be able to research the family back in time, finding them on the 1901 and earlier censuses, looking for the births of William and Minnie and so on.
Good luck!”
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I was born in Liverpool in 1945. My father is from Southampton, my mother was born in either Fishguard or Swansea, Wales. My father’s father died mysteriously in Southampton sometime in the early 1930’s. I want to
find out how he died, and trace the family tree. My father’s name is Walter Thomas Masters Grant, he was born in 1927 (or 1914) I believe. I do not know my grandparents (my father’s parents first names, I know that my
grandmother’s maiden name was Masters, her mother was Cohen but that’s all.
She was from Cornwall, and married (I think his name was William) Grant. They lived in Southampton and had 13 children. I am curious. Can you help me in this matter?
Our expert, Steve Rigden comments:
“Thanks for your question. You should be able to find answers very soon!
This sort of problem is usually fairly easily solved by a systematic approach to the available online records, namely the indexes of birth, marriage and death for England & Wales. To solve the problem in this instance, these are the steps I took:
1. Searched for the marriage of a Walter Thomas Masters Grant before 1945. Entry found for a Walter T M Grant marrying an Ann C Kiely in September quarter 1943 in Swansea registration district.
2. Searched for his birth in the period 1911 to 1928. Entry found for a Walter T M Grant born in March quarter 1914 in Southampton registration district. This gave his mother’s maiden surname as Passmore.
3. Searched for the marriage of a Grant to a Passmore in the period from 1890 to 1914. Entry found for a William Henry M Grant marrying Minnie Passmore in March quarter 1899 in Southampton registration district.
4. Searched for the death of a William Henry M Grant between 1914 and 1945. Entry found for a William H M Grant dying in March quarter 1926 in Southampton registration district. He was 49 years old.
You can now apply for the 1926 death certificate of William Henry M (presumably Masters) Grant to find out cause of death. You can do this online or by post (as you live in California, I would not recommend the phone!). Go to the official General Register Office of England & Wales website for details – . The index references for the death entry (needed to order a copy of the death certificate) are vol 2C, page 17.
I also looked up the family on the 1911 census for you. This shows the Grant family living at 2 Threefield Lane in Southampton – William aged 34, a coal porter, wife Minnie aged 30, and their children Ellen, William junior, Alfred and Violet (older siblings of your father Walter). All were born in Southampton.
With this information, you should be able to research the family back in time, finding them on the 1901 and earlier censuses, looking for the births of William and Minnie and so on.
Good luck!”
More...