Lost my grandfather at 1922....brick wall

[Frodsham70]

I have quite a bit of info on my grandfather Andrew Little until 1922 when my father left home and stopped recording who his dad worked for. He's last heard of here:

1911 – "E. Wood & Co, Manchester, for 11 years. Chief Designer, Estimating, Outside Sales Rep, London Sales Manager. By 1911 the family were in Royal Avenue, Old Trafford."


I have the family in the 1911 census, but of course I can't follow censuses any further..............I know they were in Sale by the 1940s, I was evacuated there.......but no idea where they were in between, except almost certainly around Manchester.
Any ideas? Frodsham 70.

[Christine in Herts]

What about phone books? Would they have had a telephone?

Christine

[Mary from Italy]

According to the 1911 census he was born in c. 1879.

These are the only deaths after 1916 for people of that name born in 1879 +/-2 years:

Andrew Little / abt 1878 / Apr-May-Jun 1959 / Newcastle Upon Tyne / Northumberland
Andrew Little / abt 1878 / Jan-Feb-Mar 1967 / Carlisle / Cumberland
Andrew Little / abt 1878 / Jan-Feb-Mar 1968 / Carlisle / Cumberland
Andrew Little / 1878 / Jan-Feb-Mar 1973 / Basford / Nottinghamshire
Andrew A Little / abt 1879 / Jul-Aug-Sep 1949 / Brighton / Sussex

[Frodsham70]

Hello there.

Christine, they didn't have a phone in the 1940s, I know that, but It might be a good idea to have a look - thanks.

Mary - yes, he didn't die in Manchester. the Basford record is the right one, he died at his son's house - thanks for looking. It's the time between 1922 and 1940 that I have missing, though..........

[Christine in Herts]

I'd say that you'll be lucky to pick up any detailed trail for someone in that timespan. If it's forces personnel, then there are service records. If it's someone with their own business, then there are trade directories.

As a "chief designer" would he have had any technical training leading to membership of an institute? They tend to have year-books of members.

Christine

[Mary from Italy]

The only other thing I can suggest is electoral rolls, which are available in local libraries, but they're only searchable by address, not name. You could perhaps search the Sale ones to see if you can work out when the family arrived there. Try e-mailing the Sale library to see if they'll do a search for you.

[Frodsham70]

I have now found him in Salford in a Kelly's Directory for 1929. Also I have the names of three possible institutes, only one of which has gone global.....
I haven't had time to search phone directories yet.
I have harvested some addresses from my sister, but no dates. At one point they were in Carshalton, which has got a history society and an email a/d.......but I have had the idea of trying local forums, there's Manchester and Salford, so I will do that too.
It's how to find where he was working that is the bigger problem, but they may help.
Thanks, both - Frod70

[col48]

Sports Clubs? Some of these are Company clubs and he might have been an official - perhaps a bit old to be a player.
If E Wood & Co got absorbed by a (now) big company the company might have records of interest and a (possibly volunteer) company historian?
If he went to a public school (in the British sense) they might have some notes of his post-school career.
Was he prominent enough for an obit in the local paper?

[col48]

If he paid tax, the Inland Revenue might still have records, but I can't see them delving unless you want to pay his back tax!

[Mary from Italy]

Information is available from the 1939 National Register, but it's expensive, and I don't think it would give the employer's name, just the occupation.

http://genealogy.about.com/od/england/a/census.htm

[margaretmarch]

If he paid tax, the Inland Revenue might still have records, but I can't see them delving unless you want to pay his back tax!

I doubt the Tax Office would even consider it as those records as completely sealed!!
Margaret