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Beginners => Family History Beginners Board => Topic started by: guvoko on Tuesday 14 December 10 21:27 GMT (UK)

Title: Actress/dramatist Gertrude L. Robins (abt. 1880-1917) - looking for birth date
Post by: guvoko on Tuesday 14 December 10 21:27 GMT (UK)
Hello! I am looking for some official document showing the birth date and / or birth place of the actress and dramatist Gertrude Louisa Robins (aka Gertrude Robins aka Mrs. Charles Dawson). When she married the artist Charles Edwin Dawson in 1906 (in Holborn / London), she was 26 years old. She died on December 24, 1917 in Shotter Mill, Surrey.

There is some probability that she is identical with Gertrude Louisa Robins, the cousin of my great-grandmother, born Feb 05, 1880 in Buckhurst Hill, Chigwell, Essex, England.

A lot of things fit, e.g., the  (approx.) year of birth, the name of both fathers (John Robins), the profession of both fathers (merchant), both mothers are German. The last trace of Gertrude Louisa Robins which was clearly my great-grandmother’s cousin which my co-researchers from the Dawson and Robins families and I found was the 1901 census. The first trace of the actress and dramatist we found is her marriage in 1906.  We all assumed we were dealing with ONE person and this is how we are showing her on our family trees on Rootsweb, Ancestry and Geneanet.
However, we do have some doubts, mainly because the actress and dramatist mentioned an Irish father in an interview. The father of my great-grandmothers's cousin was English and so were his ancestors several generations back. In "The Irish Abroad" from 1915 the author classified her as an Irish woman abroad which adds to our confusion.

We are looking for any kind of document with birth date / place information which can be clearly associated with the actress and dramatist: passport applications (she travelled at least to Italy), CV's at theaters, population registry offices etc.  Unfortunately I am not familiar with the corresponding authorities and archives in the UK.

The entries on Gertrude Louisa Robins on genealogy sites are from my co-researchers or from myself and might be incorrect.  There are also some mentions on the internet with wrong year of birth, e.g.: http://www.npg.org.uk/collections/search/person/mp67367/gertrude-robins-mrs-charles-dawson . I believe we exhausted all possibilities offered by Google etc.

The actress and dramatist lived in Naphill, Buckinghamshire (1910) and in London (1917). She does not appear in the 1911 census,  possibly she was abroad at that time. Here some extracts from an interview in "The Era" of February 1, 1913 which gives some information about her work: "My village comedy 'Pot-Luck' ... originally played by Buckinghamshire Players (a body of local amateurs which I organized), I afterwards produced at the Palace Theatre. ...Speaking of the provinces, there is, I think, more than a grain of truth in the adage: 'What Manchester thinks today London does tomorrow ', for it was in Cottonopolis, at Miss Horniman's Theatre, that my early plays were first produced. ... My one-act play 'Makeshifts' was presented before that clever play 'Hindle Wakes', at the Playhouse; ... it has now been played over a thousand times in Great Britain, Australia, and Canada, and is to be presented in America by Miss Horniman's company. ... "A few years ago I took Honors in Modern Languages at Oxford. My mother is German and my father Irish... Hence it came about that…  I was introduced to the late Wilson Barrett, who engaged me to play in his Repertoire Company on tour. After useful 'schooling' in the provinces and playing lead in Wilson Barrett's last play, 'Lucky Durham', I joined Mr. James Welch, and played in 'When Knights Were Bold' at Wyndham's. Subsequently I played lead with Mr. Granville Barker in his daring Anglo- Austrian 'Anatol' sketches at the Palace and the Little Theatre. I lately played Miss Irene Vanbrugh's part in ' Rosalind ' upon the occasion of the latter's Command performance at Sandringham; and, now, as the heroine of that merry and clever farce, ' Officer 666', at the Globe, I have my first experience of acting in an American production..."

Any suggestions are highly appreciated.

With kind regards, Gudrun (The Netherlands)
Title: Re: Actress/dramatist Gertrude L. Robins (abt. 1880-1917) - looking for birth date
Post by: Berlin-Bob on Tuesday 14 December 10 21:38 GMT (UK)
Hi Gudrun,

Welcome to Rootschat :) , glad you came over *


One of the problems there was that people looked on the internet and quoted some stuff which had been entered by you and your fellow researchers.  I notice you have now added a list of known sources to your topic there. - can you add that here too please, so we don't duplicate what you already know. Thanks,

Bob


* For the others:  Gudrun originally posted this query on a german forum, and I suggested she try her luck here.
http://forum.genealogy.net/forum/index.php?page=Thread&threadID=45104
Title: Re: Actress/dramatist Gertrude L. Robins (abt. 1880-1917) - looking for birth date
Post by: CaroleW on Tuesday 14 December 10 21:40 GMT (UK)
Hi and welcome to Rootschat

Gertrude L Robins aged 21 b Buckhurst is on the 1901 census occ assistant school mistress living in Peterborough Northamptonshire which suggests a different person given the diverse occupations

RG13 Piece 1463 Folio 23 Page 4
Title: Re: Actress/dramatist Gertrude L. Robins (abt. 1880-1917) - looking for birth date
Post by: Hackstaple on Tuesday 14 December 10 21:53 GMT (UK)
The Gertrude born Buckhurst Hill 1880 appears on the 1881 census as Louisa Gertrude Robins.

It may be that on various documents she used her given names interchangeably at times.

Mind you on that census her mother is shown as Helen but on later returns as Helene. Her father is not a merchant but a hat and cap manufacturer.
Title: Re: Actress/dramatist Gertrude L. Robins (abt. 1880-1917) - looking for birth date
Post by: Hackstaple on Tuesday 14 December 10 22:00 GMT (UK)
A John Robins b. Stepney about 1846 appears as a Chemist living with his sister Fanny Wales in Woodford, Essex in 1871. She has a daughter Fanny Gertrude so there may be a connection.

Again in 1861 we see Fanny, 23 and John 15, with widowed mother Sarah and another sister also Sarah in Walthamstow.

So, that connection is clear but we still don't know if there is another woman with the same name.
Title: Re: Actress/dramatist Gertrude L. Robins (abt. 1880-1917) - looking for birth date
Post by: guvoko on Tuesday 14 December 10 22:02 GMT (UK)
Hello! Thanks a lot, Bob,  Carole and Hackstaple! Carole, Hackstaple, yes, this is the 1901 census mentioning my grandmother's cousin. Her father was a hat and cap manufacturer at that time, but later he became a "commission agent" which is maybe not exactly a merchant but I believe close. Bob, I posted only a selection of links on the other forum, I will ad the same at the bottom of this contribution. What I am really looking for is not data published on the Internet on Gertrude because I am sure we exhausted  at least all non-pay sites. I am looking for information on / addresses of institutions and authorities I could write to go obtain more information. Specialized archives, anything where passport applications as far back as 1906-1917 could be stored, population registry office data (if those existed back then), a school where she could have obtained the Honors in Modern Languages at Oxford she is mentioning (it cannot be the university because at that time a university study was impossible for woman) etc.

Thanks again!

With kind regards,
Gudrun

...............
Some links on Gertrude (Louisa) Robins:

http://www.npg.org.uk/collections/search/person/mp67367/gertrude-robins-mrs-charles-dawson
http://www.archive.org/details/potluck00robi
http://www.archive.org/details/lovingaswedoothe00robiiala
Google books The Enchanted man (http://books.google.nl/books?id=SGl48PKWf3kC&pg=PA41&lpg=PA41&dq=%22The+Enchanted+Man%22&source=bl&ots=nNdk8nrnht&sig=HYxqt0ktyahnVeJ67ZC8u_wDEKs&hl=nl&ei=PsoHTc-cJY2Q4QaKtemoDQ&sa=X&oi=book_result&ct=result&resnum=8&ved=0CFQQ6AEwBw#v=onepage&q=%22The%20Enchanted%20Man%22&f=false)
http://www.flightglobal.com/pdfarchive/view/1911/1911%20-%200109.html
http://www.onread.com/book/Loving-As-We-Do-And-Other-Plays-101503
http://www.archive.org/details/representativeo00goog

Moderator Comment: 'mended' some of the links, as they weren't working properly :)
Title: Re: Actress/dramatist Gertrude L. Robins (abt. 1880-1917) - looking for birth date
Post by: guvoko on Tuesday 14 December 10 22:11 GMT (UK)
@ Hackstaple: Yes, my great-grandmother's cousin changed the sequence of her given names. Regarding her mother, she was born as Helene which is the German version of Helen, she might just have pronounced it the English way when the census was taken. I noticed that the spelling of especially foreigner's names is not always very accurate. Regarding the other John Robins, I will keep an eye on him. But the funny thing is that there is that talk about an Irish connection...

All the best,
Gudrun
Title: Re: Actress/dramatist Gertrude L. Robins (abt. 1880-1917) - looking for birth date
Post by: Hackstaple on Tuesday 14 December 10 22:13 GMT (UK)
OK but we can trace John as far back as the 1851 census and he is still born Stepney and therfore not Irish. Even then his mother Sarah is shown as married but no husband in residence.
Title: Re: Actress/dramatist Gertrude L. Robins (abt. 1880-1917) - looking for birth date
Post by: Hackstaple on Tuesday 14 December 10 22:24 GMT (UK)
Lady Margaret Hall - Somerville College, Oxford, was established in 1878.
Title: Re: Actress/dramatist Gertrude L. Robins (abt. 1880-1917) - looking for birth date
Post by: avm228 on Tuesday 14 December 10 22:30 GMT (UK)
Lady Margaret Hall - Somerville College, Oxford, was established in 1878.

True (re LMH - I think Somerville was a year later) - but at Oxford women were not allowed to matriculate as full University undergraduates & take degrees until 1920.
Title: Re: Actress/dramatist Gertrude L. Robins (abt. 1880-1917) - looking for birth date
Post by: Spidermonkey on Tuesday 14 December 10 22:39 GMT (UK)
Looking at the Times Archive, Gertrude Robins was appearing in plays in the UK at the end of March 1911, and the again in Aug 1911, so it leaves quite a short window in which to go abroad.
Title: Re: Actress/dramatist Gertrude L. Robins (abt. 1880-1917) - looking for birth date
Post by: guvoko on Tuesday 14 December 10 22:42 GMT (UK)
Yes, it can not be the university... but since she said in that interview that she took "Honors in Modern Languages at Oxford" Lady Margaret Hall could be a possibility I guess. Although I (not being a native speaker) thought "Honors" are rather associated with a university...  In any case, I will check out the college, tx again!!!

BTW, I find it amazing how many replies I got. Bob, tx for pointing me to this forum!
Title: Re: Actress/dramatist Gertrude L. Robins (abt. 1880-1917) - looking for birth date
Post by: guvoko on Tuesday 14 December 10 22:56 GMT (UK)
@Spidermonkey: Hm... good point. But one of my co-researchers checked the 1911 census and he says she is definitely not there and we know that at some point she was in Italy because we have a photo (w/o date) showing her in Florence. Do you have access to the Times archive? If so, would you mind checking for an article about her death (December 1917) for me?

All the best,
Gudrun
Title: Re: Actress/dramatist Gertrude L. Robins (abt. 1880-1917) - looking for birth date
Post by: avm228 on Tuesday 14 December 10 23:01 GMT (UK)
Women did take Oxford examinations - some of them "home students", some resident at Royal Holloway College, south of London, and some resident in the women's "halls" (now colleges) at Oxford.  They were graded, but just didn't get degrees as a result! (They got an honours certificate available only to women).


Title: Re: Actress/dramatist Gertrude L. Robins (abt. 1880-1917) - looking for birth date
Post by: Hackstaple on Tuesday 14 December 10 23:02 GMT (UK)
St Ursula's Convent in Oxford admitted ladies to take a Diploma with Honours in Modern Languages.  Apparently the exam was the same as for men but a diploma, not a degree, was granted.
Title: Re: Actress/dramatist Gertrude L. Robins (abt. 1880-1917) - looking for birth date
Post by: guvoko on Tuesday 14 December 10 23:12 GMT (UK)
@Carole (and the others): you say "assistant school mistress living in Peterborough Northamptonshire which suggests a different person given the diverse occupations". We  noticed this different occupation, too.  But at that time (1901) she was just 21 years old. She might have worked as an actress on the side and might have turned her hobby into her profession a few years later. Not sure how realistic it is... too many open questions...

@avm228, @ Hackstaple: Thank you! St. Ursula's College sounds like a hit! Do you know where they might keep their old files? If not I'll try to figure out...

Greetings,
Gudrun
Title: Re: Actress/dramatist Gertrude L. Robins (abt. 1880-1917) - looking for birth date
Post by: avm228 on Tuesday 14 December 10 23:54 GMT (UK)

@avm228, @ Hackstaple: Thank you! St. Ursula's College sounds like a hit! Do you know where they might keep their old files? If not I'll try to figure out...

I don't know.  She could have been there or at another Oxford hall/college or studying outside Oxford but sitting the Oxford exams.  A tough one! Unfotunately I cannot find her mentioned in the Oxford honours lists published in The Times.

Have you traced the witnesses to the 1906 marriage? Are there any possible clues there, or are they clearly on the Dawson side? How was Gertrude's father described (exactly) and what was her address at marriage?
Title: Re: Actress/dramatist Gertrude L. Robins (abt. 1880-1917) - looking for birth date
Post by: arevans777 on Wednesday 15 December 10 01:14 GMT (UK)
Have you traced the witnesses to the 1906 marriage? Are there any possible clues there, or are they clearly on the Dawson side? How was Gertrude's father described (exactly) and what was her address at marriage?

John Robins is described as simply as 'Merchant."  One of the witnesses was a Frederic Robins.  John Robins (the Hat and Cap manufacturer) had a younger brother called Frederic. (same spelling without a k)  In that same year, around the same time, Frederic, who was married the year before had his first child and named her Blanche Gertrude Reardon Robins. Frederic gave all of his children the middle name of Reardon because that was the maiden name of his mother. Census records show that their mother was born in Southwark, London. But Reardon is a distinctly Irish name, and her parents may well have been Irish, which may account for the Irish references.  For me, this is fairly compelling evidence linking the schoolmistress to the actress, but by no means conclusive. Doubts persist. But if these two women are not the same person there are some incredible coincidences at play.

Gertrude Robins, (the assistant schoolmistress, at least) is my first cousin twice removed.
Title: Re: Actress/dramatist Gertrude L. Robins (abt. 1880-1917) - looking for birth date
Post by: Jool on Wednesday 15 December 10 01:32 GMT (UK)
Hi Arevans777

Just been mooching on Anc****y for clues, and spotted your tree.  You have a phone book record for Gertrude Robins, 15 Clifford's Inn, Fleet Street, London for 1907.  If she married in 1906 she would have been a Dawson by then.

I'm not trying to pick faults, just trying to clarify things  :)

Jool
Title: Re: Actress/dramatist Gertrude L. Robins (abt. 1880-1917) - looking for birth date
Post by: guvoko on Wednesday 15 December 10 06:54 GMT (UK)
Good morning, everybody! This morning I re-read the contributions to this forum and I see I made a mistake when I said that the last trace of the hat and cap manufacturer's daughter was the 1901 census. I apologize for this. We do have a document with her father's will from January 1903 when she lived in Church End, Finchley, Barnet. At that time her mother lived in Germany. Her father John died in December 1902 but the marriage certificate from 1906 does not mention his as deceased, tough for me to say if this was uncommon. Church End is not as far as Peterborough, Cambridgeshire, from Holborn, Middlesex where Charles Edwin Dawson lived in 1906 but off course this is all but an evidence.

About the Oxford colleges, arevans777 did some research there, I grabbed our correspondence and see that he wrote to archives of

-Lady Margaret Hall
-St. Anne's College
-St. Hilda's College
-St. Hugh's College
-Somerville College

and got negative responses from all. But, so far St. Ursula's Convent in Oxford was not in the picture so that one might be "hot". And there might be others... We also wrote to the successor of that school in Peterborough where the hat and cap manufacturer's daughter worked, but they did not keep any records from that time.

Arevans777, am happy to see you here! Berlin Bob told me about this forum only yesterday and I must say I find it amazing how many helpful people responded. And knowledgable people! Maybe we should shift our future discussions to this forum to get some fresh ideas? Especially when we sum up the pro's (= we are talking about ONE person) and the cons (we are possibly talking about TWO persons). Please let us also know if I made any mistakes or omissions in my contributions.

All the best,
Gudrun
Title: Re: Actress/dramatist Gertrude L. Robins (abt. 1880-1917) - looking for birth date
Post by: Spidermonkey on Wednesday 15 December 10 09:33 GMT (UK)
@Spidermonkey: Hm... good point. But one of my co-researchers checked the 1911 census and he says she is definitely not there and we know that at some point she was in Italy because we have a photo (w/o date) showing her in Florence. Do you have access to the Times archive? If so, would you mind checking for an article about her death (December 1917) for me?

All the best,
Gudrun

I will happily check articles for you, but the only one I could find about her death was a 67 word obit, just saying that Miss Gertrude Robins, wife of Lt Charles Dawson had died.  mentioned that she and Miss Horniman and Miss Darragh had founded Manchester Rep Theatre, and that Miss Robins had written 3 plays.  If you PM me your email address, I can send you the article if you want.
Title: Re: Actress/dramatist Gertrude L. Robins (abt. 1880-1917) - looking for birth date
Post by: Spidermonkey on Wednesday 15 December 10 09:37 GMT (UK)
I've just noticed that Miss Darragh (AKA Letitia Marion Dallas) died on (or at least her death was announced on) 18 Dec 1917
Title: Re: Actress/dramatist Gertrude L. Robins (abt. 1880-1917) - looking for birth date
Post by: Spidermonkey on Wednesday 15 December 10 09:52 GMT (UK)
Also, I presume that you have seen Gertrude's entry on the probate calender on Ancestry - have you bought her will?  She seems to have died without much money, but perhaps in the will it mentions brothers/sisters/nephews/nieces etc
Title: Re: Actress/dramatist Gertrude L. Robins (abt. 1880-1917) - looking for birth date
Post by: Spidermonkey on Wednesday 15 December 10 10:09 GMT (UK)
Letitia Dallas (Miss Darragh) is on the 1911 census - in Birkenhead, but obviously that doesn't prove that Gertrude is in the country
Title: Re: Actress/dramatist Gertrude L. Robins (abt. 1880-1917) - looking for birth date
Post by: Barbara.H on Wednesday 15 December 10 10:27 GMT (UK)
Hi Gudrun and all,

I haven't followed all your links so you may have already tried this:
if Gertrude was involved with Annie Horniman and the Manchester Repertory theatre, there may be correspondence between them in the Horniman Collection at the John Rylands Library in Manchester
http://archives.li.man.ac.uk/ead/html/gb133aeh-p1.shtml

The summary here says they have  "a substantial number of letters to Annie Horniman from authors, journalists, playwrights, critics, actors, managers and various other well-known figures of the day"

If you were lucky, there might be something with an address that you could tie in (or not) with your relative.

 :) Barbara


Title: Re: Actress/dramatist Gertrude L. Robins (abt. 1880-1917) - looking for birth date
Post by: arevans777 on Wednesday 15 December 10 13:07 GMT (UK)
Just been mooching on Anc****y for clues, and spotted your tree.  You have a phone book record for Gertrude Robins, 15 Clifford's Inn, Fleet Street, London for 1907.  If she married in 1906 she would have been a Dawson by then.

I'm not trying to pick faults, just trying to clarify things  :)

Jool

Ordinarily, it would be an anomaly, but consider that "Miss Gertrude Robins" was her stage name even after her marriage.  Alternatively, there can be a delay between the collection of data for a phone book and its eventual publication.
Title: Re: Actress/dramatist Gertrude L. Robins (abt. 1880-1917) - looking for birth date
Post by: arevans777 on Wednesday 15 December 10 14:17 GMT (UK)
I haven't followed all your links so you may have already tried this:
if Gertrude was involved with Annie Horniman and the Manchester Repertory theatre, there may be correspondence between them in the Horniman Collection at the John Rylands Library in Manchester
http://archives.li.man.ac.uk/ead/html/gb133aeh-p1.shtml

The summary here says they have "a substantial number of letters to Annie Horniman from authors, journalists, playwrights, critics, actors, managers and various other well-known figures of the day"

Looks like an excellent resource. From "The Stage" clippings we have gathered, GLR wrote "Realities" which was performed at Annie Horniman's Gaiety Theatre on 23 Oct 1911.  She also wrote and performed in "The Plaything" at the Gaiety on 9 Nov 1914.

Looking through the collection headers I can't see any correspondence specifically referencing GLR, but the are some general collections mentioned in which correspondence may exist.
Title: Re: Actress/dramatist Gertrude L. Robins (abt. 1880-1917) - looking for birth date
Post by: avm228 on Wednesday 15 December 10 14:46 GMT (UK)
Do any family photographs of Gertrude the schoolmistress survive, to compare with these of the actress?

http://www.npg.org.uk/collections/search/person.php?LinkID=mp67367&wPage=0

[NB It's interesting that some of them are dated 31 March 1911; the census was taken two days later.]

Title: Re: Actress/dramatist Gertrude L. Robins (abt. 1880-1917) - looking for birth date
Post by: Spidermonkey on Wednesday 15 December 10 16:38 GMT (UK)
Am completely tied up in knots here!!  So, this is Frederic and John's family in 1861:

Kings Place, Chigwell, Essex (ecc. parish Buckhurst Hill)
Christopher T Robins  Head  Mar  53  Hat and cap manuf.  bn Botolph, London
Elizabeth  Wife  Mar  42  bn Southwark st Saviour
John  Son 16  bn MEOT
Elizabeth Dau  14  bn MEOT
Eleanor  13  bn MEOT
Frances  11  bn MEOT
Charles  10  bn MEOT
Herbert  7  bn MEOT
Grace  5  bn MEOT
Frederic  3  bnMEOT

Have you traced all of the siblings forward to check that none of the girls had a daughter out of wedlock and 'borrowed' John's name for the father, which if your Gertrude belonged to John could make her cousins to the other Gertrude (and so account for similarities when talking about their families)

Just a thought (and probably not my brightest!)
Title: Re: Actress/dramatist Gertrude L. Robins (abt. 1880-1917) - looking for birth date
Post by: Spidermonkey on Wednesday 15 December 10 16:51 GMT (UK)
Other children of Christopher T Robins:

With first wife (Ann Eliza Winter)
Frances Eliza Robins (7 Jul 1830) according to parish records
Christopher Terrey Robins (6 Mar 1839)

Apparently with first wife (from 1851 census)
Emily bn c. 1847 Stepney
Title: Re: Actress/dramatist Gertrude L. Robins (abt. 1880-1917) - looking for birth date
Post by: Berlin-Bob on Wednesday 15 December 10 16:54 GMT (UK)
Hi Gudrun,

in case you haven't come across it before,
  
MEOT means "Mile End Old Town", an area within the East End of London.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mile_End

regards,
Bob
Title: Re: Actress/dramatist Gertrude L. Robins (abt. 1880-1917) - looking for birth date
Post by: guvoko on Wednesday 15 December 10 19:12 GMT (UK)
All: the number of good suggestions is really overwhelming! In addition to the contributions in this thread I got a message with a very promising hint on an article on http://newspapers.bl.uk/blcs/ , obviously mentioning Gertrude L Robins in connection with a college and an address in Church End (!). Thank you all for your help!

So, there is some homework to do now... of course, any further suggestions are still very welcome!

@ Spidermonkey: the will... no I did not buy it yet. I was assuming only Mr. Dawson would be mentioned after I found the probate calendar entry "Dawson Gertrude Louise of 46 Berner's-street Middlesex (wife of Charles Edwin Dawson) died 24 December 1917 at Shotter Mill Surrey Probate London 28 March to Charles Edwin Dawson lieutenant H.M. Army. Effects £ 50." But you are right, this is something we can chase! Especially since "my"  Gertrude's elderly sister Elizabeth Caroline died in 1958 only.

@BarbaraH: As arevans777 said, "looks like an excellent resource"!

@avm228: No, no photo's of Gertrude the schoolmistress, no photos of her parents either. A pity! Your remark re. the census, was it taken on a specific day countrywide? I was not aware of that...

@spidermonkey (once more), re: the Robins siblings : have to review how much we have about the siblings... for sure not all details. But same first names + birth year of a second Gertrude L. in the same family... hm... and still, the main reason for our doubts is that "Irish father" thing (one possibility for that could of course be that the guy being her father on paper was not her father in reality and she knew that... IF we are talking about ONE Gertrude).

If anybody has the free access to the British Newspapers mentioned initially, it would be great if you could look up

Publication Date: on 30 June 1900
Search: Robins n3 Station

for us. I just asked my co-researchers and am waiting for their reply now. Otherwise I'll go ahead and buy the 24 hours access tomorrow...

All the best,
Gudrun
Title: Re: Actress/dramatist Gertrude L. Robins (abt. 1880-1917) - looking for birth date
Post by: arevans777 on Wednesday 15 December 10 20:05 GMT (UK)
@ Spidermonkey: the will... no I did not buy it yet. I was assuming only Mr. Dawson would be mentioned after I found the probate calendar entry "Dawson Gertrude Louise of 46 Berner's-street Middlesex (wife of Charles Edwin Dawson) died 24 December 1917 at Shotter Mill Surrey Probate London 28 March to Charles Edwin Dawson lieutenant H.M. Army. Effects £ 50." But you are right, this is something we can chase! Especially since "my"  Gertrude's elderly sister Elizabeth Caroline died in 1958 only.

I have a scan of the will (sent to me by another researcher of GLR). It leaves everything, and particularly the royalties from her plays to her son, Robin Giles Dawson (b1912).  The executer named is her husband. Sadly, it makes no reference to any other family members.  Robin did not marry or have any children and died in 1969. It is witnessed by Fanny Filmore and Florence Tilleray (wife of A.H. Tilleray), neither of whom seem to be significant to the puzzle... yet.
Title: Re: Actress/dramatist Gertrude L. Robins (abt. 1880-1917) - looking for birth date
Post by: Spidermonkey on Wednesday 15 December 10 20:09 GMT (UK)
Obituary sent!

I've just checked, and I don't think I do have access to the newspapers at the British Library, sorry.
Title: Re: Actress/dramatist Gertrude L. Robins (abt. 1880-1917) - looking for birth date
Post by: Barbara.H on Wednesday 15 December 10 20:32 GMT (UK)
Have you come across a Gertrude Minnie Robins in your family history?

Only there is a writer of that name who wrote a novel called "A False Position" published 1887. So would be a good few years older than your Gertrude Louise Robins (there is a Gertrude Minnie Robins on the BMDs registered Kingston, Surrey in 1861).

I have access to the British Library archive, and this Gertrude is mentioned in an article dated 16th March 1889. The journalist is (favourably) reviewing an amateur performance of a play by Gertrude Minnie Robins called "Our Maiden Aunt"

I'll keep working forward in the archive, but will be a bit slow as I've got the usual domestic stuff to do as well  :)

 :) Barbara

Title: Re: Actress/dramatist Gertrude L. Robins (abt. 1880-1917) - looking for birth date
Post by: arevans777 on Wednesday 15 December 10 20:40 GMT (UK)
Mystery solved. One and the same:

Same address as her mother Helene in the 1901 census.
 
Title: Re: Actress/dramatist Gertrude L. Robins (abt. 1880-1917) - looking for birth date
Post by: guvoko on Wednesday 15 December 10 21:20 GMT (UK)
All,

@Arevans777: Great!!! I just got this article from someone else in this forum as well, as a link via PM, and from another co-researcher per email. Yes, it would be too much of a coincidence if both Gertrude Louisa Robins' would have taken Honors in Modern Languages at Oxford, in addition to all the things we already knew "they" had in common. I agree, it must be ONE person. Would anybody object, at this point? Still this "Irish father" story remains a mistery, possibly it can not be solved... btw., would you mind emailing me a copy of the will?

@Spidermonkey: thanks for the obituary! I will forward it to my co-researchers. Quite strange that her year of birth is not mentioned (I think).

@BarbaraH: so far I did not come across Gertrude Minnie Robins, if she is related to "our" Robins my co-researchers might have more info, I believe they now all follow the discussions here and will let us know.

If someone comes across additional information on GLR (outside of the present Google results), please let us know...

Thanks to everybody who helped, this forum is really wonderful!  :) :) :)

Greetings from Holland,
Gudrun
Title: Re: Actress/dramatist Gertrude L. Robins (abt. 1880-1917) - looking for birth date
Post by: arevans777 on Wednesday 15 December 10 22:19 GMT (UK)
Gudrun, credit goes to you and the person who PM'ed the link.

My theory on the "Irish" factor is that she "wanted" to be Irish because of her association with the Abbey Theatre in Dublin, not least her connection to Lillah McCarthy (wife of Granville Barker), her friend and mentor. And because it has a veneer of truth, given that her paternal grandmother is a Reardon.  But her father certainly was not "pure Irish" unless there is something major we don't know!

I have pretty much lucked out on researching Elizabeth Reardon's parentage, though. Her marriage cert says her father was John Reardon, a dyer.  But that is the only verified info I have. I have my best guesses on Ancestry, but it is all quite speculative.
Title: Re: Actress/dramatist Gertrude L. Robins (abt. 1880-1917) - looking for birth date
Post by: beatrice834 on Thursday 16 December 10 07:05 GMT (UK)
Hi everyone!  I have been following the interchange of information on GLR with great interest, having lately joined with the Robins family to validate the connection between their Gertrude and the Gertrude whom I had researched as wife of the artist Charles Edwin Dawson.  It was Antony's query to me on ancestry which alerted the family to the possibility that "my" actress and writer was also theirs.  I was researching on behalf of a friend whose interest was Charles, but she has gathered all kinds of information about his wife, including theatre programmes etc., as well as immense detail on Charles himself.
My friend does not have a computer, but would be happy to share through me and my computer  information further to the research we have already given to the family.
Once again rootschat has triumphed: it is a fantastic resource which has often helped me when I have "hit the wall"!
Title: Re: Actress/dramatist Gertrude L. Robins (abt. 1880-1917) - looking for birth date
Post by: Spidermonkey on Thursday 16 December 10 11:18 GMT (UK)
Well done guys!  I'm so pleased that you have been able to sort out your Gertrude tangle!  Christopher T Robins family sounds so interesting - there are some archives on the national archives website that relate to some of his business dealings.

Let us know if there are any other bits to sort out - it is so nice to have a 'juicy' family to hunt!
Title: Re: Actress/dramatist Gertrude L. Robins (abt. 1880-1917) - looking for birth date
Post by: guvoko on Monday 27 December 10 13:58 GMT (UK)
Hello! Once again I would like to thank all of you  :).

After going through all the material again I am wondering if it might be possible to find her grave or at least the cemetery where she has been buried.

The - again slightly contradictive - information we have is:

1. She died 24 December 1917 at Shotter Mill, Surrey (Probate Calendar).
2. She died 24 December 1917 Ridge End, Linchmere R.D., registration district Midhurst, Subdistrict Fernhurst, West Sussex (from a certified copy of an entry of death).
3. Both places seem to be very close to each other.
4. She died of tuberculosis.
5. Her last address was 46 Berner's street Middlesex (Probate Calendar).
6. On August 25 1917 she lived 17 John St. Adelphi, London (will).
7. Her religion is unknown, she was baptized Lutheran.
8. There are death records from St. Stephens Church Shotter Mill online, but she is not listed (http://www.shottermillparish.org.uk/burial%20details.pdf)
9. The website of this church mentions tuberculosis victims and patients of Holy Cross Hospital in Haslemere from 1917 on (http://www.shottermillparish.org.uk/burials.html).
10. She might have been buried under "Gertrude Robins", "Gertrude Louisa Robins" or "Gertrude Dawson".

Does anybody have a suggestion where to start?

Spidermonkey, thank you also for your hint on Christoper T. Robins material in archives, I will check with his grandson if he is aware of this.

With kind regards,

Gudrun
Title: Re: Actress/dramatist Gertrude L. Robins (abt. 1880-1917) - looking for birth date
Post by: beatrice834 on Monday 27 December 10 18:28 GMT (UK)
Gertrude Dawson (sic) who died at Ridge End, Linchmere, on 24 December 1917, was cremated at Woking Crematorium on 31 December 1917, Applicant Charles Dawson, Savage Club, London, ashes dispersed area Byron South, Woking Crematorium.

I have a rather blurred photograph of the confirming letter from the Crematorium, but could get the letter scanned in the next few weeks if anyone would like this.  I cannot read the Cremation Reference Number in the photograph, but we checked this out some time ago in the research on Charles Dawon.   

Gail
Title: Re: Actress/dramatist Gertrude L. Robins (abt. 1880-1917) - looking for birth date
Post by: guvoko on Monday 27 December 10 18:59 GMT (UK)
Hello, Gail! Yes, it would be great to have a copy of this letter. Of course I was hoping for a nice headstone somewhere... a pitty. Am wondering, would a crematorium (after so many years) have any records with a birth date of a deceased person? Not that I still have serious doubts, but I think it would be nice to have...

Greetings,
Gudrun