RootsChat.Com
England (Counties as in 1851-1901) => England => London and Middlesex => Topic started by: wiltshire21 on Sunday 12 July 20 09:54 BST (UK)
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My great grandfather was born John Stanley Wood on 22/01/00 in London. Some time before his marriage in 1923 he either changed legally, or was using the name Robert John Stanley Burns. I have no ideal why this happened but I am struggling to find any records about him for the period from 1915 when he was discharged from the army under the name John Wood for being underage to his marriage in 1923 to Lilly Mitchell under the name Robert Burns. Due to his difficult start in life I think he may have been in prison during this time but I am not sure how to check this, can anyone help ? Thanks in advance
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I have asked a moderator to move this as you have mistakenly posted on "Please don't post requests here".
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Can you tell us more about his “difficult start in life”, as this may provide useful clues.
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I see you have a previous thread about the name change:
www.rootschat.com/forum/index.php?topic=813775.msg6745495#msg6745495
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I have posted about this name change before, but what I really want to do now is try and find out what happened to my great grandfather between about 1915 to 1923. I know his parents were unmarried at the time of his birth in Jan 1900. His mother Mary Maslen was still married to her husband Charles James Mills at the time of his birth. She married Charles Miles 17/06/1888 and at that time he was a letter sorter. He was admitted to a lunatic asylum in 1893 and I believed he died about 1918. She met a Joseph Wood and had 2 sons with him, the elder being Joseph in 1996 and then my ancestor. After her relationship with Joseph Wood broke down the elder boy was sent to live with wood relatives in Wales he appears there on the 1911 census but in 1901 the whole family were still together in Islington. I am unable to read the occupation on the census. I believe Joseph Wood SNR died in about 1910 and John and his mother are then in and out of the Islington Workhouse for several years sometimes appearing as Mary Mills her married name and John Mills. I believe he was separated from his mother at some point and spent time in a children's home. I know that in later life he was resentful of his elder brother who had a much more settled childhood in Wales with relatives