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Goodness thank you.

That is really amazing. Much appreciated.

Hello Everyone

I know this is a bit of a Zombie thread now, but I just wanted to let those of you who helped out before know of my update.

I have managed to track down the following French Birth Certificate for Henry. I have no idea what it says as I don't speak French and am yet to get it translated, but the information I can work out deepens the mystery.

I was almost sure that Henry's father was in fact Humphrey, and he had incorrectly given the name of Thomas for a father on his marriage certificate.

Well looking at this birth entry, it does seem to show the father as Thomas. Confusingly though, Louisa Claybrook is noted, I think as mother.

So, Did Humphrey and Louisa move to France, where he started going by the name of Thomas. Maybe that's why we can't find any later information for Humphrey?

Anyway, next step for me is to get the entry translated but I just thought someone might be interested.

Evening all

I have a perplexing mystery that even if you can't help with, you may enjoy pondering

Frederick HANNIS - b.1881 – Hatton, England - source Marriage Certificate, Baptism record, and 1911 Census

Married on 16.07.1910 to

Nora Georgina CUNNOLD – b.1881 – Macclesfield, Cheshire, England – source Marriage Certificate, 1911 Census, 1939 Register

1st child Frederick Norman Sidney HANNIS (Uncle Fred) – b 16.09.1914 – source 1939 Register

2nd  child Eunice Amy HANNIS (Grandma) – b.07.03.1917 – Aston, Warwickshire – Birth Index, 1939 Register, Marriage Cert (Married surname PRENTICE)

3rd child Leonard S HANNIS – b.21.04.1919 – source birth index, 1939 register
Frederick died (so we thought) in 1925 – source death index 1916-2007 Q4 Birmingham South v 6d p 277

Nora died in 1947 – source death index

Leonard died in 1951 – source death index and I never met him so definitely died prior to 1969

Uncle Fred died on 1st June 1982 and this is where it gets really strange……….

He died without a valid will, so probate was issued according to the intestacy rules.

1. He was not married
2. He did not have children
3. Both parents were dead

This means that his estate would be shared between his full siblings, of which there was only Grandma left.

BUT The grant states probate goes to Grandma, Eunice A PRENTICE, AND EUNICE A SMITH. So who the heck is Eunice A SMITH? She should be a full sibling according to the rules, but that doesn’t seem possible. Not only are there no records, but would 2 full siblings have the same name?

Well it turns out there is a Eunice A HANNIS b.Q3 1939 in Manchester with a mothers name of Cotton. She married Edward G SMITH in 1958 – source birth and marriage index.

So in order to be a beneficiary of Uncle Fred’s estate her father must be Frederick, so he couldn’t have died in 1925, and the rules must have been ignored to squeeze in a half sister. And why would Frederick have named 2 daughters the same?

I have ordered Eunice SMITH’s birth and marriage certificates to confirm the details but Royal Mail is spectacularly awful in our area so it may take a few weeks for the to arrive.

Can anyone help solve the mystery in the meantime?

As per your last post was he aged 126 on the 1971 census

John

Long lived family, ours