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Thanks Carol.

I'm juggling a number of balls in the air at the moment (well, not literally), but I recall that I was stuck with Mahala, who was a g-g-grandmother. You have inspired me to revisit the family history stuff, and I'll get to it in a couple days hopefully.

If Mahala is who we both think she is, then I have a lot of material on her descendants, and also on the forebears of her husband William Muggridge (or Muggeridge, take your pick). Is this of interest to you?

Regards

Alan Muggridge

Alan

Hi Sue.

A preliminary result which doesn't add much.

There was a death notice in the Sydney Morning Herald 22/4/1940 MASKELL, Elizabeth Ruth. No detail available, but the index entry says she died 20/4/1940 aged 74. That sounds like your Elizabeth Ruth.

The NSW government site www.bdm.nsw.gov.au /familyHistory has a death and a marriage in the relevant index.

The death is MASKELL Elizabeth Ruth, ref 12881/1940, Father William, Mother Mary [no surnames given], district Marrickville. Certificates can be bought at that website, and the cost is $AUD27.00 (somewhere around $US19, no idea where we stand with Euros at the moment).

The marriage looks like the one you mention: reference 15953/1928 MASKELL Charles E to SAUNDERSON Vera A, Auburn NSW. Certificates available in the same way and at the same savage cost.

Shipping looks harder at this stage. We will need some timings I think. I guess the earliest Benjamin would have migrated would be the early 1880s, and theoretically the latest is 1928. Did Benjamin and Elizabeth marry in England, or did he meet her here...and if the former, do we know if Charles was born there or here. The site above allows the birth index to be checked up to 1908, and there is no birth for Charles 1880-1908, at least in NSW.

I realise the questions implied above are probably the very ones that you hope to answer of course. I'll keep chipping away quietly.

Alan

Thanks Sue and Kerry.

I'm not much help I'm afraid. I'll be changing my subscription back in March, but I guess that will just give me access to internet sources you already have.

Keep me in mind - there is always the possibility that I could help with Australian queries if any of your people have gone that far astray. As a first generation Australian on both sides I haven't actually had to work with local resources, but I am a lot closer.

Regards

Alan

Thanks Alandal.

I've just spent an hour trying all the wildcard and variant options I can think of on my current subscription service and not got a sniff of that family in 1871. I'll be considering that quite strongly when the subscription expires in March - might be time for a switch back.

However, you have considerably clarified the matter for me - the family you describe is clearly mine - thanks indeed!

Are you finding that Hales and Hale are quite distinct, or are both forms appearing in your family? I ask because my grandmother was recorded as Hales on her marriage certificate, although my father's name was John James Hale Muggridge, and the form Hale appears everywhere else

Regards

Alan

Hi Al and Al.

Sorry not to have responded to you. I've been working on another thread, and as the temperature here is still around 40 C at 9.30pm I'm just about out of steam tonight. (I did promise myself about three months ago that I'd get the aircon fixed before summer).

I've found the 1851 census entry ok, and that looks pretty plausible. My current subscription is the web site TheGenealogist, and it doesn't seem to offer me a search by reference numbers. Would you be able to give me the county in which the 1871 entry was reported?

To be brutally honest the possibility of a remarriage on the part of my great grandfather had just not occurred to me - you really need to consider all possibilities don't you?

Thanks again

Alan Muggridge