Which of your ancestors have disappeared?

[stoney]

This is a slight variation on the theme - how are names changed by deed-poll related to the original births? If you want a good laugh - read on!

My father was born John CARSON, 11/04/1915, Scotland. He died in October 1988 in Warwickshire under the name of Alan Angus MacGREGOR......!

Apparently he changed his name in the 1930's when, as a young lad, he and a group of mates had gone into Glasgow centre to the cinema and spent their return fare home. After one of them had pinched an unattended truck to get them home, they had all been stopped by a policeman and lined up to give their details. Fearing his father's response for bringing the family name into disrepute, my dad glanced at the sign above the shop he was standing in front of (an ironmonger's called "MacGregor's") he blurted out "Alan MacGregor" (no idea where the Angus came from!). At that time, he had the option of appearing before the "beak" (magistrate) and accquiring a criminal record, or he could opt to enter the armed services. He took the latter route, and thus he was formally registered with this false name!

His marriage certificate of 1943 perpetuates the lie, also renaming his father's surname as MacGregor instead of Carson. I have no idea if my mother ever knew the truth, although she was heard to remark, after a trip back to Scotland to meet his family, "...they all call him "JOHN" up there.....!?"

Apparently, dad decided to change his name officially by deed-poll in April, 1980, after he retired, afraid it might jeopardise his pension. However, we kids were none the wiser until a "death-bed" confession in 1988!

To cap it all, my brother and his wife had nearly come to divorce proceedings having argued over the naming of their first son - my brother won, naming the new infant "Alan MacGREGOR Jnr".  To find he had named the child after a fictional character wasn't all that funny (..." If he (dad) had been a well man I'd have hit him!").

It just goes to show - never trust anything, mistranscribed or not! 

[MarieC]

Wow-ee, stoney!!! 

That is an amazing story - never read anything like it in my life!!  Just as well you know what he did, otherwise you'd have had no hope of tracing his ancestors, eh??

But seriously, it makes me wonder how many of our "disappeared" ancestors changed their names unilaterally, for similar or other reasons!!!  If they made major changes like your dad did, we're never going to find them, are we??

I'm wondering how he managed to marry under a false name - or even to go into the armed services?  Surely he would have had to produce some kind of identification for both?

Anyway - great story!! 

MarieC

[stoney]

Hi, MarieC,

Mum and Dad were married during WW2 - don't know what "official" documents they might have had to produce, presumably Dad's RAF I/d card would have been deemed suitable (even if it was technically wrong!).

As for entering the armed services, I have no idea how they got round that! I assume the authorities would have many legal loopholes we wouldn't find today! 

[jax]

AMOS HILDEN WHERE ARE YOU?   

I know you existed because you are named on your daughter's (my great grandmother's) marriage certificate to John Twyman in 1913.

I cant find your birth, marriage, death  - nothing!!!  You were alive at time of great grandma's wedding in 1913 - but deceased at the time of her 2nd marriage in 1952..

There is rumour that you were a travelling family (romany gypsies?) maybe that's why.. 

AMOS - please get in touch or send me a sign soon 

love from great great grandaughter Jax XX

[KathMc]

Stoney,

What a story. We have name changes on my husband's sidem most annoyingly his actual name and unfortunately, no one knows what the name actually was. They clearly changed it to make it not sound Jewish. My husband seems to recall someone mentioning it was completely different while one of his brothers insists it was shortened. I think a brother of his great-grandfather's changed it initially and all the rest of the family used it. They spent a few years in London under this name and then moved on to Brooklyn. I wonder if I will ever know.

Kath

[liverpool lass]

Hi everyone. Just reading this thread again and wondered how many of the lost have now been found? I am still missing Hubert, Edward and Murdock.....

[KathMc]

Good question. I am still hunting for William C. Davis, and the missing brothers. I have a search with the NJ archives going on right now for William's death, I am hoping between 1905, when his wife died, and 1910, as I can't find him in the census. And that is only if he stayed in the county he was living in. Maybe I will have part of an answer soon.

Kath

[Erato]

I have made no progress with GG Uncle James Franklin Ware, missing for about 25 years, only to finally show up again with his wife [who had been calling herself a widow] in 1930.  I can't figure out where he was and what he was up to.

GG Uncles William and George Ennis and George's wife Hannah are also diappeared.

[kooky]

I've missed this thread!
My missing relative was SAMUEL CLULO.
He was in the 1861 census in Birmingham, b. 1851, with parents Samuel and Ann nee Bryan both b.1828 B'ham.
Then nothing! Not in any later census,no birth, no marriage, no death, not found on passenger lists.
Then a few weeks ago I found him in a B'ham newpaper report "Thieving and receiving".
In 1869 aged 19 and called SAMUEL HYETT alias Clulo, he was sentenced to 4 months for the theft of a table cover!
When his father died his mother married Charles Hyett or Hyatt. He must have taken his step father's name. When his mother died Charles married her sister Elizabeth Bryan, who had a son Thomas. He is in the 1861 census entry as nephew.
I would love to find some other evidence of his existence. There is a thread about him elsewhere. It ran to 3 pages but still nothing found.
Samuel was a cousin of my gt gr father James Clulo.
Kooky