Which of your ancestors have disappeared?

[KathMc]

Join the club MrsLizzy. Persecuted Anonymous. 

Kath

[liverpool lass]

Yahooo! Replying to this thread made me have another go at my Dorothy Boyd. No luck, so I posted a plea on RC. Karenlee replied with a possible Death ref! Amazing! Keep your fingers crossed.

[KathMc]

Good luck liverpool lass. Here's hoping for one less brick wall in this world.

Kath

[little meg]

I had all my family accounted for in the 1851 census except for one family, Joseph Simpson, his wife and one son. Looked at every possibility but to no avail.
I found his second son's birth in Yorkshire in 1852 so I was sure he had to be there somewhere.

I knew that in 1855 he had  travelled to Australia with his brothers, and his wife and  2 children followed later.

I took a punt and tried shipping, turns out he, his wife, and 1st child came to Australia for a couple of years and then went back to England where they had their second child.  And of course came back to Australia.

so my advice  is, if all else fails - try the shipping records  
Margaret

[lizdb]

Reading through this thread makes me think of a visit i made a year or two ago to the London Metropoitan Archives.

I was looking through the burial registers of a Parish in the London Dockland area. I remember being amazed and horrified at the time by the number of entries such as 'unknown body found in the Thames' and 'unidentified male washed up in the Thames' etc.
Obviously this area was where anyone who fell, jumped or was pushed into the river finally came to shore.
The thing that horrified me was the quantity of these entries - not just the odd one or two, but one being buried every few days.
Not only was I saddened to think of so many families who had lost someone and never knew of what happened to the body, but it did also occur to me that these people must all be on someone's family tree, and nowadays some poor person is probably hunting high and low for any information as to what happened to them - as far as records went they just 'disappeared' !

[MarieC]

Can I join "Persecuted Anonymous" too???

David and Mrs Lizzy, aaargh!!!  At least this thread is a kind of therapy - makes me realise there are heaps of other people in the same boat!  Inconsiderate wretched lot, these ancestors!! 

Liverpool lass, do let us know if you crack through that brick wall!  At least then we can chalk up one success!! 

Lizdb, your post is most sobering.  I wonder how many of our missing people met this kind of fate.  I have seen the odd entry or two like this on burial records I've looked at, but didn't realise there were so many in London! 

MarieC

[karenlee]

Can I join too please?? 

I may have helped liverpool lass with her Dorothy, but  the big question is can anyone help me with Charles RUFF ??

I have his birth in Weybridge Surrey, I have his marriage in Melbourne Australia, I have the births of his three children - the last 2 in NZ - but no death.

The last word on Charles was in Auckand NZ in about 1845 when he was involved in a court case over the malicious damage of a boat he was building by some crazed woman with an axe (no not his wife, nor a relative of mine as suggested by my loving husband at the time I discovered this newspaper clipping).

By 1847 Charles' wife Annie had become the "housekeeper" of  a Henry HELLYER and had the first of 8 children with him.

There were stories told by the HELLYER family that Charles had gone back to Scotland after the death of his parents to put things in order, but he never made it as the boat sank.  First problem being that Charles was not from Scotland, but his wife Annie was.  Second problem was that I have the death's of both Charles' parents, and his elder brother James Jackson RUFF was listed as Executor of both of their Wills.

There is no mention of Charles in the NZ death Indexes, although that early on in the administration of the country it was a bit rough and ready, and some things never made it to the Official Books. 

I have not found anyone that matches him in the Death Indexes for Queensland, NSW, Victoria, Tasmania or South Australia. 

I even got desperate and checked the UK census and Death Indexes just in case there may have been a kernel of truth to the "going back home" story.  No passenger list containing him leaving NZ, arriving anywhere, or sinking.


The large scar on my forehead is testament to the frustration this man has thrust upon me.  I have tried to ignore him and just give up, but that's a bit like letting him win --  and we can't have that can we??

Thanks for letting us all vent


Karenlee

[Subaru]

My gr grandfather Robert Main did a disappearing act for twenty-seven years.  I have his birth certificate from 1854, he was born in Great Cressingham, Norfolk. 

He doesn't turn up again until 1881, living with his mother and her third husband.  She had been widowed and married twice since he was born.  Robert's dad  James died the year he was born.

I've tried every variation of his name, age etc, but nothing.  I thought I had found him in an orphanage with just the initials R M.  But the kind people searched their records, and no luck.

At least he had the decency to come back for the 1881 census, because he married my gr grandmother shortly after.  Wherever he went, I hope he enjoyed it, and it was worth it, to leave all these gaps!!  How inconsiderate.

Rosemary

[MarieC]

Oh dear, karenlee!!

There must be an awfully big black hole somewhere where all these people are hiding!!!    I do sympathise - my Edward Martin has caused me just as much angst! 

All I can think of is that the crazed woman, or one of her relatives, got to him and threw him into a river or the sea - perhaps to be washed up as an unknown body (like lizdb was talking about), or perhaps found but for some reason didn't make it into the official death records.  You have a fairly narrow window of time before his wife was living with this other fellow.  Have you searched the NZ papers of the time to see if there is any account of a sudden or violent death (anonymous or otherwise), or any death notice?  That's all I can think of, I'm afraid. 

Rosemary, I just have no idea where that Robert Main could have got to!  He was too young to have gone to sea in 1861.  His mum didn't have any relatives in Ireland, where censuses are lacking, where he could have been for awhile, I suppose??

These ancestors are really for it when we finally get to where they are!!! 

MarieC