Ooh Thank you! I don't think I have ever conversed with an aristocrat before! And Mick, I just hope it helps.
Perhaps I should add my Child Migrant names to the list now as well. It was thanks to Genes Reunited that I discovered the great census gap in one line of my research came about because at least one child was shipped to Canada. Since my grandmother did not go to Canada I had no idea that some of her siblings did. I am now in correspondence with the descendents of the one child and we now think that three others also were sent.
A warning to others - the family has no Roman Catholic connections either before or since but the London family lost their father to illness leaving a young widow and seven small children. The baby boy somehow was placed in a London Roman Catholic boys home until he was shipped to a Canadian seminary at the age of 10 - to become a priest. The American descendents have the family myth that the UK family had chosen to send him to Canada as the mother wanted him to become a priest. They even believed that she was angry when he chose not to become a priest or even to follow any formal religion. I was passed the story in the UK that my grandmother once had a brother who had joined 'the' gold rush. Years ago I made a failed attempt at divining which gold rush!
So...... keep all options open in your mind! You just never know!
Now we believe that three more sisters perhaps went to Canada with Maria Rye because there are some indexes that have good matches for names and dates. My American contacts are waiting to hear what the Canadian archives will send.
The family is named GAY and the girls are CHARLOTTE ALICE, ELIZABETH and KATE, born in 1869, 1873 and 1875 in London. We think we can see Charlotte married to a WAITE in later Canadian censuses but so far no sightings of the other two.
I am not at this stage asking for help as we may get information from the Archives so I was just checking out all the Home Children websites when I tripped over Mick and his names.
Connie
