How to find? Not sure what to do next.

[Jeanne K.]

My husband's great-great grandparents, Sidney Ulysses Grant Gott and Florence Roberts Gott, were both born in the United States (Gloucester, Massachusetts).  Sidney was a fish merchant and they moved first to Skiberdeen, Ireland (in about 1893).  At some point they seperated and divorced. The last record of Sidney that I find in Skiberdeen is that he was the Grand Mason of Skiberdeen Mason Lodge #15 in 1901 and 1902.   Both Sidney and Florence ended up in England and both died in England.  Sidney shows up in English directories in 1908 in Birkenhead, Cheshire, England and last shows up in 1923 in those directories.  With the help of someone on this board, I found his death record info and have ordered it(he died in 1923).  But I don't know how to find a death record for Florence since she remarried.  I don't have a name of her 2nd husband or a marriage date for the 2nd marriage except I believe it was between 1900 and 1915.  The death year I have for Florence, provided by her granddaughter(now 92 years old) is 1932 in England.  I ordered a marriage record for a Florence Gott for a marriage which took place in 1903, but it was the wrong Florence Gott.  Any suggestions of how to go about my search?

[suzard]

Hello Jeanne,

Why do you think Florence remarried between 1900-1915?

Are you certain they divorced?

Divorce was not that common in early 1900's.

maybe Florence didn't remarry until after Sidney died???

My great gran had the family believe she remarried after her first husband died in 1920's, but she didn't marry until 1942-her 2nd "husband" had to wait for the death of his first wife before they could marry - it wasn't until after their deaths we knew about this, when we found their marriage certificate tucked away at the back of a drawer.

Suz

[Jeanne K.]

Thanks for your reply. I know that divorce was not that common back then.   I think that they divorced and that Florence remarried because that is what her granddaughter, my husband's Aunt Gladys (now 92 years old) told me.

[suzard]

can Aunt Gladys remember her "new" grandfather?

or what she called her gran?

Usually grandparents were called grandma Surname.

Ask her what she called her gran- and if she has any photographs -you may be lucky and find one with a name on the back.

You can search the complete index free at ancestry, it may be worth trawling through and extending the years you have looked so far.

Suz

[Jeanne K.]

Gladys didn't really know her grandparents very well.  I'm not even sure she ever met them.  I will have to ask Gladys that.  Her father, Herbert, son of Sydney and Florence, worked with the YMCA, traveling around working with war refugees and such.  They lived in Manchuria, Estonia and other such places.  When they came "home" it was to Massachusetts.

[jorose]

Was Roberts Florence's maiden name?  If they were divorced (or even if they just seperated and there was no 'divorce' as such) she might have reverted to her maiden name and remarried under that.

www.ellisisland.org shows Sidney G Gott, 38, from Skibberdeen, American/Irish, heading to Boston in 1903.  He is travelling alone but listed as married.  This seems to suggest that in 1903, at least, he was still living in Ireland.

In 1906 there's a Sydney Gott, from Glocester, Mass, still says he was married.

There is also Sidney G. Gott, 54, arriving in 1919, again, still married.

There are also some earlier records for him.  I haven't checked them all but Florence doesn't seem to have travelled with him at all.

Did they only have the one child?

http://www.nationalarchives.gov.uk/catalogue/RdLeaflet.asp?sLeafletID=53 - here's the info on divorces from the NA (if they got divorced after moving to England).

http://www.gazettes-online.co.uk/ has some information - if you search for: Gott Sidney  you'll find some info on him in 1917/1918 - bankruptcy proceedings.

[Jeanne K.]

Thanks so much for all of your replies.  I didn't know about the Gazette website. That lead gave me information I hadn't considered looking for.    It looks like, from the timing of the bankrupcy proceedings, that Sidney was having trouble with shipping due to the impact of World War I.  As for the traveling information from ellisisland, I appreciate that too.  Just the last couple of days, trying to pinpoint Florence, I re-looked at the ship manifests for Sidney that I had already located through ancestry.com but had not thought of looking at Ellis Island databases since he was an American citizen.  The only time I see Sidney traveling with family is in 1905, when he is arriving back in the United States with his son Herbert, probably bringing Herbert to college as Herbert attended MIT in Massachusetts.  But Florence never travels with him.  However, just the other day,  I looked for her traveling separately to the US.  Looking at Florence Gott, I find nothing.  However, looking further I find a ship manifest from 1914 for an Emma Florence Gott, US citizen aged 47 years, traveling with a Florence Lavin Gott aged 14, (which fits in with Sidney and Florence having a daughter Florence born about 1900). Emma Florence is listed as housewife and married.  They are listed as going to Gloucester, Massachusetts. I find census records in Lanesville, Essex County, Massachusetts for 1870 and 1880 showing an Emma F. Roberts born about 1867(Florence was supposedly born in Lanesville, but I could never find census records for her.  I am pretty convinced now that Florence Gott is really Emma Florence (Roberts) Gott.   I rechecked with my husband's aunt and she says she isn't sure now whether they ever formally divorced, just that Florence lived with another man.  So it may be, that Florence and Sidney remained married until his death, with her eventually having a relationship with another man after Sidney died.

[Jeanne K.]

Just to catch you up on the success of my search.  The insight that Florence Roberts might instead be Emma Florence Roberts was confirmed by the New England Historic Genealogical Society.  Armed with this addition to Florence's name, I was able to find a new marriage record for her to William Edward Eliiott in Birkenhead, England, which took place 23 Aug 1923. She is listed on this marriage record as a widow.  This marriage took place 1 week after Sidney's death, which tells me there was  a relationship between William and Emma Florence previous to Sidney's death, though it also confirms that Emma Florence and Sidney were not divorced.  Now knowing that her name from her 2nd marriage was Elliott, I was able to find and send for a death record.  Emma Florence Roberts Gott Elliott died in Birkenhead on 10 Sept 1932.  Her 2nd husband pre-deceased her. 
Thanks for everyone's help.  The success of my search shows how important a correct name is. She was never known as Emma Florence but she used her birth name on her marriage records and it shows on her death record.  It also shows on the one ship manifest I was able to find her on. 

[piedstilt]

Congratulations on a successful outcome to your search. It was great that you took the time to let us know how it all ended!

Cheers,

Ros