Hello Jenn
Thank you so much for your reply to my post
It's the same lady that you very kindly helped me out with earlier on the WA Electoral Roll - Mrs Ruth Howell
She has become a 'brick wall' that I just can't seem to get past.
With the help of a friend in Australia we managed to find out a little bit about Ruth but I've never been able to find out when or where she died. I haven't been able to find her birth either so she is quite a mystery to us
I have a fair bit of information/paperwork on her marriage to my grandad, the two sons they had and what happened to them both, grandad and Ruth's divorce, her second marriage to Frederick Howell and the sons they had (and an adopted daughter) but after 1944 I can't find anything.
I was in touch with one of her grandsons who gave me a little bit of info but nothing that could tell me what happened to Ruth as it was a subject that his family would not discuss at all . He told me that Ruth left her second husband and children for another man and she never returned home - he believes she was killed in a car accident in SA. I tried the coroners office to find out if this was true but they had no records of a Ruth Howell. I also e-mailed the library about the electoral rolls for later years but as I don't know where she was living I don't think they will be able to help me out.
So, I was wondering if she may have divorced her second husband and married again and that's why I can't find her under the Howell surname? It's a bit of a longshot but I thought it might be worth a try
I do have a set of divorce papers from grandad's marriage but I have since lost contact with the lady who was helping me so I can't ask her how she managed to get hold of them.
If you could find anything that could help me I would be really, really grateful as it's something that I would love know about as grandad never told anyone that he had been married before and it was only from talking to a 'new' relative that we found out there was a 'skeleton in the closet'. A complete shock for everyone
Ruth's parents were Edward and Frances Ambrose although Frances re-married after Edward died and became Frances Tandy. She also moved to Australia and helped Frederick raise the children when Ruth left. Looking at the certificates that I have, Ruth was born Ruth Sylvia Ambrose in Gloucester around 1905.
I'm also not sure what to think about the information given to me by her grandson as there are a couple of things that don't seem to fit. According to her mother's death certificate and obituary, Ruth was still living at home in 1944 but her grandson said she had walked out before then and no-one saw her again. It also seemed strange that she adopted a baby girl a few weeks before they said she left.
My only other thought is that maybe she went into a home or institution as I think she may have suffered from manic depression but I wouldn't know where to start looking for medical information (if it is at all possible).
I'm sorry it's ended up as quite a long reply - there are so many bits and pieces and I find it hard to put it all into a couple of sentences
Thank you again for offering to take a look for me and it would be super if you could find something to point me in a new direction.
Best wishes and hope to hear from you again
Tanya
