Mysterious g.g. Grandmother

[sdurx]

Hi everyone

Was wondering if anyone would be kind enough to lend me any advice or help to find out more about the most interesting person I've uncovered in my family's history (so far!).

My great-great grandmother was called Elizabeth Durkin (married surname), she was born in about 1863, and her place of birth is listed as the West Indies on the 1901 census, and India on the 1911 census! The possibility of having Caribbean or Indian blood is brilliant - exactly the sort of "jackpot" unexpected thing you hope to come across when looking into your family's history - but other than these census entries I've been unable to find out anything about her.

Her husband was Lawrence Durkin (born in Ireland, ~1863), and a relative said that he might have been in either the Indian Army or affiliated with the East India Company. It might be coincidence, but the common (West) Indian thread invites me to speculate that he met her far afield, married her and brought her back to Lancashire, England... A rough timeline of what I've pieced together from censuses is below.

1881 - Lawrence Durkin is aged 19, living with his mother Bridget in Blackburn, Lancashire.

Some time between 1881 and 1891 - Lawrence meets & marries Elizabeth. I don't know for sure, but I doubt that there would be many (West) Indian girls in Blackburn at the time...

1891 - Lawrence Durkin is aged 29, living with Elizabeth aged 28 with their four childen in Burnley, Lancashire.

1901 - Lawrence and Elizabeth are both aged 39, living in Padiham Lancashire with their surviving three children.

1911 - Lawrence disappeared from censuses (he died in 1913, so might have been in hospital). Elizabeth (listed as "Lizzie", aged 50) living with the family of Lawrence's oldest child.


If anyone could suggest a way forward to find out more about Elizabeth I would be truly grateful. If I could even find out her maiden name it would be a massive help...

Best regards,

Sean.

[karenlee]

Hi Sean

I do hope that she is as exotic as you think but have you considered the possibility that Elizabeth's father was either with the military or the East India Co himself and that she was born in either India or the West Indies to English parents?

Cheers
Karenlee

[sdurx]

Hi Karen,

Yes, it crossed my mind that that might be a likely explanation - even so, that would be a fascinating development in itself. If I could prove that much it would give me a handle to find out more about her parentage... I've tried searching on various websites pertaining to the Indian Army/East India Company, but as you can imagine, the results aren't all that enlightening considering that I have only her first name and year of birth...

What do you think would be the most promising course of action (if any)?

Thanks for your reply

Sean.

[karenlee]

Sean

Obtaining a birth certificate for one of their children should give you mother's maiden name. That would be the first step I would take personally.  With that information it might be easier to find out more about Elizabeth.

Cheers
Karenlee

[crisane]

From http://www.lan-opc.org.uk/
Burial 12 Apr 1913 at Burnley Cemetery, Burnley, Lancashire, England
Lawrence Durkin  Age 50 years
Abode - Union Infirmary
Grave A17705
Buried in a Public Grave
Register of  Burials 1909 - 1914, Page 243, Entry 77447
Source, Original Registers Book 10

As Karenlee says a birth certificate would set you on your way.

[Lynntony]

Sean,
 
There is also the possibility that Lawrence, if he was with the East India Company*, married a local girl in India, It was quite a common occurence at the time. The girls, if they weren't Christians, converted and took on an Anglicised name. If that is the case here, it would be extremely difficult to trace any further back. The church where the marriage took place may hold records, albeit paper ones, but you would need to find the church and hope that they still hold the records. 1881 - 1891 would be after the Crown effectively took over the administration of India so I would imagine that Lawrence, if in India at this time, would be serving in the Indian Army.

All this is, of course, supposition as you don't know where Lawrence married. I add it merely as a new area for research.

Tony

* The East India Company had it's own army which, after the Crown took over, was seconded into the Indian Army. See the link http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/East_India_Company

[sdurx]

Tony,

Thanks  -  that's useful information. I didn't realise it was quite common. Shall have to look into finding out exactly what army he was in!


Karen and Crisane,

I've been trying for a long time to get a birth certificate for one of their children, but it seems impossible to unambiguously identify their births on lancashirebmd. Even with cross-correlations there are a number of possible sets of parents. Any help with this would also be much appreciated!!


Sean.

[crisane]

On FreeBMD the best bet for a birth cert for one of their children seems to be Patrick Durkin registration district Burnley Dec 1/4 1887. You can order from the GRO on the proviso that the father's full name is Lawrence Durkin and mother's first name is Elizabeth. Althoughthere are 6 other Patrick Durkins born 1886 to 1890 on the 1891 census none of them have a Lawrence or Elizabeth as parent names.