Sunday Evening Challenge Anyone? Reed Family Fulham

[Wexyuk]

Dear All,

I'm driving myself slowly insane so thought I'd put this to you all.  I am trying to trace the origins of the parents of Alice Beatrice Reed who was born in Fulham in November 1891.  I have a copy of her birth certificate which gives her parents' names as:

Harry Read, a journeyman bricklayer
Elizabeth Read, formerly Jameson 

The address is 24 Church Path, Fulham.

I have the family in the 1901 census:

Harry Reed @ 34 b. Newmarket
Eliz @ 32 b. Fulham
Edith @ 14 b. Fulham
Alice @ 9 b. Fulham
Geo @ 5 b. Fulham
Eliz @ 2 b. Fulham

I can't find them in 1891 or 1911.

I found out yesterday that Harry Reed married Elizabeth Jamieson in Chelsea in March 1916.  There are also further children:

Albert Ernest b. Sept 1911 Fulham (but only on indexes as a later addition)
Doris Lillian b. Sept 1914

The Elizabeth b. 1899 died in Chelsea in 1918.

Now, in the London Electoral Rolls I have Alice's household (155 Stephendale Road) with other occupants:

From 1918 - 1935:

Elizabeth Nelson
Harry Reed Nelson

From 1935 - 1939:

Elizabeth Sophia Reed
Harry Reed
(1936) Doris Lillian Reed

I can only assume that these are the same people.

I've found the birth of an Elizabeth Sophia Jamieson in Birmingham in 1870 and in 1881 she is living in Kensington with her father, James.  She was christened in 1872 in Liverpool.

I'm going to have to order Harry and Elizabeth's marriage certificate but if anyone can find them in 1891 or 1911 I'd be eternally grateful.  Daughter Edith married in 1902 and I have her in 1911 and son George is at an "Industrial School" in York in 1911.

Sorry this is so long but I thought it was best to put everything that I knew. 

Thanks for any help!

Clare

P.S.  There is no Harry Reed born in Newmarket.  There's one in Bury St. Edmunds.

[CaroleW]

We can look for 1891 for you but 1911 lookups are not allowed as per

http://www.rootschat.com/forum/index.php/topic,355486.0.html

[Wexyuk]

I have all relevant subscriptions if people could just give a hint.  It's not a lookup as such because I've already tried every possible combination of searches.

1891 would be fine though!

[Alexander.]

Hi Clare,

A tough one, isn't it...

You may have already checked this, but the 1891 census (6 months before Alice's birth) shows Emma OAKHAM (+7 children) living at 24 Church Path, Fulham - RG12/46, f 123, p 11
Probably no relation, but you never know.

Also I noticed that the electoral rolls give Harry as Henry Reed Nelson - he may therefore appear in the missing censuses as Henry.

Sorry, not much help, will keep looking.

Alexander

[Wexyuk]

Hi Alexander,

Yep, I've tried Henry, Harry, Harold, no forename - you name it!

The family moved around a fair bit as in 1901 they are living in Walham Avenue in Fulham.

According to Charles Booth's poverty map of 1898, Church Path was a chronically poor area surrounded by slightly better off places. 

It's the most frustrating family I've looked at - not appearing in censuses, incorrect birthplaces, marriages 30 years after children were born.

Ahhhhh!!!

Clare

[Alexander.]

I did find this birth and death:

Births Dec qtr. 1909
Reed, Harry Nelson, Fulham, vol. 1a: 280

Deaths Mar qtr. 1913
Reed, Harry N., 3, Fulham, vol. 1a: 445

He could be one of Harry and Elizabeth's children, having the Nelson middle name, though you'd need one of the certs to know for sure. But he should appear on the 1911 census somewhere...

[Wexyuk]

I actually did find him in the 1911 census on the Isle of Wight with an Ada Reed aged 19 who appears to be his mother (living with her family).  She was born on the Isle of Wight so it's difficult to see the connection (although very odd coincidence).

[Alexander.]

There goes that idea then! But I'm not convinced that is the same Harry - I just checked and Harry son of Ada is age 3 on the census. Harry Nelson Reed, being born in Dec qtr. 1909 was only around 16-19 months old, so should appear as age 1 in Apr 1911 (assuming his parents got it right).

Saying that, I can't see any other birth regs for Ada's son.

I'm sure there must have been other children born to Harry and Elizabeth between 1901 and 1911. Did any of their children serve in WWI? sometimes the records contain very helpful information about parents and siblings.

I don't know what else to suggest, until you know if Harry and Elizabeth's marriage certificate contains any clues.

Alexander

[Wexyuk]

Hi Alexander,

I agree that there must have been more children born 1901 - 1911.  I've looked and there are a lot of Reeds born in Fulham (plus they could have been Chelsea).

Tried a couple in WW1 but perhaps I'll broaden that search a bit.

I'm hoping the marriage cert will help because I'm stumped otherwise!

All the best,

Clare