May RICHARDS born 1897 Germoe, Cornwall

[jen56johns]

There's an Amelia Richards who married an Albert T kempt in 1917 in Penzance and a Winifred Richards who married Graham V thomas in Penzance in 1932.

Looks like the Kempt married had just one birth - Christina in Penzance in 1918.  With the Thomas marriage, it's harder to be sure but there was an Elizabeth m born in Penzance in 1936.

Looks like the Kempt family emigrated to Australia in 1922, headed for Fremantle.  Seems they ended up in Kalgoorlie as Christina married Leo M Martin in 1942.  I think Amelia may have had another child there - Veronica born in Kalgoorlie in 1926.  Veronica married Alan K Brittain in 1950.  Albert died in 1931 but I can't see a death for Amelia as the records only go up to 1971 but the electoral roll last shows her living in Belmont (a suburb of Perth) in 1972 and only a few streets away from two of my uncles!  I can't see her listed in the Perth cemeteries though.  Looks like she was living with Veronica and Alan.  I can't find deaths for either of them or them listed in the whitepages but they could still be alive.

On the 1980 electoral roll, Veronica and Alan seem to have a son who is now of voting age.  I'll PM you his name.  I can't find him in the whitepages either.

Christina and Leo ended up in Esperance and it looks like he died in 2000.  Someone on ancestry has a private tree with Leo and Albert Kempt in it so it maybe worth getting in touch with them.  Alternatively, you can contact The West Australian newspaper CanYouHelp@wanews.com.au and they will place a free notice for you.  I've tried this several times and had good responses.

So assuming we have the right Amelia, you can trace that branch of your family through to Western Australia!  Hope that helps!  I had fun searching and I know WA records well so it was quite easy.

[mkr123]

Thanks for the research.  I don't think that is May for a couple of reasons.  One, I don't believe she ever went by Amelia.  The baptismal records show her under that name but her mother also baptized her son Sampson under the name Granville which was not his first nor middle name.  I don't know why she did that other than maybe because they were illegitimate. In the 1901 and 1911 census records she went by May and when her brother Sampson left England in 1913, he listed his next of kin as his sister May Richards. The second reason why I don't believe that to be the correct person is because when May's oldest brother William died in California in 1944, his obituary stated all the people he was survived by and that included one sister in England, not Australia.

With regard to Winnifred, I previously sent away for the wedding certificate to  Graham V Thomas.  That was my best guess for her but the certificate read Winnifred Veal (otherwise Richards).  I thought that maybe she was intending to be married using Veal because it might have been her father's surname but under the catergory of father, no name was given. I did find one person with Graham V Thomas in their family tree and it appears he divorced Winnifred and then married another woman with whom he had children.  I tried to contact that person but never got a response. 

So the saga continues.  My hope is that some day someone who is a descendent of either of these two ladies will read this post and recognize their family line or that maybe a specialist who studied the area of Germoe might know what became of them.  I am also waiting for the 1921 census to be released in 2021 to see if that might lead to more clues.  I continue to thank all of you that have lent a helping hand thus far.

[jen56johns]

Taking a look at other births of Amelia Richards, there is another one in 1895 in Penzance.  And that age matches the one on the passenger record to Australia, so I guess it could be the other Amelia.

However, I have relatives in the US who had no idea what happened to their siblings so they might not necessarily know that she emigrated.

Have you bought any marriage certificates for May Richards? That might be the only key to this.

[zathar]

Hello mkr93312

How far along now have you got with your research?

I may be able to help you if you post the latest information that you have.

[mkr123]

Hi and thanks for the reply. 

I've started a new lead.  There is a death entry in 1971 for May Knight in the Penzance district which lists her birthdate as March 4, 1896 and the May I am looking for was born in 1897.  I subsequently looked in the Germoe Parish Records for burials and there is a May Knight (nee Richards).  If I interpreted the entry correctly, she was originally from Germoe but had been living in Exeter, Devon. 

Working backwards, I found a May Richards who married a Mr. Knight (I can't locate the his first name) in Plympton, Devon in 1918.  I sent away for the marriage certificate to see if she was originally from Cornwall and if she listed a father as my May Richards was illegitimate.  I am waiting its arrival.

If this does turn out to be my May, she had a daughter Helen May Knight in 1923 in Plympton and the family moved to Exeter.  Helen married Ronald G Ham on April 2, 1942 in Exeter.  Unfortunately, Ronald died in 1944 without having had any children.  I contacted a relative of Ronald Ham and the family did not know what happened to Helen after her husband's death.   

There was also a child born in 1922 in Axminster, Devon by the name of Mary A Knight with the mother's maiden name as Richards.  I haven't done any research on her to see if she is also a child from May Richards and Mr. Knight.  One reason I suspect there may be a connection is because May's mother was named Mary Ann.  Other than that, I have nothing to go on.

Maybe you could determine who Mary A Knight's parents were and if they were the same parents as Helen Knight.  You would need to find out the first name of Mr. Knight who married May Richards.  If my lead turns out, there is one definite (and maybe two) descendents of May Richards. If you can think of anything else given the scenario I have presented, let me know.  I appreciate all the help I can get.

Merrie

[zathar]

Hello Merrie

I have found out that May Richards married Robert Knight 1st quarter, 1918
and will look at the rest of your thread and see what else I can find out for you.

Maybe tomorrow now though 

zathar

[zathar]

Hello Merrie

I haven't got very far I'm afraid.

Theres a lot of parish records for Devon which are still to be transcribed so I haven't had much luck there.

I've tried looking for a death/burial for Helen Ham but couldn't come up with one for her so maybe
the lady is still alive.

If I can see anything else then I will let you know, sorry not to be much help at the moment.

[mkr123]

Well my hunch did not pay off as May Richards was not listed as illegitimate on her marriage record and she listed her father as William Richards, occupation miner. 

So I am still looking for someone who is familiar with the history of the Germoe Parish to assist me in my research.