Lost - William BAKER b 1895 Qld

[heapsofus]

Hi mum mum,
I'm not sure he knew who his parents were.  He didn't seem to make contact with anyone in the family till 1954, even though he was in QLD since early 1920's.  Apparently his war record says he had a severe stutter which stared when he was about 5 - not sure if he was with his family for awhile or given up as a baby.  Only one researcher we have found had that he was adopted and who his adoptive mother was- no one else seems to know anything - which makes me think no one must have his marriage certificate. We intend on keeping on trying to trace Alfred and Enily's life over that time period. 
Thanks for you help with this,
Wendy

[heapsofus]

Hi Ruskie,
There's no hurry on the archives.  We would still like to follow up records for Emily in the Reception House in Townsville and also the file on Alfred - to see it it is ours or not.  We have since found out that the Goodna records are no longer open and that we have to apply for records - so don't bother with that one. As mentioned in the post to mum mum we are still trying to piece together Alfred and Emily's life around this time frame, so any help appreciated.
Thank you again,
Wendy

[Ruskie]

OK thanks for letting me know Wendy. I will try to get to the Archives to do those lookups to get them out of the way otherwise I will forget.  . I will try to give you a bit of notice before I go, so you have time to let me know if you think of anything more you'd like checked while I'm there.

As you were particularly interested in the Goodna records, it must be a disappointment to discover that you cannot access them. Why are they "no longer open?" I know that a certain timeframe has to pass before you can access some records, but you ar implying that they were once open, but not any more?

[heapsofus]

That's right Ruskie records were open and are now closed.  This is the reply I received:
"Queensland Health have been carrying out a systematic review of their records held at Queensland State Archives. As a result of this review, they have discovered that each item in Series 9051 (Wolston Park Case Books) contains information that exceeds the end date they had previously listed. This has resulted in their recent decision to re-close the records.
 
We have been advised that members of the public doing family history research need to lodge applications for access to restricted records held at Queensland State Archives, under the Right To Information Act and that an application fee is applicable."

So will leave it for now.  Will let you know also if I find anything else needing looking into at the archives,
Wendy

[Ruskie]

Thanks for the explanation. Sounds like a grab for money if you can still apply but now have to pay a fee... typical.

[graham_david]

Hi interested in your search for William Baker I may be his grandson in Australia
Graham

[heapsofus]

Hi Graham,

We found the search for William Baker Searle very interesting.  We have some information  and are happy to share it with you. What is it that you would like to know? My husband's mother, as a child, remembers him coming to  her grandmothers home obviously trying to reconnect with his birth family - we don't think it was very successful.

Regards,
Wendy

[graham_david]

Thanks for the reply so soon, I am Graham's wife and I've just started the journey of discovering William's family history. We always knew William was adopted and have a copy of his adoption papers and his birth and death certificates. He married Alice Grace Harris and they had 3 sons and 1 daughter. Their 2nd son Eric Baker Searle was my husband Graham's father. I am interested in any further info there is on Emily and Alfred Baker and the other 2 children Annie and John Thomas. We're travelling to England in the next month and plan to visit Bedfordshire to see if we can discover any more about them.
thanks Deb

[heapsofus]

Hi Deb,
We're quite excited to have found a relation of William! We have a few photos of his sister and brother. We have attached a photo of Annie on her wedding day - you can see the resemblance to William in this photo. Did you know that Annie and John Thomas were put into an orphanage for awhile in Rockhampton? And then Emily ended up in the Goodna Asylum for awhile. When Emily placed John Thomas in the orphanage she was slightly deranged and said his name was Harry and that he was born in Ceylon.  We know that Alfred and Emily left England with 2 children, Annie and another boy they called Harry.  We think he may have died on the trip over somewhere around Ceylon and that's why Emily gave that incorrect information at the orphanage and then the  name stuck.  We have a photo of Harry (John Thomas) when he was in the war.  We have a lot of information on Emily and Alfred and the 2 children as well as some photos and links to more info online. It is too much to send just now so we will get it together and send it on Friday. Would you prefer it by email?
Going to England would be great! My daughter who started this research is extremely jealous!!
Kind Regards,
Wendy