BERNARD GILDEA - MARRIAGE

[jamesjg]

Bernard Gildea emigrated to US from Glasgow in 1906 with his (then) wife Annie Murray (birth record shows Rosan Murray) who returned to the UK and is on the 1911 Scotland Census living with her mother.  I have Bernard Gildea on the 1920 and 1930 US Census living in Philadelphia; and on the 1910 census living in New York.  He is shown as being married to Elizabeth on the WW 1 draft card and on the Census for 1920 and 1930.  He was naturalized in 1924 with his wife still shown as Elizabeth.  However, I can't trace the marriage to Elizabeth or a divorce from Annie.  Has anyone any ideas where they may have been married? 

Thanks,

Jim

[taramcdsmall]

Are you sure this isn't Bernard in 1910 and surname is just a mistranscription ?

https://familysearch.org/pal:/MM9.1.1/MG8T-6Q2

He states that he is married but there is no wife with him

I can't seem to see a marriage for him to Elizabeth though

Tara

[jamesjg]

Tara

Thanks for this.  It's possible that the Bernard Gilder on the 1910 Census is the same person as on the 1920/1930 Censuses.  I have the immigration year as 1906 and that fits in with his naturalization records in 1924 - as opposed to the year 1908 which was shown on the Pennsylvania Census.

Annie Gildea is on the Scotland 1911 Census and it's possible they were still married but living in two separate countries.  Bernad's wife is shown as Elizabeth on his WW1 draft; so they may have been married between 1910 and 1918.  Or perhaps they were just shown as being married?

More work needed!!

Jim

[shellyesq]

It looks like Bernard & Ann traveled from Glasgow to New York arriving 21 Apr. 1909, so he may have been trying to give the date of his most recent trip.  At any rate, it's common for immigration dates to fluctuate from census to census - people forget, or the person giving the information may not have been the one who immigrated.

The ages of first marriage for Bernard & Elizabeth on the 1930 census are consistent with a marriage around 1925.  Something odd definitely seems afoot here - maybe it was a common-law marriage.

[taramcdsmall]

Hi Jim,

Yes, it's possible that maybe Anne had to return to Scotland for some reason or maybe she didn't 'take to' the US and just never returned.

It's possible that Bernard never divorced and himself and Elizabeth just classed themselves as married.

Was there children from Bernard and Anne's marriage or / Bernard and Elizabeth's marriage ?

Tara

[jamesjg]

Hi Tara!

I have no details of children from the Bernard/Elizabeth marriage.  I do have a daughter Rose Ann Gildea born 6 July 1903 where Annie is shown as the mother but the birth is recorded as illegitimate.  Not sure if Bernard, or someone else, is the father.  Bernard and Annie were married at Dumbarton, Scotland in 1899; and the birth of Rose Ann seems to fit with the date of the marriage and the fact that Annie was shown as Rosan on her birth certificate.

The WW1 draft was completed in September 1918 with Elizabeth being shown as the wife.  It looks as though it may have been a common-law marriage.

At the moment, I can't find the death records of either Bernard or Elizabeth.    perhaps more will be revealed once the 1940 Census is fully transcribed.

Regards,

Jim

[taramcdsmall]

Gosh Jim,

That all sounds very confusing !

Do you have a marriage cert for Bernard and Annie ?

Was Bernard's name on the birth cert for Rose Ann Gildea ?

Tara

[jamesjg]

Tara

I do have the marriage certificate of Bernard and Annie.  They were married at Dumbarton in 1899.  I tried to upload the marriage certificate with a reply but received an error message!  I also seem to have lost the reply in the process; so apologies if two posts appear.

Rose Ann Gildea was shown as illegitimate on her birth certificate.  I don't know if this was because she was illegitimate or whether Bernard was working away from home and couldn't register the birth.

It gets further complicated in that Annie was living wither her mother Bridget Murray in Glasgow on the 1911 Scotland Census.  Also living there is Mary Gildea (aged 9) who was shown as an adopted granddaughter of Bridget.  Mary's age corresponds (just) with Rose Ann's dob of 1903.  It get's slightly more complicated in that Bernard's twin sister was also called Rose Ann; so I may have misunderstood the rationale behind the name Rose Ann Gildea for the name of Annie's daughter.

Confusing!!

Regards,

Jim

[taramcdsmall]

Gosh Jim

That's one proverbial mountain of a brick wall

Best of Luck with it !

Tara