Because of the work that I've done on our family tree, my sister thinks I'm a genealogical genius (which I really am not !) and she keeps asking me to help find her husband's long-lost half sister. It's OK - I know the rules about posting details of living people on here, and I will not be breaking those rules, especially since I know almost nothing about this half-sister !
My brother-in-law's father was married twice, and the half sister is apparently the product of his first marriage. I did ask him if he could give me a marriage certificate for this first marriage, so I could search under the mother's maiden name, but when it arrived it was the certificate for his second marriage ! At first I thought there was nothing I could do, until I read the certificate more closely, and under the groom's 'condition' it gives the details of his first marriage, including the first wife's maiden name.
The problem is that I can't find any record of either the first marriage, or a record of any child bearing his name and his wife's maiden name (the birth would have been around 1930 - 1935).
So here's what I know :
Father's name: Harold Leslie Sleigh. b. 13 Feb 1909 Blythe Bridge, Stoke On Trent, England. Died : 27 Jun 1962, Woolwich, Greater London.
Details from 2nd Marriage Certificate:Date: 1 Nov 1945, Registry Office, Macclesfield, in the County of Chester.
Groom:
Harold Leslie Sleigh, Aged 36 years.
Formerly the husband of
Minnie Sleigh, formerly Ritchie, Spinster, from whom he obtained a divorce.
Rank or Profession: R.Q.M.S. No. 7879377 C.M.P. (Regular).
Residence at time of marriage: 39 Parkgate Road, Macclesfield.
Fathers Name : Harold Sleigh. Profession: Railway Signalman
Bride:
Sheila Mary Leadbetter, Aged 26 years.
Spinster, No occupation shown.
Residence at time of marriage: Fir Mount, Bracknell Road, Crowthorne, Berks.
Father's name: William James Leadbetter. Profession: Mental Hospital Attendant.
(This is my brother in law's mother, and she died in 1982 in Eltham, Gtr. London)
I've tried finding a marriage between a Harold Leslie Sleigh and a Minnie Ritchie around 1930, with no success. I've also tried finding children born with a surname Sleigh, with a mother's name of Ritchie, also without success.
There is apparently a family story that Harold was stationed in Belfast when the breakup of his first marriage occurred (he allegedly threatened the other man with a gun !), but there is nothing to substantiate this. It does, however, make me wonder if Minnie Ritchie came from Ireland, and maybe they married in Ireland ? The Sleigh family does have Irish connections in the past. My brother-in-law thinks that the child was female, and could have been called Edith.
If anyone has ideas about the child, could they please PM me, because she could still be alive. Otherwise, any ideas on Harold Sleigh's first marriage or the identity of Minnie Ritchie would be much appreciated.
