1891 lookup request - Gurman

[lilirose03]

ok, think this adds some weight to my theory about George French being the father:

from IGI:

Alfred John French Gurman  bapt  Botley, Hampshire
son of Selina Gurman


and I found the French family on the 1861 census and George has an older brother called Alfred

[groom]

That scenario is possible, in which case it looks as if  the 3 youngest children weren't Noahs. However, it could just be that she gave him the name French as George was a good friend of the family.

Have we found George's baptism, does he also have the name French?

It is a pity that we cant find Noah's death, that tree on Ancestry had no sources so may just have assumed that is when he died. It does seem odd that Selina described herself as a widow much earlier than he was supposed to have died. I wonder if he was missing at sea but couldn't be officially declared dead as there was no body?

I'll have another look around later to see if I can find any more. Please let me know what the birth certificate says.

Jan

[lilirose03]

I haven't found a baptism for George or any of the other children.

I immediately thought that adding French as part of Alfred's name was a big clue because I have come across that before on another family tree - and the woman concerned on that tree had been told her real fathers name, and his surname had been given to her as a middle name.

Also the father's name on Alfred's christening has been left blank, no mention of Noah.

And George jnr listing George Gurman labourer on his marriage cert as his father rather than Noah Gurman sailor.

And Selina claiming to be a widow in 1881 and 1891.

If it was only one or two of those reasons listed above I'd have doubts, but all of those together makes me feel it's quite likely George French was the father.

It's going to feel like a long wait for that birth cert to arrive!

[lilirose03]

and just because you might find it interesting, there's a similar story about George Gurman!
George Gurman married Elizabeth Crockett in 1906 in Portsmouth, they had a son Cyril in 1909. George was a sailor. I have been told that George fought in WWI and Elizabeth rec'd notification that he had been killed (whether it was missing presumed dead I don't know) and many years later re-married (1940). She then r'ced news that George was still alive (who this was from and if it was official I don't know) but she didn't feel she wanted to pursue that, so the family never knew for sure if George really had survived the war or not...

[groom]

Have you tried doing a Google search for Noah Gurman? There are several people looking for him and none seem to have found him after 1871 or his death.

What a strange, but interesting family they are.

[lilirose03]

I have done a google search on Noah but I just seem to be going round in circles with him, nothing concrete comes up.

I just hope my new Gurman husband doesn't suddenly decide to go to sea!!!!

It was actually my mother-in-law asked me to try and do a little digging on the Gurman family history as she knows I researched my own tree some years ago, I wasn't expecting to find all this!

[groom]

I cant find Fred Gurman after 1891, he just seems to disappear, there are no deaths in that name. I wonder if he was taken in by another family after his mother's death and took their name. I cant find George French either in 1901, but there is a possible sighting in 1911 when he is on his own.

[[Ray]]

Hi

To set a new thought process going . . . . .

I think that George Gurman/German and George French could be one and the same. (A play on name)
I think he is a "convict/absconder/criminalontherun" w.h.y.

There is at least one court case (1877 - 7 years)

 . . . . .


Ray
 

[lilirose03]

ooh, interesting... what's your idea on this Ray?
and how would Noah fit in if George French is actually George Gurman?