Dear All
Many thanks for all your responses.
Jennifer C - yes, I did think that was a possibility (that Badminton was actually Bedminster, on the outskirts of Bristol) but then I found last week, an Eliza Edwards (Eliza Drew seems to change her name to Eliza Edwards after 1871 but before 1881 even though she seems not to have married anyone called Edwards as far as I can see from BMD index.....?) in the 1891 census living in the workhouse in St George in the East.... and there her birth place is definitely Badminton. As it is in 1851 as far as I can see from Family Search info. So, I now think it probably is Badminton in South Gloucestershire and not Bedminster.... but I could be wrong.
ciderdrinker - many many thanks for looking up the family for me. I do have the bare facts of 1861 when they are living in Whitechapel, MENT, Eliza aged 47 and John Drew born at sea aged 57 but I can't 'click in' to see who else is living with them at that time in terms of children, which I would be interested in.
However, ciderdrinker - you have hit on the very conundrum which has been bugging me for many weeks and the reason I am trying to find out who Eliza and John Drew are and who their children were in the first place.
The problem (and this can make one's head ache a bit....I warn you):
In the 1891 census you mention little Herbert Drew and this is the person I am investigating, to complete a family tree for his 90 year old son (still very much alive and kicking) and his middle-aged grandsons.
Henry Herbert Drew, aged 6 in 1891 was born in 1885 in St George in the East to Mary Ann Baker and a John Drew (according to his birth certificate which I have purchased). However, there is no record of a Mary Ann Baker marrying a John Drew as far as I can see on BMD index. In 1891 a 'Mary Ann Drew' aged 34 is livinig with George 'Drew' the butcher and several children, including little Herbert (later known as Bertie). By 1901 George seems to be called George Vidler and Mary Ann and he are living with various Drew and Vidler children, including Bertie now aged 15. In 1911 H Herbert Drew (now grown up) is 'head' of the family of brothers, sisters and half-siblings - Drew and Vidler. There is no sign of mother Mary Ann at all, and George Vidler the butcher is living as a 'lodger' in some sort of accommodation or workhouse.
Henry Herbert Drew gets married in 1913 to Alice Maud Melrose and his father is recorded as William Henry Drew according to the bare facts on ancestry.com. So.....the mystery thickens! Why does Herbert think his father is William Henry Drew and not the John mentioned on his birth record?!
When exactly did a Mary Ann Baker marry John Drew or William Henry Drew for that matter?! I can't even find a record of her marrying a George Vidler the butcher! She and he certainly had children including an interestingly named George Vidler Drew in 1890!
This is why I am trying to find out about Henry Herbert Drew's mother, Mary Ann Baker/ Drew. I THINK she is the mis-spelt 'Manistrin' Drew living with Eliza Edwards in 1881 and the reason I think this is her is that she has 3 children William (Henry), Edwin (John) and Eliza (Adelaide) in 1881 and they are ALL present on the 1891 census, right ages, right places of birth so this MUST be them!
In 1881 this Manistrin (Mary Ann?) Drew is down as Eliza Edwards' 'daughter' so, if that is so, she must be the daughter of John Drew (he who is 'born at sea' ') surely? This makes it all even more confusing as she would then technically be a DREW! She is 28 in 1881 and a 'tailoress'. This would tie in possibly with the 'Mary A' Drew aged 17 living with Eliza and John Drew in 1871, box maker.....same sort of skills needed I imagine.
But this is really making my head spin as if she is the daughter of Eliza Drew (later Edwards) and John Drew (the 'born at sea' man), who IS Mary Ann BAKER?!
I've also tried to check the names of the 'fathers' put down on Herry Herbert's siblings marriage records and they are a mixture of 'William Henry Drew' and 'John Drew'. For example. Eliza Adelaide Drew marries Albert Thomas in 1910 and her father is down as 'John Drew' but Edwin John's is down as 'William Henry Drew' when he marries Eliza Munro in 1900.
Believe me, I've been mulling over every scenario possible. To cap it all, I can't find a John Drew or William Henry Drew living with their Drew offspring at all. On Henry Herbert's birth certificate in 1885, John Drew is down as 'general labourer' and the family are apparently living at 34 Tait Street..
I'm sure your heads are aching. Any advice or thoughts welcome!
Thank you
D of M
