Missing marriage - Long Eaton 1918

[s4rah]

Hi all

My first post - be gentle 

I've been looking for a while now for my great-grandparents' marriage. They both emigrated from England to Canada before 1925, and my grandmother was born in Regina, Saskatchewan in December 1925. Her birth cert states that her parents were married in Long Eaton, Derbyshire in 1918.

Problem is, I can't find any evidence of that whatsoever, in Long Eaton or anywhere else in England (or Canada). Have thought about it from all angles and one thing I'd like to eliminate is that there is some notorious problem with records from that area/period... Does anybody know if that's the case, or anything else that could help shed some light on this, please?

My great-grandmother was Alice Thompson, b 1890 in Pendleton, Lancs & great-grandfather was William James Walker, b 1882 in Costock, Notts. (He may have been illegitimate - his mother's maiden name was James).

Many thanks!

Sarah

[CaroleW]

Hi and welcome to Rootschat

If they married in 1918 and your grandmother was only born 7yrs later - I would have expected there to be other children in between.

Did your grandmother have older siblings?

[s4rah]

Hi Carole

Thanks for taking the time to read my post.

My grandmother was the oldest of three. I've always thought 7 years quite a large gap myself, but I suppose it could happen (though her brother and sister followed on pretty quickly after her). I think her father may have been in the Army and I wonder if that might be the explanation.

[CaroleW]

Hi again

Quite "elderly" first parents 

Alice would be 35 when your grandmother was born and William would have been 43.  I suppose Alice could have had miscarriages/stillbirths before your grandmothers birth

Certainly no marriage showing in any county in England/Wales   

There is an entry on the 1911 index for a William James b 1883 Nottingham shown as "Military" and living in London

[s4rah]

Thanks Carole, I will take a look at that census. I'll look for earlier births too I think, just in case. The more I think about it, the stranger it seems that they would wait so long, but we really know very little about William & Alice. My grandmother wasn't brought up by them - aged 4 she was sent back to England to live with an aunt, and she never saw her parents again, they and her brother & sister remained in Canada for the rest of their lives. So all in all I think they were probably quite unusual parents.

[sunflower]

Hi Sarah

A big welcome from me too

I don't know if you have the following information

William Edward born 6.8.1882 bapt 17.9.1882 to Mary Ann James, spinster at Costock, Notts

Mary Ann James married Albert Walker 2.11. 1885 at St. Pauls Hyson Green, Notts

Hope this helps

[s4rah]

Hi!

Thank you very much, I had the marriage, but not the baptism - that could help a lot, I didn't know his middle name was Edward, gives me something else to search for! 

[KGarrad]

Incoming Passenger Lists:
SS Montrose (Canadian Pacific) arriving Liverpool from Quebec, 11th May 1926
 
Walker, Alice  Housewife   age 36  Intended address: 9 Wilton Place, Pendelton, Manchester
Walker, Margaret  Child  4 months

[s4rah]

Thankyou, I had seen that one before. They stayed about seven months then, and then my grandmother came back to England to live in June 1930 (with a chaperone). So at least she wasn't coming to live with total strangers, although of course she wouldn't have remembered the 1926 visit at all.