Chester

[samanthamaddie]

My Great-Grandmother was adopted and it was always rumoured that she was a Gypsy/Traveller
She has no birth certificate but on the 1911 Census it states that she was born in Chester, and was subsequently adopted in Staffordshire.
There are no official adoption records before 1929 and with no birth certificate I've hit a dead end!

Does anybody know if there was a gypsy community in Chester?
Or has anybody got a similar story?

Her surname was Bates.

Any help of directions of where to go next would be a great help!! 

[rob g]

Hi. Sam. There are lots of travellers in. And around Cheshire/Chester. It's odd for romany folki to give up children. But it must have happened.  As to The certs. My  mother's older sister and brother had no birth certificate. It was not unusual in the 1900s. As they were born in a living wagon. And were illiterate.  With you the Trouble is what was her real name?  Is bates her adopted name. If you could get the birth name perhaps it would help. Olso back then lots of people had to go on the road. For many different reasons. So it may be that her parents were just travelling around looking for work?  Not much help. But I really think you need a birth name.  Good luck.  Rob. ..

[samanthamaddie]

Hi,
Her birth name was Rosie May Bates
The family that she adopted in to were the 'Simms' family so she kept her real name
On her marriage record she listed both surnames, Bates and Simms
And when she passed away we had problems trying to record her death because there was no Birth Certificate for her
I have spoke to family members, my Grandad (her son) and her brother and nephews (from the Simm's family that she was adopted into) and they say that the adoption was never spoken about. So I don't have any information on the family that she came from or how she ended up living with the Simm's family.

[king otg]

BATES   
CHE Chester St John the Baptist bp30/1/1888 (b12/1) Ellen d/o Richard/Alice, lab of 3, Commercial Court

CHE Wilmslow St Bartholomew bp29/7/1888 Charles s/o Charles/Amy, hkr of Sandbach

1891CHE-2844/75/23 Isaac (34) cutlery grinder, Annie [née Gravalina BOSWELL] (34) +3

1901CHE-3329/108/1 Gravalina (44) gn.hkr +0

1901CHE-3341/165/45 Richard (37) trav’g hkr, Alice (37) +2 [BATE sic]

TL

[samanthamaddie]

Thanks for the information!
It's great to have a few new leads to follow up, I'm having a look and seeing if any of them could match up with Rosie. Thanks King Otg.

[samanthamaddie]

Following on from King Otg's post, I have traced Gravelina Boswell and Isaac Bates and this could be a potential lead.
Gravelina (also known as Annie) and Isaac had several children, these are the ones that I was able to find...
Rhoda     1864
Anne       1872
Semmie   1886
Isaac       1897 - 1898
and Bill    1899

However, in the 1901 Census, Gravelina is in Knutsford Jail.
Isaac is living with his sister-in-law (Mary Ann Bailey) and her family.
But I can find no record of any of the children.

The only record I can find is that Bill Bates was enrolled at Lord Street British School in Macclesfield in 1906 and Isaac Bates was listed as his father.

Were the children taken away from her?
And if so, perhaps when she left prison and had Rosie, was she also taken away and subsequently adopted?

I have not yet been able to find the prison record for Gravelina and so I don't know the reason she went to prison and for how long.

And I have found a grave for Gravelina at Gorton Cemetry, Manchester.
She died July 7th 1925, and is listed as 'beloved wife' to Isaac Bates.

Any ideas, information or potential leads would be greatly appreciated!

[rebekahm28]

I have travellers from Goldsworth/Goldswoth in Cheshire but I cant find a place named that. They were  Barbary Hower and William Sharwood. Only got info from marriage record, 1784. They married in Sussex.

[rebekahm28]

Samantha, try contacting travellers times magazine and they might put it in their magazine and on their facebook page.