Ellen Burchell b 1855 Bristol Gloucestershire

[Old Bristolian]

I find it very strange that I can't find any reference to her in the Censuses of 1861/1871/1881 nor her parents. Could it be that she made up a new name for Australia?

[kipperharris]

Thank you so much for all the replies.  I have so many new ideas thanks to the generosity of those who gave their time to assist.  I had no idea of the other avenues to search.  I will be at work today.

[kipperharris]

I will check further with the Christian name Helen.  Ellen married my great grandfather John Pollock in Queensland in 1884 and gives her parents names as John Pollock, Sailor and Elizabeth Adams.  I have found her husband's death in Queensland but so far have not found a death for her or a remarriage.  Her husband left her with two young children when he died 9 years after their marriage.  He was buried at the station near Gladstone where he had been working.  I am fairly sure Ellen would have remarried as she had no access to a widow's pension in those days.  Kipperharris.

[kipperharris]

John Pollock and Ellen Burchill had 2 children, Herbert George and Margaret Elizabeth (my grandmother).  My grandmother was named after both her grandmothers, Margaret Lamb and Elizabeth Adams, so I am guessing they were traditional families.  There is another birth listed with the name of Herbert George but I am not sure if he is the same family. kipperharris.

[kipperharris]

I seem to have found some evidence that my great grandmother, Ellen Burchill, may have been a bigamist.  I will do further research but think she may have been born Ellen Probert, married a Burchill in England, then left for Australia under the name Burchill and married my great grandfather in Queensland. kipperharris.

[Capetown]

Assume you mean from Family Search

Marriage at Bristol 15 September 1877

Ellen PROBERT aged 29 (c1848) : father John
Edwin James BURCHELL aged 31 (c1846) father Edwin

again Family Search

Alabama Deaths
Edwin James BURCHELL - 25 March 1926
Birmingham, Jefferson, Alabama
Male, White, White:
Age: 80y - birth date 22 July 1846 

(Freebmd Sept Qtr 1846, Stroud District+ GRO - Mother's maiden name : ELMS

Birthplace: England, married
Father's birthplace: England
Mother's birthplace: Don't know
Occupation: Brick Mason
Address: 912 Fulton Ave W.E.
Cemetery: Elmwood Cemetery - Burial Date: 27 March 1926
Informant's Name: (Original) X


----

? With the waterways and canals playing a bit part in Gloucestershire Family History research.... children baptised in different places etc....there is on Family Search :

Baptism at Malvern Link, Worcester

Helen PROBERT 21 June 1846, father John & Jane

1851 Census, Leigh Worcestershire

PROBERTS

John - 43 born Gloucestershire
Jane - 35 - born Herefordshire
Charles - 9 - all born Leigh, Worcestershire
John - 7
Ellen - 4
Henry - 1

[gocarlton]

Hi,
I'm glad to see someone else searching for this family. Can I just say Ellen and John had 2 children William John Pollock (my G Grandfather) and Margaret Elizabeth Pollock who married William John Woods. The timing of the birth of Ellens third child Herbert and the death of John Pollock exclude him from being the natural father even though Herberts birth and death certificates records John as the father.

I have also seen the record that states her name as Probert but to date I haven't been able to establish a direct link. I have been searching for years for more information and have never been able to establish Ellen dying or remarrying in Australia, or going back home to England. She is a mystery.

[gocarlton]

I have the marriage certificate for John and Ellen and the birth certificates for all 3 children and they all state John was born in Ballymoney, Antrim, Ireland not Omagh as you suggest here.

I am also trying to find details of Ellen Burchill, who married my great grandfather, John Pollock.  While I can find where she arrived in Australia, I think John must have swum.  His parents were William Pollock and Margaret Lamb and he was born in Omagh, Antrim Northern Ireland round 1840.  I can find no birth details or marriage details of his parents.  Ellen and John are proving very frustrating.

[kipperharris]

Sorry. I meant to put Ballymoney, Antrim, Northern Ireland, near Omagh. I have John's death certificate and it also gives the same information. John Pollock and Ellen Burchill were my great grandparents. My mother also said her grandfather was known as a north of Ireland Scotsman but I can't find very much about him either.  Kipperharris.