[...] there is no mention of Ruby Mary SWAIN being a child of Cecilia and Frederick
[...] perhaps she was born in the period after Cecilia left Frederick
[...] believed that she had Maori blood in her
Hi again...
Not finding a birth registration for Ruby SWAIN may simply mean her birth wasn't registered.
Likewise the newspaper report saying Frederick and Cecilia were childless may simply be inaccurate reporting.
Speculation otherwise is fairly pointless until your ongoing research turns up something new.
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One thing well worth pursuing is the divorce file in Dunedin Archives (see reply no.7).
The TradeMe genealogy board (another NZ-based genealogy board) has a few volunteers who will do look-ups in Dunedin Archives. Maybe post a look-up request on that board.
Registration is restricted to NZ and Aus citizens. If that's not you then maybe one of the TM genies on this board might start a TM look-up thread on your behalf.
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In my book, family history will always trump genealogy.
One concrete piece of evidence is Ruby's bible in which she mentions her mother, Cecilia. If Ruby considers Cecilia to be her mother then that's all the evidence I would need. The Danish research mentioned in reply no.45 would be my/your next starting point.
However, if you want to go down the genealogy route (and have a spare $199) you could always ask Carol (see reply no.53) if she knows whether or not Cecilia's older sister Annie has a surviving direct female descendant. Annie had a couple of daughters who both had daughters so it's a distinct possibility.
Am assuming you are female (?) so if you or your aunty are direct female descendants of Ruby, and if Cecilia's older sister Annie has a surviving direct grand or great-grand-daughter (with a spare $199) then a FMS-DNA test could prove that Ruby was Cecilia's natural daughter... and you would have a new third cousin :-)
Regards
Beg
