I only come here when I am absolutely stumped. In 15 years as a researcher and social historian I think maybe 3 cases have eluded me, so it's rare I can't crack the mystery but - at this point I have run out of ideas on this one.
I have in the past researched - and am again helping descendants research - Marry Ann Hodgman Tyree, known as Polly to the family, born Dunedin 1872. I will refer to her as Polly Tyree henceforth for clarity.
This branch of the Tyrees in Dunedin had quite a number of illegitimate children and kid swaps sprinkled through it. They seem to have taken a bit of a cavalier attitude to progeny creation and child rearing. Not all of it good. That is just to set the scene a bit, that we have as a collective had some complicated moments sorting through it. Originally from the London area, England (although I think Tyree is an Irish name) a lot of the family were in Australia from the 1850s doing the gold-rushes there, mostly NW VIC and Melbourne areas, and moved back and forth from NZ a fair amount.
The name Tyree may be familiar to some genealogists and researchers here and this is because they were the well known photography family, ‘Tyree Bros’ Wiiliam and Fred Tyree, based in Nelson, and their uncle James Tyree who who was one of New Zealand's earlier pioneering photographers and also worked in Ballarat, Arrarat etc around NW Victoria goldfields area from the late 1850s.
The two pieces of evidence that Polly actually existed are as follows:
Birth record inn NZ Govt Internal Affairs BMD birth records 1872/697
Nelson Provincial Museum photos, several Tyree Bros portraits most likely her by process of elimination, titled 'M. Tyree' and 'Miss M. Tyree', 2 of the portraits are with her sister-in-law Mary Ann Cross Tyree. Image refs in NPM are 33164, 37085, 37086, 49804, 37085, 37086, 33872, a couple of others.
-No marriage record for Mary Hodgman Tyree, Mary Ann/Anne Tyree, Polly Tyree, Mary Hodgman, Polly Hodgman, also checked Hodgeman as the name was regularly misspelled
- No death record for all of the above
- NZ Electoral rolls show no Mary Hodgman Tyree at all however, a Mary Ann/Mary Anne Tyree appears 1893, 1894, 1896, 1897, but ruled out as another family member, Mary Ann Emma Griffin who married George (Edward George) Tyree, so Polly’s sister-in-law.
- Polly is not interred in Dunedin and in particular is not in the family plot with her parents, uncles, siblings in Northern Cemetery.
- No mention in newspapers of for Mary Hodgman Tyree, Mary Ann/Anne Tyree, Polly Tyree, Mary Hodgman, Polly Hodgman, also checked Hodgeman. This in itself is quite odd. At least you’d find exam or social mentions for a child/teen.
There are 21 mentions of Mary Tyree however 19, between 1927-1941, are ruled out as another family member Mary Arbuthnot Ashton nee Tyree (1916-), Auckland, daughter of John Victor and Aggie Hesselton Tyree who married Bruce Ashton Dec 1941. The two mentions that are NOT Mary Arbuthnot Tyree ruled out as Polly was obviously too young to attend high school in 1879 age 7.
- I ran through marriages and deaths in VIC, NSW and QLD, Britain from 1888-1938, same for Scotland, There is a possibility she went off to an obscure country, or – USA where there are a number of references to Mary H Tyrees, M H Tyrees Polly Tyrees etc but nothing really jumped as a possibility for one reason or another mostly because something immediately discounted them I have not checked Irish records. I have not gone through every migration record available for M Tyree and P Tyree, mostly these don't give enough identifiers anyway to rule them in or out.
- Did all the old faithfuls - Google, Wikitree, Ancestry, Family Search, NZ Archives, VIC Archives, NSW Archives, Australian National Archives, UK National Archives, Find a Grave, FreeBMD, FindMyPast, Billion Graves, Migration records.
What happened to Polly? Even if one record has an error, another somewhere should cross reference, give just one hint or clue, rather than EVERY mention disappearing after her family portrait sessions which look to be the late 1880s. After that, NOTHING. She has to be in records somewhere. It’s telling that something is amiss. The only real possibility besides an error is she completely changed her name.
Polly is NOT
Mary Hodgman Tyree Brown, England, 1829 (her aunt)
Mary Hodgman/Hodgeman Tyree Sexton, VIC AU 1882 (her cousin)
Mary Hodgman Tyree, 1854 VIC AU (her cousin)
Spelling variations or mistakes are Tyre, Tyrie but I haven't seen those variations quoted for this family except once as Tyre in an Australian newspaper.
Any tip and hints to follow up appreciated.
Images is Tyree, Miss M, prob Mary Hodgman Tyree. Nelson Provincial Museum Collection, ref 37086.
