Breakthrough

A year ago, my family tree research seemed to have  come to a grinding halt.  It looked as if I had gone as far as I could go.  There were several dead ends that were very frustrating and one in particular.

I was never able to trace the birth of my Grandfather although I knew the entire story of his life apart from that.  Many documents were destroyed when Portsmouth was heavily bombed during WW2.  We knew he had a sister, Mary and I could find no trace of a birth for her either.

What I did not know until about four years ago was that Grandfather also had a brother.  I found out about this in a very roundabout way.  I was researching his half-brothers and their families.  On receiving the death certificate of one of the wives I was startled to see my family name appear as being "present at the death" and giving the relationship as brother-in-law. Alas, there was only an initial and not a full christian name. That is the first I knew of Grandfather even having a brother.

With only his initial to go on there was nothing I could do.  I suspected he was also a soldier due to the area the death took place and the fact that all the men in my family seem to have been in the army.   Without a name or a regiment it was impossible to go any further. So, that is where is was all left a year ago.  It seemed I had no avenues left to explore.

Over the weekend, to take my mind off Flicky, I decided to try the census records again.  The 1871 and 1891 census records have now become available online.  So I decided to trace my Grandfather back earlier and used the 1871 census.  He was listed as being in Dover, Kent along with a brother, two years younger.  I noted the name was Robert.  Then I went onto the 1891 census and checked again.  By a stroke of luck, the two brothers were together then so both appeared on the census but the name given was Richard!!!  However, it did give his age, the fact he was unmarried, that he was a sergeant and even gave the name of the regiment.

I have contacted a military researcher who is going to search for his army papers for me.  This is a long shot.I have been both lucky and unlucky with army papers in the past, some have survived and some have not.  I am just hoping that Robert/Richard's papers have survived because, if so, I could get a lot more information.  I am so hoping.

I also found out why I could not trace the birth of their sister, Mary in Portsmouth - because she was born in Ireland - proving that when my great-grandfather's regiment returned from Bermuda in 1859 the regiment were sent to Dublin.  It is likely that great-grandfather married there which is why we could never trace a marriage record either. I was also able to establish that Mary, who herself married a soldier, had eventually settled back in Northumberland where her husband originated from and that she had several other children!

I had put various messages on boards asking for family information, including Mike's family.  I was contacted by somebody who is a close relation to his aunt and have been given the family history of her line going back to 1835. (This in the very outback of Australia - Mike's aunt never saw a train until she was sixteen!). 

Just last night I was contacted by a relative of my sister-in-law who is going to send me information and photographs to pass on.

I have always advised people who come to dead ends on research never to give up.  After a year of nothing, suddenly information has rolled in yet again and this has happened to me more than once.  New data is coming online every day.  So even checking a few months later could reap results.

So now my fingers are firmly crossed that the army papers of my great-uncle have survived and that I will receive them in the post within the week.  If they have not, well at least I now know where and when he was born, that he was either Robert or Richard and what regiment he was in.  He has rightly taken his place on my family tree and is no longer forgotten and unknown.  He completes that line of the family.