William John Donovan Family History Local History

Hi Carol

Yes there is a lot to take in with this family lol. There are two other marriages of William John Donovans which I have found

1909 William John Donovan and Mary Ann Harrington.
1918 William J Donovan and Emily M Moore

Of these I have the certificate of William John Donovan and Mary Ann Harrington and this William is the son of Daniel Donovan so clearly not the same one as I am looking for. I have also found him on the census with his father so he was telling the truth about his father's name it would seem.

As for William J Donovan and Emily M Moore I did apply for the certificate once but I included William's father's name as a checking point so it didn't come back. I may get this one again just so I can discount him.

Did William John die? Well he hasn't been found on the 1901 census (yet), but I have searched for a death from 1891-1910 and so far not found him. In fact I have deaths right up to 1950 and the 1942 one is the only one (so far) which I have found which fits age wise.

if you think this is complex though have a read of this.

My grandfather's birth certificate gave his parents names as a John Donovan and Elizabeth Sullivan. They were married in St George in the East, London in 1907 and John then claimed he was 22 and and that his father was "James Donovan (deceased)" - well it turns out this was not true.

I started this search about 10 years ago and applied for every John Donovan born c1885 giving James as his father's name as a checking point. However each time I ordered a certificate it came back as not matching. I also checked births in Ireland but again found no John born to a James Donovan in c1885.

John should have been on the 1891 and 1901 census but again i found no record of him.

The puzzle was solved when I started to look for his death. My father (born 1944) doesn't remember his grandfather and my uncle (born 1940) has told me that their grandfather died when he was quite young (before he was 5). A search of the GRO death indexes revealed the following:

1943 John Donovan 60 Bromley and Bow

I ordered the certificate which came back and showed that John Donovan died at St Andrew's Hospital, Bromley on 17 March 1943. His address was given as 14 Frobisher House, Watt Street, Stepney. My dad recognised this address as being where he gran lived and it is on her death certificate in 1955.

As John died at a Hospital I tracked down the hospital records and managed to find his addmission entry. This gave the following info which included his date or birth:

Date Admitted: 12 March 1943
Ward: MN
Surname: DONOVAN
Christening name(s): JOHN
Age and/or Date of Birth: 60yrs 3/2/83
Married, Single or Widowed: M
Religious Creed: Roman Catholic
Whence Admitted (home address if different): 14 Frobisher House, St George in the East
Name, Relationship and address of nearst relative: wife - Elizabeth, same address
Case Note?: 3/-

A search of the indexes for c1883 revealed one entry I had ignored before

March qtr 1884 St George in the East
Florence John Donovan

His date of birth - 4/2/1884
Parents Florence Donovan and Emma Esther Donovan (nee Murray)

This may not match but other information adds up to him being the right person.

Firstly I have him and his parent and siblings on the 1891 census (his name is down as John here). I have also found him and his siblings in school admission records which give the home address and date of birth of each child. The addresses all tie up with the census although the dob seems to vary by a day or a year.

Florence John Donovan had a sister named Emma Janette Donovan and it is thanks to her (and their mother) that I solved the puzzle.

Firstly I was sure I had seen the name Emma Donovan before somewhere, and I had. Emma Donovan was one of the witnesses on the marriage of John Donovan and Elizabeth Sullivan in 1907. This was either the mother or sister. [Florence] John Donovan would have been 23 not 22 as claimed.

I still wasn't 100% convinced (I was now 95% sure though) until I discovered who Emma Janette married. She married a John J Rigluth and they had a daughter named Annie Elizabeth Rigluth. This was another name which rang a bell. Again it was on a marriage certificate - my grandfather's (ie her cousin) in 1937. Further confirmation came when I found that the Rigluths lived at 9 Raymond Street, Wapping. this was where Florence Donovan died in 1927! Florence John had clearly not told the whole truth when he married.

It is complicated I know and it takes me a long time to get my head around it but I now have it all sorted with documents taking me back to 1837. I think this is one reason why it is useful to check the witnesses on marriage certificates as it was becasue of Emma and Annie (as well as census records, workhouse records, school addmissions, etc) that I was able to tie eveything together.

I always wondered if my grandfather William John Donovan (1907-1980) was named after someone and now I believe he was named after his uncle William John Donovan (born 1885) - I would just like to know what happened to him now.

Matt
PS I may get that death certificate.