Kate Gerrard - a problem

[robbo43]

Kate Philadelphia Gerrard, age 26, married Frederick Ebor Swales (in Royal Engineers) in Aldershot in 1905 when she gives her fathers name as George Gerrard, a farm laborour.  A son, also Frederick is born in April 1907 and she marries Frederick again in October 1907 in Kent, all details as in 1905.

She appears in the 1911 census as Kate Swales, age 33 living in barracks in Chatham, where she gives her place of birth as SUSSEX - BREDE.

I cannot trace her birth registration anywhere, nor can I find her in the 1881, 1891 or 1901 censuses.  She is driving me mad, does anyone have any ideas on tracing her?

Robert

[sillgen]

Hi and welcome to rootschat.
This may be a complete red herring but if you do a search for Philadelphia Ger* with place of birth Brede you come up with one in 1871 who is married to a George.   The surname is almost impossible to read.   Could they have had a later child called Kate and Philadelphia after her mother?
Andrea

[Necromancer]

is she consistent with her maiden name on her kid(s) Birth Certs ?

its got all the makings of a fabricated Fathers name ..... concealing illegitimacy .... but not having a Birth Index entry is not helping !

Might also be that her mother married and shes showing under a stepfathers name - maybe as a Catherine ?


I also saw the Philadelphia / George - they have an older dau (c1865) called Catherine E in the 1871 census....

I think the name is Gutsell in 1881 .... and Geo, now a Brickmaker has remarried - not 100% on this tho ....

(A Philadelphia Gutsell died in 1871 ... )


but anyway .... 

[sillgen]

Yes, it is Gutsell.  I was just about to post to say it was a red herring! 
I assume you have looked under variant spellings?    Did see a Kate Gerald in one census (1901?) in my travels.  Born Hartings? - could be Hastings which is not too far away.
Andrea

[robbo43]

Thanks for all the suggestions.  I've tried most of the variations on the name I can think of, 1 or 2 rs, -rd & -ld and a lot of vowel variations.  Even got as far as Gerhard/Gerhart etc.  Probably missed something obvious though.  All the records we have say Gerrard although the first version of her marriage is indexed as Gerard.

She was always insistent that her name was Kate and that it was not an abbreviation for anything like Kathleen or Catherine, but I have tried those without success.

I've ploughed right through the 1881 census for Brede and there are 8 or 9 examples of Philadelphia as a first name which I guess is unusual and suggests it is the right area, but I can't find a child who might fit.

I think that the suggestions of illegitimacy or re-marriage and adoption of the stepfathers name could well be right.  Kate Gerald looks tempting, I've just looked it up and  Hartings is an indexing error for Hastings, but she is a domestic servant living-in so there is nothing to tie her in with anything.

Thanks again

Robert

[Necromancer]

I noted that there are Zero, Nil, none Geralds referenced for any BMD event in Sussex 1871 - 1881

so, this lass Kate in 1901 may well be worthy of further investigation - if possible !

The only thing that worries me is her middle name - its possible to search FreeBMD for middle names by prefixing them with an '*' - but I cant see any candidates in Sussex.

Even tho its well past Civil Regn start date, I wonder if its worth posting a thread asking for PR lookups ?

[robbo43]

Just tried searching FreeBMD using * Philadelphia and it has thrown up a Kate Philadelphia Baytup birth registered Sept 1873 in Reigate, (which would take her out of Sussex).  Can't find her in any censuses though, nor could I find a death in FreeBMD, so the lady vanishes.

Kate Gerald is equally elusive.  Ancestry throws up none in the right age range in 1881 or 1891 and four in 1901.  Where were they hiding?

Guess ordering a birth certificate for Kate Baytup is the next step.

Robert

[Eyesee]

Probably not worth bothering with Kate Philadelphia BAYTUP's birth as she died the next year.

Registered as Kate Philadelphia BATEUP, Jun qtr 1874, Reigate, aged 0.

Ian C

[robbo43]

Probably not worth bothering with Kate Philadelphia BAYTUP's birth as she died the next year.

Registered as Kate Philadelphia BATEUP, Jun qtr 1874, Reigate, aged 0.

Ian C

Oh ******, back to the drawing board.

Thanks for the information, saved me time and money.

Robert