Clara Butt : Concert Singer -moved to Gloucestershire 2/1/2015

[jefuk]

Hi
I too am a distant relation to Clara Butt - her grandmother was Pauline Wilkinson born Felpham, Sussex who married Joseph Hook from Hastings, Sussex. Pauline's brother was Thomas Wilkinson born 1820 in Shoreham who was my great great grandfather. As I say a very distant relation but it may fill in a gap for someone.

[LizzieL]

I have his marriage certificate which is dated 1904 and he was aged 28. I also have a death notice where he died in a works accident in 1925 aged 53, so born 1875/1876. On his marriage certificate his is shown in the army in Clarence barracks Portsmouth. His father is recorded as Simeon Adams (deceased) Butcher Journeyman.

As this is an old post, I don't know if you're any further forward with Stanley by now.

There is a Stanley Adams on 1901 census, a gunner in RGA, single, stationed in Jersey, born in Bristol abt 1875. Could he be your man?
FindMyPast has military record of this Samuel.
He attested on 24 Oct 1895 at age of 20 yrs and 2 months. His birthplace given as parish of St Phillips Bristol. He was discharged on 23 Oct 1907, re-enlisted 2 Sept 1914
Next of kin: mother - Mary Adams, 1 Windsor Grove, Upper Easton, Bristol.
This information puts his birthday abt Aug 1875, so registered Q3, possibly Q4 if the parents waited until the last opportunity. It looks like his army enlistment was for a 12 year term and he joined up again when WW1 broke out.
I haven't found any Samuel Adams births registered in Bristol at the right time, but several Samuels so he may well have changed his name. When people change names they frequently keep the same christian name so it may be worth trying to track the Samuels born in Q3/4 1875.
Also there appears to be no sign of Samuel the soldier before 1901 at least not under the name Adams and he should be on the 1881 and 1891 censuses. No sign of Mary or Simeon Adams either. The fact his mother is next of kin implies his father had died by 1895 when he joined army. 

[wdytya]

Hi LizzieL

Many thanks for your information, yes the post is an old one but still open. Given I came up against a brick wall on Samuel I put him to one side whilst I researched other branches of my family tree. It is a coincidence to receive your message as I was only saying the other day that I will need to arrange a day to visit the Bristol Records office to start my investigations one more. Interesting that you name him Stanley as we have always known him as Sam but the family story was that Sam was not his real name. Did you obtain his mothers name, Mary, from his army records as I have some records but none with her name on.
Many thanks for your posting, I really appreciate it.
Regards
Jon

[LizzieL]

Sorry, Stanley was an error. I came across your post while looking for my Jersey ancestors and Stanley was a name I had in my head. The reference to Clara Butt reminded me my father said when he was a child he lived in a house next door to some people Dame Clara was visiting and he heard her practising singing in the garden. I believe it would be late 1920's in Berkshire / Oxfordshire in the same area where his brother Stanley died in a tragic accident.
The records I found were definitely Samuel.
The service record is on Find my past.

[wdytya]

You had me guessing with Stanley!!  Strange that Samuel and his parents cannot be found on the 1881 and 1891 census records and I have looked for a birth for Samuel and Simeon and a marriage for a Simeon and Mary again no records come up. This leads me to believe that he changed his name to Samuel Adams perhaps when enlisting into the army and again using that name on his marriage certificate and naming his father as Simeon Adams.

I guess the next brickwall to knock down is Samuels baptism record for the Parish of St Phillips near Bristol, I will ask the Bristol records office if they hold the baptism records.

[LizzieL]

Familysearch has transcripts of the baptism records for St Phillips and St Jacobs on Index project batch no C02086-1, for the right sort of time period. If he was accurate about age on his attestation papers (20 years and 2 months on 24 Oct 1895), it would put his dob between 25th July and 24th August 1875. This seems consistent with 1901 census and marriage and death records, so no reason to suspect it.
He may have been illegitimate, so father was completely invented or he was repeating what his mother told him. But the occupation (journeyman butcher) sounds like it has some truth behind it. Invented fathers often have overexaggerated occupations or they are "gentlemen".
The mother's name and address as next of kin might be another line. I checked the address on 1901 and 1911, but completely different families living there. I can't find it on the 1891, I suspect it may have only been built in very late 1900's. A map from 1880s has some sort of factory where it would be. (Oldmaps site) post code BS5 0EQ.

[wdytya]

Many thanks for the information you have provided. I will see if I can find any record of him on familysearch but if not then a trip to Bristol will be required. If there is no record then of a Samuel Adams baptism then it re-inforces my thoughts that he changed his name prior to joining the army.

Thanks again

[wdytya]

Hi

I cannot find this batch number on the family search site and the baptism records I have found do not show the appropriate baptism dates............ You say............."Familysearch has transcripts of the baptism records for St Phillips and St Jacobs on Index project batch no C02086-1, for the right sort of time period".

Can you advise please

[LizzieL]

If you go to the main search page and just enter the batch number you should get a large list of baptisms. See snip