Author Topic: Desperately seeking to find Monica Rosina Griffin - Cork  (Read 1746 times)

Offline Jemilla

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Desperately seeking to find Monica Rosina Griffin - Cork
« on: Thursday 04 September 14 22:24 BST (UK) »
Hello,

I'm looking for help with finding a woman called Monica Rosina Griffin, born 1926 in Cork to Timothy Griffin and Kathleen O'Driscoll. Monica is my Great Aunt, she is my grandmothers sister who hasn't been heard off since the mid 1940's. My grandmother has tried searching for her through records, at Somerset House and was unable to find anything. I know my grandmother would love to know what happened to Monica, it broke her heart to lose her.
The only thing the family know about Monica is that she possibly “ran away” with a South African Sailor in the mid 1940's. She was 18 years old in 1944, so it was likely to be after that.
Despite lots of research on my part, I am unable to find much on her. I think she may have been using her middle name, dropping the Monica. And I think she either went to South Africa or America.
A record I have found which might relate to her is a death record for a woman with similar details in 1999 in Hillingdon, Essex. However it doesn't make sense why no records could be found on her previously if she had been living in England.
Monica's disappearance is something that has stayed with family members, and something they would like to find out more about. We don't know if Monica had any children, it would be utterly amazing if she did and we could make contact with them. She was loved a lot by my grandmother.
Any help someone can give if they have found anything on her, are connected to her through family, or otherwise would be extremely appreciated. It would be strange for a woman of that era to not have married and to have had children, so I hope with this I can track down her living relatives, we are family afterall.
Thanks, I hope to hear from someone soon. Jemilla Russell.

Online heywood

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Re: Desperately seeking to find Monica Rosina Griffin - Cork
« Reply #1 on: Thursday 04 September 14 22:49 BST (UK) »
Hi Jemilla,

Just a couple of questions/points to help people. You say you have done lots of research and think she may have been called Rosina and also mention South Africa and America.
Do you have any other information with regard to these suppositions?

The death looks possible- you could send for the certificate to see what information is there?

There are London Electoral Register entries 1948-1950 for a Monica R Griffin living with a Doneux family.

Regards
Heywood
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Offline aghadowey

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Re: Desperately seeking to find Monica Rosina Griffin - Cork
« Reply #2 on: Thursday 04 September 14 23:06 BST (UK) »
Since she was born in 1926 she could still be living. Why did your grandmother try 'searching for her through records, at Somerset House'? is there a suggestion that she married or died in England? is she known to have left Ireland?

There's an online tree, I think yours, which lists the 1999 death. There's also on listing the same details but perhaps another or yours or the information has been copied from one to another.
Away sorting out DNA matches... I may be gone for some time many years!

Offline Jemilla

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Re: Desperately seeking to find Monica Rosina Griffin - Cork
« Reply #3 on: Friday 05 September 14 08:00 BST (UK) »
The information is sparse because the Irish family have been so fragmented.

The assumption is that she did come over to England. If she was alive now she'd be 88 and would definitely have children, and possibly grandchildren. My nans nieces and nephews, it would be a blessing to find them.

Having done some research last night I think I also found the 1999 death record to the same woman but with the surname Harris. I then started to look for marriage records from 1944 onwards between Griffin and Harris but nothing. The belief is that she ran away with a South African Sailor...
So in essence she could have gone anywhere and got married anywhere. Or this may just be a family myth held onto.

But this man she was with is really believed to have been South African and a Sailor. This is the most closely solid piece of information I have, and it could just be one of those things that turns out not to be the case, a case of mixed wires.

Around the mid 40's she cut off all family, but to be honest no one knows why. Perhaps she was a truly free spirited adventurer, perhaps she only wanted to live for herself? Perhaps she really did fall in love with a Sailor and she travelled and couldnt keep in touch?

Thank you for the piece of info on 'There are London Electoral Register entries 1948-1950 for a Monica R Griffin living with a Doneux family' - Doneux looks to be a French name. This could have been a French Huguenot family living in London, which could be a way of finding the South African link.

All suggestions welcome  ;D Thanks, Jemilla


Online heywood

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Re: Desperately seeking to find Monica Rosina Griffin - Cork
« Reply #4 on: Friday 05 September 14 08:04 BST (UK) »
Hello again,
Rather than keep speculating and wondering, you would be best to get the certificate, if only to confirm or disregard that death.

Heywood
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Offline aghadowey

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Re: Desperately seeking to find Monica Rosina Griffin - Cork
« Reply #5 on: Friday 05 September 14 08:34 BST (UK) »
With so little fact to start with it's really quite difficult but not eveyone who married (if she did marry) had children- I have several elderly relatives around that age who did not (and are still alive).
Away sorting out DNA matches... I may be gone for some time many years!

Online heywood

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Re: Desperately seeking to find Monica Rosina Griffin - Cork
« Reply #6 on: Friday 05 September 14 08:38 BST (UK) »
There are a couple of possibilities in Electoral Rolls but there is an interesting one for 1965 where Monica R Harris and Bruce S Harris are living in Uxbridge.
There is a death for Bruce S Harris in 1966, Hillingdon.
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Re: Desperately seeking to find Monica Rosina Griffin - Cork
« Reply #7 on: Friday 05 September 14 08:45 BST (UK) »

But this man she was with is really believed to have been South African and a Sailor. This is the most closely solid piece of information I have, and it could just be one of those things that turns out not to be the case, a case of mixed wires.
All suggestions welcome  ;D Thanks, Jemilla


It may well be that she found a gentleman but this is not a solid piece of information.
At the moment those certificates are more likely but until they are checked you wouldn't know.
As Aghadowey says, many women do not marry or have children so it would be best to confirm or discount Monica R Griffin/ Harris and possibly Bruce but that is all speculation on my part.
Census Information is Crown Copyright, from www.nationalarchives.gov.uk