Author Topic: Edwin Brooks born 1890  (Read 10591 times)

Offline Leoni

  • RootsChat Extra
  • **
  • Posts: 22
  • Census information Crown Copyright, from www.nationalarchives.gov.uk
    • View Profile
Edwin Brooks born 1890
« on: Wednesday 02 February 11 06:48 GMT (UK) »
Hi  :)
Please can anyone assist me with any information on Edwin Brooks born 1890 in England.

(Full Name: Edwin Bernard Brooks - later known as Edwin Bernard Brooks-Benning - suspected that his mother divorsed Brooks father (or became a widow) and she remarried Benning hence the Brooks-Benning surname later on)

Possible birth town Surrey - not confirmed.

He later immigrated to South Africa - not sure when. In November 1936 he was 46 years old when my mother was born in South Africa.

I had previous queries about him on Roots chat last year (had the wrong birth year on those queries due to lack of info) but I now have my mother's birth certificate which might help finding more history information about my grandfather in England. See attached.

If anyone can help find more information (His parents, siblings etc.) Whether he finished highschool in england, or studied, and when he immigrated to South Africa.

(According to my mother he was an Accountant if that might help)

Hope to hear from you soon.
thanks so much
Leoni  :)

Certificate removed at the posters request 2014
Brooks & Brooks-Benning

Online KGarrad

  • RootsChat Marquessate
  • *******
  • Posts: 26,063
  • Census information Crown Copyright, from www.nationalarchives.gov.uk
    • View Profile
Re: Edwin Brooks born 1890
« Reply #1 on: Wednesday 02 February 11 08:05 GMT (UK) »
As long as you are sure Edwin was born in Surrey, then:

Births, December qtr 1889  Guildford  Vol 2a Page 65
Brooks, Edwin


1891 census, reference RG12, Piece 557, Folio 20, Page 34
Lamberts Cottages, Mays Corner, Send, Surrey

Brooks, William  Head  M  30  Gardener Jobbing  b Send
Brooks, Anna  Wife  F  31  b Send
Brooks, Henrietta  Daughter  F  6  b Send
Brooks, Elizabeth  Daughter  F  3 b Send
Brooks, Edwin  Son  M  1  b Send

Probable first marriage:

December qtr 1883  Guildford district  Vol 2a, Page 130
Brooks, William George
Collyer, Hannah


1901 census, reference RG14, Piece 600, Folio 9, Page 10
Cart Bridge, Send, Surrey

Brooks, Hannah  Head  Widow  F  40  Laundress  b Send
Brooks, Edwin  Son  M  11  b Send
Brooks, George W  Son  M  9  b Send
Brooks, Emily K  Daughter  F  7  b Send
Garrad (Suffolk, Essex, Somerset), Crocker (Somerset), Vanstone (Devon, Jersey), Sims (Wiltshire), Bridger (Kent)

Offline Jeuel

  • RootsChat Aristocrat
  • ******
  • Posts: 1,346
  • Census information Crown Copyright, from www.nationalarchives.gov.uk
    • View Profile
Re: Edwin Brooks born 1890
« Reply #2 on: Wednesday 02 February 11 16:03 GMT (UK) »
Can't see a remarriage for Hannah to a Mr Benning.
Chowns in Buckinghamshire
Broad, Eplett & Pope in St Ervan/St Columb Major, Cornwall
Browning & Moore in Cambridge, St Andrew the Less
Emms, Mealing & Purvey in Cotswolds, Gloucestershire
Barnes, Dunt, Gray, Massingham in Norfolk
Higho in London
Matthews & Nash in Whichford, Warwickshire
Smoothy, Willsher in Coggeshall & Chelmsford, Essex

Online KGarrad

  • RootsChat Marquessate
  • *******
  • Posts: 26,063
  • Census information Crown Copyright, from www.nationalarchives.gov.uk
    • View Profile
Re: Edwin Brooks born 1890
« Reply #3 on: Wednesday 02 February 11 17:45 GMT (UK) »
I was thinking that maybe the 2nd marriage was in ZA?

Garrad (Suffolk, Essex, Somerset), Crocker (Somerset), Vanstone (Devon, Jersey), Sims (Wiltshire), Bridger (Kent)


Offline sarah

  • Administrator
  • RootsChat Marquessate
  • ********
  • Posts: 17,685
  • RootsChat Co-Founder
    • View Profile
Re: Edwin Brooks born 1890
« Reply #4 on: Wednesday 08 January 14 10:27 GMT (UK) »
Hi Leoni,

It has been a while since you posted but wanted to try and recap where you are upto with Edwin.

Have you managed to find a Marriage Certificate for Edwin yet that would confirm his father's name? I think that you did mention that you had a death certificate for Edwin does this say where in England he was born??

Regards

Sarah :)
For Help on how to post an Image on RootsChat
http://www.rootschat.com/forum/index.php?topic=459330.0

If you have been helped on RootsChat be sure to spread the word!

UK Census info. Crown Copyright, from www.nationalarchives.gov.uk

Offline Leoni

  • RootsChat Extra
  • **
  • Posts: 22
  • Census information Crown Copyright, from www.nationalarchives.gov.uk
    • View Profile
Re: Edwin Brooks born 1890
« Reply #5 on: Wednesday 08 January 14 15:36 GMT (UK) »
Hi Sarah :-)

Thank you for your post and interest. Also thank you to those who already contributed to previous valuable information supplied on my post.

Unfortunately I have had no luck in finding my roots thus far. Yes I have some documents indicating that my grandfather was born in England. It seems like back in those days they weren't too worried about detailed information in our country, so I guess states / cities / towns were not that important to record. There's only one England and that was good enough for them I guess (hehehe)... sadly this makes it hard to find him though.

I have an unabridged death certificate of my grandfather but it only mentions his birth country: England, but no further details. See attached file.

I also have my mother's unabridged birth certificate, specifying that Edwin Bernard Brooks-Benning is her father, born in England, but no additional information. See attached file.

I have my mothers hand written birth certificate too where it also specifies his birth country being England, and it confirmed my previous suspicion of him being a Bookkeeper, again no other information about where in England he was from. I am not sure whether his bookkeeping title was based on work experience or whether he perhaps studied towards this. If he studied, it was not in South Africa and therefore suspect he only came to South Africa at a mature age, but it's only a wild guess.

He was definitely born in 1890, I received a hand written marriage certificate, not a unabridged system printed one yet, I must still request this again from our department of home affairs, the first attempt failed, but now that I have the hand written one I can try again. It only says he married my grandmother on 31 December 1935 at the Pretoria Magistrates Court. He was age 45, she was 21, big age gap, but there is no parent details listed on there for my grandfather unfortunately (or grandmother either). According to the marriage certificate it seems like my grandmother was his second wife as his marital status on the marriage certificate specifies divorcee.

I went through our South African archives records and cannot find any court divorce records for a Edwin Brooks, Edwin Benning or Edwin Brooks-Benning, and therefore suspect his first marriage and divorce must've been in a different country maybe.

It's really hard to try and trace my grandfather back to England with such little information. My mother says he was born in Surrey, she's still alive, age 77 now, but she was 6 when he passed away and can't remember much about him. My grandmother was not that keen on sharing details about my grandfather, and when she later on remarried, she destroyed all documents relating to my British grandfather. The only records I could recover was the ones I received this week from our department of social affairs, the hand written birth and marriage certificates. (I waited 4 months for these)

One thing I forgot to mention before is that I have 1 photo of my grandfather, not a good one, it's old and faded, but he's the tall man standing at the back on the left - I attached it. Don't think this might be of any use though. My mother has no idea who the other people in this photo are.

In the census records I can only find 3 x Edwin Brooks born 1890 in England of which one is Surrey, but none with the surname Benning or Brooks-Benning for 1890.

I've tried passenger lists, but there's so many ports, and did they perhaps travel via Canada or US first then to South Africa as I see many came to South Africa via that route for some reason. And also not knowing when they arrived in South Africa makes it hard, but I am currently working on immigrant lists hoping I'd find anything that indicates possible arrival dates.

I have found an interesting record on our national archives South Africa database, although I'm sure it's more likely just coincidence. It's of a Anna Louisa Brooks, widow of William Brooks, the information on the site is about William Brooks's death notice / grave stone issued in 1929, but nothing else I can go on.

It's the same two names that was mentioned in UK census 1891 in a previous post for Anna & William Brooks with a son named Edwin age 1 (therefore born 1890):
1891 census, reference RG12, Piece 557, Folio 20, Page 34
Lamberts Cottages, Mays Corner, Send, Surrey

Brooks, William  Head  M  30  Gardener Jobbing  b Send
Brooks, Anna  Wife  F  31  b Send
Brooks, Henrietta  Daughter  F  6  b Send
Brooks, Elizabeth  Daughter  F  3 b Send
Brooks, Edwin  Son  M  1  b Send

But I can't find any concrete information indicating that these two coincidences might be a match, I am still investigating this matter. If it's them then there's the mystery of how Edwin Brooks surname went from Brooks to Brooks-Benning.

This is all I have so far - but I won't stop trying. Any advice or information anyone can supply on finding my grandfather in England will be appreciated, more than you'll ever know. Every time I find a piece of information about my grandfather, I see that sparkle in my mother's eye. It completes her, and at the same time me too.

Have a lovely day and thank you,
Leoni

Details of Birth Certificate

Child Brooks-Benning
Born 1930's
Pretoria

Father Edwin Bernard Brooks-Benning
Date of Birth 46 years suggesting birth 1890
Place of Birth "England"

Mother Hester Johanna Theron
22 Years
Orange Free State


Brooks & Brooks-Benning

Offline avm228

  • RootsChat Marquessate
  • *******
  • Posts: 24,827
  • Census information Crown Copyright, from www.nationalarchives.gov.uk
    • View Profile
Re: Edwin Brooks born 1890
« Reply #6 on: Wednesday 08 January 14 16:57 GMT (UK) »
Hi again Leoni

The Edwin Brooks you've found in Send was a son of William George Brooks and Hannah (aka Anna) nee Collyer who had married at Send on 25 December 1883.

Edwin was a chauffeur when, aged 30, he married Violet Elizabeth Newberry (25) in Bletchingley, Surrey on 11 Jan 1920. 

His address was Ivy Cottage, Send. Father: William George Brooks, gardener.

Edwin & Violet appear to have had a daughter in the Guildford registration district in 1921.   It's too recent to post her details but you can search FreeBMD with Brooks as surname and Newberry as mother's name.

www.freebmd.org.uk

In fact her name is potentially interesting in the context of the female Brooks-Benning mentioned on one of your other threads who when she died in South Africa in 1951 was married to Raoul Raymond Harter. Perhaps worth following up to see whether there may be a connection.
Ayr: Barnes, Wylie
Caithness: MacGregor
Essex: Eldred (Pebmarsh)
Gloucs: Timbrell (Winchcomb)
Hants: Stares (Wickham)
Lincs: Maw, Jackson (Epworth, Belton)
London: Pierce
Suffolk: Markham (Framlingham)
Surrey: Gosling (Richmond)
Wilts: Matthews, Tarrant (Calne, Preshute)
Worcs: Milward (Redditch)
Yorks: Beaumont, Crook, Moore, Styring (Huddersfield); Middleton (Church Fenton); Exley, Gelder (High Hoyland); Barnes, Birchinall (Sheffield); Kenyon, Wood (Cumberworth/Denby Dale)

Offline Leoni

  • RootsChat Extra
  • **
  • Posts: 22
  • Census information Crown Copyright, from www.nationalarchives.gov.uk
    • View Profile
Re: Edwin Brooks born 1890
« Reply #7 on: Wednesday 08 January 14 18:43 GMT (UK) »
Wow this is fantastic! You have been of so much help. Regarding your comment about the daughter, I found her death records in South Africa and can investigate it further from there, previously I could not find any information about her parents. You gave me the confirmation I needed, so I finally found my possible ancestors! I am so excited. I will look into this a.s.a.p.

I can't thank you enough.
Brooks & Brooks-Benning

Offline avm228

  • RootsChat Marquessate
  • *******
  • Posts: 24,827
  • Census information Crown Copyright, from www.nationalarchives.gov.uk
    • View Profile
Re: Edwin Brooks born 1890
« Reply #8 on: Wednesday 08 January 14 18:48 GMT (UK) »
You're welcome - glad to help - though I'd caution against jumping to any conclusions about these people being the right ones :)

I do think Mrs Harter, formerly Brooks-Benning, is a really important lead to follow up as there appear to be so few records of anybody by the name of Brooks-Benning.

Incidentally, this looks likely to be her husband's gravestone:

www.eggsa.org/library/main.php?g2_itemId=1669582

Do let us know what you discover.
Ayr: Barnes, Wylie
Caithness: MacGregor
Essex: Eldred (Pebmarsh)
Gloucs: Timbrell (Winchcomb)
Hants: Stares (Wickham)
Lincs: Maw, Jackson (Epworth, Belton)
London: Pierce
Suffolk: Markham (Framlingham)
Surrey: Gosling (Richmond)
Wilts: Matthews, Tarrant (Calne, Preshute)
Worcs: Milward (Redditch)
Yorks: Beaumont, Crook, Moore, Styring (Huddersfield); Middleton (Church Fenton); Exley, Gelder (High Hoyland); Barnes, Birchinall (Sheffield); Kenyon, Wood (Cumberworth/Denby Dale)