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Census Lookups General Lookups => Census and Resource Discussion => Library and FHS Lookups => Topic started by: Benody1921 on Friday 14 October 16 00:00 BST (UK)
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I'd like to find more information on my great grandad. His name was George Harry Dunn. He was born August 28th, 1883. According to any census I've looked at he was born in Wollescote, Worcestershire. His parents were Edwin Dunn and Betsy Brooks. I cannot find a birth record for him. I ordered a certificate and it was the wrong George Dunn. On a lot of records he has 1884 as his birth year but his school records (Crabb Street Infant School) and his death record show 1883. His school record had him as George Harry B Dunn. I'm not sure if the B stands for Brooks which was his mother's maiden name.
It has been rumoured that George was adopted. I have no idea how to find that out for sure. I was hoping someone would be able to find a birth record for him.
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The parish of Wollescote falls under the Registration District of Stourbridge.
There are 5 George Dunn births in that Registration District in 1883/4 ;D
But none that fits your given date of birth?
The births are:
June qtr 1883 Vol 6c, page 157
June qtr 1884 Vol 6c, page 192
June qtr 1884 Vol 6c, page 170
September qtr 1884 Vol 6c, page 219
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Unfortunately none of them match. Then Dudley RO looked at them for me. I went ahead and ordered the September 1884 quarter and it was the wrong guy. I could look into the June 1883 quarter but since he was born in August I don't think he'd be on there.
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Where did you find his date of birth?
I can see a George Dunn on the 1901 census, mother Betsy, but born in Lye?
But I'm not seeing him in either 1881 or 1891?
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His date of birth is on his death record as August 28th, 1883, a service seaman record (shows same birthday but 1884 instead of 1883), and my great Aunt mentions his birthday (August 28th) in a letter to my aunt.
In the 1891 Census he is living with Joseph Hyrons and his family. His mother, Betsy, is living with her mother, Elizabeth Brooks, and is her caretaker. I can't find his father, Edwin, in that census. Edwin sort of disappears. I can't find his death record at all. They are a very mysterious and frustrating family.
It looks like he uses the informal Harry as his middle name but his death record shows George Henry Dunn.
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Dates on death records are notoriously inaccurate!
After all, the person giving the information wasn't the deceased?! :-\
Probably the day and month were accurate, but the year may be out?
Also note that birth years are not given on censuses - people were asked for their age (on the night of the census).
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For a long time I thought he was born in 1884 but now I think it's 1883. On his Crabb Street Infant School admission record his father has his birth year as 1883 though I still cannot find a birth record.
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Do you have him on the 1939 register
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Unfortunately I don't have access to many records at this time.
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It is possible to search it without a subscription using dates of birth though I can't see a likely candidate at the moment.
Was he married to your gt grandmother, if so where and when did they marry
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He married Eugenie Maggie Taylor on April 12th?, 1915. I believe it was in Warwick but I'll have to double check. In 1939 they would have had 3 children, Marjorie, Bessie, and Noel (George Noel), and possibly Maggie's niece, Freda. Marjorie was born in 1912 so it's possible she didn't live with them in 1939.
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They were married in Warwick on April 12th, 1915. He states he is 30 years old which would make his birth year 1884. I'm not sure anyone really knew in which year he was born.
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I cannot find George On the 1939 Register but i found Eugenie Marjorie Dunn Jenkins is living with Maggie (Eugenia) Dunn and 3 other people. I can't see those people because I have to pay for it. Marjorie was his daughter and her husband's last name was Jenkins. I'm assuming the 3 other people would be my grandad, George Noel, possibly their other daughter Bessie, and possible Freda. George had been a service seaman so maybe he was off on a ship at this time. He would have been a bit older then though so perhaps not.
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Hi
You won't see the other 3 even with a subscription as they are probably still living, they are blacked out on the online register. George would not appear if he was in the forces.
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I'm not sure who it would be if they are still living. Freda is the only one who is possibly still alive. All the other children have long passed. It's very interesting but very frustrating.
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A lot of 'dead' people still appear on the register. FindMyPast is trying to open them where possible. They will open them if a death certificate is provided but it will cost if you don't have a sub for FindMyPast
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Hi,
George gives his DOB as 1883 in 1939. Living in Gloucestershire.
Regards,
Daisy
Moderator comment: 1939 details removed. Only post information that is available from the free search results.
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You can now search the birth indexes at www.gro.gov.uk and include the mothers maiden name on entries before 1911. I couldn't find any entries from 1872 to 1890.
Looking at the 1881, 1891 and 1901 census Edwin & Betsy weren't blessed with any children before George in an age where lots of children would have been expected to be there.
Have a look at the 1911 census image not just the transcription.
If George was 'informally' adopted, this would have been before adoption became part of the legal system in 1927 and unless you can find his name from other sources, it's highly unlikely you will get further back on this line.
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From what I've seen in thr census, Edwin and Betsy didn't have any other children. In 1881 they are living with Betsy's mother, Elizabeth Brooks née Pardoe. Then in 1891 Betsy is again living with her mother. I haven't been able to find Edwin in the 1891 census. Edwin enrolled George in the Crabb Street Infant School in 1891. Then I believe Edwin is mentioned again in the Directory as a galvanizer on Careless Green. In 1892, Elizabeth Pardoe dies and leaves Betsy a large sum of money. The will says Betsy Dunn (wife of Edwin Dunn). After that I cannot find him.
In 1901, Betsy and George live together with a boarder. Betsy says she's a widow. I'm not sure if that's true.
I've looked at the 1911 census (the picture not just the transcription) and Betsy and George are again living together. Betsy didn't fill out the part about hown many children she had and how many were living and how many had died. Perhaps that is left blank because she never had any children of her own.
I don't know how to find my George's birth. I've seen it several times that he was born August 28th. Sometimes the year is 1883 and sometimes it's 1884. I tend to go with 1883.
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If, as you think, he was adopted into the family and assumed the Dunn surname at some point, there will not be a birth entry for him under that surname. He might have been born and registered with a completely different name and grew up with the names Betsy & Edwin gave him.
It's a thankless task, but one way would be to see which male children were born in Sept quarter 1883 in Stourbridge, rule out those that died and then try to find the remaining ones in the censuses after that.
Have you looked at other family members with lots of children where it might be possible someone gave Betsy and Edwin a child because they couldn't cope with anymore.
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That's a great idea. Thank you Dawnsh. I'll try going through the birth registers and see what I can come up with.
I've checked some of the family members but some of them are hard to find. Some are better documented than others.