Gr Grandfather's criminal past!

[KPM]

I am working on a biography of my great grandfather and am trying to separate the facts from the family rumours!

He left England for America in 1912.  The circumstances of his departure are very vague.  He had abandoned  most of his family several years earlier and the day before he left England he put his 12 year old son on a train and sent him back to his mother without any prior warning.  This suggests to me that his departure was hurried.

Family rumour says that he had embezzled a rather large sum of money which was used to finance his gambling/drinking
Can anyone suggest how I could find out more or am I asking the impossible? 

KPM

[Indaloman]

I would suggest that it would not be possible if he made it to America.

Firstly, if he had been charged with embezzlement, I doubt if he would have gone anywhere except goal.

If he had stolen, but made good his escape to America, there would be no records for you to trace.

Your only hope would lie in newspaper reports of the time.

Good luck! My family is littered with family rumors of connection to Earls, Lords etc,  and so far they have all proved to be nice folklore without one grain of truth, but you never know do you?

[KPM]

Hi Indaloman
Thanks for your reply.
I do think that I may be clutching at straws a little here.  I had thought about Newspaper reports but don't know where to start looking.  He lived in Kingston, Surrey then moved to London so my hunt could be endless.

I do agree with your point and think its highly unlikely he would have been charged with embezzlement as he wouldn't have made it out of the country.

Understandably his wife and children were very bitter about their abandonment and I think the bad feelings were passed down a generation.  Perhaps it was easier to think he was forced to leave rather than choosing to do so at his own free will.

I think I may have to file this one away under 'fiction' for now!!!

Thanks for your interest

Anne-Marie (KPM)