I am trying to find out where my husband’s great-grandmother was born and who her parents were as she always led family to believe that she was American but I have got so far and am now a little stuck. It’s almost been a bit of a scavenger hunt trying to find out things so bear with me if this is a long post!
Sarah Cicely Slater married 12/10/1907 in Chesterfield aged 20. Address of 15, Brickhouse Yard, Chesterfield, father Edward Slater - Coal Miner. The witnesses were Edward and Louisa Slater. After 1907 she is easy to trace. She had children between 1911 and 1932.
On the 1911 census she states that her birthplace was Bridgeville, USA (no state given) and that she is aged 24 and English. Brickhouse Yard appears to be part of the parish of Brampton, Chesterfield.
I found a marriage for Edward and Louisa Slater in 1906 St Thomas’s Church Brampton – Edward was 50, widower, miner, Brickhouse Yard and Louisa was of the same address, spinster, aged 19. Edward’s father was another Edward Slater a brick-maker. There was a witness called Elizabeth Slater.
I found another marriage at the same church in 1906 to a Thomas Slater aged 21, also a miner, whose father was also Edward Slater a miner.
Assuming that Edward and Louisa are Sarah’s father and step-mother and that Thomas is her brother I set off to trace them.
I found Edward and Louisa in 1911 visiting in Rotherham. Edward was born Brampton aged 54. So birth of approx 1857. (Edward started a second family with Louisa).I found Thomas now living in Doncaster aged 25 and born Stonebroom Derbyshire so a birth about 1886.I cannot find any trace of any of them in 1901 or 1891 censuses.
I have looked on the passenger lists on ancestry and found a few possibles but nothing that really matches well.
On the 1900 census in the USA I found a very likely family. Edward Slater born Mar 1852 aged 48 married 22 years, English, emigrated in 1886 (I can’t read the mark in the naturalisation column) coal miner. Wife Hannah born Dec 1843 aged 37!! Also English and emigrated 1887 - 8 children born to her 4 alive. They have 3 children on the census Maud, Thomas and Dodie. The children appeared to emigrate with mother Hannah. Maud born Nov 1880 aged 21; Thomas born Dec 1686!! aged 13 (birth reg in q1 1886); and Dodie Aug 1890 aged 10.Thomas and Maud born England and it looks like Dodie is born Penn or Perma. They are living in South Fork Pennsylvania. There’s a Bridgeville in Pennsylvania plus coal mining from what I can tell on the net.
There is a Maud Slater birth in q2 1883 Chesterfield.
There is a marriage for an Edward Slater in q3 1880 Chesterfield. A possible bride is Hannah Davis but there is another Hannah on the same page.
I can see Edward and Hannah in 1881 living in Stonebroom Derbyshire - he is 25 born Brampton, she is 19 born Bilston, Staffs. They also have a Frances Davis step daughter aged 10 months as well.
So my question is can anyone find any more info to add to this to prove that Sarah was the daughter of Edward and Hannah – a passenger list with them all on would be great! Is there a baptism out there for Sarah or a death for Hannah? Can anyone find Sarah in 1900? Or is Dodie meant to be Sadie and Sadie a nickname for Sarah? If Hannah has 4 children alive who is the other one? Is Frances still alive somewhere? Can anyone find Maud/Dodie or Frances anywhere else? I can’t pin Edward down before 1881 but I can see Hannah.
Thanks in advance