Disappearing George Martin

[MaryThorn]

Jomot that was fascinating but poor old Harry having all his misdemeanours advertised, I wonder where the author got the information.  Great to add to the history though.

[Jomot]

Even better, this one is for James Stanley Martin also known as JS Guy & names George as his stepfather but gives his (George's) address as Wallsend & Alice's as Esquimalt, BC 

http://www.rootschat.com/links/01jw7/

I have to go now but the file is 112 pages so there might be something else in there - good luck!

[MaryThorn]

Brilliant find.  Interesting though because it looks like by 1916 George was back in Wallsend. All seems very strange.

[Jomot]

Very strange indeed! 

On page 91 there is a declaration dated 16 Aug 1918 in which he says he enlisted on 1 Feb 1916 under the name James Stanley Guy but that this was incorrect and his true name is James Stanley Martin as per his attached birth certificate (copy not in file).

On pages 57-18 there is a questionnaire dated 4 Jul 1916 in which James (as James Stanley Martin GUY) states that his father is dead and his mother is a widow, and in several other places he says his step-father is George Martin & lives in Wallsend.  But as he was born as James Stanley Martin then George is presumably his biological father, not his step-father.

It does sound as though George was no longer on the scene by 1916 for whatever reason, so I wonder if he did go to Vancouver as indicated on the passenger list - in which case that death in Vancouver in June 1931 may be worth looking into further.  There are some Vancouver marriages that might also be him - 1916 (Elizabeth Lewis), 1917 (Mary Rebecca Brokenchire), 1922 (Audrey Smith) or 1925 (Mary Taylor).  Unfortunately Canadian privacy laws seem to be extremely tight so on-line information is thin on the ground.

I certainly can't find him in England, as all of the possible deaths I've looked at so far have been traced back to other people.

The only other possible 'clue' is that on Thomas Henry Guy's record he gives 25 Beech Grove, Newcastle as the address he was staying at whilst on furlough in 1918. 

[MaryThorn]

Mmmmm, I wondered when I read that Harry had gone back to Newcastle on Furlough if he'd gone to see family there.  Beech Grove is actually about 1 1/2 miles from where I live and I drive down there every day to go to work.  It's also only abou 3 miles away from Wallsend where George and Alice lived in 1901 and also where Georges' family lived in the 1891 census.

Certainly a lot for me to plough through.

[River Tyne Lass]

Hi MaryThorn,

These are just a couple of ideas regarding your investigation as to whether George on the census' with Father James Martin is your 'George':

Perhaps you could have the marriages researched with regard to the siblings?  Hopefully, their marriages may have taken place in Tyneside; if so and if these occurred in a Church there will be codes so the Church and marriage entry could be looked up.   Sometimes, people have a sibling as a witness.  If George was a witness at any of their marriages, he would have signed his name.  His signature could then be compared to his signature on the St Alban's Record.   If this matches then this would definitely serve as evidence that he is likely to be your 'George'.  Personally, I think that there is  good possibility that this is him.

Also, do you know when your ancestor Mary Dixon/Martin died?  If so, it might be worth looking into whether she has a death notice/memoriam notices (perhaps in the Evening Chronicle) as this may give more clues about the situation.  For instance, the notice may record her as the wife of George, or the wife of the late George; or refer to her as the 'beloved wife'  or there may even be no mention of George, if it was felt he should not be referred to at all, perhaps due to the separation.

I hope this might be helpful.  Best Wishes

 

[MaureeninNY]

The only other possible 'clue' is that on Thomas Henry Guy's record he gives 25 Beech Grove, Newcastle as the address he was staying at whilst on furlough in 1918.

That address seems to be the residence of Thomas MARTIN-George's brother-born abt 1867 Darlington.
George's daughter,Violet (married name Laird) is shown on a UK outward passengers list 22 Oct 1953 and gives that same address so someone in the family was probably still residing there.

Maureen

[MaryThorn]

That's a good suggestion regarding the siblings of George Martin and one I'll look into next.

Maureen thanks for the heads up about Thomas residing at Beech Grove.  Fascinating to think they were just a Mile or so away from my family and perhaps still are.

 Found a marriage confirming that Georges mother was Ledger before marrying James Martin and found the birth record confirming that George was George Ledger.

Georges parents were married in South Shields and his oldest sister was born in Jarrow(next door to) as well as his mother, which suggests that perhaps there were relatives to George living in the Shields area. The family seem to move back and forth over the Tyne with children registered in North Shields, Sunderland and even one further away in Darlington.

Lots to get stuck into over the next few days.

[MaryThorn]

Oh forgot about Mary Dixon.  She died in 1915.  I can't find anything listed for her death online but then I didn't expect to as she'd remarried 1894.