William Dennis was the man that should have been my grandfather.
This was a story that was never talked about amongst my family. It was my Auntie Doreen that told me this story shortly before she died. Apparently, William married my grandmother, Ann Smith in July of 1900, just a few months after receiving a fine for cycling at 15mph. A few months after that, I was told that he was killed in a mining accident.
It is a really creepy thought, but if he hadn't died, then it is likely that myself, my brother, my cousins, my mother and my aunts and uncles would never have been born.
I've managed to find his obituary, but so far I have been unable to find any mention of his death in newspaper archives.
I discovered a Smith family's census entry in the 1901 census. It was this clue of my grandmother being named as Ann Dennis that led me to believe that she had indeed had a previous marriage.
After William's death, she discovered that she was pregnant. She had a little boy and I believe named him William John Dennis. I'd love to learn what became of him. I thought that he had been given up for adoption but I can't find any details of this. My Aunty Doreen did actually tell me that she met the little boy once.
I have found a William John Dennis on the deaths index for July 1901.
There is also a William John Dennis on the births index for 1901.
I suppose ordering a death certificate for the 1901 William John Dennis might solve the mystery. Tell me, is there another way to order death certificates other than through Ancestry?
Phil
