Finding all births for a female ancestor

[Rosinish]

Whereabouts was Roberta in 1901 please?

Added - I see her age 36 housekeeper in Lancashire.  Thinking she could have met the father there.

Worth looking for a Gilchrist in the area 1901 although I've come across the name Gilchrist in Edinburgh (particularly Leith) i.e. they may have gone South together/as part of a group?

This may or may not help (as a possible family member) but closest date/address (different no.) I could find on VRs 1905;

DICKSON ISABELLA MRS
Tenant Occupier
HOUSE NO 25 ARTHUR STREET, EDINBURGH
1905
VR010000237-

Annie

[Rosinish]

In the 1901 Census, Roberta was working as a housekeeper to a family at address Tower, Beasdale, Lancashire. There was no one in the household who could have been Roberta’s son.

I think Millipede was meaning for you to look for the possible father (surname Gilchrist) around the area Roberta was working in 1901

Aged 36 in 1901 prior to giving birth to Marion i.e. a/the son may have been born long before Marion?

Do you have her details from prior census' please?

Annie

[FergusC]

Thanks Annie,

I did look through the 1901 Census for Beasdale last night but didn’t see anyone called Gilchrist, it’s worth another look though. I think I will also have a look in Leith too around where the family used to live, as Gilchrist is a more common name there and it is possible they moved down together.

The agree that Roberta’s son could have been born long before Marion.

The various addresses I have for Roberta are:

1871 5 Laurie St, Leith, Edinburgh
1881 1/2 Hartshead, Ashton Under Lyne, Lancashire (the rest or her family also moved to this town too)
1891 Lynne Villa’s, Disney, Cheshire
1901 Tower, Bleasdale, Lancashire
1911 The Beeches, Stockport Road, Romily, Lancashire

Thanks,

Fergus

[Rosinish]

"The various addresses I have for Roberta are:

1871 5 Laurie St, Leith, Edinburgh
1881 1/2 Hartshead, Ashton Under Lyne, Lancashire (the rest or her family also moved to this town too)
1891 Lynne Villa’s, Disney, Cheshire
1901 Tower, Bleasdale, Lancashire
1911 The Beeches, Stockport Road, Romily, Lancashire"

Is it possible Roberta was in a relationship with a 'Gilchrist' either in Ashton Under Lyne or Disney, Cheshire?

He/she may have travelled to/fro to meet etc?

She does seem to move around, what was her occ?

Annie

[Rosinish]

"we know very little about Roberta’s son, other than he was referred to ( though but not by name) in a letter to Marion by another of member of the family preparing for a holiday out to Canada"

Does 'father' recall the forename(s)/surname of 'family' mentioned in the letter or roughly when dated although I know it's a big ask?

Annie

[FergusC]

Hi Annie,

Roberta could have been in a relationship from someone in Disley or Ashton under Lyne, more likely the latter as that’s where the family relocated, but we just don’t know. Roberta was very secretive about her past. Although she was living with my wife’s fathers family when they were growing up she was known as Auntie Dickson rather than their Grandma. They were told their Grandparents had died in a car crash. It wasn’t until she died and they tidying out the house that they found Marion’s birth certificate and discovered the truth!

Regarding the letter, I actually have it as my father in law gave it to me when he asked me to see what I could find out. Looking at it again this morning it was a letter sent from Marion’s sister in law to Marion and her brother when she was out visiting her relatives ( all of whom we know about) in Toronto. The letter was sent from the address she was staying at in Toronto on 22 July 1949. The relevant part of the letter states

“Mina (a relative of Marion’s husband) wants to know if your brother is still living in or around Toronto and if you would like me to call in on him or any other relatives you have out here. If so, if you send out his address to me I will look him up for you”.

We never saw the reply to this letter, so this is the only clue we have to the existence of a brother of Marion.

It’s all a bit of a mystery. Maybe it will never be solved, but I would like to do so while my father in law is still living, if possible.

Thanks,

Fergus

[clairec666]

I've had a quick look on Familysearch for people with middle name Gilchrist and surname Dickson. There are a few, including some in Scotland, so it's possible that the Gilchrist name originated further back in the Dickson family, rather than the unknown father.

I pounced on a Mabel Gilchrist Dickson who appears in the New York passenger lists in 1928, particularly as she was born in Scotland (about 1901). However on closer inspection she is married.

The only other Dicksons in Romiley in 1911 are a married couple, Robert M and Sarah M. Robert can't be your missing brother, as he appears with his parents in 1891 and 1901.

There are no other Dicksons in Disley in 1891.

[Rosinish]

I wonder if the 'brother' was in Hartshead, Ashton Under Lyne along with/closeby the other family members?

I think he was likely born in England if the other family members were there by 1881?

Roberta b c1865 as a guide.

May be worth looking for a Dickson death in Toronto?

Annie

[RichardK]

If Roberta wasn't openly admitted to be Marion's mother by the family, the 'brother' referred to in the letter may not actually be another child of Roberta's. He may be a child of whoever the family claimed Marion's parents were - perhaps Roberta's parents? Alternatively it could be another child of the couple who raised her as a nurse child as a sort of adoptive brother.