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England (Counties as in 1851-1901) => England => Staffordshire => Topic started by: aitch on Sunday 17 June 18 16:45 BST (UK)
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Hi.:)
I'm looking for a marriage of a (male) YORKE to a (female) GRICE which might have been in Stoke on Trent somewhere between say 1915-1920.
I have 2 male Yorke children from this marriage listed on FreeBMD, which both give the mother's surname as Grice (one in 1920, another in 1921), but there are no likely marriages listed in the years before that.
I've checked the 1939 Census for the Yorke boys, but they were in the forces, so there's no lead there.
Has anyone got any bright ideas about where else I could look to track the parents down (aside from sending for copy birth certificates of course)??
TIA
Aitch :)
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You haven't given any Christian names, the nearest to 1915 I can find is YORK to GRICE 1907 Leicestershire, would be more helpful if you were to give the Christian names of the parents where possible
How about looking on 1911
Louisa Maud
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Hi maybe the wife was a Widow possibly?
Keyboard86
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Thanks for your response Louisa.
I'm afraid I don't know either of the parent's Christian names - (apparently there's some mystery around them as their son wouldn't ever talk about them), otherwise the 1911 would have been a good shout.
- aitch
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Sounds like you will have to splash out on a cert
Good luck
Louisa Maud
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The 1921 child appears to have died in infancy :-\
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The births are registered under 2 names
Births Mar 1920
Parratt George H Grice Stoke T. 6b 633
Yorke George H Grice Stoke T. 6b 633
Births Mar 1921
Parratt Richard Grice Stoke T. 6b 530
Yorke Richard Grice Stoke T. 6b 530
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Possible marriage
Marriages Mar 1913
Grice Mary L (spouse Parratt) Stoke T. 6b 404
Parratt Bernard (spouse Grice) Stoke T. 6b 404
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There are a couple of Parratt children mmn Grice on freebmd before the Yorke children
Births Mar 1893
Grice Mary Lizzie
Stoke T. 6b 288
Possible remarriage
Marriages Mar 1928
BRIDGWOOD George
PARRATT Mary L
Stoke T. 6b 216
Can be found in 1939 :-\
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Ooooooooo….. thank you so much rosie99!!!
So there was a tangled web there as the family thought! George H Yorke (b1920) was my friend's grandfather - who never talked about his parents or brother and there was a suggestion that he might have grown up with his grandparents, so this might be the reason.
I have some digging to do but thank you so much for your lateral thinking on this!
very much appreciated :):):)
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She married again June qtr 1959
BRIDGWOOD Mary L (SHENTON)
SHENTON William C BRIDGWOOD
Mary Lizzie Shenton
Birth 03/01/1893
Death 04/1984
Stoke On Trent Staffordshire
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Thanks rosie99! She was keen on this marrying lark wasn't she!!
Thanks to you, I've gone some way to solving the mystery. Mary Lizzie was 20 when she married 18 year old Bernard Parratt and their first son (also Bernard) was born not long after, followed by a daughter Alice the next year(1914)
I found Bernard's discharge papers from the North Staffs Regiment dated July 1919. Son George Parratt(aka Yorke) was born in January 1920. Unless Bernard came home on leave before he was discharged, then he can't have been the father of George, which might account for the two surnames being registered.
I then found Bernard on the Canadian Passenger list - he arrived at Port St John 16 days after his 'son' George Parratt/Yorke was born in Stoke. Bernard's widowed mother and two of his sisters had emigrated to Canada in 1913.
Back in Stoke, Mary Lizzie had a second child who was registered with two surnames - Richard, born in 1921 died as an infant. A fourth child, Irene was born in 1924 - she bore the Parratt surname.
Mary Lizzie went on to marry George Bridgwood in 1928 and then (as you've found today) William Shenton in 1959 and died aged 91.
So, it looks like Mary Lizzie had a fling whilst husband Bernard was away at the end of WWI, he came back, found her to be pregnant and so left to join his mother & sisters in Canada.
I still don't know who the mysterious Mr Yorke was, and I know that nowadays you can have a father's name on a birth certificate without being married, but I'm not sure when the rule about having to be married before a name could be added was changed?
I also haven't figured why the daughter Irene Parratt, born in 1924 is simply registered with the surname Parratt.
Still some mysteries to solve!!
Thanks again for your help :)
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Irene was not just registered as Parratt ;D
Birth March qtr 1924
Bridgwood Irene mmn Grice Stoke T. 6b 416
Parratt Irene mmn Grice Stoke T. 6b 416
Other possible Bridgwood / Grice children
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If the father was present when the birth was registered then his name could be added.
She probably went to register the birth 1921/22 births with Mr Yorke but she would have had to put her name as Parratt nee Grice, hence the assortment of names
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If the father was present when the birth was registered then his name could be added.
She probably went to register the birth 1921/22 births with Mr Yorke but she would have had to put her name as Parratt nee Grice, hence the assortment of names
If you get the birth certificate it will no doubt state Mr. Yorke's full name and occupation.
Annette
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Hi my grandmother was Mary lizzie grice she married a Bernard parrot had two children Bernard and Alice I believe she often told me she had a son called George Henry York who made contact with her before she passed away she also had Irene bridgwood and my dad Leonard bridgwood
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I maybe I can help you Mary lizzie grice was my grandmother
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George Henry Yorke was the one Rosie mentioned way back born 1920 Mother's maiden name Brice
Louisa Maud
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Hi Mandy1963
I think I've more or less sorted this riddle out thanks. I'll paste here what I (with a lot of help from Rootschatters!) found. I'm not directly related, but my young cousin's husband is George York's grandson and it was he who wanted to find out more about the mystery that surrounded his grandad's upbringing. Here's the story I passed onto him in case you're interested.
Cheers
Aitch :)
Mary Lizzie Grice was born on 3rd January 1893 in Caroline St Longton, eldest daughter of William Grice, a Potters Saucer maker and his wife Harriet (nee Bromley) who worked as a Lathe Treader in the pottery factory.
In 1911, when Mary Lizzie was 18 she was also working in the potteries as a Potter Paintress.
Mary Lizzie was 20 when she married 18 year old Bernard Parratt. Bernard was the only son of Cyrus Parratt (a coal miner born in Nantwich, but living in Fenton) and his wife Harriet (nee Kelsall, born in Fenton). The Parratts lived at Holly Place, Fenton.
Just a few months after their marriage, Mary Lizzie and Bernard's first child, Bernard was born (July 1913), followed in December 1914 by a daughter Alice.
At some point after the beginning of the First World War, Bernard enlisted with the 3rd Battalion of the North Staffs Regiment. He was a Sargeant. I don't have details of where he fought, but would have likely been part of the horror that faced young soldiers in the Somme. Mary Lizzie would have been home alone in Fenton with 2 small children.
In April 1919, Mary Lizzie had a relationship with the mysterious Mr Yorke and your Grandad George was conceived. The fact that Mr Yorke's name appears on Grandad's birth registration means that Mr Yorke was present when Mary Lizzie went to register Grandad's birth. Because Mary Lizzie was married to Bernard Parratt meant that the Registrar would have insisted that her married name, as well as her maiden name and the father's name (Parratt/Yorke/Grice) were all included in the registration.
I found Bernard Parratt's discharge papers from the North Staffs Regiment dated July 1919.
So, Bernard would have returned home from the War to find his wife pregnant with another man's child.
That was obviously the end of the relationship - so what was he to do? His father Cyrus Parratt had died sometime between 1901-1911 and his widowed mother Harriet Parratt, along with two of his sister had emigrated to Canada in 1913. He had no relatives left in Stoke so he went to Canada
I found Bernard on a Canadian Ship's passenger list - he arrived at Port St John on January 30th 1920 - just 16 days after his your Grandad, George Parratt/Yorke was born in Stoke.
He is listed as 'single' and a miner. He was 24.
He appears in the 1921 Canadian Census living in Toronto with his Mother and two sisters (one of whom is by then married and has two children)
Back in Stoke, Mary Lizzie had a second child who was also registered with the Yorke surname - Richard, born in 1921, died as an infant.
Mary Lizzie's relationship with Mr Yorke must have ended as she gave birth to her fifth child, Irene in1924 - baby Irene bore the surnames Parrat and Bridgwood. Her father was George Bridgwood, who went on to marry Mary Lizzie four years later in 1928.
Mary Lizzie and George Bridgwood had two more children - Bessie Bridgwood born in 1929 and Leonard in 1933.
Mary Lizzie was divorced from George Bridgwood sometime before 1959. George died in 1984.
In 1959, when Mary Lizzie was 66 she married William Shenton in Stoke. She died in Stoke in 1984 aged 91.
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Thanks that all sounds correct although I never saw an aunty Bessie my dad was Leonard who we have just lost my grandma lizzie was a lovely person it broke my heart when she died on her 91st birthday .it was nice to read all your findings thank you
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She certainly had an interesting and full life - and it was nice for my cousin to finally be able to understand why his grandad George was so mysterious about his family.
I'm very sorry to hear you lost your Dad x