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Travelling People / Re: Alice Maud Mitchell / Charles Burrows Norwood - THE END OF THE STORY.
« on: Saturday 31 July 21 18:20 BST (UK) »
For anyone who remembers this story from a while back and particularly those who helped us track down Alice Mitchell who was the Grandmother of my new-found DNA cousin in NZ - I thought you deserved to hear the end of the story. We finally got there after 3 years.
Nutshell: My 70th birthday present of a DNA test, shows that my father is not my bio father. I discover 2 close cousins - Lynne in NZ and Sharon in Dublin.
We know that Alice Mitchell (Lynne's Grandmother) lived in South Norwood with a daughter and had another daughter - Iris Ina (Lynne's Mum). She is not forthcoming about Iris's Dad so we have no idea). The Birth Cert showed Mother as Alice 'Burrows' her ex-husband and father as Charles 'Burrows' ) If we could find out who CB was, it would probably lead to my father. Rootschat did their best to help but met brick walls, as did we although they traced Alice Mitchell to a Devon family which proved right (by DNA test).
Roll forward about 2 years and we deduced from DNA records and statistics that Charles Burrows had lied about his name, assuming Alice's married name and he was, in fact, Charles George Massey. He had been living in Ealing with his wife and 3 daughters but abandoned them after a huge row (newspaper cutting to support) and, we guessed, moved to South Norwood to a Grocer's Shop and lived with Alice Burrows (nee Mitchell) where Iris (Lynne's Mum) was born.
All good so far but we needed a son!!! Another year went by. Then our wonderful DNA helper from FB discovered that Charles Massey's 3 girls all had him as father on their Birth Certificates and mother 'Marie O'Regan' - his deserted wife - (maiden name)...; BUT that they had had a 4th child, a boy, Nevitt Massey. For some reason or other, (oversight?) Marie O'Regan had put her first, widowed, name on his birth certificate. So the certificate read Father, Charles George Massey, Mother formerly Marie Wren. (A check proved that she had indeed been widowed young - husband Wren). Great shouts of celebration from the new cousins!
We found that Nevitt (RIP) had married in Windsor and had 3 sons and they had moved to Canada. I immediately found two and contacted one. Neither knew anything of their father's history - the family was estranged. One agreed to do a DNA test. More agony - with Covid and Christmas slowing Ancestry down... the wait was long. Finally, one morning, with all of us with our phones kept on, the shout went round. The DNA posted positive! I had 3 new half-brothers. Lynne had found her Grandfather (as had I!) and our new Irish cousin was from our O'Regan Grandmother's line.
There was loads more to come but it needs a book. Just to say that Nevitt was in Intelligence with the SOE, lost one eye and, somewhere along the way, met my Mum post war - a beautiful married mother of a 7 year old - and I was conceived.
Hope that answers the question for anyone who remembers the story. Thank you so much for helping us along the way.
Nutshell: My 70th birthday present of a DNA test, shows that my father is not my bio father. I discover 2 close cousins - Lynne in NZ and Sharon in Dublin.
We know that Alice Mitchell (Lynne's Grandmother) lived in South Norwood with a daughter and had another daughter - Iris Ina (Lynne's Mum). She is not forthcoming about Iris's Dad so we have no idea). The Birth Cert showed Mother as Alice 'Burrows' her ex-husband and father as Charles 'Burrows' ) If we could find out who CB was, it would probably lead to my father. Rootschat did their best to help but met brick walls, as did we although they traced Alice Mitchell to a Devon family which proved right (by DNA test).
Roll forward about 2 years and we deduced from DNA records and statistics that Charles Burrows had lied about his name, assuming Alice's married name and he was, in fact, Charles George Massey. He had been living in Ealing with his wife and 3 daughters but abandoned them after a huge row (newspaper cutting to support) and, we guessed, moved to South Norwood to a Grocer's Shop and lived with Alice Burrows (nee Mitchell) where Iris (Lynne's Mum) was born.
All good so far but we needed a son!!! Another year went by. Then our wonderful DNA helper from FB discovered that Charles Massey's 3 girls all had him as father on their Birth Certificates and mother 'Marie O'Regan' - his deserted wife - (maiden name)...; BUT that they had had a 4th child, a boy, Nevitt Massey. For some reason or other, (oversight?) Marie O'Regan had put her first, widowed, name on his birth certificate. So the certificate read Father, Charles George Massey, Mother formerly Marie Wren. (A check proved that she had indeed been widowed young - husband Wren). Great shouts of celebration from the new cousins!
We found that Nevitt (RIP) had married in Windsor and had 3 sons and they had moved to Canada. I immediately found two and contacted one. Neither knew anything of their father's history - the family was estranged. One agreed to do a DNA test. More agony - with Covid and Christmas slowing Ancestry down... the wait was long. Finally, one morning, with all of us with our phones kept on, the shout went round. The DNA posted positive! I had 3 new half-brothers. Lynne had found her Grandfather (as had I!) and our new Irish cousin was from our O'Regan Grandmother's line.
There was loads more to come but it needs a book. Just to say that Nevitt was in Intelligence with the SOE, lost one eye and, somewhere along the way, met my Mum post war - a beautiful married mother of a 7 year old - and I was conceived.
Hope that answers the question for anyone who remembers the story. Thank you so much for helping us along the way.