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Hi there

I am trying to trace living descendants of the LACEY family who were living in Hampshire in the late 1800s.

My Great Aunt was married to Charles Briggs who was the son of Dorothy LACEY (b. 1895, South Stoneham to Edward Lacey and Clara BURCH). Charles was an only child and they did not have any children of their own so I have inherited (from Charles via my Great Aunt) lots of family documents and photographs for the Lacey family which I would like to return to a living descendant.

Dorothy's siblings who may have living descendants include Minnie/Minna (b. 1886), Edward (b. 1888), Charles (b. 1890) all born in Colchester and Evelyn (b. 1897) and May (b. 1903) all born in South Stoneham.

If anyone has any connections to help me send the things I have to their rightful home, that would be fantastic.

Otherwise if anyone has any suggestions as to where we might donate these that would be great too.
 
I’ve posted this in the Essex group too in case anyone has any links to the Colchester Laceys.

Thanks
:-)

Hi there

I'm hoping someone cleverer than me might be able to help me in locating my 3rd Great-Grandmother Meleanor WATTS (1828 - 1890)

According to census returns she was born in Creeting, Suffolk c. 1828 and I have her death certificate which states she died in 1890 in Holborn.

She was married to John Watts (born c. 1811 in St. Peters, Suffolk / death unknown). Although both originally from Suffolk, all the records I have relating to them since are in Middlesex (mostly Shoreditch).

I am descended from their daughter Clara Matilda Watts (1873 - 1953) and on her birth certificate it gives Meleanor's maiden name as what looks like PRIME. However I have never had any joy locating her using this name.

To try and explore this further, I ordered birth certificates for two of Meleanor's older children: Meleanor Eliza (b. 1848) and Gerald Massey (b. 1852). Interestingly Meleanor Eliza turns out to be registered under WILLIAMS and not Watts. Meleanor Snr gives her name as Williams, formerly LOCKWOOD. The father is named as John Williams.

Gerald Massey is a Watts with John Watts named as the father. On this certificate Meleanor gives her name as Watts, formerly Lockwood.

I think Meleanor Watts/Prime/Williams/Lockwood is the same person but I'm struggling to find a marriage record for her to John Watts under any of these surnames. My guess is that John Williams died and she married John Watts at some point between the birth of baby Meleanor and Gerald.

Obviously Meleanor is not the most common name - her children all seemingly name one of their daughters Meleanor so there's more of them in the latter records - but the original is still proving very difficult to trace!

If anyone can help locate a possible marriage record for John and Meleanor I would be very grateful of the help.

In case it's useful, their other children that I've managed to find are: Arthur (1854), Jane (1857), William (1865) and John Page (1870) - all born in Middlesex.

Thanks!

Hi there

I'm trying to see if I can get further with my 5x Great Grandparents but I think my search now takes me out into Europe which I really have no experience with researching so I hope you can help!

My 4x Great Grandfather was William Cartwright (twin brother of Isabella), who was born and baptised in Edinburgh in 1808. On his baptism register it states that he is the son of 'Mr Cartwright, an Ensign in the Royal Veterans at Edinburgh Castle, and Valentina Rosa de Cruz, his wife'.

Some quick research shows that the 9th Battalion Royal Veterans were based at Edinburgh Castle at this time. Does anyone know more about this regiment and if there are any records for them?

Previously the regiment had been based in Gibraltar and Madeira. My theory is that he met his wife in one of these locations as her name is certainly not English/Scottish! I think also that the Cartwrights were probably English and just based in Edinburgh during his military service.

Can anyone help or offer advice about how I can try to find the name of my 5x Great Grandfather and find any kind of marriage record between him and Valentina?

William, later has a son with Sarah Garner (now living in Leciestershire), who he also calls Valentina Rosa de Croix Cartwright after his mother. She uses both Valentina and Rose/a in later records so perhaps her mother did too.

Any help would be much appreciated.

Thanks

:-)

Hi there

I wonder if anyone researching Dutch ancestry has come across the surname LETTING and if it is very common in Holland?

My maternal Grandmother was a Letting which is not at all a common name in England and all are focused in two main areas of England, in Bedfordshire and by the Norfolk coast. It is so rare that we know that all remaining Lettings in the UK are linked, however distantly, to our branch of the family.

A theory we have is that our branch of the family was started by Dutch emigrants to England in the 1500/1600s. Does anyone know if this type of emigration was common and the reasons behind it?

Also, if anyone in Holland has come across a Letting in their research, I would love to know!

Thanks