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Hi

I am trying to fill some gaps in the life of my grand father John Henry Jenkins. He was born in 1878 in Hakin, Pembrokeshire, Wales but lived most of his life in Grimsby.

As kids we were told that he ran away to sea at the age of 14 but the facts that I have come up with don't corroborate this. I have him from birth to the 1901 census living at home in Wales with his parents aged 23. I suppose he could have run away and come back :-)  The next record I have is his marriage to Bessie Agnes Chase in 1920 in Grimsby. I then have the birth of his children, including my mum, up to the 1939 register and his death in 1948 (before I was born). I believe that he may have worked on trawlers or in the merchant navy as an engineer.

Does anyone know if there are records of trawler/merchant navy crews or employment records for trawler workers. I did find an uncorroborated medal record on the National Archive site but there were no details of where he served or in what capacity.

I would like to fill in that missing 19 year gap between 1901 and 1920 if anyone has any ideas where I might start.

Thanks.

Hi, this is my first post so be gentle with me . I am not sure how much information I should give but here goes.

I am hoping someone can break my dead end. I am trying to trace the father of Alfred Shaw, my grandfather. Alfred was born in 1897 in Gatehead and was the 7th child of Margaret Shaftoe Shaw nee Thynne and Taigue (Thynne was maiden name and Taigue was first marriage). The father of the first six children, George Shaw, died in 1894 and Margaret remarried a second time, Hugh Thompson, in 1906. I am struggling to find any birth or baptism records or anything else that might corroborate who his father was.

Here is what I have found out so far. From family records/history my grandfather, Alfred Shaw, was born 2 Jun 1897. (corroborated in the 1939 register, the 1901 census which states he was 3 yrs old and his marriage certificate that says he was 24 on 25 Dec 1920). The marriage certificate says his father was “Hugh Shaw”.  I have tried to verify this, but I believe it is false and is an amalgamation of Hugh Thompson, his step father, and George Shaw, the father of his siblings.

From a GRO search, there is only one record, 10a/934, of an Alfred Shaw being born between 1894 and 1900. I have obtained a copy of this certificate which is very confusing. It states that the father is also Alfred Shaw and the mother is Elizabeth Shaw nee Bendall living at 5 Arthur Street. The birth date is given as 4 Jun 1897. I have not been able to find any census or marriage information for an Alfred and Elizabeth Shaw (Bendall) living in or around Gateshead at that time.

Arthur Street is also within yards of known addresses of Margaret Thynne (Charles Street, 1891, Somerset Street, 1901, and Chandless Street, 1911). Do you think that the closeness of the birth dates and addresses are just a coincidence and am I trying too hard to find a link here?

I would appreciate any help or ideas on how I might proceed.