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Hi,

I'm looking for any assistance with locating the birth, marriage, death and parental details of a C Hammond Etherton (although might be a G) who I believe is an ancestor, and possibly a brother of a PT Etherton b.1879. I don't have much information, other than he was Portsmouth Town Clerk in 1912, where many of my Etherton ancestors were based in the latter half of the 19th and into the 20th century. I attach a reference to him as town clerk on a local plaque. Any assistance with finding out his details would be hugely appreciated.

Many thanks,
Jon.

Hi,

I hope someone can help me with a puzzle that's driving me up the wall relating to my wife's 2nd great-uncle.

For the relative in question, I had him married to one woman and with five children, yet on other trees they also have him married to another - the marriage date being the same year - with other children. My first assumption was that his first wife died and then he married again, however this was not the case. Here are the facts I have:

Name: Harry Vye Freemantle b. December 1874 in Billingshurst, Sussex.

1) Harry married Ethel May Kimble in 1902 - this is corroborated by a marriage document and Ethel is listed as wife and mother of his children on Harry's military service record.
2) Ethel is listed on the 1911 census as Harry's wife for over 8 years at this point, by which time 4 children have been born to the family.
3) The General Register Office (GRO) information for all 4 children born between 1907-1911 lists the mother's maiden name as Castle. All subsequent children are also listed with the mother's maiden name as Castle (11 children in total).
4) A photo on Ancestry shows the children with their mother - Annie Elizabeth Castle.
5) Harry's probate record in 1936 lists his widow Annie Elizabeth Freemantle as his benefactor.
6) Annie Elizabeth Freemantle died in November 1949 - the probate record confirms the same home address that is on Harry's probate record from 1936.
7) On other family trees, Ethel and Annie are listed as both being born in 1885 and both marrying Harry in 1902.
I can find no birth record for Annie Elizabeth Castle, but a death record for Annie Elizabeth Freemantle tied to the probate in 1949.
9) I have found a birth record for Ethel May Kimble in Shipston in Warwickshire in 1884 (which would agree with the age of 18 on the marriage record of 1902, and the 1891 census lists her father as David, who is named on the marriage certificate in 1902), but I can find no death record for Ethel May Freemantle. However, the 1911 census lists Ethel's place of birth as Lambeth.

I've read enough census and BMD docs to know that dates and places often don't tally and are reported differently, so this may account for some discrepancies, but I am perplexed.

My theory is that Ethel May Kimble and Annie Elizabeth are the same person, and Ethel changed her name, or used an alternative name, at different points of her life for whatever reason.

Has anyone seen anything comparable to this set of events, or can find anything which might shed some light either way on this? All and any advice will be gratefully received!

Many thanks,
Jon.

Hi,

My late grandfather served on HMS Havock during WW2 and which ran aground off Kelibia, Tunisia, in the Strait of Sicily on 6 April 1942 and was wrecked. He was then interred at a camp ran by the Vichy French in  Laghouat until November before being liberated.

I'm aware the sinking was reported widely in the press, and have seen digital versions of newspaper articles, but would love to get my hand on any original newspaper reports from the time rather than reprints. I've tried various sites with no luck, so if anyone has such an item I'd be very interested to hear from you.

Best wishes and thank you.
Jon.

Hi, I'm hoping someone can give me some advice or sanity check something arising from having recently done an Ancestry DNA test.

In terms of my family history, the story I was always told was that my late maternal grandfather did not know his father. He was born in 1920 and his mother wasn't married at the time. From my research, I have very reliable evidence from the 1939 Register and a Marriage index document that his mother then married a man in 1922 - interestingly somebody that I never heard mentioned by either my mother or my grandfather!

Having now done the Ancestry DNA test I have a DNA match with a woman (estimated as 6th cousin) and Ancestry has identified a common ancestor through its ThruLines feature. The interesting thing is that this DNA match goes up through the "step father" that my great-grandmother married in 1922 to a shared 5th great-grandfather, and then back down to the "6th cousin" I share the DNA with.

My question then is given the common DNAm would that suggest that the "step father" was actually my late grandfather's father? As the birth was out of wedlock maybe this might explain this, but am I making a reasonable assumption here?

Also, I have something similar regarding my paternal grandfather, who I was always told was adopted, but again there is a common DNA link with someone else which goes up through my other grandfather's "adoptive mother" to a common ancestor and down to another "cousin" I share DNA with, which may suggest that she was actually his mother after all?

Sorry, lots of questions, but would value views in terms of making a sensible conclusion on both of these.

Best wishes,
Jon.