RootsChat.Com

Once again, thanks for the the amazing support. The way time zones work, it all happens at night for me, and there is a raft of things for me to think about in the morning.
I am, as has been mentioned, beginning to suspect that things were a bit out of the ordinary in the White household. Spirited women - a tradition that continues to this day :-).

To illustrate, Cissie V (the daughter) left for South Africa initially, with only one month's worth of money. This would have been around 1914, as we have references from Cleghorn & Harris in June 1914. By 1915 she was writing to various employers in Southern Rhodesia, and obtained a position as personal secretary to A.R. Thompson at the Hwange Colliery. There she met my grandfather, who was working on the mine because his farm was too remote to be viable, and they married in 1917.

Cissie was very good at French, and there are, I found out this morning, some postcards in French to her mother from nuns in France, so the French connection seems like to might have some legs. However Maude consistently puts Lambeth as her birth place on the census records, so I am following up Maude Cecilia Rowland, and her mother, Jane Augusta nee Haselgrove, to see if there is something there (not so far, Jane b. in Cuckfield as far as I know).

I haven't had any joy with the marriages of James C (only just found that piece of news from my researches) but I have discovered a number of children, a couple of whom seem to have ended up in New Zealand (where I am).

Exciting stuff - and thanks again.

Many thanks to all contributors to this post - what a fantastic response!

I had wondered about the Charlie Rowland link, and there is a Maude C Rowland as noted, who looks like she was quite a bit older than the rest of the family ("well on the way" as @avm228 notes). George C Rowland, if that was her father, seems to have had some interesting career changes after being a vocalist (working for the London Gazette, then latterly as a secretary to Richmond Hospital).

As to Cecilia (my grandmother) I have no absolute record of her middle name, just the initial on various censuses and work references. In the absence of a Rowland/White definitive marriage (possibly not in country), I might have to try looking for a link via James Charles (who was a talented musician, remembered by my mother as playing violin and the organ - also came out to Africa to visit his sister, but sadly took ill and died in Bulawayo).

I will look through the various suggestions and keep on plugging away. Thanks again.

Ah - if there is a link to the Witney Lane Hobleys then definitely that's him. I can't find him prior to that (you must have better resources ) but Charles Goodrich and Lucy appear at various addresses in Witney Lane and Witney Road (rather confusing, but I am wondering if they owned a series of properties). In fact in 1891 you can find Lucy living with some of the grandchildren at 64 Witney Lane, while Charles Goodrich and Emma are at 65 with the rest of their children!

I take your point about ages needing a grain of salt, but sometimes with a couple of candidates it's tough to choose who to follow up as I'm sure you know. I didn't know there was a Hobley Lane in Banbury, it would be good to know if there was a connection. Likewise with the numerous Warwickshire Hobleys (I have some indications that that is a branch in the tree as well). Thanks again for taking the time to throw some light on this corner - greatly appreciated.

That's fantastic - thanks very much for the information. I'll follow up with the Oxfordshire FHS as you suggest. Lucy (nee Goodrich) and Charles may/may not have owned a farm in the Witney area (Lucy certainly lived on 100 acres after Charles' death, with Charles Goodrich listed as Farmer/Bailiff) but it would be good to confirm this aspect of family history.

Really appreciate the information on Charles parents - it seems to have been a popular name, and sorting them out is a bit difficult!