Untraceable??

[zetlander]

Are some of our forebears never to be traced.  Found my grandfather used at least three different names - not sure of his original name nor his name when he died. Almost certainly used a false name when he was married.

[clayton bradley]

I found one chap because he and the lady he ran off with only changed their surnames. They kept first names, places of birth, etc. Their children were baptized under the new surname as being legitimate offspring of the couple, but both died as infants. One of the WDYTYA programmes had a chap who had changed both names because he was a deserter from the army but he seemed to have been tracked down through the electoral roll. It's a matter of luck, whether you can find some document which leads you to the truth. All the hard work you put in may not be enough, claytonnbradley

[suey]

Answer yes!  Both my husbnds great grandfathers appear to be untracable.  Both served in the Royal Artillery so we know quite a bit about both of them.

However g grandpa 1.  first appears in Beckley Oxfordshire in 1860 where he joind the RA.  Oxfordshire family history group very kindly helped in the search for him but we came to the conclusion that he was either born elsewhere or gave a false name on entering the Army.  Nowhere in later documents does he say where he was from, always says NK and on marriage NK for father  so we're stumped.

G grandpa 2. again on joining up says quite helpfully St Clements Suffolk, later Norwich, which is in Norfolk.  Again exhaustive searches come up zilch!  his wife also claims to have been born in Norwich but there does not seem to be any family with her surname anywhere close.  They only appear in one census before both die - most un-helpful of them 

Suey

[patrish]

Most definitely,

My great grandmother just disappears of the face of the earth after abandoning 4 children in 1917 

She used several alias's none under which she can be found either here or leaving the UK nor any death record anywhere either.

[suey]

Most definitely,

My great grandmother just disappears of the face of the earth after abandoning 4 children in 1917 

 

My maternal grandmother was last seen in Bishops Stortford c1920 leaving three children in the Union Workhouse.  We know of course about my Mum and her brother but they had a sister born in 1919 whom we assume was simply 'given away', no formal adoption in those days.  I sometimes wonder if that little girl knew that she had a sister and a brother who in later life did all they could to find her to no avail     As for granny...not a trace!

Suey
Suey

[LizzieW]

Although I can trace my g.grandfather from 1884 when his name appears on my gran's birth certificate (he stayed with the family until his death in 1935), I cannot find any trace of him before then.  He didn't marry g.gran, but my gut instinct says he was illegitimate, so even if he had married, I doubt any father's name he gave would have been correct.

[MargP]

Hi

Have you asked Roots to find him