William WHITMORE

[Mrsuperal]

We strongly believe the Unknown Marine buried in Padstow is Grandfather. He come originally from Stoke-on-Trent 1976 we are continually hitting brick walls before his Military record from 1895. He was in the Royal Marine Light Infantry. Does anybody out there have a possible lead, did anyone's ancestors marry a Whitmore with a connection to Stoke. We are trying to get the last resting place correctly named and we are trying to connect wit any living relatives who would like to know more.
http://padstowmuseum.webplus.net/CWGC%20evidence%20corrected.pdf

[jim1]

Hello & welcome
That's a terrific piece of detective work.
You say you are hitting brick walls, perhaps you can tell us what exactly it is you need to know as you already know when & where he was born & who he married.

[antiquesam]

Was this Acting L/cpl William Whitmore No. PO/8115(RMRB851)PO? Born 21/5/1876  Stoke on Trent?
If so he was attached to the SS Anna Sofie which was torpedoed and sunk 4 miles west of Trevose Head on the 23/7/1918 with one life lost. His naval record shows him killed on that date and the body never recovered. It shows is wife as Margaret Whitmore of 560 Shoffield Rd. Shipbridge nr. Chesterfield.
Hope this helps

[antiquesam]

I've found 4 William Whitmore marriages but I have no way of knowing if any are the right one;-
Margaret Dixon Mar 1897 BarrowF 8e 1139
Margaret Bessie Cooke Mar 1904 Eastry 2a 1409
Margaret Smith Dec 1909 Leigh 8e 316
Margaret Lowe Dec 1915 Rochford 4a 2097
As a Royal Marine I suppose he could have married anywhere but Eastry is very close to Deal, which was a RM base I believe.

[jim1]

If you click on the link you will see the poster has all of this & more.

[Dundee]

Hi Mrsuperal,

   Welcome to RootsChat   

...what an amazing story!  You haven't mentioned it, but are exhumation and DNA testing being considered?  If so then it is a bit like Richard III; as William had no male descendants then you would have to try and track down living descendants of William's direct maternal line.

I see from the 1904 marriage cert which has been uploaded online that William named his father as William Henry WHITMORE, a joiner jouneyman.  How far have you followed this and do you know anything about his sister or mother?

Debra 

[Mrsuperal]

I am new to Rootschat and would like to thank everyone who has responded. We have considerable information from 1895 onward for William Whitmore and a very comprehensive background for his wife but  are struggling to get indisputable evidence for William Whitmore before the above date. We have searched most of the available websites so recommendations to pay more subscriptions is unhelpful!
Isobel and Alan

[jim1]

Next to his photo is this:
WILLIAM WHITMORE was born at
Stoke-on-Trent in Staffordshire on the
21st May 1876. His parents, William and
Elizabeth, had one other child, a daughter
who they named after the mother.
& from Dundee this:

I see from the 1904 marriage cert which has been uploaded online that William named his father as William Henry WHITMORE, a joiner journeyman

Is the family on the census?

[Mrsuperal]

Thank you so much everyone who is trying to help, we have the following information which can be seen on Ancestry.com.
William Whitmore, Name used by him, No accurate source confirmation
DOB given by him on joining Military 21 May 1876 No accurate source confirmation
DOD 23 July 1918, The person who called himself William Whitmore, see above died on the date given.
Wife Margaret Bessie Cook, Full history found, age on Marriage certificate in correct.
We have full confidence in all records that we have found after 1895. It is prior to that date we need.
We believe that there was an Aunt Liz who lived in Doncaster 1907-1911 or longer but we cannot trace her from the information we have.
Search - William Whitmore 1876+/-2 years, died 25 July 1918, Anna Sophie will find about four independent family trees, his history can be found in Google, doing the same search