NSW Address but no name

[Vectis2]

Because my grand parents were not married there are numerous problems tracing, some of my relatives, one of these was my mothers half sister.  The only real clue I have is a letter from her to her dad in 1938, OK great we have all the first names, but not her married name, which makes it hard to search electoral rolls and other records.  In the hope that someone has a lead I am posting the address  where they lived for quite sometime I believe, but definitely in the late 30's which is :  116, Kingsgrove Road, Canterbury, NSW Australia. A lead would be most appreciated as it will open a whole new avenue of research.

[Ruskie]

Welcome to rootschat Vectis. 

If all of the people in question are deceased, are you able to give us some names? For example your grandparents names, the name of the half sister, your mother's name. What are the relationships mentioned in the letter? (eg John Smith and Jane Roberts had daughter Maud in 1930. Jane Roberts had daughter Janet in 1928 .... something along those lines might help trace the family and the relationships). We might be able to find possible marriages etc.

Electoral rolls would be the obvious place to find the family but I'm not sure that you can do this without names. Even just a surname or two might help.

[Vectis2]

Thanks for the quick response, it is all a little messy as 'the grandparents secret'  led to a mangling of names at different periods. My grandfather surname was was Harris [James William], my grandmothers 'first married' name was Harris [Henrietta Alice, nee Moore], which over time morphed into Harrill. Her daughter by Harris  [mums half sister] was born 1894 at Plaistow London. Depending on which census you look at it can be listed under either, the first name is also a problem too as in the UK she can also be found as Aileen, Eileen or Nellie, her middle name was May. At the end of WW1 she did or didn't marry an Australian soldier [name unknown] and left the family to live in Australia where she may have married or not, there she had three sons I believe C, R and K.  Grandad was a master at blurring lines and evading things and the above is the simplified version of events 

Post edited Living children

[Ruskie]

Thanks for the explanation. A few questions, mainly so we don't go searching for information you already have:
Do you have the family on any of the UK censuses?
Do you have your Mum's birth certificate?
Do you have her half sister's birth certificate?

It may not be as complicated as you think (I hope not anyway) .... depending on where you saw your grandmother's name as Harrill, an 's' can sometimes be mistaken for an 'l'.

So if you saw a transcription (ie someone's interpretation of the surname) or if you misread it yourself when looking at an original, I can easily see that Harris could be Harrill. How many examples of the surname as Harrill do you have? Is it just the one?

Similar with Aileen/Eileen/Nellie - they are all the same name just spelled or interpreted differently and Nellie would be a pet form of the name. You just have to be careful to search for all variations.

It also sounds like you have some family rumours you are trying to work out how much truth is in them. I take it that Eileen wrote the letter to her father and the NSW address is hers?

[Ruskie]

Someone with a better knowledge of NSW Electoral regions may be able to do a search for an Eileen/Aileen/Nellie (surname unknown) living in the Canterbury area in the 1930s ... 

[Ruskie]

Just had another thought ...

Is Harris Eileen's birth surname, or might she have taken the surname if living in the Harris household?

I had a look on Freebmd for a marriage for Eileen. IF the rumour about her marrying an Australian soldier is true, and as she lived in the London area, and her middle name is May, this looks to be a possibility - it might fit area and time wise:

Marriages Jun 1918
Harris  Eileen M 
Higgins  William A
Kensington  1a 289

Finding an Eileen Higgins in NSW might clinch it.

There may be other candidates. I haven't looked further as yet ...

[Ruskie]

Um righto - there are LOADS of Nellie Harrises marrying in the period around WW1 .... 
 Another approach is needed.

I hope someone else can come up with something concrete for you.

[Vectis2]

Thanks Ruskie for taking the time to help. It was confirmed by by my mother and sister [both now deceased]  that my grandparents were not married, he [GF] also had a previous marriage, registered in Fitzroy, Victoria, Australia, 1894 when he was gold prospecting [there lies another mystery ]. I have them all on the 1901 [Poplar] and 1911 UK census [Laindon], no certificates for mum [1906]   or Nellie, who was Harris in 1901 and Harrill 1911 on the census. To marry or get a passport she would have had to use her birth certificate and real name, plus wouldn't have needed parents permission as she would have been 21 in 1915. The 1938 letter from NSW was written by her husband/partner [Jack] as it was a request for money as she was ill in hospital and he was out of work [local council] he does call her Eileen in the letter. The Kensington marriage may be right as I believe that's where the Marylebone registry office is and I believe that civil marriage venues were fewer in those days, the Harrill family were based mainly in Hackney at that time, Harrill's I have, Nellie is missing

[majm]

Hi there,

Passports date from WWI  .....   (Add, not necessary to have a passport to land in Australia .... even in 1960s under the Assisted Migration scheme)

http://www.rootschat.com/forum/index.php?topic=677387.msg5221726#msg5221726

But I do not know if she would have needed a birth certificate to marry.   It was possible to marry using your baptismal certificate as your ID up to around the 1970s in New South Wales.       My marriage dates from 1970s NSW        The NSW BDM birth extract (no longer available) was also an acceptable document until around 1990s (I phoned a rellie, a retired C of E reverend). 

Cheers,  JM