My Dad has been searching for Decades - THOMAS

[majm]

May I suggest that you seriously consider obtaining an Official Transcription of the 1942 marriage certificate.   The depth of detail on a NSW certificate should help your quest as it includes the following information supplied first hand by the bridegroom:

About the Bridegroom
  His full name (all his given names and surname)
  His then current occupation and usual place of residence
  His conjugal status (Divorcee, Widower, Bachelor)
  When and where born
  His father's name and occupation and if known to be deceased
  His mother's name and previous name/s and if known to be deceased

(And of course similar details for the Bride, supplied first hand from the bride)

That depth of detail should help you confirm/validate the ACT information.

Official Transcription Agents are appointed by NSW BDM and provide an excellent service.  You receive all the information already transcribed from the 1942 certificate and it arrives in your email inbox.  The service is cheaper and quicker than the real deal certificate.    The only 'downside' from a family history perspective is that you do not get the image of the signatures of the bride and groom.  However, many of the NSW BDM records do not actually include those signatures, but rather are simply transmitted records by the clergy/officiating registrar.

Here's an RChat thread re the Transcription Agents
 http://www.rootschat.com/forum/index.php/topic,300394.0.html

Here's NSW BDM webpage about their Transcription Agents.
http://www.bdm.nsw.gov.au/Pages/family-history/family-history.aspx#transcription

Here's Debra's post with the reference no. needed to order the document 

The man I was looking at is the one who married in 1942:

1942
THOMAS, LESLIE JOSEPH
SENIOR, LAURA ELIZABETH
Registered at REDFERN
# 16872

Laura was a widow aged 52 and she had married firstly to Alfred SENIOR in 1907 (maiden surname LAKE).  Of course this Leslie could have been any age, but there is more of a probability that he was a similar age.  Laura died in 1961 and it appears from the wording of her death notice that her husband was still living.  He is still on the electoral roll with her in 1958.

http://postimg.org/image/iw79sa5i9/

Perhaps of particular interest is that some of her children were living in Canberra.

Debra 

Cheers,  JM

[Dundee]

A Leslie Joseph Thomas married a Laura Elizabeth Senior in 1942 in Redfern NSW. I'm heading to Ancestry.com now to see if I can find out more.

There are plenty of Laura's descendants with family trees there.

Debra 

[tssenior]

You have no idea how excited I am to post this tonight, but I did as Debra suggested and got an official transcription of the marriage certificate of Leslie Joseph Thomas and Laura Elizabeth Senior (can you believe that I married a senior too!) and it confirms that this is my man!! I spoke to the nicest man on earth and he obviously knew how much this means to me and within 6 hours he has emailed me the results. I am just brimming with excitement! I now know what my great grandfather has done for the last 30 years of his life. Thank you so much Debra for encouraging me to pursue this line of enquiry!!! I will be forever grateful x    I would imagine he did as you said Debra, lived with his wife until she died and moved to Canberra to live with kids until he needed to move to a convelescent home. My next move is seeing if those kids were all hers from her first marriage or whtether they had any together. So worth the $18 NZD i spent to get the information!

[trish1120]

I have been following this too.
What an amazing outcome

[StanleysChesterton]

That's brilliant.  I love it when a missing granddad is finally tracked to the end!  Without the end you can't fill in the gaps.

I wonder if, now, with proof/evidence he's "yours" there's anything in the home archives they can let you have/see!

As the 2nd wife was "so old" at their wedding, it's doubtful their downlines would be blood-related, as they're most likely just hers, but they'd still have memories/photos!  I do hope they're welcoming to your quest.

[nestagj]

What fantastic news - have been following this thread with much interest; we also ( with the help of Rootschat some of whom have participated here) found long lost family - a great uncle and his descendants in Australia.

Just a quick pointer - if or when you decide his (step) children - please do so carefully as he may have never mentioned his first family - it might be rather a shock to them

Well done everyone a fantastic effort - the magic of rootschat strikes again

Nesta

[aspin]

Popping in here as well what a great find and well done you rootchatter's
I love a happy ending  and this has been one

Elizabeth

 

[maddys52]

My next move is seeing if those kids were all hers from her first marriage or whtether they had any together.

Although NSW birth searches only allowed for births 100 years ago, it appears Alfred Henry Senior died in 1941 and all the children mentioned in Laura's obit married in NSW between 1936 and 1953, so pretty safe to assume they were all Laura and Alfred's.

You can do a birth search for Edith M (1907), Alfred W (1911), Roydon T (1913-1913) and Albert E (1914). And marriage searches for I H (Ettie?) (1934), E M (1936), A E (1936), E S (1939), T E (1940), J M (1943),  and) A W (1950's).

(Also an interesting escapade involving Alfred W in 1941 on Trove with a picture
http://trove.nla.gov.au/ndp/del/article/169767975?searchTerm=alfred%20senior&searchLimits=l-state=New+South+Wales|||l-decade=194|||l-year=1941|||l-title=699)

You've also inspired me - might now continue the search for my grandfather who also was born in NZ and disappeared after his marriage in Australia 

Best wishes,
M

[majm]

Hi there,

May I gently mention that the NSW BDM and ACT BDM both have restricted access for the first thirty years on death certificates, so I am a tad concerned as to how we can confirm that we are not breaking RChat rules if we are naming Laura's children in any posts.  In NSW that is considered to be identifying the individual, and is likely to be an infringement of their expectation to privacy of the individual.

Yes, while one or more of Laura's children  may well be no longer living, BUT if they died within the past thirty years, we cannot easily confirm this. 

Australia has strict privacy rules and regulations.   

I have living relatives who are elderly and yes, they are old enough to have their NSW birth registration displayed online, and their NSW marriage registration displayed online too, but they are still very much alive, and like so many NSW and ACT seniors, they are very very keen for their privacy to be respected.   

There is a 404 page pdf available to download via the ACT BDM website, for registrations from 1930 (commencement) to 1973.

ADD
Online index to some death/funeral/probate notices from newspapers including within the restricted periods 
http://www.ryersonindex.org/

Cheers,  JM