Percy Bray 1896 Liskeard

[DavidJP]

Hi,

Baptism for Samuel Mafeking Bray in Liskeard from Cornwall OPC:

Bray, Samuel Mafeking, bapt 4th April 1901, to Clara (no father's name shown) a labourer residing in Borough. Birth noted as: Born 18th Jan 1901. Transcriber Notes shows: P.

Hope this helps.

Kind regards

David

[groom]

I haven't found Edwin & kids on the 1901 census but there seem to be more children baptised to Edwin & Clara between 1902 & 1907 in Menheniot.

Is this 1901 for Edward? Looks as if it might be a different Clara?

RG13; Piece: 2192; Folio: 30; Page: 6
Menheniot, Cornwall


Edward Dawe   42  Ag lab                  Menheniot, Cornwall
Clara Minear   38  housekeeper          St Austell, Cornwal
Charles Dawe   12  son                       Bodmin, Cornwall
Clara C Minear   4/12  daughter            Menheniot, Cornwall

[daftoldbat]

Thankyou, all of you, for the mass of information. I have come to the conclusion that the birth in 3q 1897 may be the correct one and have sent off for a copy of the birth cert. If he turns out to be the one Iīm looking for, then it is a distinct possibility that his parents were Samuel and Claretta Dawe Geach - I have already noted the details from the 1901 and 1911 censuses (Claretta is missing from the latter) which show only Irene Louisa, Percy and Fred, so the other children are a huge bonus.

Percy was my grandfather, but I never met my father and only know from my long-deceased mother that both Percy and my father were born in Liskeard.

Thanks again for all your help.

[groom]

You also have an interesting situation here as well if the 1901 I gave you is correct for Edward Dawe and he was her first husband. Unless they divorced, she wasn't actually free to remarry in 1899! He was obviously living with his housekeeper and having children with her.

[daftoldbat]

Didnīt she marry Edwin, not Edward ? In 1891 I can see that they were living in Broadoak with 5 children and I canīt find either Edwin or the children after 1891 - what happened to them? She married Samuel Bray in 1899 but then disappeared between 1901 and 1911. Perhaps she then married someone else and had yet another family She seems to have had a penchant for older men...

[osprey]

I think the family that groom has given you for the 1901 is the correct one. In the 1891 census there's a 2 year old Christopher Charles Dawe baptised 1 Dec 1891 to Edwin & Carlotta, the same date as Samuel James, Harriet Mary & Anna Matilda were baptised. He appears as Charles in 1901.

In mar qtr 1902 Edwin Dawe married ref St Austell vol 5c pg 172 with one of the 2 females on the page being Clara Minear.

Haven't spotted the former Miss Geach as yet, but the variants of her first name aren't helping & no idea what surname she might be using.

 

[groom]

That's what I was going on, osprey

Births Mar 1889   
Dawe    Christopher Charles       
Bodmin    5c   73

He is the only child with Charles in their name born in Cornwall that year.

[daftoldbat]

There is a burial for a Clara Bray in Liskeard on 23/3/1921 aged 54, making her birth year 1867 which fits with Clara (Claretta) Geachīs in the censuses. Itīs interesting that, in the 1911 census, Samuel Bray described himself as single and thereīs no sign of Clara. Does anyone know an easy way to get into divorce records?

I know that living conditions at the time were dire, but Clara seems to have been very unlucky (?) with her children. Samuel James Dawe was buried in Bodmin 28/7/1892 aged 18 months; Samuel John Dawe in Liskeard on 12/10/1897 aged 17 months (note shows Bray); Catherine Dawe in Liskeard on 30/10/1898 aged 29 days; Emma Ethel Bray in Liskeard on 8/8/1897 aged 15 months and Samuel Mafeking on 23/4/1905 aged 4 years. There is also a burial for a William Aver Bray 1q/1905 aged 2― years, which may or may not have been Claraīs William Heber.

[groom]

According to the National Archives:

In 1858 divorce law was introduced in England but divorce remained too expensive for most people until the 1920s.

http://www.nationalarchives.gov.uk/help-with-your-research/research-guides/divorces-further-research/

So would they actually have been able to have afforded a divorce, or did they just separate and remarry (illegally)?  I can imagine that may have happened quite a bit, especially if people moved away from an area where they were known.

Interesting that there is no Edward Dawe born 1860/61 in Cornwall, so did he change his name to Edward in an attempt to hide?