Edwin Henry HOOKER (1883 - ????)

[Beeonthebay]

Why can I only find one with the correct name and year registered in Windsor,  Berkshire?

*Edited to say, sorry I just looked at the birth certificate link and it says Egham in the counties of Berks and Surrey.

[Beeonthebay]

Just to add I have one man called Edwin or Edward depending on which census and he is well documented as being baptised and buried but seems to interchange the name, I don't think this was uncommon.

[jann]

Have you done any searching under Edwin/Edward Wright?  If Edwin was Maria's child it's possible he was given into the care of her family at some point and took their name.

Jann

[James18]

Hi Jann,

Yes, I have been down that route and so far found nothing that looks plausible.

I've been through numerous post-1891 Edwin H [surname] marriages/deaths on FreeBMD and been unable to locate anyone. I've also tried the 1911 census with a variety of criteria, even just searching for any Edwins born in Egham. Nothing so far.

Given that Henry registered the birth, I think it is likely that he was the father - I can't imagine he would have chosen to do so otherwise, and presumably he'd have known (or at least had a fair idea) if he wasn't. My feeling is that Edwin was probably a bastard, and Henry chose to name Maria as the mother so as to avoid any scandal. I suppose he could just have told people Maria had given birth in Woking Asylum, and if he chose to raise Edwin at the family home (which it seems he did until at least 1891) then people wouldn't have asked too many questions.

Because either Henry or his son Harry (probably the latter) omitted Edwin from the 1911 family census (i.e. he is not mentioned among the children of Henry & Maria's marriage) I think this is a fairly good indicator that Edwin was indeed a bastard. We know he was not baptized with the other children in 1893 - only two years after the 1891 census - and yet there is no record of his death by that point in time.

If Edwin's mother wasn't Maria, then we have no idea who she was, and therefore who to search for in 1901 and 1911, to see if Edwin is with her.

Any ideas?

[Beeonthebay]

Are you able to search the Bishop's Transcripts for Surrey?  I've found some baptism records for a few of mine that weren't on the PR's.  Of course that doesn't help in knowing where he disappeared to.......

Have you tried the 1939 Register as you have the DOB, mind you that's not infallible either.....

[Beeonthebay]

My BT's weren't in Surrey by the way but Cheshire.

[Beeonthebay]

Are there any records for the Asylum, I wonder if she was there full time for all those many years, perhaps starting off with a month in, then one at home when she couldn't cope so back in and out.

Sure is a mystery though!!

[James18]

If I can find bishops' transcripts for Surrey then I'll look through them. I did find a marriage I wanted recently using the Kent transcripts; I've no idea if the Surrey ones are up on FindMyPast or Ancestry, though.

I have tried the 1939 Register, yes. An Edwin H. Edwards from Leicester with the same birthday (but not year) was a good lead, but I think he has now been discounted.

As for Asylum records... I have some for his mother and sister (both of whom died at Woking Asylum) but nothing for Edwin. I would be keen to know more about Maria's time there, and particularly whether she would have been able to give birth to Edwin in Egham in November 1883, but those records are not online. I would need someone to go to the Surrey History Centre, I think.

[smudwhisk]

From memory I don't think any BTs for Surrey exist.  I wanted to have a look due to issues with apparent missing records in Reigate but couldn't find any and I'm pretty sure that something I came across said none existed for the county as they weren't kept.    That said, I'm happy to be proved wrong.