Had a request asking for help to break down a same name researcher's brick wall. I had a same name in my family history but did not think at first of any connection, but for some reason kept his info. on/in my file mainly for him having a same name descendant. Whilst I was out of hospital and being told by my Doctor / Family not to exert myself / don't do to much of anything, got researching back into the family. Not doing any researching for awhile of the family. I decided firstly to try and see if I could offer any help on his brickwall. 5 to 6 years had passed since we had last e-mailed. I eventually contacted him, and he informed me that he had not made any further headway since our last contact. He told me he had records of other descendent's but was unable totally to find anything on this one. The main thing hindering his progress was the descendant had appeared on records as being German born on 2 census's but then disappear's totally. ( Marriage

?? ) The German birth born bit is what was confusing. The ages on the two census also were different which also confused his research, giving him a greater varying degree to research into. With Germany being thrown his face he had totally gave up on this descendent of his. The person that I had was within a few years but I new definitely that they were born in the U.K. It had me thinking also that there couldn't any connection. He told me he had got as much as he could from surviving family - documents / Info. etc, but again the brickwall was still there, totally unmoved. He was giving me also other names, but felt were of no connection. I then asked him for all his records that he had on the family name, he sent me his census & Marriage cert details.
The 1911 census info. that he had sent unbeleiveably had my Grandfather / Grandmother on she was infact was carrying my mother who was born later in the year entered down as Boarders. Five other people on the census were from his family. Children were entered from the family's. One of the wives was found to be in her 2nd marriage. The other was the daughter, of my Grandfather's Uncle, who totally just left his family in England, name changed, bigamously remarried. Until now within our family it's not known if he ever returned. This infact was his supposedly German born relation that he had been searching for. When her father left her mother she bigamously remarried under her married name and on the following census started to enter her birthplace as Germany. Not until she married was her father truly entered, and the fact she was married, the next census on, No.3, entered now under her married name.
Her mother's 2 marriage certificates is how we made the connection, having the same christian name of father and he has the same occupations, only her maiden name of her first marriage did she not reveal. Unfortunately she took her own life.
With family history you never know who / what will you find.
Surprise's are always possible in the next e-mail you receive
Happy Hunting Everyone
Confirmation of breaking the brickwall comes from the 1911 Census and finding the same similarity on the two marriage certificates
R
Regards J