Help me unravel the truth....

[Josephine]

Also, is it possible to get a copy of your grandmother's records from the orphanage (if they still exist)? Sarah might have told them a different story about her daughter's father.

Keep in mind that it's quite possible that Sarah might have used part of her landlord's name on her daughter's birth certificate not because he was the father but because it was an easy fib to think up.

How did Sarah support herself and her children? Is it possible she might have asked for financial assistance from the local government or the church? Do such records still exist?

Regards,
Josephine

[rosie99]

THP was buried at Sculcoates 20 August 1915 age 80 -abode 57 Somerscales St.

The 1914 birth appears on the GRO index under both Thomas & Nicholson. 

[Josephine]

There are additional details in this thread from 2011:
http://www.rootschat.com/forum/index.php?topic=555526.0

[tigtag]

On my grandmothers birth certificate Henry Thomas an Sarah Rosa Naomi Nicholson are both the informants. His occupation is Barman and they are both listed at 57 Somerscales Street. It has crossed my mind that they were maybe just boarders at the Parishes and THP’s Christian names are just coincidence. I think the fact that SRN has form for manipulating names (she marries in 1915 as Naomi Nicholson) just made me assume the same had happened here.

There is no will for THP as far as I can see.

Bastards orders maybe an outside chance but I have trawled FindMyPast for newspaper articles and can find nothing.

I don’t know which orphanage my grandmother went to and accessing records is a struggle because if the 100 year rule and we think she may have been admitted c1919/1920. There are only two local orphanages which have full records anyway, I have ruled out one but the other cannot be completely ruled out until 2020.

If the fathers name has been made up on the birth certificate Sarah hasn’t done this alone as the father was also the informant. I have no idea how she supported her children, if at all. Her 3 to Charles Nicholson were with her in 1911 but I believe went to his family soon after (their descents though 1909/1910) and there is no occupation for her on the census or no sign of Charles.

Thank you all again, I though the THP find was a breakthrough from my 2011 thread but it seems to have just opened a bigger can of worms.

[Josephine]

Have you asked the orphanages or are you just going on assumptions? If the latter, it might not hurt to contact them.

The rules are different everywhere (I'm in Canada). I was able to get a copy of my great-grandmother's Salvation Army Maternity Home records (in the United States) because my grandmother was never adopted (she was raised by relatives). I had to provide notarized copies of birth and marriage records proving my relationship to them.

If you haven't already made inquiries with the local libraries and archives, and the local history societies, it might be a good idea to give them a try. In my experience, just because records aren't available online doesn't mean they don't exist in hard copy form somewhere.

Do you have a baptismal record for your grandmother? If one exists, it might have a father's name listed. If you haven't done so already, and if those records aren't online, you could contact the local churches and ask for a look-up.

Have you considered DNA testing?

Good luck with your search.

Regards,
Josephine

[iolaus]

Fast forward 10+ years and I’m in the local history centre of the town in question so decided to research the address a little. There was nothing on the electoral registers but from 1911 - 1915 there was a Thomas Henry Parish at the same address.

It HAS to be the same person.

On the 1911 census he is with his wife and he is 76 which means he was 79 when my grandmother was born 😱😱

Thomas Henry Parish born 1835 (so the 79 year old when your grandmother was born) had a son also Thomas Henry born 1865 (he died 1915 aged 50)

Could he be the father?  He's a seaman in 1872 he gets his first mate certificate from Hull - so he could easily live with his father when he is at home so the address would be the same

If Sarah was born 1881 he seems a more plausible option

[Kay99]

I also thought of that but I think this is the younger Thomas Henry in 1911 with a large family https://www.familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:X7TS-FXW   

On the plus side  he was living in Hessle as was Sarah Nicholson

Kay

[candrjm]

Quote:
I never really looked for ‘Henry Thomas’ thinking that with only a name and a fairly common one at that it would be like looking for a needle in a haystack.

You may have already seen and discounted this Henry Thomas but just in case you haven't:

Link to 1911 census from the familysearch website:

https://www.familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:X7T7-VXB


and 1901 recorded as Harry:

https://www.familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:XS9T-D1Q