Lizzie Hollis Wilson

[mwjw22jb]

Hi,

I am trying to find out who Lizzie Hollis Wilson is. She was adopted by Alexander John Wilson and his wife Caroline nee Blakeley and is with them on the 1891 Census at 16 Alfred Place, Leeds, Yorkshire age 13 yrs. The census states her birth year as 1878, born Leeds, Yorkshire.

I'm not sure if her surname before adoption was Hollis or Wilson but I can't find a birth record for her - not even on GRO using either surnames.

I don't know if she married at all either.

I would appreciate any help offered - thank you.

[chempat]

Have you looked for wills for either of her adopted parents to see if any mention of her?

[chempat]

Could the name be Hobbs not Hollis?

[mwjw22jb]

It actually was transcribed as something similar but after looking at it magnified, I think it says Hollis. I was thinking along the lines of Holmes as that name is in the Blakeley family through marriage but I couldn't connect it up with Lizzie in any way.

[mwjw22jb]

I looked but I couldn't find any wills for either Alexander or Caroline Wilson.

I was given copy of a Refuge Assurance Policy (company in Manchester) which has Lizzie's name on it dated 4/2/1889 which states it was she who was assured and would be 11 yrs old next birthday.

The beneficial owner of the policy was a Caroline Wilson of 44 banstead St., Harehills, Yorkshire.

I have contacted the company to see if they may still have a record of it to see if it contains any additional info but I haven't heard back from them as yet.

As far as I am aware neither Alex or his wife lived in Harehills.

Sorry, that's about all I know at the moment.

[isobelw]

Could the middle name possibly be Hobbs? There is a Lizzie Hobbs mmn Holmes born in Holbeck in 1878. Her parents were John Hobbs and Sarah Holmes who married in Leeds in 1877. According to the marriage certificate Sarah Holmes father was William Holmes, a Maltster. I can see Lizzie in 1881 with her parents and a brother Albert age 1, but nothing thereafter.

[mwjw22jb]

I couldn't say, to tell you the truth. I just had another look at the census image - it's so hard to tell but the transcript has her as Holbs. I'll have to try and investigate it to see if the Hobbs couple are connected to the Wilson's.

The other thing I just thought of is that Alex had a brother John Taylor Wilson who married 5/2/1877 to Margaret Agnes Nicholson in Lancashire and one of the witnesses on the marriage record was an Andrew Edward Hollis. Apart from a christening record on FS (parents Thomas Hollis and Jane Rogers), he just disappeared and I can't find anything more on him.

I tried to see if he was otherwise connected to the Wilsons but no luck, I'm afraid.

[Kay99]

I must admit that I also thought of Hobbs as Lizzie's middle name in 1881 with no dot that I could see (for the i in )Hollis     I can't see the Hobbs family that Isobel mentioned post 1881 either

Kay

[mwjw22jb]

No, I couldn't find the Hobbs family either in 1881. I was just going through FS to see what I could find. The Holmes name I mentioned came from Caroline Wilson nee Blakeley' s father had a sister Maria who married John Holmes but there were no children that I could find so I don't think the name Holmes is connected to Lizzie in any way.

I must say a big thank you to everyone who is trying to help me with this. Even if we don't get anything solved in the long run, it'll give me food for thought.

It's a hard one, I must admit and has had me baffled for ages.