I feel that we are getting closer to the truth here. My interest started with the Dobbin family and I discovered early on that Henry Dobbin (b. 1896) did indeed marry his cousin Janet Allan Black in Glasgow's Govan in 1922. Their mothers were sisters Matilda Collins and Mary Ellen Collins. I eventually concluded that the 'Alice' Collins on the 1895 Dobbin/Collins marriage record and on young Henry's 1896 birth record was indeed Matilda Collins. Why she used 'Alice' as her own name I suspect we'll never know.
gaffy's contribution has been very powerful - in particular in locating the 1894 birth of young Alice Collins and tracking her through to her 1923 marriage to Michael McAlister (who btw was born on 27 Nov 1884 in Belfast). Young Alice would therefore have been the half sister of young Henry Dobbin.
In Govan in 1938, young Henry Dobbin and his wife Janet had a son named Michael McAllister Dobbin*. Up until now I had no idea where that name came from, but now it is clear. The child was named after Henry's half sister's husband. This suggests that young Henry and young Alice had kept in touch and possibly even had met.
Additionally, some of the addresses associated with young Alice, e.g. Hanover St., Trinity St. are very close to Stanhope St. where 'Alice' Collins was residing at the time of her marriage to Henry Dobbin Sr.
At first I thought that gaffy's findings just might have been put down to coincidences. However there comes a time when coincidences accumulate to a degree where coincidence must be ruled out.
Of course this does not help us establish the ultimate fates of Henry Dobbin Sr. and Matilda ('Alice') Collins. However, I now accept gaffy's findings as fact.
*I will not be satisfied until I see the birth record of Michael McAllister Dobbin which I have to wait until 6th September to do (thank you pandemic.)
