Hello everyone
My paternal grandfather Percival Gregg lived in Liverpool in the early 1900's. According to census records he was born in 1885, and I find him with family until 1901. In these records there is no indication of him being blind. In 1911 I find him with his wife, Catherine Gregg and it is here that I first discovered his vision issues. I found in Brownlow Hill records that he had eye surgery there, and 2 children that had not survived long. He was a hawker on the streets and moved around a lot. He did still have some family in Liverpool. As far as his wife went, her maiden name was Jones. As you know there were many Jones families in Britain, so I have not been able to pinpoint her family. She was admitted to Brownlow Hill as well, and admission records described her as being "weak in the mind." She had a surviving daughter (Beatrice) born at Brownlow in 1913 and my father (John Major) born there in 1914. Catherine was using Mary or Ellen as a middle name, and in John's baptismal records she identifies John as the father of the baby, instead of as the baby. She appears to have been very confused. She returned to Brownlow a few months later for surgery. John was with her, but Beatrice was not. The only record after 1914, that I can find on Percival or Catherine was a newspaper advert posted in Wales about 1943. Someone was searching for Percival, and they refer to Catherine Ellen Gregg (deceased) having disappeared about 1914. I have not found death records for either of them. Since Percival was blind and deaf, I was wondering if there were any type of institutions in Liverpool that he could have gone to live in, and if there would be sources of records for such a place. As far as my father John and also probably Beatrice, they were placed in an orphanage in Liverpool at a very young age. I have asked for help with regards to this, but Covid is slowing that up. John was sent to Canada in 1939 with the Waifs and Strays Society, and lived out his life in Canada. I have possibly found Beatrice in Liverpool, in the late 1940's.
If anyone has any suggestions of where to search for Percival, I would appreciate the lead.
