Dear All,
I want to thank everyone who took the time to reply on my post. A relative began researching our family history four decades ago and though the 1871 Census told us that Charles Garnett was adopted, we had no knowledge of his biological parents. This forum has provided us with an answer.
Now, we certainly have Emily Garnett.
Likely, we also have the Ryalls family.
I will await Charles Ryalls' will. Probably, I will have more questions in future but I also hope to contribute to others' research. My genealogical experience is limited (beyond some simple searches on websites) but I do have many years' experience with early modern handwriting.
Visiting Henry Watts, who is not too far away, will also happen. Though every visit to a CWGC headstone is powerful, if we are the last remaining descendants of John Ryalls it will have extra significance whatever the context of the 1863 birth. Henry would have been my great grandad's half-cousin, who himself served in both world wars, a regular soldier from 1915-1947.
So, once again, thankyou. I will mark this as 'topic completed', for the moment.
Kind regards,
Steve
