Help tracing RITCHIE, Lillie (b.1889) and George Henry Curry (b.1908), Newcastle

[Broom212]

Hi, would appreciate any suggestions on how to continue this search or where to do further research as I've hit a bit of a brick wall. I am trying to trace Lily and her illegitimate son, George Henry Curry, who were from Newcastle but am struggling to trace anything after the 1911 census, except for one record. Please see below what I've managed to find.

Lillie Ritchie - born 1889
Youngest daughter of John Ritchie (1850-1910) and Sarah Jane Peacock (1855-1898)

Siblings
John Ritchie (1873-1927)
Sarah Jane Ritchie (1887-1963) married Charles Jackson
Susannah Ritchie (1883-1962) married Jacob Mann
James Henry Ritchie (1879-1884)
Margaret ‘Maggie’ Ritchie (1877-1946) married Thomas Hodgson
Albert Ritchie (1875-1966) married Isabella ‘Polly’ Sexton.
George William Stanfield Ritchie (1874-1951) married Frances Beatty.

Records
1891 census: living with parents and her 6 surviving siblings in St John’s Newcastle (4 Watson’s Court, Stowell Street), aged 2

1901 census: 240 Philip Street, Elswick, Newcastle. Age 12, living with sisters Sarah Jane (listed as Sarah, 14, dressmaker), Susannah (18, Housemaid) and father John Ritchie (widower, tailor, 49)

1911 census: 8 Thorpe Street, Newcastle. Living with sisters Sarah Jane Jackson (nee Ritchie) & her husband Charles Jackson (occupation: corporation labourer), Lillie aged 22, domestic servant, sister of head. Also listed is George Ritchie, nephew of head, aged 2 - noted as illegitimate.

Ward's Directory of Newcastle-on-Tyne, 1910 - 8 Thorpe Street is listed as ‘Ritchie, J - Tailor’. I assume this was their father’s tailor shop and they lived above it.

George Henry Curry Ritchie
Birth certificate: listed as son of Lillie Ritchie, no father listed. Born December 1908 and birth registered January 1909.

1911 census as above.

Incoming ship to England, 1930: The one further record I can find of George is as an arrival from Durban, South Africa, to Southampton. Age 21, birth date 1909. He is listed as ‘Geo Henry C Ritchie’. Third class passenger and the arrival date is 14 July 1930. His occupation is as a Clerk and his proposed address is 188 Stone Street. This is where his uncle, John Ritchie, lived. I can't seem to find any record of his departure from England.

1921 Census - Unable to Locate
1921 census: unable to locate - she could be married by this point and have a different surname. Cannot locate her son, George either. He would have been 12. They are not living with Sarah Jane and Charles Jackson, as seen below.

1921 Census- Sarah & Charles Jackson are now at 234 Stanhope Street with their 3 children: Evelyn (9 years), Charles (7) and Kenneth (9 months). Charles is now listed as a Motor Mechanic.

1939 register: also unable to locate, but Lillie may have been married by this point. Henry could have been away in the military or similar.

Death records - If Lillie Ritchie became Lily Bell then a 1966 death record is likely hers, otherwise I cannot locate these. George could have been recorded as George Ritchie and in that case there may be many potentials.

Potential Records
Lily Ritchie marries a Robert Bell in Jun 22. Lillie would have been 33. However her name is spelt incorrectly. This would also mean that Lillie should be on the 1921 census as a Ritchie, but her and her son are nowhere to be found.

Lillie Ritchie marries Francis Young in Oct 1933. Lillie would have been 44. Discounted this as a Francis & Lillie Young are found on the 1939 record and significantly younger than my Lillie. A corresponding death notice confirms this.

Lillie and Sarah Ritchie at 182 Gloucester Road in 1933 - I doubt this can be my Lillie because which Sarah is this? If his mother was around, would he not go and stay with her?

[Neale1961]

George Henry Curry Ritchie
His baptism record 20 Jan 1909 in Elswick names mother as Lily Ritchie and father as George Henry Ritchie
(His biological father may have been named George Henry CURRY. There is a George Henry CURRY born 1891 in Newcastle, who in 1911 census Elswick is working as a tramway conductor, single.)


Death Registration in Zimbabwe 6 Feb 1973
George Henry Currie RITCHIE, Age 64
Born in Newcastle-on-Tyne
Occupation – Despatch manager
Married in Bulawayo on 23.9.1931 to Eileen
Address 23 Burns Drive, Malindela, Bulawayo
(1 son is named on death rego. Probably still alive, so cannot be named here.)


Eileen’s maiden name seems to have been MILNE. Her father John MILNE worked with the railway and died in Bulawayo in 1962. Eileen Ritchie is named as one of his children on his death registration.

(These records are found on Family Search)

[Neale1961]

I don’t think you should get too worried about different spelling - Lily or Lillie

Do you have Lily Ritchie’s birth registration, so you know her exact date of birth?

Newcastle-upon-tyne 1939 register has Lily Bell – DOB 14 Dec 1888 – unpaid domestic work
Her husband Robert born 2 March 1883 – a gun fitter
James Smith born 1914 also living at same address.
Plus 2 redacted entries (probably children)

Looking at Free BMD there is at least 1 BELL child born in Newcastle with mother maiden name Ritchie (Ernest in 1922)

If you look at the marriage record for Lily Ritchie to Robert Bell, you should see who her father is named as.

[hanes teulu]

FindMyPast has an unaccompanied "Mast. G H Ritchie, age 14, address 34 Sallon/Salton? Dwellings, Newcastle, occpn. storekeeper" sailing for Capetown on 31 Mar 1923. Looking at the original difficult to decide if the initials are "G H or G N".

Yet to spot address "Sallon or Salton " or similar for Newcastle.

[Broom212]

FindMyPast has an unaccompanied "Mast. G H Ritchie, age 14, address 34 Sallon/Salton? Dwellings, Newcastle, occpn. storekeeper" sailing for Capetown on 31 Mar 1923. Looking at the original difficult to decide if the initials are "G H or G N".

Yet to spot address "Sallon or Salton " or similar for Newcastle.

I think they’ve somehow miswritten Sutton Dwellings, this would make sense as he was from the West End of Newcastle, and I can’t think of anywhere else that would match.

It would also explain the lack of records post 1911, and then the return visit in 1930 matches up with getting married the year after based on the comment above.

[Broom212]

George Henry Curry Ritchie
His baptism record 20 Jan 1909 in Elswick names mother as Lily Ritchie and father as George Henry Ritchie
(His biological father may have been named George Henry CURRY. There is a George Henry CURRY born 1891 in Newcastle, who in 1911 census Elswick is working as a tramway conductor, single.)


Death Registration in Zimbabwe 6 Feb 1973
George Henry Currie RITCHIE, Age 64
Born in Newcastle-on-Tyne
Occupation – Despatch manager
Married in Bulawayo on 23.9.1931 to Eileen
Address 23 Burns Drive, Malindela, Bulawayo
(1 son is named on death rego. Probably still alive, so cannot be named here.)


Eileen’s maiden name seems to have been MILNE. Her father John MILNE worked with the railway and died in Bulawayo in 1962. Eileen Ritchie is named as one of his children on his death registration.

(These records are found on Family Search)

Thank you so much for this it is extremely helpful. I wasn’t aware of FamilySearch. I wonder what on earth took him to Zimbabwe! It looks like their records aren’t very easily accessible other than the ones on FamilySearch so I’m not sure I’ll ever know.

[Broom212]

I don’t think you should get too worried about different spelling - Lily or Lillie

Do you have Lily Ritchie’s birth registration, so you know her exact date of birth?

Newcastle-upon-tyne 1939 register has Lily Bell – DOB 14 Dec 1888 – unpaid domestic work
Her husband Robert born 2 March 1883 – a gun fitter
James Smith born 1914 also living at same address.
Plus 2 redacted entries (probably children)

Looking at Free BMD there is at least 1 BELL child born in Newcastle with mother maiden name Ritchie (Ernest in 1922)

If you look at the marriage record for Lily Ritchie to Robert Bell, you should see who her father is named as.

Hi, thank you so much for this. I’ve requested a digital image of the birth certificate entry on GRO and can see that Lillie’s DOB is 14 December 1888, but obviously this was then registered in Q1 1889. This confirms to me that she did indeed marry Robert Bell as suggested. Really appreciated.

[hanes teulu]

FindMyPast has an unaccompanied "Mast. G H Ritchie, age 14, address 34 Sallon/Salton? Dwellings, Newcastle, occpn. storekeeper" sailing for Capetown on 31 Mar 1923. Looking at the original difficult to decide if the initials are "G H or G N".

Yet to spot address "Sallon or Salton " or similar for Newcastle.

I think they’ve somehow miswritten Sutton Dwellings, this would make sense as he was from the West End of Newcastle, and I can’t think of anywhere else that would match.

It would also explain the lack of records post 1911, and then the return visit in 1930 matches up with getting married the year after based on the comment above.

I suspected it might be "Sutton Dwellings" after checking Newcastle newspapers and spotting a "Sutton Dwellings, Barrack Road, Westgate".

https://maps.nls.uk/view/132279995#zoom=5.9&lat=5301&lon=2892&layers=BT

[Radcliff]

Index to Newcastle cremations
Bell Lily
31st January 1974,
No, of entry in register of cremations, 111871
Free BMD, Bell Lily, date of birth recorded as 14th December 1888, death recorded Newcastle Upon Tyne March 1974,
so no further clues