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I've tried to find my wifes paternal gt grandparents,but had no luck,can anyone help please.Her father was called Thomas William Hair b.1930 - d.2006 in Sunderland Tyne and Wear UK, he had 2 siblings Elizabeth Hair b.1928 and Doreen Hair b.1933, their father was also called Thomas William Hair b.1905?and their mother was called Jane Sophia Jackson Fenbow b.1905, he had a brother called John Hair b. 1908?(both in Sunderland I believe).
Their father was called Thomas(so I have been told) and was supposedly from Scotland,and at some point he lived at Henry Street in Hendon Sunderland, their mother was an Irish gypsy (no-one knows her name) and she died at a young age .I would appreciate any help on this family,Thankyou.

Is this the correct family in 1911?

HAIR, George William Head Married M 37 1874 Docklabourer Durham Ryhope VIEW
HAIR, Elizabeth Wife Married
8 years F 27 1884 Durham Gateshead VIEW
HAIR, Thomas William Father Widower M 68 1843 Coal Miner Hewer Durham Sunderland VIEW
HAIR, Thomas William Son M 5 1906 Durham Sunderland VIEW
HAIR, John Son M 2 1909 Durham Sunderland VIEW
HAIR, Elizabeth Daughter F 0 1911 Durham Sunderland

So Thomas William was born in 1930, his father was Thomas William born in 1905, his father was George William born 1874 and his father was Thomas William born 1843.

No sign of anyone born in Scotland though.


Marriage for George William Hair

Marriages Mar 1903 (>99%)
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Hair George William Sunderland 10a 890
Hutchinson Elizabeth Sunderland 10a 890

Thomas William senior and George Hair in 1881 - Thomas is listed as a widower

1881 England Census
about George Hair
Name: George Hair
Age: 9
Estimated birth year: abt 1872
Relation: Son
Father's Name: Thos. Wm.
Gender: Male
Where born: Sunderland, Durham, England

Civil parish: Ryhope
County/Island: Durham
Country: England

Street Address: 5 Commercial Road
Education:

Employment status: View image
Occupation: Scholar

Registration district: Sunderland
Sub-registration district: South Bishop Wearmouth
ED, institution, or vessel: 11b
Neighbors: View others on page
Household Members: Name Age
Thos. Wm. Hair 35
George Hair 9
John Hair 7
Ellen Hair 5


This could be a possibility for Thomas William's wife but without George William's birth cdertificate you couldn't be 100% sure.

Deaths Jun 1879 (>99%)
Hair Mary Ann 30 Sunderland 10a 299



Births Jun 1873 (>99%)
HAIR George William Sunderland 10a 677

Hi Thankyou for your reply ,but I honestly don't know,it could be.My wife was brought up in foster care,so she is eager to find out about her family roots.She was told this information by her fathers sisters,but then was told by her fathers cousin that their gt grandfather came from Dalkeith in Scotland and at one point he was the Mayor,so we don't know what to believe, could you help me please as I don't know where to look for information Thankyou.

Getting the marriage certificate of Thomas William Hair to Jane will give you his fathers true name. or birth cirtificate of John c1908 or brother Thomas c1905 will give both parents names

I agree with Kay - you're probably going to have to go back to basics with this. I would start with the marriage certificate for your wife's father Thomas William Hair so that you can confirm if George William Hair was his father

Name: Thomas W Hair
Spouse Surname: Fenbow
Date of Registration: Jul-Aug-Sep 1927
Registration district: Sunderland
Registration county (inferred): Durham
Volume Number: 10a
Page Number: 1434
Find Spouse: Find Spouse

Jenny S J Fenbow Hair Jul-Aug-Sep 1927 Sunderland Durham

Once you have that information it will be much easier to locate the correct family in the census records.

If you're quick you will be able to order the certificate from the GRO before the prices go up on 1st April. If you're not sure how to do this let me know and I'll help you with the process.

Family memories can be quite unreliable - I was always told my great grandmother was Spanish which supposedly accounted for my Gran's short stature and swarthy skin - she was actually born and bred in Kensington, London and not a Spanish relative anywhere on her side of the tree! As you can see, there is already a small discrepancy with the information you've been given - Jane Fenbow was actually Jenny Fenbow according to the marriage registration.

Hi again ,this could be the family,because the cousin said they called her grandfather George,whereas my wifes aunt said they called him Thomas.
The cousin said their were 2 boys and 3 girls.
The aunt said their were just 2 boys.
so you can see my problem.
Is there any way I can find out who George married,because she would have been the Irish gypsy,who died young (they both agree on that) and she wouldn't have died until after John Hair was born 1908, or any children George had, once again thankyou for all your help.

Well, George William Hair married Elizabeth Hutchinson - the marriage registration is just below the 1911 census for you. She certainly wasn't born in Ireland as the 1911 gives her as born in Gateshead, Durham.

However George's mother died very young if the 1881 census is correct. George's father was already a widower by the time of that census. George's sister was born in 1876 so Thomas's wife must have died between 1876 and 1881 - I posted the details for a possible death for a Mary Ann Hair who died in Sunderland in 1879.

There is a census return for 1871 which shows Thomas Hare (mistranscribed possibly) with a wife Mary but it gives no place of birth for her - that could indicate a travelling family and she didn't know where she was born but I wouldn't like to say for sure.

I really would take it one step at a time - first the marriage certificate for your wife's parents and then possibly the birth certificate for George William Hair if the marriage certificate comes back with that as Thomas' father's name.

At the moment I can't see a marriage for Thomas William Hair snr but George's birth certificate would give his mothers name and we could trace a marriage from that hopefully.

There is another girl born to the family I posted the 1911 census for

Births Mar 1913 (>99%)
Hair Ellen Hutchinson Sunderland 10a 1382

so that would make two boys (Thomas and John) and two girls (Elizabeth and Ellen), which is a little closer to the information given to you by the cousin.


There is this death for an Elizabeth Hair in 1914 which could be a possibility for the death of George's wife dying young

Deaths Dec 1914 (>99%)
Hair Elizabeth 28 Sunderland 10a 751

Thanks for all your help , I will get a copy of my wifes grandfathers birth cert . and see where that leads me.

Good luck Alan. Will you post your findings here when the certificate comes through? It would be lovely to know if the information given was correct - or even incorrect.

I will do, and once again thankyou.
P.s. can I just go to Sunderland registras for copies of the certificates.

To behonest Alan, I'm not sure about that, you could ring Sunderland Register Office and find out but I generally buy mine on-line from the GRO online ordering service as I'm miles away from any of the areas my relatives originated from.

www.gro.gov.uk

and click on order certificates on line.

You will need to register and set up a password.

Once you get to the order page you will be asked for what type of certificate you require - birth, marriage or death - select which one you want, fill in the year of the event and then you will be asked if you know the GRO reference - click YES.

On the next page you will be asked for the quarter of the birth, death or marriage, the registration district, volume number and page number.

The information is posted below but just to confirm:
for the marriage certificate of your wifes parents you would put

Name - Thomas W Hair (don't worry about the spouse name)
Year - 1927
Registration quarter - July-Aug-Sep
Registration District - Sunderland
Vol No - 10a
Page No - 1434

If you do so before 1st April you should still be charged £7.00 for each certificate - after that it goes up to over £9.00 per certificate.

Hi thanks for all your help,I've found the Sunderland registrars web site and you can order certificates from there,so i'll let you know how I get on.Here is the web address for anyone who is interested.
Sunderland City Coucil Registrars Indexes.

Jane Sophia Jackson Fenbow was born 24th August 1905 in Sunderland. She was the daughter of Charles Craggs Fenbow (1861-1927) and Frances Ellen Sewell (1865-1940).
Jane was married 3 times: 1st Jane Fenbow and Giovanni Antoniazzi
Marriage 1924 Sunderland Oct Nov Dec Volume 10a p.1132
2nd: Jane Antoniazzi and Thomas W Hair/ Jenny SJ Fenbow and Thomas W Hair
Marriage 1927 Sunderland Jul Aug Sep Volume 10a p.1434
3rd: Jane Hair and Matthias Thomas Marriage 1949 Plymouth
Oct Nov Dec Volume 7a p.1299

Jane Fenbow is a relation of my cousins, Valerie Gifford, Lesley Harvey, Robert Eaves, Patrick Eaves and Margaret Fletton. Charles Craggs Fenbow and Frances Ellen Sewell were their great grandparents.

Angela, it's 8 years since Alan's post so he is unlikely to be looking for replies now. Click on his name to send a message, if he has the same email he will be notified and able to reply.