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i would appreciate help in trying to find a mystery that has been puzzling my grandfather for years.he believes that his father may of had a previous relationship before he married his mother.

His father's name is george bowkett b1873 and he married mary stemp b1904. They had 4 children in this relationship.The large age gap adds wonder to the problem. There are also issues with the 2 eldest children being born before they were married. Peter bowkett was the eldest son b1928, then my grandfather; david bowkett b1932, then micheal bowkett 1933 and lastly Audrey bowkett 1934.

We know that george and mary married shortly after david bowkett was born in 1932 because mary is listed as mary bowkett on the birth certificate. They tried to get around having him out of wedlock because they waited until after they were married to register the birth.

There has been some information but no proof - stories passed down but none of his ascendants are alive to ask - that his dad might have had three other female children in another relationship.

please please help
thanking you in anticipation

rebecca x

Which area did George live in, or where was he born?

Is this him?

Births Sep 1872 (>99%)
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BOWKETT George Harry Stourbridge 6c 191

1891 England Census
about George H Bowkett
Name: George H Bowkett
Age: 18
Estimated Birth Year: abt 1873
Relation: Son
Father's Name: George H
Mother's Name: Alice
Gender: Male
Where born: Stourbridge, Worcestershire, England

Civil Parish: Lambeth
Ecclesiastical parish: St Matthews
County/Island: London
Country: England

Street address:

Occupation:

Condition as to marriage:

Education:

Employment status: View Image

Registration district: Lambeth
Sub-registration district: Brixton
ED, institution, or vessel: 33
Neighbors: View others on page
Household Members: Name Age
Alice Bowkett 42
Annie E Bowkett 16
Clara A Bowkett 7
Ethel M Bowkett 12
George H Bowkett 49
George H Bowkett 18
Madeline Bowkett 5
Thomas S Bowkett 13


1901 England Census
about George H Bowkett
Name: George H Bowkett
Age: 29
Estimated Birth Year: abt 1872
Relation: Head
Spouse's Name: Alice J
Gender: Male
Where born: Stourbridge, Worcestershire, England

Civil Parish: Milton
Ecclesiastical parish: Christchurch
County/Island: Kent
Country: England

Street address:

Occupation:

Condition as to marriage:

Education:

Employment status: View Image

Registration district: Gravesend
Sub-registration district: Gravesend
ED, institution, or vessel: 6
Neighbors: View others on page
Household schedule number: 300
Household Members: Name Age
Alice J Bowkett 24
George H Bowkett 29
Cyril T W Rodgers 2

Listed as a newspaper clerk. Cyril is his stepson.

born quarter july-september 1872 in oldswinford stourbridge worcester, his father was born at same place

George Harry Bowkett married Sep 1900 Gravesend Volume 2a page 1138, an Alice Rogers is on the same page.

Marriage registered 2nd quarter 1932

Bowkett, George H Stemp Croydon 2a 961

thank you so much i have just informed my grandfather and he is over the moon that someone has finally been able to provide him with a few answers. Yes it is definately him!

we would be very interested if you could find any more information about his marriage with Alice J but he would most of all like to know if there are any records of them having children together?

x rebecca x

Unfortunately, mother's maiden names weren't shown on the indexes until 3rd quarter 1911. There were no Bowkett mmn Rodgers children after this time. Found these two births for Gravesend, but it's a longshot:

Births Sep 1901 (>99%)
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Bowkett Ellen Ivy A Gravesend 2a 629

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Births Mar 1911 (>99%)
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Bowkett Phyllis E C Gravesend 2a 651

It may be a case of waiting until the 1911 census is released, unless you can find a connection with another member's family tree.

There is an ancestry member with your George in his/her tree, although they don't have his marriage to Mary. It might be worth emailing them to see if they have further info. They are shown as having a child, George G W Bowkett b.1908, which fits with this birth ref:

Births Jun 1908 (>99%)
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Bowkett George Graham W Wandsworth 1d 619

Also, Alice's maiden name was apparently Corby. Rodgers was her married name, obviously. No Bowkett, mmn Corby births listed either (3rd q 1911 and after).

thank you so much your findings still fit with what my grandad originally thought - that he may of had 3 half sisters.

my grandad would like to know if it is possible to view the original documents and how he could take it further?

any thoughts?

thank you so much for your help, you have filled a void in our family history.

rebecca x

You're welcome. I wouldn't hold too much store by the births in Gravesend, it was just a guess and as George GW was born Wandsworth, they're unlikely to be relevant. I'll email the ancestry member on your behalf if you'd like - they may be able to help you further. Which original documents is your grandad referring to? Birth/marriage/death certs are available from www.gro.gov.uk for £7 each.

my grandad would like to see the birth certificates of the 2 girls in gravesend. He wants to see these to see if he can take it any further. I wouldn't want it to take you that much time and trouble to conatct this other member.

thankyou for all your help again.

There's a lady on this site with George in her tree too - you can type his name in the quick search boxes at the top of the page, scroll through the results till you find the George born in 1872 and contact her. It could prove costly to buy certs without further information - there are quite a few Bowkett births listed between 1901 and 1920 on freebmd - take a look for yourself at www.freebmd.org.uk .It's no trouble to contact the ancestry member - will let you know if they reply. Good luck!

i have posted a thank you on the success page and you seem to have helped many people.

i have another mystery and would be grateful if you could find any information because it seems to be a dead end.

my gran norah sweeting was born in 1939 28th september (not 100% sure about year). her father was ernest sweeting b1902, her mother is unknown but we know she died at childbirth with my gran. i assume they were married because norah took her father's name. i also believe her mother's name was norah mossop because she was named after her mother. there is one match on ancestry could be b1906

ernest then went on to marry annie collins b1907. they then had another child pat sweeting b1949. annie had already had a child with wilfred scott that was neil scott b1928.

i would love to find out any information about my gran's mother. Unfortunately my gran norah died in 2002 but the uncertainty has ended the development of her side of the family tree.

any help would be gratefully appreciated.
rebecca x

Hi Rebecca, found Norah's birth -

Registered 4th quarter 1939:
Sweeting, Norah mmn Mossop Durham N. Vol 10a Page 1232.

Her mother's death was registered in the previous quarter, presumably her untimely demise caused a delay in registering the child's birth.

Death registered 3rd quarter 1939:
Sweeting, Norah aged 32 Durham N. Vol 10a Page 636

Have looked for Ernest and Norah's marriage, but had no luck (searched 1930-1939).

The birth you found for 1906 fits with her age at death and the certificate would be a great help with tracing the family on the census. This must be the one:

Births Dec 1906 (>99%)
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Mossop Norah Chester le S 10a 621


Have sent you a pm also.