Genealogy Chat

Hi Anne & Irene I have had contact with the Social Services and yes they went into the flat and took possessions. They said the neice took a few items however they could not find any money, pension items, birth certificates, legal documents etc except one bank book with a small amount in it that they still had. They advertised for family to come forward but only this supposed niece did. they have tried to contact her again since I have spoken with Social Services but she has moved. Social Services said they had no idea he had a child or wife, my nan(who actually died many years ago now.)

Just a thought, he should have had a pension, doesn't that mean they can trace someone with that, it would have a national ins. no. surely. There should lbe lots of ways to tie someone in with all the information that they collect these days. With that then the tax people will have his addresses. Irene

Lisa, As I worked for Social Services. Not Manchester but Stockport, this might help. When someone dies without family and Social Services pick it up. They have to go in the residence of the deceased and do what is called a protection of property. This means they remove all personal belongings of deceased, money, papers etc. They then should take it into their office and log it. (This is what Stockport do) they then try to trace family. Did you phone them or write. They cannot give details on the phone, but if your Mother writes to Social Services in the area he lived, they may help. 01612259293 for the address. Ann

Hi Karen Thanks I actually have the marriage certificate to Veronica and it tells me that his father was deceased 'Thomas Booth' at the time of marriage. The witnesses were friends and not family. There was an autopsy and he died of natural causes. There was a notice posted in the local newspaper and a niece came forward but nobody else. She has since disappeared with no forwarding address. He was cremated by Social Services, and they said that they could not trace any other relatives. It is strange that the Social Services said that there were no personal effects found in his flat apart from a bank book which had approx£8. As he was in the Manchester Reg I would have thought he would have had some item showing this. Many thanks for your suggestions so far. I think maybe I will apply for a copy of his death cert just in case there are any more clues.

Lisa There is a marriage recorded for a William Booth to a Veronica Stubbs in 1949 in Manchester. By ordering this certificate you should be able to establish details about the parents of the respective parties. However this marriage certificate does not necessarily mean that it is the same William Booth that died in 1996. Reference for the marriage is Qtr June, District: Manchester, vol:10c Page:949. Out of interest was there any obituary posted in the local papers for William's death which indicated surviving family members? You could check if his wife was still alive at the time of his death and whether his wife's name was Veronica. This may indicate that the marriage certificate above could be related to the William who died in 1996. With kind regards Karen

Lisa Have had a look on the 1837 website for you and there is a death of a William Booth in Manchester in November 1996 who was born in 1915. If you have not already got the certificate you could order it. This should give you details such as the cause of death as well as the name of the individual who registered the death (potentially a relative). The death certificate for William Booth can be ordered from: http://www.gro(.)gov(.)uk/gro/content/certificates/ remove the brackets. Details are: District 0061E, Reg No: E60B, Ent no: 132, Dor 1196. I will try and look at 1837 for you to see if I can find details of the marriage to Veronica or even William's birth. I'll e-mail if I find anything of use. With kind regards Karen

William Booth Born 1915c I have now been trying to find more information on my grandad for months and I have come to a complete holt! I believe that he is dead and have had contact with the Manchester Social Services who had to arrange a funeral for a William Boothin 96. Although they went to his flat there were no documents to say he was married or anything to show when he was born or who his relatives were. They advertised in the local papers and finally a niece came forward who was aware he was her uncle but did not know anymore about his life. She left a contact no which could not be disclosed to me but the lady at Social Services tried the number and apparently the niece has moved with no forwarding address. As Social Services were not aware my grandad was even married or had a child my mother never knew of his death. She has not had contact for over thirty years. The only other info I have is the following: I know that he was in the Manchester Regiment in 1947 as a Private no.3527670. If anyone has any leads it would be greatly appreciated. His father was Matthew Booth but was deceased by 1947 and used to work in the cotton industry. William married by nan in 1947 Veronica Stubbs and as far as I know they never divorced. William died in Nov 1996 in Longsight, Manchester. I know that this is definately the area he lived in when he met my nan. So where do I go from here? How do I know this is definately my grandad? Why did noone know about his daughter? Where are his other relatives? Did they ever divorce? Thanks L.Rolfe