Genealogy Chat

Thank you for your help everyone! I am now pretty convinced that the death I have found for a Louisa Bell in 1893, aged 11, is 'my' Louisa. Only one way to find out for sure, of course. I'll await the certificate with more trepidation than my usual excitement...

sorry didn't think! I found 6 Louisa around that age born in hammersmith Louisa Clarke age 21 london hammersmith domestic cook Louisa davey age 20 middlesex hammersmith domestic cook Louisa garden age 21 middlesex hammersmith Louisa Haysman 19 london hammersmith laundress Louisa neate age 21 london hammersmith Louisa Tilbury age 21 hammersmith don't know if there any good When you use the advance search and add in married only Garden and Neate.

Hi Heidemarie No, Maud was my grandmother and her given name was Agnes Maud Ellen Bell. She wasn't born until 1884 - which is why she doesn't appear on the 1881 census, but Alice/Louisa does as she was born in 1881 (according to the 1881 census!) Louisa also appears on 1891 (aged 10) as does Agnes (aged 7).

Just wanted to add that Maud is in my family too. My gr grandmother was Maud Mary, nan was Maud and my mum's middle name is Maud. She hates it and never uses it. Thank goodness she didn't pass it on as I am the first born daughter and would probably have been given it if she was so inclined. Mel

Hi Linda Maude has got to be Alice maud the one you found on the free bmd as the family no links. People sometimes go by there middle names and a initial indicating a middle name is not always listed as i was looking for a john F condy and he wasn't listed but a john condy was. Heidi

I've found Florence... still just need to suss Louisa/Alice!!

Thank you Heidemarie and Max! I already have the 1901 entries for Alfred Snr, Honor (or Hanor as she is recorded - she was born in Tiverton and must of had a Devon accent!), Alfred Jnr and Maude - all living at 14 Butterswick Cottages. Rose is a boarder, living at 130 Great Church Lane, Hammersmith. The only two unaccounted for are Florence and Louisa/Alice... How do I find Florence on the 1901 using the references that Heidemarie has found?

Hi I think i've found her but it's been transcribed wrong using the 1901 decoder i've a Maude Bell aged 17 born london hammersmith confectioners assistant. (page no-9478098)(person no-9432268) Florence aged 23 (pg no- 9478098 per no- 9432280) Rose aged 26 (pg no- 9478099 per no-9432241) Alfred aged 24 (pg no 9478098 per no-9432267) so this has got to be her going my the name maud Heidi Also found a Frederick Acland 36 born london camberwell census place hammersmith page no-9478091 per no-9432991)

Gary, yes, you are right, the 1881 Alice Louisa is listed as Louisa A on the 1891. Have looked on the 1901 for a Louisa - but there is nothing conclusive. Max, I just been reading your Members Board comments of the wee small hours where you've also realised that there's something odd here... I've now had a another look on freeBMD and there is a death listed for Louisa Bell in Mar 1893. The transcriber has noted the age as '1?' and the details as 'Fulham 1a 19_' so they've obviously had throuble reading the writing! I've tried to look on 1837 - but the site is currently down! Aaagghhh! Will try again later...

Linda Maybe I missed this in reading your message and its replies, but have you checked the 1891 census? Surely the daughter called Louisa A in the 1891 census is your Alice. Same age, and matches to Alice Louise born in 1881. Should you not be checking for a Louisa in 1901? Gary

Ah well! There are no Alice Bells on the 1901 who were born in Hammersmith. However she could have married and therefore be listed as Alice Somethingelse. There are 29 of those to wade through which will be expensive. (Why is the 1901 so expensive?!) Two of Alice's sisters were working in a laundry, so I guess I could start with the 6 Alice Somethingelses who were born in Hammersmith and working in a laundry! If anyone has any wisdom or bright ideas to impart, please let me know...

OK, Max has come to the rescue and found the family, including Alice Louisa, on the 1891 census - so the death certificate isn't hers... I will send off for the 1881 birth certificate... My question now is, what happened to Alice Louisa after 1891? She doesn't appear on the 1901 census - or does she? Rose Bell had already left home, but was unmarried and as I knew her name, I could serach for her. At that time I don't think I looked for Alice Louisa! Will be back later...!!!

I think it's time we all went to bed! Hope some bright eyed, wide awake person will pick up this thread again in the morning!

Sorry Linda. Just reread it. 3 year and 3 months. Think its time I went to bed!

Hi Linda As Lisa saya, names do tend to run in families so the other Bell family could be related. (you should see the amount of Johns and Georges in mine!) I think you can probably rule out the marriage at 11 as it seems fairly unlikely. The absence of Alice from the 1901 census could mean that she was married and had a different surname. One thing that did strike me though was that Florence is Alices twin. Therefore if you have a look on 1837 for Florence and Alice I think the reference numbers should be either the same or 1 number different. That would tell you which birth cert to send for. Jeanette

Hi Lisa Many thanks! Actually, Frederick ACLAND is not an unknown. Honor BELL was Honor ACLAND before she married Alfred, and her father was Walter ACLAND. Frederick is her (illigitimate, I think) son! The only unknown I have (at least in this branch of the tree) is Alice Louisa... Aren't you glad that the name Maud had lost its popularity before we were born? (Apologies to any Mauds who are reading this...)

The Alice born in 81 is probably the right one because if your gran was born in 84 then it is possible but unlikely that they had 2 children in one year. Mary

I have several Maud's in my family tree. I just checked my records because I thought that name was fairly common at one time. You won't believe this, and I am NOT making this up: in my families, Maud was a middle name and all three girls had the first name of Alice! They were all born around 1870-1880 and actually two of them were Alice Maude. The families did not know each other, so Alice Maude had to have been a fairly common combination in Ontario, Canada around that time. You were wondering why they all had use the name Alice Maud. I think there is a possibility that your families were connected in some way. I have a branch that passed down the name James; not only first-born sons were named James, cousins were, too. I've never ordered certificates for my English ancestors, so I wouldn't want to give my opinion. I just wanted to say that Alice Maud(e) was a common name in Ontario at that time and I have several branches that not only passed down the same name generation after generation, they also used surnames for their children's middle names. By the way, according to a census, one of my ancestors had someone living with their family and I assumed it was a girlfriend or friend of one of the adult children. Turns out she may have actually been a relative and now there is a possibility that we may be able to go back one more generation. So, keep that in mind for your Frederick Acland. Good luck with your search!

In 1881 the family of my great grandparents lived in Hammersmith/Fulham and on the 1881 census Alfred and Honor BELL are listed as having the following children: Rose BELL - daughter - age 6 Arthur BELL - son - age 4 (should be Alfred!) Florence BELL - daughter - age 3 Alice BELL - daughter - age 3 months Frederick ACLAND - son – age 15 The mystery person here is Alice. Neither my Mum nor my Uncle can remember ever hearing about an Aunt Alice, although my Uncle thinks he may have heard that his mother had a sickly sister. On freeBMD there is a birth of an Alice Louisa BELL in the Mar 1881 Q in Fulham. (There’s also another Alice Louisa BELL’s birth in the Mar 1884 Q in Fulham…) There are also a number of Alice Maud BELLs listed as being born in Fulham (Maud does seem to be a family name and Alfred and Honor had another daughter, Agnes Maud Ellen BELL, my grandmother, in 1884). There is also a marriage for Alice Louisa BELL in Dec 1892 Q – but, if she was born in 1881, she would only have been 11 when she married. Is this likely? Alice doesn’t appear on the 1901 census, so maybe she died young? There is a death recorded for an Alice Louisa BELL in Shoreditch in Sep 1885 aged 5. According to the 1901 census there was another Bell family living locally – but why did they all have to call their daughters Alice Louisa or Maud?! My head is spinning! Which of these Alice’s are most likely to be mine? And which certificates should I send for first?

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