Find Ancestors

Has anyone actually been able to go to
London Metropolitan Archives: City of London and look at all the hospital records?

I havent Jan but dont know if anyone else has

Hi Woody

Happy hunting on Wednesday .

I just can't find census for John McLeod bc 1884 to parents john and Catherine McDonald .

They married 19 Oct 1883 in wick
He was 21 a mason f John a labourer m Margaret Harper
She was 21 f John McDonald labourer m Margaret Sutherland

Kathy ( Redmoss on the other site )

Here is my synosis once again - I didn't realise that it had fallen so many pages back! I have inserted page numbers to help people check back on details.


This search has been going on for over two years now and it still remains a mystery. Here is a brief summary of what we have so far: (As this is really FBG's baby, she has verified this info )


DIANE LESLIE MacLEOD born cJune 1906-8 India?


No verification of this birth can be found whatsoever. Searches have been
made of Indian, Scottish and English births by many people but to no avail as yet.


Possibilities: This is not her real name.
DIANE: Searches have been made under: Donaldina, Dolinda, Dolina etc.


LESLIE: She was very attached to her middle name of Leslie and insisted it was spelt that way. She gave the name to one of her sons. Some searches have been made re this name. More may need to be done.


MacLEOD : On her marriage certificate (1929 in London), she states her
father to be Major Robert MacLeod of the 1st Seaforth Highlanders, Deceased. Nothing of him can be confirmed despite extensive military searches being made. These can be found on ps 2-4 and 14-15 – 29 and 36 of this thread.


Her family were told that she went to live on Stornoway with ‘Aunt Kate and
cousins Donald & Ishbel (Isabelle)’. This family has been researched as probably the family of Rev. Donald MacLeod who was the minister of the church in Tarbat. The present Incumbent of that church has been contacted and was most helpful.


The family consisted of:
Donald Smith MacLeod 1854 -1930 in Roseneath, Dumbarton.
Kate Isles Wylie 1864 - 1935 (Widow) in Roseneath,
Jean Annabella 1888 - ?
Katherine Mary 1890 - ? Married Archibald K. MacLean.
Donald Stanley 1890 – Lieut. RN.
Murdo 1891 - Wounded at Gallipoli
Lizzie Isles 1893 – Married a McMurchie
Hector Ian 1895 – 1916 Killed in Action
Ishbel 1896 – 1976 in Inverness. Married a Grieve
Barabel 1898 – 1923 in Cornwall
Norman 1900 – Wounded in France 1918
Margaret 1900 - ????
Roderick Callum 1902 - ?


More needs to be done on Margaret and Roderick. Margaret was still at home on the 1911. Where did Donald jnr go? Various agencies in Tarbat have been contacted re this family and Diane but nothing found.


It was hoped we had a lead to Jean Annabella but…….? See this link for further info

http://www.genesreunited.co.uk/boards.page/board/ancestors/thread/1273853


Barabel, who was a Seed Analyst, for the Board of Agriculture, died at the
age of 25 in Cornwall. FBG discovered a family by the name of Bolitho one of whom married a MacLeod from Ross-shire. See p. 44 of this thread for more details.


Diane stated that she went to school in Stornoway. The most likely school
would be the Nicolson Institute. A search has been made for her under D.L.M but there is no sign of her under that name. An enquiry at other local schools may be helpful, maybe looking for a child with the Minister’s address rather than a Diane L. M.


There is no sign of her under DLM on the 1911 Scottish census see p.41


A member on here discovered that ‘Diane’ worked at Springfield Hospital in London from 1927-1928. see p.32. Where was she before that?


In 1929 she married, as Diane Leslie MacLeod, a Herbert R.J. Roy in London. Up until her marriage, she received a private allowance, source unknown.


The address given on her marriage certificate is 53 Khartoum Road, Wandsworth, London. The Electoral Roll for 1929 shows the family living at that address were named Kirby. There is no sign of Diane anywhere in Khartoum Road . She may just have been boarding there for a short time prior to her marriage.


Our Evelyn was born in 1932 at 44 Dafforne Road, Wandsworth and, at least, Diane and her husband show up there on the Electoral Roll. The voters listed at 44 Dafforne Road in 1932 are:

Evelyn Gertrude Goddard-Fenwick Herbert Robert John Roy, Diane Leslie Roy, Kathleen McDowell. The voters listed at the same address in 1931, in case it is of relevance, are Frederick Robert Smithson, Alice Smithson, Edward Hubert Mearing, Doris Mearing, and Kathleen McDowell, and in 1933, Evelyn Gertrude Savile Goddard-Fenwick, Emily Goddard-Fenwick, and Kathleen McDowell. Was this a rental property?



Evelyn Goddard-Fenwick is whom our Evelyn is named after and was her
Godmother. See ps. 22-23 of this thread for more details.


Various living Goddard-Fenwick’s have been contacted but to no avail. You can pm me for details on that.


So this is where the search is up to so far and many members have taken Evelyn and her search to their hearts. *****


If anyone feels they would like to tackle any of the unresolved issues or
re-check anything that has already been done….please do so. It may be that something has been missed or new information is available. Any new info can be added on here.


Wouldn’t it be wonderful if we could solve this for Evelyn? Cx



**** A couple of things have been investigated since I did this synopsis, so pages 46 onwards need to be checked. I will add more page numbers to help when I get a mo.




:-D

A member on here discovered that ‘Diane’ worked at Springfield Hospital in London from 1927-1928. see p.32. Where was she before that?
Cough cough Cynthia...
2 days worth of hassling the Head of Personnel by phone at Springfield hosp gave me the dates she worked there from and her name on their file ,but nothing else was on it they said..

Dates she worked there were
7-6-1927 to 19-6-1928.

Laying more concrete tomorrow for the base of my conservtory so still hard at it....But I am still checking in to try and keep up with things... :-D

You need to get that cough checked Fans :-P

Hi Cynthia
Do we have names for the Kirby family at Khartoum Road?
Thanks
Julie

The Smithson's marriage
Name: Alice Clark
Spouse Frederick R Smithson
Date of Registration: Apr-May-Jun 1928
Registration district: Epsom
Inferred County: Surrey
Volume Number: 2a
Page Number: 77

other couple so were they sisters?
Name: Hubert E Mearing
Spouse Doris Clark
Date of Registration: Apr-May-Jun 1929
Registration district: Kingston
Inferred County: Surrey
Volume Number: 2a
Page Number: 1064

Has anyone followed up on Kathleen McDowell??

She's the one constant resident at 44 Dafforne Road from 1931-1933:-


"The voters listed at 44 Dafforne Road in 1932 are:

Evelyn Gertrude Goddard-Fenwick Herbert Robert John Roy, Diane Leslie Roy, Kathleen McDowell. The voters listed at the same address in 1931, in case it is of relevance, are Frederick Robert Smithson, Alice Smithson, Edward Hubert Mearing, Doris Mearing, and Kathleen McDowell, and in 1933, Evelyn Gertrude Savile Goddard-Fenwick, Emily Goddard-Fenwick, and Kathleen McDowell. Was this a rental property?"




sylvia

Hi Jooleh.........yes......here are the details...

The voters listed at 53 Khartoum Road in 1929 are:
John Johnson Kirby
Eliza Annie Kirby
Alfred John Kirby
(The same names are listed in 1928 and 1930.)


Hi Sylvia....I think Kathleen's death is mentioned one or two pages back.

Hi Cynthia
The Tarbat mentioned as the address for the Minister & family is nowhere near Stornoway, I'm afraid. It's actually in Easter Ross-shire.
Stornoway is on the Isle of Lewis which is the Outer Hebrides though it also comes under Ross-shire.
There is a Tarbert but that's on Harris, the neighbouring Island to Lewis. Just to complicate matters, it comes under Inverness-shire though less than 40 miles from Stornoway!

Private John Macleod.
S/o John & Christine MacDonald MacLeod 56 Leurbost Loch Stornoway
Died 12 .4.1917 aged 28.
From soldiers of 2nd batt Seaforth Highlanders killed in WW1.
There are 15 MacLeods listed, but no Robert.
Possibly wrong battalion.

Marion

We seem to find everything about people connected with her name but not her!!
Kirbys in 1911living in same area

Address: 53 Khartown Road Tooting London S W
County: London

Name Relation Condition/
Yrs married Sex Age Birth
Year Occupation Where Born
KIRBY, John Johnson Head Married
20 years M 42 1869 House Decorator Bermondsey Surrey
KIRBY, Eliza Annie Wife Married F 41 1870 Peckham Surrey
KIRBY, William Ernest Son Single M 17 1894 Travellers Asst Dulwich
KIRBY, Esther Gertrude Daughter F 8 1903 School Walworth Surrey
KIRBY, Alfred John Son M 6 1905 School Tooting Surrey
HAPTED, Joseph Boarder M 21 1890 Newspaper Vendor Tooting Surrey

Its just as if Diane never existed, but truely she did, I lived with her until I was nearly 19. It amazes me that her past is so well hidden.
Whatever was she hiding from us???

I know anything´s possible with this lady, but could she have been born before her parent´s marriage (whether in India or wherever)
That might account for her being so particular about the name Leslie & also for the secrecy.
Have these 2 marriages been checked out?
Robert Macleod1st quarter 1908 St George Hanover Square
Rothes Beatrix Leslie 1st quarter 1908 St George Hanover Square.
Unfortunately they didn´t marry each other.
Update.
Rothes B Leslie was b abt 1897 in India. 1901 She´s at school in Billericay.
Brook House, Brook St.
Another Rothes B Leslie who could have been her grandmother married Hugh Inglis St marylebone 16.7.1831. They had a daughter Robina b abt 1840 in Scotland. In 81 she was Robina Watson, but there was also a son called Webb in the household. Rothes Inglis is with them.
The interesting thing is that Robina was a music teacher.
Coincidence?

Wisechild, there are so many coincidences in this search that it's hard to know which way to turn. Hope Fans checks the above marriage. :-D


Hi Woody, the Tarbat/Stornoway distance has been pointed out before but that MacLeod family seems to be the one with the names in which Diane mentioned. It could be that she visited the MacLeods rather than lived with them I suppose.

Being a sassenach (is that the term?), I see that Evelyn mentioned that her mother had talked about peat bogs - are they specific to certain areas?

Diane told so many tales that I am wondering if she came in a spaceship!! :-D

Mentioning spaceships reminds me of something Mother did say.
Remember she died in 1952. she always said that one day men would land on the moon, for once in her life she told the truth.
What wonderful people you all are, trying so hard to help me, thank you all from the bottom of my heart. <3

Hi Cynthia
Don't worry about being a Sassenach! You might not know the Highlands and Scottish geography as I do, but I simply wouldn't have a clue about English locations either. I know some general areas but all the places that are being mentioned around London etc mean nothing to me. Each to their own, I suppose!!

However, as regards peat bogs - they are far more likely in Lewis than in Tarbat, Easter Ross. The soil in Easter Ross is good growing soil but it's not peaty, it's too sandy in texture.
I've certainly never heard of people digging peats in Easter Ross - that doesn't mean it didn't happen of course.
Further north, towards Wick which is where the Diana MacLeod b. 1911 lived, the soil is heavy and peaty again.

In Lewis (as in Skye), every single household would have had it's own peat bog. That was the only way they would have been able to heat their homes and to cook food.
There are trees but certainly not enough to provide fuel. Coal would have been imported from southern Scotland - costly even without the additional transport costs to take it to the Outer Hebrides.
Remember also, the islanders were barely scratching a living from the land and the sea around it, so the chances of being able to afford a lot of coal was slim. They all used peats, and some still do.

I think someone made a mention of a person on one census being a crofter but a fisherman on the next. That happens often, he might still have been a crofter but on one census - I think it was the 1891 - that term was no longer accepted. Also, after the worst of the Clearances, some men no longer had a croft but all of them had access to the sea and used it well.

Evelyn, that's odd that your mother used to say that one day man would land on the moon - I often remember my grandfather saying the same. He lived till 1967 but this would have been pre-1960 as I stayed with my grandparents till then.
One thing I can tell you about island life is that everything - when to plant, when to harvest etc - revolved round the moon and the tides. The Old Moore's Almanac was as important as the Bible.

Would it be any good posting a new thread asking for anyone going to
London Metropolitan Archives to look up Spring field hospital info only for her.
Refer them to this thread.