Brick wall help needed, can you...

[Maudie]

How does one go about trying to trace someone, without knowing their surname?

My gt grandparents George Nelson Grant and Mary Hannah nee Copeland, appear to have split up and and taken other partners in or after 1881.

George Nelson by 1891 had new "wife" Annie and until after 1901 were living in London, then sometime after 1901 they were living in Leicester.
In 1910, George and Annie nee Packer, were married in Derby, and I have to assume that Mary Hannah may have then died either before or in 1910 which then enabled them to marry.
Perhaps they married in Derby so that Annie`s relatives would not have known that previously they had been "living in sin" !

Unfortunately not knowing which surname Mary Hannah may have adopted, I am unable to trace her death, I am assuming that she too would have had another partner, but would she mave married him? without him knowing that she already had a living husband. Or did she do as George did, take another
partner and adopt his surname?

I have tried searching the death indexes for Derby for any Mary Hannah who died either in 1910 or previously, but without success.
All I can do now, is hope that somewhere someone has an ancestor with the name of Mary Hannah , but is that expecting too much? that she could be "my" Mary Hannah

Any suggestions?

 

[juliejtp]

Hi Maudie,

Have you tried the census, she may be living with or near one of her children. I've had a look and cant even find them on the 1891 or 1901 census.

Julie

 

[Maudie]

Thank you Julie for your suggestion, however, I know where all the children were, my grandmother was with the parents in 881, but shortly after then was taken to live with her maternal grandmother, then later when the grandmother died, she was taken to Edinburgh by her sister Effie, she had been with her paternal grandmother in Edinburgh in 1881, the eldest son was in lodgings he was then an apprentice printer, another son was in an Industrial School in Perth, this could have been the reason why the parents were in Perth in 1881 (no records for the school are now in existence) I do not know what happened to him after 1881 (his name was also George Nelson) I have been unable to trace him on the census for either Scotland or England after 1881, so that remains a mystery also.

I have tried the Scottish census for Mary Hannah too, but again no success nor in England, so she and the son George Nelson just disappearedf!
I had hoped to find a clue in the records of the school, but sadly they are no longer in existence.

I have run out of ideas of what to search next.