brickwall: Gearing

[somerlea1]

I am stuck tracing my g-grandmother Mary Adelaide Gearing. The earliest trace I have is her marriage certificate 26 Dec 1894 when she married Thomas Joseph Dickeson in Southwark, London/Surrey. Her father was given as John Gearing (decd). Her birthdate is believed to be 26 July 1871, but no trace in birth index for 5 years either side, 1871 fits with her age on marriage cert, and in 1901 census. 26 July is date she celebrated her birthday (day before my grandmother's wedding anniversary!)

Any suggestions would be welcome - I've tried obvious alternative spelling (Geering, Gehring, Giering)

 

[juliejtp]

Hi,

Not been able to locate Mary yet. Tried without surname, without place of birth. Have looked under Southwark, Surrey as she gives this as her place of birth on the 1901 census. What did she give as her fathers occupation might be able to trace him through that. She could have been born with a different surname, perhaps parents didnt marry or John could have been her stepfather? Fathers name could have been mistranscribed from the parish register to the marriage certificate. Not born in the Southwark area. Did she have any siblings?

Julie

 

[somerlea1]

Sounds like you've been over everything I've already tried! John was a painter on marr cert. I've tried searching on the 'ancestry' site, for Mary Adelaide Gearing, then with no surname, then just Mary, just Adelaide. The only hit leads me back to the Marriage.

John Gearing may have been a step or foster father, but we have no other clues. Mum talks about her having two sisters, Jessie and 'Em', but her husband also had siblings with those names, who would also have been my grandmother's aunts, so I'm not even certain of that. Jessie supposedly had a daughter 'Beat' (Beatrix?) Miller or Morgan, and lived on a barge in one of the Medway towns, but I can't find her either! (I've also looked for MA MIller/Morgan, just in case!)

'Em' was married, and died in a bombing raid Aug/Sept 1940, Brixton? area. They were both killed when a piano fell through into the basement where they were sheltering. My mother remembers the policeman calling to inform her (MA) of the deaths.

 

[somerlea1]

After a lengthy trawl through the death index for 1940 we think we have found 'Aunt Em''s death. We now think she was married to Thomas Woodley, and was born about 1863 in Lambeth, awaiting certificates.

We have also found a family called Thackary in Lambeth in 1891, the wife Ann was Gearing and a widow when she married james in 1877, children Mary aged 20 cigar maker and Jessica aged 17 paper sorter would fit (except they are also listed as Thackary) and guess what - cant find birth entry for either of them under Thackary!! The spelling of Thackary varies a lot, the marriage of james & Ann was Thackerrey for instance, but definately same couple. This gives us Witton (or possibly Wilton) for Ann's maiden name. she was a much married lady, having first married Charles Ashley in 1853, then John Thomas Gearing in 1856, then James thackary (1877)

I cant find our Mary Adelaide under any of these names Does anyone have any ideas?