Hi Lisa, thanks SO MUCH for all that - you can't think how long it has taken me to find this out, and to simply stumble across it by typing Sarah Elizabeth Whieldon into Google was absolutely amazing! I'd tried this before several times and had no luck till now. Sadly, I can tell you very little abt the Whieldons, as I only met one of them(Fanny, S.E. 's sister) at a family funeral, when she was a very sweet, very old lady, abt 1957 when I would have been 13. she married an Arthur Drakely, also v nice, and was living in Birmingham. Thomas Whieldon was born in Milton, staffs. not Milton, derbys, which put me off, but I did find it quite recetly, and it's just north of Burslem.My Grandma(Maude) did talk abt Grandpa Whieldon quite often, though and he left her money, as well as her sister's 2 surviving daughters(one of whom went missing abt 1917, mystery only recently solved via Ancestry.co.uk)and Sarah herself, but no idea if she ever claimed it. The missing child, also named Florence, surname Hood, orphaned by WW1, didn't, apparently, and when her elder sister Edna Hood died in 1961, I'm certain my Grandma said it had never been claimed. The Elces are complete mystery, as only just found them, but will work on it. They originated in Derbyshire, so the Ardwick,Manchester bit is interesting and relates to other things I've found.I'd really like you to see my Ancestry files,as there are many stories & photos, but don't know if I can e mail you direct to pass on the details. I was so gobsmacked to find your stuff on this website that I jumped straight in without studying the protocol first.However, you may be able to contact me indirectly via the Ancestry.co.uk website and I could then invite you as Guest to Neal family tree. I had to make my tree private recently, as someone had been poaching massive quantities of stuff without asking, including details of myself, my children, my late husband his family in India etc etc and as far as I know, was no relation at all.
Re Sarah herself - I'd be deeply grateful if you could find ANY information at all re her death, any pictures etc and anything else you might know. In1960s or 1970s, my uncle(her grandson) discovered some letters relating to her from a private detective(Agatha Christie has nothing on our family) in the attic, saying she been sighted playing the piano in a pub somewhere, but didn't see the date of these. While he was reading them, the phone/doorbell rang, he went to answer it, and when he got back tothe attic, Grandma had either destroyed or hidden the stuff, and nobody ever found it!At least he realised she'd been alive for ages after she left.In the 1970s, my mother met an old lady from Quarndon who remembered the scandal, tho not firsthand, and she told her Sarah had run off with a man and gone to Sunderland(I'm certain it was). The last doesn't tie in with what you found, but there is still a gap between her leaving Thomas and her fetching up in Wolstantion with Arthur Bell. The old lady said the man had thrown her out, and she'd drifted back to Derby and may have been living on the streets. Thomas didn't want her back, but may have tried to support her for a while(hence, possibly the letters).So maybe she then went to the Potteries, perhaps in search of a Whieldon relative who might take her in, and ended up with Arthur Bell. I've checked the 1911 census and can't find any of them - Sarah, Sydney Booth or the children, or even the address of 1901 census, so where did they go?(Sunderland, possibly?) Did they/she change names again? was the house demolished? I'd like to know when your granda married Maud2. I'd love to see any certificates relating to marriages and births etc. If we could exchange e mail addresses, maybe you could attach them for me - let's see what can be done. Likewise, there is stuff I could send you.
I can well believe Sarah was a difficult woman - my grandma was,too, tho considering all this, it's hardly surprising. She did have many good points, however! Tom Shotton was a very kind man, and well loved. He had a hard time.Maybe Sarah was too young and irresponsible when they married.There was also an accident regarding Maude as a baby - was this why she ran away? did she think Maude had died and didn't stop to find out? Grandma's first name was actually Lilian, but she was known by her second name of Maud(e). Maybe that explains Lily.Could tell you a bit more some other time. Please DO get in touch again. Regards, Brenda.
