Post UPDATED…
I finally have the death registration of Philip James Peters, Grandma Gallson’s brother and Edith’s twin. It say Philip died March 9, 1907, age 4, of acute capillary bronchitis, pulmonary congestion. Place of Philip’s death is the same address as Grandma’s birth.
Gramma’s parents, Joseph Henry Peters and Hannah Louisa Smith were married on December 25, 1890. Joseph’s father was Joseph Peters (deceased) who was a Seaman, and Hanna’s father was James Smith who was a China Dealer. Note: Witnesses were Walter Wicks and Julia Teresia Peter. Julia was Joseph’s sister and Walter was Julia’s husband.
This is Florence’s birth registration.
When I began to do this research, there’s wasn’t alot online like there is today. So I often had to go to the Church of Latter Day Saints genealogy centre or to the library and order microfiche and film reels, then go through indexes and order (AND PAY) for a “certified copy” of something that I could only hope was the right person. Thank goodness that’s no longer the case.
This is difficult to read, so here’s the important parts:
- When & where born: Twenty first November 1897, 3 Martin Street
- Name: Florence Maud
- Sex: girl
- Father: James Henry Peters (this ended up being wrong, his name is Joseph)
- Mother: Hannah Peters, formerly Smith
- Father’s Occ: Carman, G. W. R. (Great West Railway)
Also, in 1991, the only information the UK government would confirm for me about Florence and her parents in the 1901 Census was information I gave them. So, £20 later…
And the office had to keep prompting me to ask the right questions, and mention the right people even to get this. I couldn’t ask for “James Henry Peters”, who I thought at the time was Florence’s father, because the census had “Joseph H. Peters”. I think I remember they advised me to stop asking for his full name, “try his initials”! Looks like they took pity on me. When I received this, I thought Florence was either an only child or the oldest. Makes sense, right? Incorrect.
When the 1901 Census became available in 2001, this is what I found at 3 Martin Street:
- Joseph H. Peters (NOT James or J. H.), 36, Railway carman
- Hannah Peters, 32
- Ellen, 7
- Joseph, 5
- Florence, 3
- George Smith (brother-in-law), 24, Carman [Hannah’s brother]
- Rose Smith (Sister-in-law), 20, Laundry Calendar/Hand wash [Hannah’s sister]
This told me the source of Aunt Jean’s 2nd name: Ellen. But where’s “Aunt Edie”? Its one of the only memories my mother had, sending and receiving mail and packages from “Aunt Edie” with an address of “Wembley” in London. So, maybe my Mom’s childhood memories were a little foggy. Makes sense, right? Incorrect again.
Ten years later – 1911 Census! There you are Aunt Edie! [And you wonder why it takes so long to do genealogy!]
13 Bruce Road – 4 room flat
- Hannah Peters, 41, widow
- Joseph Peters, 15, L. N. W. Sheet Refinery, Railway Co.
- Ellen Peters, 17, Electric Light Worker, Filament Mounter
- Florence Peters, 13, School
- Edith Peters, 8
- Albert Peters, 6
- Rose Smith, 30
Now the genealogy sites have become business eCommerce machines requiring mostly subscriptions or one-off payments to gain any type of documentation. I choose to subscribe to Ancestry.ca only and FamilySearch.org continues to be free. Unfortunately, the 1921 Census at the moment is exclusive to FindMyPast. But that’s OK – there’s lots of Electoral Listings now.
In 1921, Gramma was embarking on her new advanture to Canada. I had all the information about her siblings that I needed to know….. Yeah…Right!
Thinking I had all the siblings accounted for, I began looking for their birth registrations and/or baptisms and marriages, hoping to connect with a descendant to fulfill my sincere wish of finding that magically box of old photos and letters. Unfortunately, and for good privacy reasons, it is way easier to find records from the distant past than records from the recent past. Thankfully, other members of Ancestry post family trees and most (not all) make them public. And even if they aren’t public, you can ask to be added to their list of viewers.
Below is Ellen Peters, Baptized November 5, 1893, to James & Anna, (I’m not sure why the name Joseph is so often recorded as the name James, as well as Hannah being recorded as Anna) Occ: Carman G.W.R. Also below is Ellen’s birth registration. You can see the addresses are the same: 10 Blechynden Street. Ellen never married.
Next is Joseph Henry Peters: 20 November, 1895, 48 Stebbing Street, Joseph Henry, boy, Joseph Henry (Railway Carman), Hannah Peters formerly Smith.
I see by my note stuck to it that I was looking for Joseph’s marriage and had some options. Through Ancestry, I discovered he married Winifred Richards. They had two sons: Harvey George and Eric Joseph. Joseph served in WWI. My sister Donna found him in the “National Roll of the Great War” book (p.270).
After Joseph Henry was Florence. (see top of page) Then Edith Louisa Peters – see below. But here I found a little surprize.
TWINS!! Edith Louisa Peters and Philip James Peters, baptized March 9, 1903, born January 4 (my Mom’s birthday). Same parents and address. Now I knew where my Uncle Phil got his name and where my cousin Sharlene got the twin-gene. Unfortunately, I also knew that something happened to this Philip.
Sure enough, I found Philip in Q1 1907 Death Index, age 4. Suzan Birdsall (Shelley Canning’s sister) told me that the family story was that Philip was born with disabilities and was never well. Below is his death registration at the same address where Florence was born, 3 Martin Street, on March 9, 1907. He was 4 years old and died of Acute capillary Bronchitis, pulmonary Congestion. This also shows that Joseph Peters was his father who worked at the Great West Railway.
UPDATE (Philip’s death registration)
Edith never married. Paul Canning reports that Edith was 4′ 11″ tall.
Then lastly, Albert William Peters. Baptized June 26, 1905, born Apr. 30.
Albert married Alice Violet Wheaton April 26, 1929 and had one known daughter, Sylvia Jean Peters.
Then sadly, in 1910, Joseph Henry (Sr.) dies, leaving Hannah with 5 children under the age of 16. He was only 46. Cancer of the tonsils and liver; exhaustion.
Finding both Ellen and Philip made me realize that Gramma named her children honouring people in her life. And I always wanted to know where the name Vera came from and now I knew it came from someone special in Gramma’s life.