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Genealogy/memories

Finding lost relative

(27 Posts)
mrsmopp Mon 22-Jan-18 14:11:32

I have my family tree on Ancestry. I'm trying to trace my 2nd cousin born 1923 in London. I have her birth, and she appears in some electoral rolls. But I find no trace of marriage, emigration or death. She could still be alive.
Is there another family search site where I might have better luck? Any advice?

BlueBelle Mon 22-Jan-18 14:20:18

She could still be alive for sure, have you checked cemetery records in the area she was last in.
Is there still a free BMD site I remembe4 using that and the Mormans records I did most of my Family history through library records before the advent of all the internet sites

paddyann Mon 22-Jan-18 14:27:45

you could check if the area she was in was bombed during WW11 and if so where were families relocated to .Then try around those areas .Good luck with your search,it can become obsessive.I have a great GF that I cant find,I give up on him regularly then get irritated he's lost and start again .I'm beginning to think he was abducted by aliens ..lol

SueDonim Mon 22-Jan-18 14:39:57

Have you checked the 1939 Register? It was a register of everyone at the start of WW2. If you know her parents' names, you might find her there.

mrsmopp Mon 22-Jan-18 14:46:07

She was born in West Ham, later lived in Hackney then Holborn. Have birth record, no trace of marriage or death.
Yes Paddyann I put it to one side, then try again. Mystery!!

mrsmopp Mon 22-Jan-18 14:58:42

She was with her dad in 1939 in Holborn. He died in 1976, left no will which would have helped. Blind alley!

SueDonim Mon 22-Jan-18 15:02:35

I guess if she never married and is still alive, there won't be any records. Did she register her father's death? What about siblings? Though I'm sure you've explored those routes.

Are you on the Lost Cousins website? That might solve the problem.

cavewoman Mon 22-Jan-18 15:12:49

Does she have siblings? There may be nieces /nephews.
What about a google search?

cavewoman Mon 22-Jan-18 15:15:40

The Salvation Army have a tracing relatives department.

BlueBelle Mon 22-Jan-18 15:18:59

Have you got the Dads death certificate could she have signed it what’s the last census you found her on?

NotTooOld Mon 22-Jan-18 15:27:10

I found a lost relly simpling by googling his name. I was amazed. Worth a try if it is fairly unusual name.

mrsmopp Mon 22-Jan-18 17:27:58

She was a young girl in the 1939 census. Her mum died in childbirth and dad married again very quickly so wife no 2 was there in 1939. I will keep looking as more and more things get added all the time. I'd love to know what happened to her. Thinking of joining a family history group and asking a genealogist to help. Nothing has shown up on google. Yet!

jusnoneed Mon 22-Jan-18 18:02:00

You could check records on the new GRO site, you have to register but it is free to search.
www.gro.gov.uk/gro/content/certificates/default.asp

SueDonim Mon 22-Jan-18 18:36:08

Here's the lost cousins website.

www.lostcousins.com

Farmor15 Mon 22-Jan-18 19:14:06

myheritage.com is another site which seems to have records of ship’s passengers which could show if she emigrated. Don’t know if you have to pay though most of these sites give you some info free, then hope you take out sub.

paddyann Mon 22-Jan-18 21:51:41

mrsmopp just a thought...have you tried Genes Reunited ? You leave a msg and anyone who has a connection to the person you're looking for can msg you back.I found my OH's relatives in Devon this way and have kept in touch with them for the past 5 years or so.The man who answered my msg gave me great info on my OH's GGGrandfather ,who was his Ggrandfathers brother

OldMeg Mon 22-Jan-18 22:40:54

Have you tried 192.com?

Nelliemoser Mon 22-Jan-18 22:58:38

It think it might be that any death notice does not show on the GRO office system of BMDs until a certain time has elapsed after the death.
I tried the 1939 register with an aunt who was born in 1918 she (and her older sister) died well into their mid 90s.

I tried looking up the 1939 registration for both of them not so long ago so that information may not yet be available.
My father born in 1915 was only recently on there but not my Aunts.I think there is at least a 100 yr death restriction.
if you look up the actual details for info from the 1939 register You should be able to clarify this.

Jalima1108 Mon 22-Jan-18 23:11:17

I can't find emigration or death for someone in our family tree who is proving very elusive. He would be 144 by now. I've only been searching for about 8 years.

Jalima1108 Mon 22-Jan-18 23:13:37

Have you checked the 1939 Register?
Yes, that could be useful although you have to pay to do a full search, you may find her name and the name of one other person in the household without paying. She would be 16 by then, perhaps left home?

OldMeg Tue 23-Jan-18 07:34:48

Not everyone is traceable. I have an elderly aunt, in her 90s. We have a copy of her birth certificate so we know her exact date of birth, her birth name, where she was born etc, but she doesn’t exist on any ancestry tracing site. No record of her marriage either. She thinks it hilarious thst she ‘doesn’t exist’.

Her brother however, a year younger is easily found.

It’s also worth mentioning that names can change eg Catherine can become Kate, Elizabeth become Betty.

mrsmopp Tue 23-Jan-18 10:16:37

Thanks for all suggestions, I have tried everything and had no luck. I have her living in Holborn in 1953 on the electoral roll. Nothing after that. GRO does not show recent deaths. So I have to shelve her for now, but every now and then I try again. She could have cohabited and taken his surname without marrying maybe. One of life's mysteries ...

paddyann Tue 23-Jan-18 12:29:13

theres a site I'm on which I'm sure has sister sites arund the country and the admin are fantastic at finding folk .They've reunited children with mothers who had them adopted and families who went half way around the world.The one I'm on is Missing People Scotland ,try going on FB and typing Missing People and the city /area you're looking for and see if they have a site .Good luck with it,you got me started again .Last night I was on looking for my old Anthony ...still no luck ...lol

BlueBelle Tue 23-Jan-18 14:10:36

Mrsmopp try Holborn cemetery records

mrsmopp Wed 14-Feb-18 11:52:02

Result!
I have found her son on rootsweb and she is still alive aged 94. Hoping to make arrangements to see her.
I'm so pleased. Lesson learned, never give up!