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PLEASE, CAN ANYONE HELP ME FIND MY MISSING RELATIVES: My Grandmother's Mother and her sister and "relative"
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The history

Manassa Hughes and "X" had Margaret Hughes in 1844ish in Armagh

* Margaret Hughes 1844 and William Stevenson (Steenson) 1853 - 1902 had Mary M Stevenson (25/3/1875) and Margaret Ann Stevenson (2/7/1877-1961) in Armagh.. This Margaret was my Grandmother.
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1881 census = family of 4 living in Albert Gardens near Queen's Park, London with widow Ann Hughes (relative)

1891 census = William now living is Liverpool with his "wife" Elizabeth and no sign of Margaret snr. or Mary or Margaret jnr

1901 census = William as in 1891 census. No sign of Margaret Stevenson snr. or Mary M Stevenson or Ann Hughes. By then my Nan is living near Queens Park as a cook in service so she is not a mystery.

1911 census = No sign of Margaret Stevenson snr. or Mary M Stevenson or Ann Hughes. By then my Nan married and shows up with husband and two children
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Questions: where have the 3 ladies gone after 1881? I can't find marriages or deaths or anything. I wonder if Margaret snr. married again as she was only 37 or a bit older when William left her to go to Liverpool. Margaret snr. had definitely died by 1931 - probably a long time before, based on a letter my Mum received on the death of her Mum from Margaret jnr.

I think it most likely that they would have stayed in the Kilburn or Paddington area of London. I have searched for a many years but my ideas have run cold. Any help would be much appreciated.

Have you considered the possibility that they returned to Ireland?

Posting 1881 for easier assimilation of info

18, Albert Gardens, Willesden, Hendon, Middlesex, England
William Stevenson Head Married Male 27 1854 Police Constable Armagh, Ireland
Margaret Stevenson Wife Married Female 37 1844 Stay Maker Armagh, Ireland
Mary M Stevenson Daughter Single Female 6 1875 Scholar Armagh, Ireland
Margaret A Stevenson Daughter Single Female 4 1877 Scholar Armagh, Ireland
Ann Hughes Relative Widow Female 72 1809 Living On Income Ireland

Name: Margaret Ann Stevenson
Gender: Female
Birth Date: 2 Jul 1877
Birth Place: Ballybrawley, Armagh, Ireland
Father: William Stevenson
Mother: Margaret Stevenson Hughes

What leads you to say that the man in Liverpool in 1891 is the one who was in Middlesex in 1881?


1891 England, Wales & Scotland Census
Hill Street, Toxteth Park, Lancashire, England
William Stevenson Head Married Male 37 1854 Beer House Keeper Ireland
Elizabeth Stevenson Wife Married Female 36 1855 - Wales
Thomas Stevenson Son - Male 14 1877 Scholar London, Middlesex, England
Sissie*** Stevenson Daughter - Female 12 1879 Scholar London, Middlesex, England
John Stevenson Son - Male 8 1883 Scholar London, Middlesex, England

***Alice in 1901

In 1901, that William is a licensed victualler, born in Armagh.

1901 says Elizabeth was born in Paddington, whereas 1891 says South Wales.

All the children were born in London, so the family must have been there in 1881, but so far I can't see any of them, nor pinpoint the children's births with a common mms.

1901 says John was born in Paddington, but there's no such birth.

There's a big gap between John and the other children, so, among other possible reasons, it could be that Thomas and Alice/Sissie were Elizabeth's children from another relationship and were born under a different surname.

I hope this isn't John - he committed suicide by shooting himself in Hyde Park in 1905.

John Stevenson
in the UK, Royal Navy Registers of Seamen's Services, 1848-1939
Name: John Stevenson
Gender: Male
Birth Date: 20 Apr 1883
Birth Place: Bethnal Green, London
First Service Date: 22 Dec 1898
First Ship Served On: Impregnable
Last Service Date: 11 Jul 1905
Last Ship Served On: Victory I
Service Number: 202350


Yet again, there's no birth to match the details given.

Not really suggesting this is the same John - just posting in case.

1901 for INFO

103, Rathbone Street, Liverpool, Lancashire, England
William Stevenson Head Married Male 45 1856 Licensed Victualler Ireland
Elizabeth Stevenson Wife Married Female 44 1857 - Paddington, Middlesex, England
Thomas Stevenson Son Single Male 24 1877 A Spinner In Tobacco Works London, Middlesex, England
Alice Stevenson Daughter Single Female 23 1878 Domestic Servant Paddington, Middlesex, England
John Stevenson Son Single Male 18 1883 Spinner In Tobacco Works Paddington, Middlesex, England

Thanks for your various replies. I have sight of William Stevenson from 1881 onwards till his death in Liverpool in 1902. He must have left my grandmother, her sister and mother after 1881 to take up another "wife" Elizabeth, who he didn't marry until 1901. I assume that Margaret snr. must have died by then as he put himself as widowed on the marriage certificate to Elizabeth.

William in Liverpool is the same one as the London one in 1881. William died on September 7th 1902 and I found in my Nan's prayer book the words "my dear father departed this life, September 7th 1902."

So, just for our satisfaction:

Marriages Dec 1901 (>99%)
MOODY Elizabeth Jane Liverpool 8b 301
STEVENSON William Liverpool 8b 301


Marriages Mar 1876 (>99%)
MOODY Thomas James St Geo H Sq 1a 543
Wakerley Elizabeth Jane St Geo H Sq 1a 543
Wakerly Elizabeth Jane St Geo H Sq 1a 543


The children's births:

MOODY, JOHN BLENSHALL mms WAKERLEY
GRO Reference: 1882 D Quarter in WEST HAM Volume 04A Page 81


MOODY, THOMAS WILLIAM mms WAKERLEY
GRO Reference: 1876 D Quarter in HENDON Volume 03A Page 142


MOODY, ALICE ROSA mms WAKERLEY
GRO Reference: 1878 D Quarter in HENDON Volume 03A Page 142


As ErikaH suggested, Mary and the two Margarets probably returned to Ireland.

If you’d said at the start that William married Elizabeth in 1901, and given her surname I could have avoided wasting time looking for the births of Thomas, Alice and John

I apologise ErikaH for wasting your time. That was not my intention.
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ArgyllGran, some of your facts are extra for me so I will add the details to my tree.

Further research indicates that Margaret Snr. died between 1818 and 1901 as William was widowed when he married Elizabeth in 1901. I am sorry, I should have put that in my first post

I too (and possibly other helpers) had spent hours looking for the children's births, before you mentioned the 1901 marriage.

Small bits of information can make a huge difference.

If Margaret died, it was between 1881 and 1901, not 1818 and 1901 - and that assumes that William was telling the truth when he described himself as widowed. He would not have had to prove it.

Another child of Elizabeth and Thomas Moody:

MOODY, WILLIAM JOHN mms WAKERLEY
GRO Reference: 1880 D Quarter in HENDON Volume 03A Page 157


William John Moody
in the London, England, Church of England Births and Baptisms, 1813-1917
Name: William John Moody
Gender: Male
Record Type: Baptism
Baptism Date: 17 Nov 1880
Baptism Place: Paddington St Augustine, Westminster, England
Father: Thomas James Moody
Mother: Elizabeth Jane Moody
Register Type: Parish Registers

Address: 15 Canterbury Road.


and his death:

William John Moody
in the England & Wales, Civil Registration Death Index, 1837-1915
Name: William John Moody
Estimated birth year: abt 1881
Registration Year: 1882
Registration Quarter: Apr-May-Jun
Age at Death: 1
Registration district: Hendon
Inferred County: Middlesex
Volume: 3a
Page: 87


The family in 1881 - same address as at young William's baptism:

Elizabeth Moody
in the 1881 England Census
Name: Elizabeth Moody
Age: 25
Estimated birth year: abt 1856
Relationship to Head: Wife
Spouse: Thomas Moody
Gender: Female
Where born: Wales
Civil Parish: Willesden
County/Island: Middlesex
Country: England
Street address: 15A Canterbury Rd
Marital status: Married
Education:
Employment status:
View image
Registration district: Hendon
ED, institution, or vessel: 6
Neighbors:
Piece: 1362
Folio: 89
Page Number: 23
Household Members:
Name Age
Thomas Moody 29
Elizabeth Moody 25
James Moody 4
Rose Moody 2
William Moody 5 months

I don't see James's birth - perhaps the name's a mistake and should be Thomas junior.


Elizabeth's birth:

WAKERLY, ELIZABETH JANE mms HODGSON
GRO Reference: 1855 J Quarter in HAY Volume 11B Page 147


Her husband's death:

Thomas James Moody
in the England & Wales, Civil Registration Death Index, 1837-1915
Name: Thomas James Moody
Estimated birth year: abt 1852
Registration Year: 1884
Registration Quarter: Apr-May-Jun
Age at Death: 32
Registration district: Hendon
Inferred County: Middlesex
Volume: 3a
Page: 90a


In 1881 William Stevenson was in Albert Road, Hendon, which runs parallel to Canterbury Road, joined by Canterbury Terrace nowadays.

Sorry, I made a typing mistake in putting 1818 (instead of 1881) -1901 as period of Margaret snrs' death; she wasn't born till 1844 as I put in the introduction.

All the links of Elizabeth come from a similar area of London so I guess that they knew each other before William and Elizabeth went from Albert Gardens to Liverpool (most likely after her husband's death.)
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Margaret snr. and Mary are the focus of my queries as I share blood with them and they are the ones that I cannot trace after 1881. I can't find my grandmother Margaret either on the 1891 census but that's not too important as she shows up on 1901 and 1911.

I suggested earlier that they may have returned to Ireland - have you done anything about following that line of enquiry?

There's no sign of Mary or Margaret senior either marrying or dying on irishgenealogy.ie
There are various records of women with those names - but not the right people, on inspection of the images.

Ann Hughes was born in Fermanagh, according to 1881 census - not that that seems to help at all.

Assuming they returned to Armagh, there's no sign of her death there, at least on irishgenealogy.ie, nor on Ancestry.

Nor do I see her death in Hendon.

A few years ago, I went to the PRONI in Belfast looking for my ancestors on their amazing resources. At that time, I was not searching for Margaret snr. or Mary returning to Ireland.

There were various spellings of the name Stevenson and Steenson but on her wedding certificate in Paddington, London 1904, my Nan's single name is spelt Stephenson so I am wondering if Margaret snr and Mary are using that spelling while still living in London. I have searched so many records but just cannot find them. I wonder if I might go to the London Metropolitan Archives when the virus problem is over to see if I can find school records for schools near Queen's Park and West Kilburn. That might be another avenue I could follow. I cannot find marriages or deaths for both ladies after 1881

Searching Ancestry with surname Ste*son doesn't find them anywhere.

irishgenealogy.ie automatically searches for all possible spelling variations.

I agree, ArgyllGran with not finding Margaret snr and Mary. I wondered if both ladies married but if they did, I can't find marriages or deaths. If Margaret snr had remarried, technically she would have still been married to William. I wonder if she set up home with someone when William left her for Elizabeth and just took his surname to look official

There are a huge number of Margarets born in Ireland c1844, in 1891 in London alone.

Mary is (in theory) easier to look for. If she stayed in the London area, she would either be listed as Stevenson/Stephenson/etc and away from Margaret, probably in service, or else she would be with Margaret, perhaps with a change of surname.

However, I don't see any sign of any Mary fitting those parameters in the London area.

Nor is Mary anywhere else in England/Wales/Scotland as Ste*nson in 1891.

I strongly suspect Mary at least returned to Ireland before 1891.

My feeing is that Margaret wouldn't have stayed in England and let Mary return to Ireland on her own, at such a young age - under 16.

Once back there, I suppose Margaret may well have taken up with some man as you suggest, to account for there being no sign of her as Ste*nson.

Who knows?! It's all conjecture.

Do you know what Mary's middle initial M stands for?