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Hi all,
I will check records next week at the library, have ordered Bradley Stevenson birth cert. Interesting to find Gert had married Arthur E Denby in 1945 BOS,They were both working at Loughborough hospital, she was a nurse, and living in the same house where my dad grew up? Does someone want to do a recap on what records and people im checking for please.
Thank you all,
Kevin

The Dept of Work and Pension had a system of decoding National Insurance numbers into date of birth. Do you still have Leonard's National Insurance number? If so, please do not post it on here but pm me.

Edit:
This may not still be the case but certainly was for the era we are looking at.

Kevin,

Another thought, I know you're still local and your BuS library has micofilm of marriage records - so rather than get your parents marriage certificate you will be able to look at it there - check who were the witnesses to see if it gives you a further clue. We know their addresses from the BoS online records, but seeing the original may give more.

The same library has burial records on film, they also give more info than the transcripts - maybe something more to find there, I know burial records usually record who bought the plot and sometimes state person resposable for the burial..

atb
Flip

added - I think we cross-posted here!

Hi all
Getting very confusing, Gert and John William were at mum and dads wedding in 1961. She was told Gert used to miscarry, hence somehow she ended up with me dad, the wedding in1945 as i was told by John Williams daughter who im still in contact with should have been between them. They both died in BOS, Gert in 65, John William in 71 threy are in BOS cemetery.

The daughter Susan L looks to have married in Loughborough, in 1966 so could also proove valuable if we are chasing the right family - Rootgatherer Pm the details to Kevin just in case he doesn't have access to them.

oh that is an excellent explanation ... it is not unusual for older people ( say, people born in the early 1900s ) to be wrong about their year of birth, my grandmother was a year out until she had to get her birth certificate for her pension ... but someone born in the 30s that is more unusual

adding a year to his age to join up, that is a perfect explanation

at least it will be if the Leon Bradley-Stevenson birth certificate matches the birthday :-)

Looks like she may have stayed in Loughborough and married and had 1 son and 1 daughter. No death showing on Ancestry for her or her husbamd but the son seems to have married in Loughborough in 1970.

Shall I PM the details to Kevin?

Hi Kevin,

That's interesting, if his national service started in 1954 the Leon B would have only been 17, and you had to be 18 to register for ns. So either Leon B added a year to his age, or possible he's the wrong one, but I'm not sure how thorough they were in checking ages.

I think the ERs may give you more, especially if you can find Gertrude Louise with any of the possible partners and before her marriage to Arthur Denby in 1945 - you may be able to find her with Jack Stevenson (or whatever he was really called)

Did your mother remember if Gertrude of John William (or William John) were around when they got married in 1961? It looks like they died after this if they are the right deaths at BoS.

Another possibility, if the Gertrude being looked at is the right one, she stated her father was Joseph Wells (deceased) when she married under the name of Cooke. The marriage Gertrude L Wells to Tommy Cooke in 1928 may have produced a daughter reg Loughborough in 1929 (Jean M) so I wonder what happened to her?

Hi Flip
The birth cert was got in the 80s for some reason, DOB didnt agree.It was the only one which matched his name and year, we assumed it was correct because of his dodgy past, army service from 54-56 ive ordered his record. Pension started from DOB got from birth cert, didnt have to show it though. The BOS marriage spot on (1961) , the birth you found is my brother, im in (1967). We will check out ER at Loughborough its not far,dad did have passport with DOB as per birth cert because we believed this to be his true birthday.
Thanks everbody Kevin

Hi Kevin, I've been following this and Chrissie/Perchino have done a great job so far digging around. Some questions spring to mind though.

Back on your original post you had a birth certificate which you have now discounted. Where did the certificate come from - did you order it or was it in your fathers papers? Did the date of birth agree with your fathers, which made you think you had the right one? And what was the fathers name on the certificate?

Do you know what dates Leonard did his national service or if he have a passport?

Have you any of his pension records from when he achieved state pension age, or any personal pension records? The reason I ask is because to draw a personal pension you must supply your original birth certificate, and state pension is payable from your 65th birthday - so when did it come into payment.

I'm asuming the BoS marriage is correct (1961), did your mother know who your father was living with at the time?

The electoral rolls for BuS 1936-2002 are held at Loughborough (tel 01509 634612), I'm not sure how far this is for you but it could be worth a visit.

Leon B was reg BuS, and as it's not a very big place it may be easy to pinpoint his mother on the ER under the name of Bradley or Stevenson. Obviously a birth certificate would make this easier as it should quote an address - you could check out who lived there in 1937 and a couple of years either side.

Your fathers address was given on the marriage, it would be worth checking this address for 1961 and a few years before to see if it gives you anything.

Good luck in your search, doens't look like an easy one!

Well chrissiex it does take two to tango and I am not ready to give up yet. (LOL)!!!
Seriously, I do agree with you regarding Leon and it would not surprise me if the date of birth on the Service Medical Record has a clerical error in it. Perhaps Santa will visit Kevin early and we will soon have more to work on.
I have a busy day and visitors but will return later.

Perchino why are you resistant to the idea that Jack Stevenson simply did not exist ?

we have all seen case after case on these boards of people who invented fathers when they gave the information for their marriage certificates

children of unmarried parents who had their mother's surname, and there have been many of them over the years and decades, commonly did several things

named no father
named their real father ( with a surname different from theirs )
named their stepfather ( with a surname different from theirs )
named their maternal grandfather
named someone who did not exist, for example
... their stepfather's given name and occupation with their own ( their mother's ) surname
... their real father's given name and occupation with their own ( their mother's ) surname
... a completely invented person with their own ( their mother's ) surname

when we have a case like this where there just is no Leonard Stevenson with a father named Stevenson anywhere to be found ... there are three obvious possibilities

... Stevenson was his mother's surname and his birth was registered in that name

... Stevenson was his mother's surname and his birth was registered in his father's ( unknown ) surname

... Stevenson was his father's surname but his birth was registered in his mother's surname with no mention of his father

the only likely example we have of any of these possibilities is Leon (Bradley-) Stevenson whose mother was apparently not married

so in that case 'Jack Stevenson' would be an invention, possibly his real father was Jack, but not Stevenson ... etc


... I was just going to try another search for 'Leonard' births Q2 Q3 1936 to see whether any at all involved the name Stevenson in any way or were in a location thought to be likely ... but freebmd has gone down

it seemed though that Leon B/Bradley- Stevenson is the only likely candidate ... and I want to know what his date of birth was :-)

I have just trawled through the 1901 Census for Barrow on the Barrow website. There were a comparatively small number of Stevensons in the village then.
John J came to light by searching on surname and location only. The numbers were again small.
The way this is going I can see mother and father having the same surname married or not. What a coincidence that would be!!! (would use emoticoms but mine stopped working weeks ago)

Bingo ! the index does say John J but the death certificate might show that it was really a T, you never know

although the age is different ( the index does say 43 ), but again there could be misreading ... but that would be a lot of misreading ...

he's from the right place though :-)

Births Sep 1901
Stevenson John James Loughbro' 7a 139

so he's a different person from the older John Thomas then

1911

STEVENSON JOHN JAMES 1902 9 Loughborough Leicestershire
STEVENSON JOSEPH 1878 33
STEVENSON MARY ANN 1879 32 ( Smith, married 1901 Loughborough )
STEVENSON EDITH MAY F 1903 8

no marriage for that name 1918 to 1944 in Leicestershire ... or anywhere near ... could be father of child registered in mother's name ... except there isn't such a birth ...

Just seen this death:

Name John J Stevenson
Year of Registration 1944
Quarter of Registration Oct-Nov-Dec
Registration District Barrow upon Soar
Registration County Leicestershire
Age at Death: 43
Volume Number 7A
Volume Page 144

Kevin,
Your Mum's idea has a lot of merit. (LOL)
Please would you follow this link to unknown subjects of Barrow and see if you can identify anyone who may have known your family:

http://www.leicestershirevillages.com/barrowuponsoar/unknown-picture-gallery,457087.html

This could open up other sources.

well your mum has a very good idea :-) I'd try to find somebody who was a neighbour or friend of a friend maybe just for an introduction

somebody thereabouts must know Leon and who his mother was, if not his father, and what did become of him after his birth ... of course he would well still be living and just not have married

if he was a son of Beatrice B-S I wondered whether he might have taken her husband's name but I could find no trace of him that way either

Hi all
Stevenson, Wells, Bradley Stevenson are all around this area. There is some Bradley Stevensons in Sileby the next village, me mum says i should go on the knocker round the village to people who grew up with him or knew him to see if i can get any more info. All the surnames can be linked to Barrow also.

I just noticed ( I was leaving the stepfamily aside so as not to confuse myself :-) )

the stepfamily

WELLS, Gerturde Lousie

was living in Loughborough in 1911 ... Loughborough is where the Bradley-Stevensons ( Leon B Stevenson 1937 ) are all from

I'm stil holding out on my idea that Stevenson was Leonard's mother's name and his father may have been 'Jack' just not Jack Stevenson !

well hm, if Leon Stevenson is Leonard then his father wasn't Jack Stevenson :-)

that burial is an odd one, there just isn't a death to go with at all


a John T Stevenson married Grace E Aris in Barrow in 1935, that's the

if Grace E Stevenson remarried that would be an indication that the 1935 marriage was the JTS who died in 1944

Marriages Sep 1946 ?
Goodband Arthur Stevenson Nottingham 3c 1161
Stevenson Grace E Goodband Nottingham 3c 1161
... no he was probably born 1928

without my sub I'm having a hard time looking for a death for Grace ... oh and of course she could have died before her Stevenson husband

the Wolstanton birth isn't Derbyshire but it may be a bit of a stretch to count on Jack having been born in Derbyshire since we don't even know he existed yet let alone where he was born let alone whether he was called John Thomas :-)

but a marriage of a John T Stevenson in Barrow in 1935 would look a lot like the John Thomas Stevenson who was buried there in 1944

no Leonard birth to that marriage though, the one ( male ) birth was in June Q 1937

this looks like the 1896 JTS in the 1911 census

STEVENSON JOHN THOMAS 1896 15 Stafford Staffordshire