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As part of our local WW1 commemoration project we've been researching Captain James Errington, 7th Durham Light Infantry, died 30 Aug 1915.

It seems this man was keeping a secret ....

This is him on the 1911 census:

1911 England, Wales & Scotland Census
41 Beverley Terrace Cullercoats, Tynemouth, Northumberland, England
Household Members
First name(s) Last name Relationship Marital condition Gender Age Birth year Birth place Occupation

James Errington Head Single Male 40 1871 Lamesley Co Durham Bank Clerk
Isabella Errington Sister Single Female 38 1873 Lamesley Co Durham ­
Isabella Furness Cousin Single Female 46 1865 Russia Private Means
Grace Erikson Servant Single Female 27 1884 Durham South Shields General Servant Domestic
(I've corrected errata in the transcription of birthplaces)

Note his marital status.

This link is to newspaper reports of his death:
http://www.genesreunited.co.uk/keepsafe/asset/details/14954553

It says he's unmarried. BUT - look at the CWGC entry:
http://www.cwgc.org/find-war-dead/casualty/573396/ERRINGTON,%20JAMES

A wife Edith is mentioned:
Son of William and Ann Jane Errington, of Northumberland; husband of Edith Errington, of 54 Maloneaux St., Heaton, Newcastle-on-Tyne. Served in the South African War.

She's also on the CWGC Headstone Schedule as Mrs E Errington, 54 Molon Street, Heaton, Newcastle. (The correct street name is Molineux Street).

I've found that James Errington actually married in 1908, here's the marriage:
http://www.genesreunited.co.uk/keepsafe/asset/details/14954550

She was Edith Matheson, age 23, spinster. Father Thomas, a commercial traveller. Her address at the time was 2 Great Russell Street, London (doesn't mean she was necessarily a Londoner).

We've got all census and publicly available info on James Errington, what I want help with is Edith - what became of her?

I'd also like opinions on why James was lying .......
I have his will, he left everything to his sister - no mention of his mysterious wife.

If anyone wants to see the info we have on James Errington then click on this link and put his surname in the search box:

http://www.tynemouthworldwarone.org/database.html

There are several pages for him.

We don't have his officers service records from the National Archives - that will have to wait and coincide with a trip to London.

Would he have lied about his marriage on his service papers I wonder?

Greyghost

Edith was maiden name Matheson not Errington

She married james Errington in 1908 so would still be Matheson on the 1901 census :-)

Hi Shirley - got ahead of myself, have deleted - shoot me.

Edith Matheson
England and Wales, Marriage Registration Index
Name: Edith Matheson
Event Type: Marriage
Registration Quarter: Oct-Nov-Dec
Registration Year: 1908
Registration District: Tynemouth
County: Northumberland
Event Place: Tynemouth, Northumberland, England
Volume: 10B
Page: 429
Line Number: 4

Edith Matheson probably married one of the following people
Name: James Errington

Anyone found her on 1911?


I googled her address from marriage record and came accross a ' jewish congregation ' list that shows that there was a

Harris Greenbaum Esq. living at 2 Great Russell St. in1910

..............could it be that she was also of jewish origins and married without parents consent, so was not allowed to continue living with her husband ???

That's a thought Catherine. As you can see from the marriage link above, they married in the register office which could have been the easy option if they were of different faiths (I think James Errington was CoE).

Thanks Yvonne, if you want to see the actual record there's a link in the opening post.

These were the occupants of 2 Great Russell Street in 1911:

1911 England, Wales & Scotland Census

2 Gt Russell St W C, St Giles in the Fields and St George Bloomsbury, London, England
Household Members

First name(s) Last name Relationship Marital condition Gender Age Birth year Birth place Occupation

Leah Greenbaum Head Widow Female 60 1851 Russian Poland ­
Philip Greenbaum Son Single Male 30 1881 St Georges in the E London Tailor Maker
Esther Greenbaum Daughter Single Female 29 1882 St James Soho London Tailoress
Milly Greenbaum Daughter Single Female 25 1886 St Pancras London Tailoress
Samuel Greenbaum Son ­ Male 22 1889 St Pancras London Law Clerk
Alfred David Nassaver Boarder Single Male 29 1882 St Georges in the East London General Dealer
Adolphe Nassaver Boarder Single Male 29 1882 St Georges in the East General Dealer
Gilbert Pierer Boarder Married Male 52 1859 France Visitor Butcher
Fanny Shipway Servant Single Female 43 1868 City of Westminster London General Servant Domestic

Edith may have been a servant?

James Errington
England and Wales Census, 1881
Name: James Errington
Age (Original): 10
Gender: Male
Birth Year: 1871
Birthplace: Lamsley, Durham, England
Relationship to Head of Household: Son
Marital Status: Single
Occupation: Scholar
Address: Whickham Hill
Event Place: Whickham, Durham, England
Record Type: Household
Affiliate Publication Number: RG11
Piece/Folio: 5042 / 79
Page Number: 17
Household Role Gender Age Birthplace
William Errington Head M 58 Lamsley, Durham, England
Anne Jane Errington Wife F 47 Lamsley, Durham, England
James Errington Son M 10 Lamsley, Durham, England
Isabella Errington Daughter F 8 Lamsley, Durham, England
Mary Ann Turnbull Servant F 20 Harton, Northumberland, England

Of course it's possible that she was a servant in the household,
I just thought it may be a reason for keeping the marriage secret.

(from below snippet, followed through, but not seeing Edith!, bit 'off the wall' but thought worth a shot!)

Chris :)

25 July 1874 - Pall Mall Gazette - London, London, England

Birth
MATHESON, Mrs. T., at Mildmay Park, July 23.


Births Sep 1874 (>99%)
--------------------------------------------------------
Matheson Marie Cecile Islington 1b 368


1891 (Find My Past)
Thomas Matheson Head Married Male 46 1845 Insurance Broker Middlesex, England
Marie G Matheson Wife Married Female 46 1845 - Switzerland
Marie C Matheson Daughter Single Female 16 1875 Scholar Middlesex, England
Helen E Matheson Daughter - Female 14 1877 Scholar Middlesex, England
James F Matheson Son - Male 12 1879 Scholar Middlesex, England
Herbert W Matheson Son - Male 11 1880 Scholar Middlesex, England
Hester J Matheson Daughter - Female 9 1882 Scholar Middlesex, England
William J Matheson Brother Single Male 58 1833 Agricultural Chemist Durham, England
Street Cannon Place
Parish Hampstead
City Hampstead
County London
Registration district Hampstead
Archive reference RG12
Piece number 106
Folio 56
Page 6


Deaths Jun 1950 (>99%)
-----------------------------------------------------
Matheson Marie C 74 Hendon 5e 418


Cemetery Registers Stockton 1882 Edith Mattison [Matheson] abt 1882 Cowper Street

(above from Durham Records Online, no help!)

Deaths Sep 1882 (>99%)
------------------------------------------------
Mathison Edith 0 Stockton 10a 32

there are only two edith Matheson born in 1886 one in south shields but looks like this one died aged 10 in 1896 the other edith is born in chelsea

Edith Matheson
England and Wales, Birth Registration Index
Name: Edith Matheson
Event Type: Birth Registration
Registration Quarter: Oct-Nov-Dec
Registration Year: 1886
Registration District: Chelsea
County: London
Event Place: Chelsea, London, England
Volume: 1A
Page: 352
Line Number: 93

I think this is the Chelsea Edith:

1891 England, Wales & Scotland Census
Hereford Buildings, Church Street, Chelsea, London, England
Household Members
First name(s) Last name Relationship Marital status Gender Age Birth year Occupation Birth place
William Matheson Head Married Male 27 1864 Money Taker At Bath Knightsbridge, Middlesex, England
Eliza Matheson Wife Married Female 27 1864 ­ Stand, Wiltshire, England
Edith Matheson Daughter ­ Female 14 1877 ­ Chelsea, Middlesex, England
William Matheson Son ­ Male 2 1889 ­ Pimlico, Middlesex, England
Albert Edward Matheson Son ­ Male 0 1891 ­ Chelsea, Middlesex, England
Her age is actually 4 on the image

1911 England, Wales & Scotland Census
122 Lavender Road Battersea S W, Battersea, London, England
Household Members
First name(s) Last name Relationship Marital condition Gender Age Birth year Birth place Occupation
Charles Niclas Head Married Male 35 1876 Switzerland Cellarman Wine
Eliza Niclas Wife Married Female 45 1866 Wilts Leend ­
Edith Matheson Daughter Single Female 24 1887 London Fulham Tailoress
William Matheson Son Single Male 22 1889 London Pimlico House Decorator
Albert Matheson Son Single Male 20 1891 London Chelsea Pantryman
Alick Matheson Son Single Male 18 1893 London Pimlico Servant Domestic
Charles Matheson Son ­ Male 13 1898 London Pimlico ­
Mother has remarried.

So, father's name wrong ......

There's this lass ....

1891 England, Wales & Scotland Census
Rothsay Street, Monk Wearmouth, Sunderland, Durham, England
Household Members
First name(s) Last name Relationship Marital status Gender Age Birth year Occupation Birth place
Tom Mathison Head Married Male 29 1862 Iron Moulder Stockton, Durham, England
Esther Mathison Wife Married Female 28 1863 ­ Dartford, Kent, England
>>Edith Mathison Daughter ­ Female 7 1884 ­ Stockton, Durham, England
John Mathison Son ­ Male 2 1889 ­ Newcastle, Northumberland, England
Fred Mathison Son ­ Male 1 1890 ­ Newcastle, Northumberland, England

Births Jun 1882
Mathison Edith Stockton 10a 66

Right name for father, wrong occupation, age a bit out but ???

In order to find what happened to her after marriage we need to know who she was before it!

(well done with that MC, was just an idea to try on DRO, I 'stab in the dark' with place names up there, lol)

What a mystery there, I must say...(mind you, you're good at getting to the bottom of things!)

Chris :)

Well, I'm stumped on this one Chris!

The reason I don't want to quit on it is that I'm working on a project with year 7 pupils from a local high school and they've each "adopted" a soldier from a local memorial. One of the things they have to find out is what happened to the soldier's families after they died. The girl who has adopted James Errington is determined that we're going to get to the bottom of this :-)

What a lovely project MarieCeleste, have you seen this site?

http://www.ww1photos.com/DLI.html

It has photos and obituary's of those who served in the 7th Battalion Durham Light Infantry:-

7th Battalion (Territorial)
Adamson R W 2nd Lt : Photo
Bailey J J Pte 2280 : Photo
Barker A S 2nd Lt : Obituary
Bowerman P H Pte 276467 : Short Record Of Service
Brotherston R T Pte 2605 : Photo
Bunce W S Pte : Short Record Of Service
Cook E Pte 2642 : Photo
Cree A T C Lt : Photo
Dunn W Pte 2730 : Short Obituary
xxxx Errington J Captain : Photo xxxx
Fox T W Pte 2066 : Obituary
Green A J Pte 2623 : Photo
Hines C W Major : Photo
Jacks H Captain : Photo
Jackson I Pte 2578 : Photo
Jacoby H L/Cpl : Photo
McKenzie F S Pte 275347 : Obituary
Morant W M Captain : Photo
Mustard-Charleton W Cpl 2254 : Photo
Nairn W Bugler 1366 : Photo
Ord C D M Lt : Photo
Rhodes A Lt : Photo
Richards E W Pte 77114 : Photo
Sayer C O Lt : Photo
Southern J G Pte 3097 : Photo
Tindle K 2nd Lt : Photo
Wardropper R W Coy Sergt Major 275004 : Obituary
Wawn F M Captain : Photo

...............no obituary for James Errington but they do have a photo.
Might be nice for the pupil who adopted James to actually see what he looked like, but, they cost £3.95. ?

Hi Catherine, we contacted the archivist at Lloyds Bank (where he worked from 1888) and they kindly gave us a photo from their WW1 memorial.

This is the man

http://www.genesreunited.co.uk/keepsafe/asset/details/14974890

Yeah I found that Tom/Esther/Edith family in 1891 too...Esther ties in nicely with the Jewish thoughts?

So if this is her birth

Births Jun 1884 (>99%)
Mathison Edith Esther Stockton 10a 73 Scan available - click to view


Could this be her death
Deaths Sep 1959 (>99%)
ERRINGTON Edith E 75 Nthmbld.S. 1b 299

Jude