Genealogy Chat

just got in from work oh i hate working on saturdays but couldnt wait to read the postings. lots of info and i agree with the post someone put about seeing it all as a tree then i think i could get my head around it. lots of hard work gone on with all this research. sorry that christine and margaret seemed to have had a misunderstanding but hope they are both ok now and christines arthritis gets better. well done margaret for all your contributions. well going for a well deserved glass of red wine now cheers linda x

Hello Brenda, Your list looks like one well worth following up. It is now known that Theresa Amina Silmon married a second time to a Hayes and, if my memory serves me correctly, Nicola has indicated that she had about a dozen children between the two marriages. Yet I only know of Henrietta to date. Many thanks for all your time and effort Bye Paul

Hi Paul, thanks for the info. Yourself, Rachel, Jenny and others (sorry I can't remember all your names) are doing a fantastic job and I like many others am hanging on with bated breath for the next piece of the puzzle to slot into place in the hope of a happy outcome. Caz

Hi Caz, Rachel provided the following details Electoral Listing 1934 both William and Henrietta living at No. 22 1935 – 1939 both William & Henrietta living at No. 9 1939/1940 only Henrietta living at No. 9 No Rolls for the war years May 1945 – 1948 only Henrietta living at No. 9 1949 Henrietta Armstrong & George Francis living at No.9 1949 – 1962 Henrietta Armstrong & George Francis living at No. 9 1963 Henrietta Francis & George Francis living at No. 9 1964 – 1971 Henrietta & George living at No. 9 Where William is at this time we have not been able to find out and there has been a lot of discussion on this. Perhaps we will find out one day but to date it is still a mystery. Bye Paul

could it be that George Francis started out living with Patricias' mother as a lodger. My gran took in a lodger after she was widowed with young children to help her pay the rent etc. In the case of Henrietta maybe the relationship developed over a period of time and that is why there is the gap between when they started sharing a house and when they actually married. We are assessing their situation based on what we consider to be usual but what we have to keep sight of is that nothing about that time was usual. Many young women were widowed and left to raise their children alone and many people were left homeless so it would not be unusual for people to take in a lodger. Whatever happened I like everyone else on here hope she found some happiness. Caz

Nikki, It was on the radio on Thursday 16th August and you can listen to that program on 'listen again' on the BBC website. BBC radio player station: Radio Wales program: Good Evening Wales Thursday, 42 minutes into the program Mumsy.

Hello, Well I've been in contact with Joe Silmon-Monerri and he is over the moon with all the info that I could provide him from this search about Teresa and Patricia. I have some more info below although I am sorry to say it kind of puts a downer on all of you hoping Patricia's mum found happiness in her second marriage, I quote... 'You've helped to solve another great mystery about the Wilson who was married to my Aunt Theresa Amina (née WELD SILMON). Note: she had 1) a Christian and 2) a Muslim forname. She was married to two good-for-nothing men, one called HAYES and the other WILSON. Both drunks. One was a bit better than the other. One stayed in bed most of the day, until it was time to go to the pub again. She had a miserable life, poor thing, and she was a really lovely person. I'll never forget how kind she was to us kids in the early-mid 40s. She had about a dozen children in all (Hayes and Wilsons).' However according to Joe there were siblings! For those of you looking on ancestry I have added pictures on to the tree and a bit of info but not huge amounts yet as there are a lot of names and dates. I can probably scan some certificates to add too. Another interesting snippet - Sara Jane's daughter Leonora (daughter of Carlo Pisola and half aunt to Patricia) had a leg amputated as a toddler by the Duke of Somerset's physicians after we believe she was dropped down a stairwell by a Monaghan uncle - although again this is family ledgend and not confirmed. From reading back on the recent posts it looks like this was on the radio?! Can anyone tell me more? Thanks Nikki

Hello Christine, I am so sorry to hear about your difficulties with severe arthritis. Your contribution has been gratefully appreciated and will be sadly missed. Hopefully a friend or relative may be prepared to keep you informed of progress since it would be such a shame otherwise after all your help. Will miss your positive contributions. Wishing you well. Bye Paul

Hi, Christine I'm sorry about your arthritis, and thank you for all your help across the boards - it's always good to see your hearts! It will be a shame not to hear from you again - so if you are able to post again sometime, please do. All the best

I wish you well Paul with this lovely venture and I will be happy if my earlier contributions were of use. I have been a member of Genes for some time but took a break due to severe arthritis in my hands. However I have several information threads, and while nudging those up I saw your Sad Tale and became intrigued and wanted to help, so got a little involved. However, as I really need to rest my hands I wont be answering PMs or posting again. Christine

Added by Margaret Young on 18/08/2007 04:00:52 ---- Added by Christine Clissold on 17/08/2007 22:05:29 Hi Margaret. My grandmother was older than my grandfather, and no one in the family thought anything of it. We also knew other people where the wife was older than the husband. Hence my mother's conclusions. Christine -------------------- In my earlier post where I noticed the age difference I mentioned that my great grandfather was actually older by 17 years to his wife but only 7 years older on the actual certificate. It is well documented that people lied about age and status on marriage certificates because it was such a public event. Census' they tended to tell the truth because like todays society we are threatened with taking to Gaol. And my grandmother was 5 years older than my grandfather btw. I'm sure no one thought anything of it individually or in the family but that wasn't what I was saying. My point was if the man was a lot older or the woman was even slightly younger in the 'normal' society it would be considered out of sorts. My point wasn't that it was bad it was that people lied to save face. Maybe you missed the point. -------------------------------------------------- We all 'miss the point' at some time or other Margaret - especially when people trying to make points do not make themselves perfectly clear as regards what point they are trying to make. I have a long standing belief that Courtesy Costs Nothing and I would never leave (and never have left) impertinent messages for anyone, on a public board, for all to read.

I think that's a very valid point Sue. All possible options must be considered - and the more considering heads there are, the merrier, I think. christine

I hope no-one thinks I am putting a dampner on the theory about the divorce between Henrietta and William. But if William was abroad in WW2 then she could have been having an affair with the guy that became her 2nd hubby. That was why there was a divorce not because of William's ill health. Sue Brilliant research by everyone and I thank Paul for bringing this story to our attention.

what a day. all that wonderful family information. patricia really did have some colourful relatives with some fantastic experiences. . keep up the good work everyone is doing great linda x

nudging for later Hazelx

Hi Margaret. My grandmother was older than my grandfather, and no one in the family thought anything of it. We also knew other people where the wife was older than the husband. Hence my mother's conclusions. Christine

I forget who said it, but someone pointed out that William was younger than Henrietta Maud. This wasnt such an uncommon thing in the past. My mother said once that she believed women looked for younger men to marry because of the mortality rate for men and the average age of death for a female has always been higher than the average age for a male. christine

Hello All, Win Evans has just been on the phone to me. It gave me the opportunity to congratulate him on his radio interview in which I felt he had done Patricia's story justice. Patricia's friend has written to Roy Harris to inform him of events. Win also said that she would like to contact me over the weekend to give me Roy's address. It is now believed that the funeral may have taken place in Morganstown, but due to lack of burial space, Patricia was buried at St. John the Baptist churchyard. Again Win is attempting to gain access to the Bethal Church (Chapel) records to see if he can gleam any information relating to Patricia's funeral. Will keep you posted of any results. Bye Paul

Hi Looby, I have just been on Pauls web site for Patricia again, all I put in the address line was www.patricia-armstrong.freewebweb.com Good luck, hope you can get on to it soon as its a good site Its a brilliant job everyone involved is doing. Regards Chris

Hi All, Here we go: Joe is the 1st cousin once removed of Patricia. Civil V Cannon 3 All your hard work is paying off. Well done Paul PS I am absolutely astonished at what has been discovered and the stories from Nikki. Joe Silmon and his background. What a family history. What a treasure chest Patricia would have inherited.