Grandfather's family next steps - Genealogists' Forum

thecatwithnotail · #1 05-04-13, 11:42

Hi there,

I'm looking for a bit of expert advice or some helpful pointers as to what to do next in researching my Grandfather's family.

My paternal Grandfather divorced my Grandmother sometime in the 1940s-50s, and I never met him. I know his name (Cyril William Powell), and I've been able to get as far as having his birth certificate, death certificate and marriage certificate to my Grandmother.

But now I'm a little stuck. From birth & marriage certificate I have my Great-grandfather's name - John Powell - but it's very commonplace - and the family origins are around Shrewsbury, which again has a lot of Powells. Grandfather was born in 1915, so I can't access any census information about him.

Great-grandfather John Powell was a policeman in Shrewsbury - and was retired by 1942 (from my Grandfather & Grandmother's marriage certificate). Grandfather's mother was Mary Ann Griffiths. I don't know exact date of birth for either John or Mary Ann though.

One other question mark is over one of the witnesses to Gfather & Gmother's marriage - Phyllis Joy Powell. I don't know who she is, but I think it's reasonable to infer that she's a relative - perhaps cousin or aunt.

I've tried guesswork, and I've got a few potential leads from the 1911 census, but nothing concrete past this point because of lack of census data for Grandfather. Sadly, there's no-one left in my family to ask - my Dad and my Grandmother are both dead and it was never really a topic of conversation I felt I could bring up.

Can anyone offer me a bit of help as to next steps?

Thanks very much

ElizabethHerts · #2 05-04-13, 12:33

Welcome to GF!

For the record, it seems that John Powell married Mary Ann Griffiths in the June quarter at Ellesmere, Shropshire.

ElizabethHerts · #3 05-04-13, 12:38

This could be the Phyllis Joy Powell who was witness:

Name: POWELL, Phyllis I
Apr-May-Jun 1919
Mother's maiden name: Griffiths
Volume no: 6A
Page no: 900

I know it says I but Is and Js frequently become mis-transcribed.

thecatwithnotail · #4 05-04-13, 12:38

Oh... did you get that through a search on ancestry.co.uk? Whenever I look up those names there seems to be multiple records.

kiterunner · #5 05-04-13, 12:44

Quote:

Originally Posted by ElizabethHerts

Welcome to GF!

For the record, it seems that John Powell married Mary Ann Griffiths in the June quarter at Ellesmere, Shropshire.

The June quarter of 1909, that is! And Ellesmere is just the name of the civil registration district. Volume number is 6a and page number 1572.

Shropshire BMD website shows the marriage between John Powell and Mary A Griffiths as taking place at Great Ness, Shrewsbury in 1909. Reference number is C-S25/1/229 but online ordering is not available - it will give you an order form to print out though.

If you order a copy of John and Mary Ann's marriage certificate from either the GRO or Shropshire BMD then it will give you details of their ages, addresses, fathers' names and occupations.
GRO ordering website:
https://www.gro.gov.uk/gro/content/c...es/default.asp
Shropshire BMD:
http://www.shropshirebmd.info/

But we may be able to find out more about them from the 1911 census etc before you have the marriage cert.

kiterunner · #6 05-04-13, 12:47

Is it possible that Phyllis's middle name was Ivy, not Joy? I know these can easily be mistaken for each other.

kiterunner · #7 05-04-13, 12:50

There is a marriage for Phyllis I Powell to Frederick G Bedford Oct-Dec 1946 Shrewsbury and a death for Phyllis Ivy Bedford Jul 1997 Wrekin registration district, Shropshire, date of birth 5 Jun 1919. So this looks likely to be her.

This is from ancestry and yes, you will usually get multiple records so you have to look through them all picking out the likely ones or narrow down your searches, for instance by county. Also if you click on "Go to old search" it may be easier.

kiterunner · #8 05-04-13, 12:56

What's the address on your grandfather's birth certificate, please, and is John Powell's occupation policeman on that? We may be able to use this info to find them on the 1911 census.

ElizabethHerts · #9 05-04-13, 12:56

Quote:

Originally Posted by kiterunner

The June quarter of 1909, that is! And Ellesmere is just the name of the civil registration district. Volume number is 6a and page number 1572.

Shropshire BMD website shows the marriage between John Powell and Mary A Griffiths as taking place at Great Ness, Shrewsbury in 1909. Reference number is C-S25/1/229 but online ordering is not available - it will give you an order form to print out though.

If you order a copy of John and Mary Ann's marriage certificate from either the GRO or Shropshire BMD then it will give you details of their ages, addresses, fathers' names and occupations.
GRO ordering website:
https://www.gro.gov.uk/gro/content/c...es/default.asp
Shropshire BMD:
http://www.shropshirebmd.info/

But we may be able to find out more about them from the 1911 census etc before you have the marriage cert.

Sorry for the omission - I didn't want to copy and paste and I was also cooking lunch!

thecatwithnotail · #10 05-04-13, 12:56

The 1911 census gets me confused and frustrated

I think my best find so far is a John Powell born about 1886 living in Alveley, Shropshire - a Police Constable, married but wife not living at that address. Married column says 'under one year' though - it's not far out from a 1909 marriage.

Thanks so far for your help - really very kind!