Wilfred Collins in Hampshire? Please Help me!!

[sarahmuller]

Hi
I am busy trying to trace where my father's family came from originally. Unfortunatly my grandparents and my father have died and are therefore unable to give me any clues. The only thing I know was my Father's father was called Wilfred George Collins and his family were from Hampshire. I know my grandmother was born in 1914 so I am assuming that he was around the same age. The only clue I have is a book with his name in the date 1928 and the name of a school 'Miland and Rake' School. I have tried looking on the free BMD websites but there is no sign of him and or his marriage to my grandmother (Her name was Elizabeth Catherine Theresa BERNARD, and to make matters more difficult she was born with an Italian surname 'Massoriti', not sure of exact spelling as it has been spelt differently depending where you read it. It was changed in the late 1930s due to the unpopularity of Italians in England at that time) Without the info about my grandfather I can't go back any further. He died in around 1949 of Polio so my Uncle who was 6 weeks old at the time know nothing more that can help me. Anyone got any clue??? Oh and to top it all I know live in South Africa. Please HELP!!!!

[Geoffers]

my Father's father was called Wilfred George Collins and his family were from Hampshire. I know my grandmother was born in 1914.......I have tried looking on the free BMD websites but there is no sign of him and or his marriage to my grandmother (Her name was Elizabeth Catherine Theresa BERNARD, and to make matters more difficult she was born with an Italian surname 'Massoriti'......He died in around 1949 of Polio
You should have enough with the abvoe to find out about your grandfather. It will involve using the General Register Office (GRO) index of births, marriages and deaths. Those freely available may not be complete so use the full GRO index at either the FRC in London, at a record office/local studies centre or online using one of the pay-to-view sites such as 1837online or the genealogist

continued...

[Geoffers]

part 2.....

I suggest you start by trying to confirm when your grandfather died. The GRO index will include an age at death - from this you can work out an approximate year of birth.

You hopefully have the birth certificate of your grandfather's son/daughter (your mum/dad) - if not, you should obtain a copy.

You also have your grandmother's year of birth. So, search from your mum/dad's birth certificate back through the index until you find a marriage for someone with your grandfather's name. The surname of the spouse is given from about 1913 onwards in the GRO marriage index - so you should be able to pick out the correct entry.

Check the index of wills for your grandfather, the index of wills gives a lot of information and is easy to use, it is held on microfilm at many county record offices and local studies centres.

Geoffers

[Jane Hurst]

Milland and Rake are on the border of Hampshire and Sussex and come under West Sussex. You need to look at the parish registers of Milland and Rake - get in touch with the West Sussex Record Office and/or the Petersfield Museum (I believe that they have fiche of the registers). Yours Jane Hurst.

[sarahmuller]

It took me some time as I have been very busy with work lately. But I finally got onto Ancestry and searched through the indexes for the year 1949. I found Wilfred G Collins died in Surrey aged 34, so followed by checking around 1915 and found a Wifred G Collins born in Southampton in 1915 to mother with maiden name Humby. I think by a bit of delving that she was called Lily and married to a William Collins (my mum thinks that sounds right but it's not her side of the family so I must still confirm with my Uncle if he can remember his grandparents names) I also managed to find my Grandparents marriage. I was confused as my dad had been born in 1947 and I was assuming that they had been married not long before, but it turns out they were married in 1942. My grandmother listed her surname as Bernard which wasn't strictly correct as she had been born Massoreti (one of several spellings found so far). She also put her maiden name as Bernard on both my Father and my Uncle's birth certificates. How would I find out if the name change was a legal one? As I have been told the whole family changed their name in the 1930s but when my Great Aunt died in 1995 (unmarried) her name was listed as Mary Margaret Massariti (another spelling) even though she had been known as Margaret Bernard for most of her life. Could you just start using another name? I believe Bernard was their father's middle name and perhaps their grandfather's first name, so I know where they got the name from. Anyway now I have more details I can order the marriage, birth and death certificates I need. Well as soon as I raise enough money. I live in South Africa and it works out rather more expensive when you consider the exchange rate. But maybe I can convince my mum that it will be a great Christmas present.

[Geoffers]

How would I find out if the name change was a legal one?
Most name changes occurred simply through a person or family using a different name. There is/was no requirement to undergo any legal process - personally I wouldn't regard a search for that as a priority as it is likely to yield little. The interesting part is always in trying to establish why a particular name was chosen.

Geoffers