Bigamist Arthur Walter LEWIS

[mofowax]

Hi,

My maternal great grandfather x2, was apparently a bigamist and spent 2 years as a guest of HRH. I'm desperate to find more information on him as a personal mission for my grandmother, now 87.

Until recently we only knew his surname (Lewis), but after finding his daughter's wedding certificate (my great grandmother Ivy Matilda Lewis, b. 26 Aug 1895), we discovered his name was 'Arthur Walter' Lewis and he was an engineer.

We think he was born abt 1866 in greater London?

Arthur's wife Ellen Heath was a bit of a battle axe by all accounts and never spoke about Lewis. Apparently she destroyed all evidence of him despite keeping her married name until her death. She was admitted to Amersham General Hospital, Bucks, in 1952; she stayed for a year, went back home and subsequently died of bronchitus in 1953 aged 89.

Before Ellen died intestate, the Sister of the ward tried to persuade her to make a will - Ellen refused on the account that she had to work hard all her life and that her grand daughters Margaret, aged 28 and Sylvia, aged 23 (Ellen's only heirs [her daughter Ivy had died 10 years previously and Arthur Walter Lewis had disappeared]) would have to do the same.

It took 3 years for my grandmother (Margaret) to finally settle Ellens affairs. In c.1956 Margaret's solicitors tried to find Arthur and placed the following ad, asking him to come forward:

LEWIS.— Will Arthur Walter Lewis (possibly the husband of Ellen Lewis, formerly Heath), last heard of in the Stratford, London area in or about the year 1895, or any person who can give information as to his whereabouts, communicate with Agar-Hutton and Co. solicitors, 19 Cavendish Square, London, W1

(England, Andrews Newspaper Index Cards, 1790-1976 Record for Arthur Walter Lewis).

I don't know who or how many other wives Arthur had while married (supposedly) to Ellen HEATH. I can't find a marriage record.

If anyone could point me in the right direction, I'd be truly grateful!

[Megan Roberts]

I think that if you are looking for details of his crime then I would look in newspaper archives, such as http://www
.britishnewspaperarchive.co.uk/ or alternatively if you can local newspapers they may have details.

I had a quick look at the Civil Registration Index and between 1864-1868 in England there is only 1 birth of an Arthur W Lewis and that is Clifton, Gloucestershire 1866 Jul 6A 97.

If you look in the 1871 census there are a couple of children that would fit this bill in Clifton.

I also tried to find when Arthur and Ellen were married, and there is no record. I searched on:
Arthur Walter Lewis to Ellen Heath between 1880-1896 and Ellen Heath to Mr Lewis in same time period.

Did Ellen have another name? Could Ellen have been the bigamous wife? The solicitor's ad uses the word "possibly".

[Peter Goodey]

Thus far, there's not a lot for us to get our teeth into. You make it sound as if the only evidence you have of the existence of an Arthur Walter LEWIS is as the father's name on a marriage certificate. Experience tells us that this is not conclusive evidence.

What about the birth certificate of Ivy Matilda LEWIS. What does it say?

Have you got Ellen HEATH's marriage certificate?

[jack66]

have you looked at the old bailey on-line, there are masses of criminal records ect, http://www.oldbaileyonline.org/

[Mutley]

Living in West Ham, Essex in 1901 were

Ellen Lewis, b abt 1866 Shadwell, Head MARRIED
Ivy Lewis, b abt 1896 Stratford, Daughter
Richard Heath, b abt 1873 Stratford, Brother
Edith Heath, b abt 1871 Plymouth, Wife
Edith Heath, 8 months old, Stratford, Daughter
RG13/1562, Folio 128, Page 43
(records held by TNA, Crown copyright)

[Peter Goodey]

In 1911 they are at Essex - West Ham - Stratford - ED4 - schedule 26
The National Archives; RG 14/9345/26

Ellen now describes herself as widowed. But then if she had described herself as married, she would have had to complete the 'fertility' boxes.

[Mutley]

Now this might be a complete wild goose chase and I do not have all the references, I've just been scribbling notes, decided against it but then thought maybe it is worth throwing in the pot ....

There is an Arthur Lewis in the 1911 born 1856 in London Soho. His wife is Clara Jane born 1855 in Islington. They have been married for 32 years. With them are daughters Alma 1893 and Ivy 1898.
Arthur and Clara Jane baptised a Arthur Walter Lewis on 5 June 1904 at Barnsbury St Clement. Arthur was a Portmanteau Maker, (might fit in with Ellen's Drapery business!) Address was 1 Richmond Road. (London, England, Births and Baptisms)
I think this Arthur Walter Lewis died in 1971 in Hatfield Herts.
They also baptised an Alice Lillian in 1903, (maybe Alma because I cannot find her baptism yet.)

Could this be your Arthur's other family? There is no reason why he could not have named two daughters Ivy.
Don't know how you would prove it though.

[Peter Goodey]

Another one for the questioner. How is Ellen described on her death certificate? It may describe her as "widow of...". Although come to think of it, we can't draw any conclusions from that because the family lore would have been established long before that. It's Ivy Lewis's birth certificate that will be most interesting.

The lack of a marriage record (let alone more than one) obviously casts doubts on the bigamy legend. I'm keeping an open mind but I'll be surprised if this isn't a straightforward case of an unmarried woman who was abandoned by the father of her child.

I seem to recall a similar case that was discussed here not too long ago where again bigamy was the family legend to explain the absence of a husband.

[mofowax]

Did Ellen have another name? Could Ellen have been the bigamous wife? The solicitor's ad uses the word "possibly".

Thanks Megan, not that we know of. It's possible Ellen was the bigamous wife, but then I can't understand why she would keep his name? Was this typical of the time?

[mofowax]

Thus far, there's not a lot for us to get our teeth into. You make it sound as if the only evidence you have of the existence of an Arthur Walter LEWIS is as the father's name on a marriage certificate. Experience tells us that this is not conclusive evidence.

What about the birth certificate of Ivy Matilda LEWIS. What does it say?

Have you got Ellen HEATH's marriage certificate?

Hi Peter,

You're right, I shouldn't be going by Ivy's wedding certificate alone, I'll order her birth certificate now.

I haven't been able to find Ellen's marriage certificate yet. I use Ancestry (apologies for the purists out there), is there a chance the record hasn't been added to it's database yet?

[mofowax]

have you looked at the old bailey on-line, there are masses of criminal records ect, http://www.oldbaileyonline.org/

Thanks Jack, will investigate.

[mofowax]

Living in West Ham, Essex in 1901 were

Ellen Lewis, b abt 1866 Shadwell, Head MARRIED
Ivy Lewis, b abt 1896 Stratford, Daughter
Richard Heath, b abt 1873 Stratford, Brother
Edith Heath, b abt 1871 Plymouth, Wife
Edith Heath, 8 months old, Stratford, Daughter
RG13/1562, Folio 128, Page 43
(records held by TNA, Crown copyright)

That's definitely them. Thanks Mutley!

[mofowax]

Another one for the questioner. How is Ellen described on her death certificate? It may describe her as "widow of...". Although come to think of it, we can't draw any conclusions from that because the family lore would have been established long before that. It's Ivy Lewis's birth certificate that will be most interesting.

The lack of a marriage record (let alone more than one) obviously casts doubts on the bigamy legend. I'm keeping an open mind but I'll be surprised if this isn't a straightforward case of an unmarried woman who was abandoned by the father of her child.

I seem to recall a similar case that was discussed here not too long ago where again bigamy was the family legend to explain the absence of a husband.

Hi Peter,

Ellen's death certificate transcribes as:

Yr 1955; Qtr J; District Amersham; Vol 06a; Page 248.

No. 385
When & where died: General Hospital, Amersham
Name and surname: Ellen Lewis
Sex: Female
Age: 89 years
Occupation: of The Drapery Store, White Lion Road, Amersham. Widow of – Lewis. Occupation unknown.
Cause of death: 1. (a) Heart failure; (b) Hypertension. R.heart failure; (c) Asthmatic Bronchitis. 2. Pulmonary Infarction. Certified by J.R.Robinson,M.B.
Signature, description and residence of informant: Margaret V.Hartley, Grand Daughter. 36 Windmill Road, Hemel Hempstead.
When registered: 17 May 1955
Signature of registrar: W.E.Stokes

It's interesting that in the 1901 she records herself as married and in 1911 a widow.

[Mutley]

Just to add a bit to my wild goose chase post #7,
The 1911 stated they had been married for 32 years so it should be 1879.
Arthur's 'marriage years' entry was crossed through but Clara's was left as was with 7 children still living.
I cannot seem to see this marriage anywhere.
RG14PN2831 RG78PN96 RD29 SD4 ED25 SN193
(TNA Copyright)

I've since seen a marriage for an Arthur Lewis and a Clara Beasley on Ancestry but it was in 1901 and this Arthur is a Portmanteau Maker so I assume they were the parents of the Arthur Walter born 1904 but maybe not the same couple as in the 1911 census.

Now I have confused myself.

The reason I keep going with this angle is because I have a bigamist in my tree.
She married husband number 1, she married husband number 2, husband number 1 died, she married husband number 2 again.
I have all the certificates and there is no doubt but she was never found out.

So Arthur could have married several women. What evidence do you have of his prison sentence and was that for bigamy or something else?
If something else, maybe Peter's assumption is correct. He often is.
and I am just oft with the fairies, I often am. :smile5:

[mofowax]

So Arthur could have married several women. What evidence do you have of his prison sentence and was that for bigamy or something else?
If something else, maybe Peter's assumption is correct. He often is.
and I am just oft with the fairies, I often am. :smile5:

Thanks Mutley. Sorry for not replying sooner – I'd written a lengthy reply earlier this afternoon with a view to finishing it when the children where in bed, only to find the browser tab had been closed! Nnngg... I wasn't being rude.

Unfortunately I haven't been able to find any evidence yet that Arthur was imprisoned (whether for bigamy or otherwise).
I looked on the Old Bailey (http://www.oldbaileyonline.org/) website, as Jack66 suggested (post#4), but had no luck.

My grandmother has always recalled that her grandfather was a bigamist and spent time in prison. She tried to find him in 1956 after Ellen's death and so is very excited to finally reveal the truth. It's not looking good at the moment is it?

[mofowax]

Ivy's birth certificate is on order! :)

[Mutley]

Thanks Mutley. Sorry for not replying sooner – I'd written a lengthy reply earlier this afternoon with a view to finishing it when the children where in bed, only to find the browser tab had been closed! Nnngg... I wasn't being rude.

Unfortunately I haven't been able to find any evidence yet that Arthur was imprisoned (whether for bigamy or otherwise).
I looked on the Old Bailey (http://www.oldbaileyonline.org/) website, as Jack66 suggested (post#4), but had no luck.

My grandmother has always recalled that her grandfather was a bigamist and spent time in prison. She tried to find him in 1956 after Ellen's death and so is very excited to finally reveal the truth. It's not looking good at the moment is it?

I thought your reply was quite quick, thank you. On a forum like ours I've sometimes waited months rather than hours. :smile5:

So, the imprisonment may have been for any reason and if it was not in a census year it will be difficult to find it and why.
I also searched the Old Bailey and the National Archives but could not find anything conclusive. ~sigh~

The old folk often have memories that are right but not quite right.
Have you considered a visit to Grandma with a large bottle of Port (or whatever the favourite tipple is) and a tape recorder, get her to talk, by whatever means you can. There may be a buried clue there somewhere.

Arthur Lewis is a very common name but Arthur Walter Lewis is far less so. I don't know about driving you potty, it is me too.
Please do let us know the results of Ivy's birth certificate and I hope to God it does not have a dash in the father column. :no:

[annabel]

You may have seen these, and they may not be any help, but there are a few entries in criminal registers for Arthur Lewis es on ancestry

24th Jan 1881, Middlesex, 18 months for "the like after previous conviction"
1st Feb 1886, Middlesex, 9 months for larceny and receiving

there is also one in Wales and a couple of acquittals, but there are no middle names on any of them

[Mutley]

Hi Peter,

You're right, I shouldn't be going by Ivy's wedding certificate alone, I'll order her birth certificate now.

I haven't been able to find Ellen's marriage certificate yet. I use Ancestry (apologies for the purists out there), is there a chance the record hasn't been added to it's database yet?

Peter will be pleased you've ordered her birth certificate.
As regards Ancestry, if it is anywhere, given the area, it should be there but it may be buried so deep in mis-transcriptions, Bob the builder would be hard put to find it. Or, it 'aint anywhere at all. :(

[Peter Goodey]

Peter will be pleased you've ordered her birth certificate.

Knowing what we know about marriage entries in general, it is an essential step. Unfortunately in this specific case, it may well be that for the marriage register, Ivy simply copied the name from her birth certificate. We shall see.


As regards Ancestry, if it is anywhere, given the area, it should be there but it may be buried so deep in mis-transcriptions

For the period in question, the Ancestry database was supplied by FreeBMD. FreeBMD is a top notch transcription!

The search facilities on the FreeBMD site are vastly superior to Ancestry's so FreeBMD is generally preferred. Unfortunately FreeBMD doesn't have Ancestry's hardware firepower so when FreeBMD's servers are creaking you may have to revert to Ancestry.

FreeBMD has coverage charts on the site and coverage is complete for the 1890s. The likeliest reason for not finding a marriage is simply because there wasn't one.

What I would advise the questioner to do is to put the family stories on the back burner and concentrate on trying to determine whether the alleged father actually did exist at all. Ivy's birth certificate is the first step.

[mofowax]

The old folk often have memories that are right but not quite right.
Have you considered a visit to Grandma with a large bottle of Port (or whatever the favourite tipple is) and a tape recorder, get her to talk, by whatever means you can. There may be a buried clue there somewhere.

Tried that. :smilewinkgrin:

[mofowax]

Arthur Lewis is a very common name but Arthur Walter Lewis is far less so. I don't know about driving you potty, it is me too.
Please do let us know the results of Ivy's birth certificate and I hope to God it does not have a dash in the father column. :no:

Yes, there seems to be hundreds of Arthur Lewis', you would think Arthur Walter Lewis would stand out like a sore thumb. I have the same problem with Ellen Heath! If only she had a middle name.

I think rather than trying to go at every angle, I'll do as Peter and yourself suggest and wait for Ivy's birth certificate, then go from there. ETA is the 16/4.

Fingers crossed.

I'm truly thankful for all your help and advice.

Daniel

[mofowax]

Hi, the birth certificate has just arrived for Ivy!

It transcribes...

Registration district: West Ham
Sub-district of: Forest Gate
County of: West Ham

Born: 26 August 1895, 36 Elmhurst Road, Forest Gate, West Ham
Name: Matilda Ivy
Sex: Girl
Name & surname of father: Arthur Walter Lewis
Name & surname of mother: Ellen Lewis, formerly Heath
Occupation of father: Mechanical engineer
Informant: Ellen Lewis, mother, 36 Elmhurst Road, Forest Gate, West Ham
When registered: 28 October 1895
Signature of registrar: W.Davison

Thankfully this proves some truth to it all. :sweatdrop:

Where do I go from here though? :wacko:

[Megan Roberts]

I have rechecked the marriage registers on FMP and there is no record of a marriage of an Ellen Heath to a Mr Lewis between 1881-1895.

I also checked the marriage registers for marriages of Arthur Walter Lewis or Arthur W Lewis between 1881-1911. Strangely there are 2 in 1910 and 5 in 1911, and none before that.

There are possible explanations as to why there is no record of the marriage:
They were not married
The records in the local registery were not passed to the central GRO records - unlikely
They married outside of England and Wales
Are bigamous marriages struck out of the register? I don't know whether this happens or not.

So then I thought where was she in the 1891 census, because that might show that she was in service in a household with him or something akin to that. I cannot find her in the 1891 Census.

In the 1881 she is a domestic servant in Lewisham – refs Piece:733; Folio: 125; Page: 39. In the 1871 census she is with her parents William and Charlotte in West Ham – refs: Piece: 1623 Folio: 104 Page: 45

I think that it will be difficult to solve the mystery of bigamy or otherwise without finding a court record, or a newspaper report.

[mofowax]

Thank you so much for looking Megan, I also rechecked and couldn't find anything in Ancestry's marriage registers or the census (nothing tangible so far anyway).

I'd be interested to know if bigamous marriages are struck out of the register.

The fact I can't find a solid record for Arthur is giving me a headache. Was it his real name? Was it just Arthur Lewis and not Arthur Walter Lewis? (Which means it could be any number of the Arthur Lewis' we've found so far). Or, is it the other way round i.e. Walter Lewis and no Arthur? Did he emigrate or change his name to avoid the law?

If I find out, I'll let you know, although I think I may have been beaten here. :frown5:

[Megan Roberts]

It might be worth ringing your local registrar and asking them what happens in the event of a bigamous marriage. If they are not struck out I think that I would be willing to guess that Ellen was never married and that this was just an elaborate ruse to cover it up.

[Peter Goodey]

Thankfully this proves some truth to it all

Well, it proves that there's consistency in the claim about the father's name.


There are possible explanations as to why there is no record of the marriage:
They were not married

I shall be very surprised if this is not the case.


Are bigamous marriages struck out of the register? I don't know whether this happens or not.

No they are not. In any case, they most probably weren't married so the question of bigamy didn't arise.


Where do I go from here though?

As previously suggested, you need to concentrate on proving that the man actually existed and, if so, whether they ever lived together as man and wife.

I'm not claiming that's an easy task but it is sometimes productive to follow the money trail. In the first instance this means poor law records for any possible out-relief and petty session records for a possible affiliation order.