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  1. #1
    LittleSpark
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    Default Looking for Souie Biggs (nee Russon)

    I've been looking at headstone details at local Archives for St. Andrews Church, Netherton, Dudley and came across this one:-

    Joseph Russon died 29/3/1920 aged 61
    Emily (wife) died 9/9/1932 aged 68
    Louie (dau) died 15/11/1905 aged 20
    SOUIE BIGGS (dau) who died Montreal, Canada 1915.

    John Joseph Russon married Emily Smith 1884 - St. Edmunds, Dudley.

    Children: Louie 1885, born Dudley. Amelia 1890 born Barrow in Furness and Susannah/Susan 1892 born Dudley.

    Amelia died JQ 1893 aged 4 and Louie died 15/11/1905 aged 20.

    So was Souie, Susan? (Susan shown on 1911 Census which also states they had 4 children, 1 living, 3 died)

    I can find NO marriage for Russon/Biggs after 1911 on FreeBMD or West Midlands BMD.

    So did Souie emigrate to Canada? If so When?

    By entering Souie Russon and spouse Biggs in Ancestry only 1 entry comes up:
    Souie Russon/Leonard Biggs - Quebec Vital Church Records (Drouin Collection) 1621-1967.
    As I have NO access to these records, could someone have a look and see what it is?

    In John Joseph Russon's Will, he leaves everything to his wife Emily, and after her death, the remainder is left to his grandson Cyril Biggs.

    Any info at all regarding Souie Biggs would be most grateful

    Many thanks

    Sheila

  2. #2
    Coromandel
    Guest

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    Quote Originally Posted by LittleSpark View Post
    By entering Souie Russon and spouse Biggs in Ancestry only 1 entry comes up:
    Souie Russon/Leonard Biggs - Quebec Vital Church Records (Drouin Collection) 1621-1967.
    As I have NO access to these records, could someone have a look and see what it is?
    It's an image of a page from the 'Montreal Que. Baptistes Temple' (which I guess means Baptist church):

    Marriage
    Leonard Biggs, bachelor, son of Joseph Gill Biggs and Ann his wife and Souie Russon spinster, daughter of Joseph Russon and Emily Russon his wife were married by me on Authority of License on the thirty first day of May in the year Nineteen hundred and thirteen in the City of Montreal . . . Both of legal age and no opposition.
    [signatures of]
    Leonard Biggs - Groom
    Souie Russon - Bride
    Henry Albert Mill...son(?) and Catherine Alexander - Witnesses
    Gordon H. Baker - Minister

  3. #3
    Coromandel
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    Also in the Drouin Collection on Ancestry there's the record of a birth & baptism of Cyril Aeneas, son of 'Lenard' Biggs of Montreal and Souie Russon his wife; Cyril was born in Montreal 21 April 1914 and baptised 31 May same year. Leonard (spelling his own name properly, unlike the clerk) and Souie signed as witnesses. Catalogued as records of Montreal Congregational, Amherst Park.

    A Cyril Aeneas Biggs with this same birthdate died in the Kidderminster district aged 85 (registered January 2000), according to the England Deaths index on Ancestry.

  4. #4
    Coromandel
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    A 21 year old Miss S. Russon was on board the Sicilian, leaving London 15 May 1913 bound for 'Quebec & Montreal'. Her occupation is shown as 'Domestic'. (Outgoing passenger list on FMP. I am still looking for the corresponding list showing her arrival in Canada . . . )

    (This is only a fortnight before the wedding!)

    Edit: Souie is on Canadian Passenger Lists on Ancestry, but hiding quite well: (a) her first name is down as Louie and (b) her surname is too faint to read. However, it must be the right girl for the entry is stamped 'TO BE MARRIED' with the handwritten addition 'to Leonard Biggs'. There's an address written above this, '2809 Drolet(??) Street', though this may refer to the previous person on the list.

  5. #5
    LittleSpark
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    Thank you SO much Coromandel for that information - brilliant!

    Will have to get copies from Archives next time I go as they have free access to Ancestry.

    So was Leonard already living in Canada then do you think?

    Many many thanks for taking the time to look for me.

    Sheila

  6. #6
    Coromandel
    Guest

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    Quote Originally Posted by Coromandel View Post
    Leonard Biggs, bachelor, son of Joseph Gill Biggs and Ann his wife and Souie Russon spinster, daughter of Joseph Russon and Emily Russon his wife were married
    There is a 23 year old Leonard Biggs in the same household as a Joseph Gill Biggs in your neck of the woods (Dudley registration district) on the 1911 census. So perhaps we should be looking for him on a passenger list between then and 1913: from Souie's passenger list it sounds as if he had already found a place to live in Montreal by the time she left England.

  7. #7
    Coromandel
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    From passenger lists on Ancestry:

    A 24 year old Leonard Biggs arrived in St John, New Brunswick on 3 Feb. 1912 aboard the Empress of Britain. Birthplace, England; destination, Montreal; occupation in country from which he came, clerk; intended occupation in Canada, same; religious denomination, Bapt.

    It looks like he went home for Christmas 1915: on the UK incoming passenger lists, there is a Leonard Biggs arriving in Liverpool in Dec. 1915, a salesman; details rather hard to make out but he had been living in Canada and embarked at New York. There's an address, 111(?) Park Road, ....ton nr Dudley. There is no sign of a child being with him. He travelled back to Canada again a few weeks later, arriving at St John's New Brunswick on 30 Jan. 1916, aboard the Metagama.

    There's a record of him with new wife Margaret and daughter Grace crossing the border from Canada to US in 1921. It looks like they settled in the USA permanently as when he arrived in England in Dec. 1921, with wife Margaret and children Grace (3) and Howard (infant), USA is shown as the country of last permanent residence. They were going to 101 Park Road, Netherton. On their return trip, arriving 11 Feb. 1922, the baby is now called Warren (aged 5 months I think). Leonard's nearest relation in England was shown as his mother, Mrs Biggs, 101 Park Rd, Netherton. Their home address is given as New York, NY.

    The next time Leonard appears on a passenger list he seems to have yet another wife! Leonard Biggs (39 year old salesman, born Dudley) arrived back in the States in Sept. 1927 after a trip to England. With him were Frances W. Biggs (21, b. San Francisco), 9 year old Grace (b. Montreal) and 2 year old Leonard A(??) b. West Norwood, USA. All four are bracketed together, so apparently travelling on same ticket. Frances and Leonard junior are listed first, perhaps because they are US citizens. No relationships are stated though both Frances and Leonard senior are shown as married. (NB when you do look at this on Ancestry, make sure you also look at the page after the one with the surnames on it, as this is one of the lists where the info is spread over two pages.)

    Cyril never seems to be with them, so perhaps he was brought up in England? There is an Infant Biggs (a boy) on the Corinthian, arriving in London on 22 Nov. 1915 from Montreal. Unfortunately the passenger list is alphabetical so it's not clear who he was travelling with . . . there are no other Biggses on the list and I can't find any Russons either.

  8. #8
    LittleSpark
    Guest

    Default

    Wow! Thank you Coromandel.

    What hit me straight away was that my grandparents lived in Park Road, Netherton - a 2 bedroomed terrace house and they had 9 children - what a small world!

    Archives not open next week so will have to wait a while before I can go - patience is not a virue of mine....

    I really appreciate you taking the time to find all this out for me - will go and digest everything now so that I've got it clear in my mind.

    Thanks a million

    Sheila

  9. #9
    Newcomer to Brit-Gen
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    Apr 2022
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    I am new to genealogy and have been researching my father’s side of the family. My paternal grandfather is the Leonard Biggs mentioned in this thread and my paternal grandmother is his wife Frances, my father being Leonard Jr. I believe Cyril Aeneas Biggs was my father’s half brother. I know this thread is old and I am just learning how to navigate here but would be happy to connect with Sheila and exchange information.
    Thank you!
    Sue

  10. #10
    Super Moderator christanel's Avatar
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    Hello Sue and welcome to the Brit-Gen forums.
    Unfortunately Sheila and the other posters on this thread . are no longer members of Brit-Gen as indicated by the word 'guest' under the user names. We don't hold any information for 'guests' so can't let them know you are trying to make contact.
    The good news is that our members love helping other's with their pesky ancestors so if you need help with this family or any other then just find a suitable forum and give us the information you have and what it is you want to know. Our sleuths don't take long to get to work.
    Christina

    Just a little hint. To get back to the main forum page from wherever you may be on the site just scroll down to the bottom of the page and click on HOME in the blue bar.
    Sometimes paranoia is just having all the facts.
    William Burroughs

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