Searching for Great-Grandma

[Soozi-B]

Hello, this is my second elusive grandparent,& as the forum was so helpful in tracing the first one, I thought that I would ask for help again. I have been researching my husband's family alongside my own,& this search is for his paternal grandmother.She was born Jenny Rossall,on 19th April 1884,in St.Anne's-on-Sea,Lancashire.Father was Edward Rossall;Mother was Betty Rossall,nee Parkinson.I have found Jenny in the 1891 Census,but none after that.She had her son,Walter Edward Rossall (husband's grandad) on 7th March 1907.She was single & working as a domestic servant. The family story is that Walter Edward was adopted by a Blackpool family called Barton, but I cannot confirm this as there were no official adoption records then. Jenny seems to disappear, then I found a date of marriage for Jenny Rossall,father Edward, to Arthur Ernest Thomas (1880-1949)They married at The Register Office, Liverpool,on 30th January 1915. Arthur apparently went to Australia & died there in 1949. I have been unable to confirm whether or not Jenny went with him.Have found a couple of Jennie Thomas's, but I'm pretty sure they are not my Jenny.Any help will be much appreciated. Many thanks.

[Megan Roberts]

I don’t know if you have this record:

National School Admission Registers & Log-Books 1870-1914:
Birth date 18 Apr 1884
Event year 1893
School name Lytham Endowed School
Parent name(s) Betsy
Book type Admissions
There is also a note which says “left the neighbourhood 1 May 1896
Given that Betsy is listed as her parent, when did her father die?

She was in Bolton in 1901 as general domestic servant in the house of James Mather. She is listed as 18 years old and as “Jeanie Rossall”.

I think that she was in Blackpool in 1911 lodging in the house of Rose Marion Fletcher. She is listed as “Jennie Maude Rossall” aged 25, but without any occupation listed. 9 Park Street, Blackpool.
She was baptised in St Annes on Sea on 8 June 1884

[grisel]

I can't see any births Thomas mother's maiden name Rossall after 1915.

There is a death in 1949, Brighton,Victoria, Australia
Arthur Ernest Thomas age 69
Pob Birkenhead
Father Joseph
Mother Annie mn James
Spouse not known

The 1915 wedding cert might have useful details(addresses, occupations, parents' names) if you don't already have it.

[Sandyhall]

There are records on Ancestry for Walter Edward Barton-Rossell

Walter Edward Barton-rossall
Birth 6 Mar 1907
Death Oct 1983 Blackpool and Fylde, Lancashire, England

and on the 1939 Regester with wife and children

He died in 1983 he might still have family out there worth a look at maybe

But I can't find a birth for Barton-Rossell

[Soozi-B]

Hi Megan, thank you for your answer. I haven't seen the School Registers before. Betsy died in Sept 1896,but Jenny's father didn't die until 1906.I have the other two records in my Shoebox on Ancestry because I wasn't sure whether she was my husband's relative. I shall follow those two records & see what I can come up with.Many thanks.

[Soozi-B]

Hello Sandyhall, thank you for your reply.Walter Edward was born to Jenny Rossall on 7 Mar 1907. He was later "adopted " by a family called Barton,& used this name until he married Elizabeth Garnett in Feb 1926.He then said he wished to use his birth name from his mother,i.e. Rossall, & became Walter Edward Barton-Rossall. That is still the family name.
Many thanks

[christanel]

Hi Megan, thank you for your answer. I haven't seen the School Registers before. Betsy died in Sept 1896,but Jenny's father didn't die until 1906.I have the other two records in my Shoebox on Ancestry because I wasn't sure whether she was my husband's relative. I shall follow those two records & see what I can come up with.Many thanks.

The other Jenny Rossal was illegitimate as per her birth reg, Fylde district, on the GRO index (no mother's maiden name given but on her baptism her father's name is given.
Baptism: 5 Feb 1882 St Paul, Marton, Lancashire, England
Jenny Rossall - [Child] of John Barrow & Ann Rossall
Abode: Little Crofter?
Occupation: Labourer
Baptised by: J. Cookson, Vicar
Register: Baptisms 1864 - 1901, Page 119, Entry 952
Source: LDS Film 1526408

Baptism: 8 Jun 1884 St Anne, St Annes-on-Sea, Lancashire, England
Jinny Rossall - [Child] of Edward Rossall & Betty
Abode: Church Rd.
Occupation: Fisherman
Baptised by: W. G. Terry
Register: Baptisms 1873 – 1898, Page 33, Entry 262
Source: LDS Film 1470927

John Barrow and Ann Rossall married in 1883
Marriage: 10 Jan 1883 St Chad, Poulton-le-Fylde, Lancashire, England
John Barrow - 20, Labourer, Bachelor, Marton
Ann Rossall - 19, Spinster, Marton
Groom's Father: John Barrow, Labourer
Bride's Father: Richard Rossall, Dead
Witness: George Rossall; Annie Singleton
Married by Banns by: Wm. Richardson Vicar
Register: Marriages 1868 - 1900, Page 92, Entry 184
Source: LDS Film 1517689
If Jenny the daughter reverted to the surname Barrow then it may help rule her out of the later censuses as Rossall, leaving the way clear for your Jenny Rossall born 1884.
Christina

[christanel]

Death
Jenny Rossall
Birth Year about 1881
Death Age 9 months
Burial Date - 25 Sep 1882
Burial Parish: Marton, Lancashire, England

Christina

[Jomot1]

Could Arthur have already been married perhaps?

There are births in Victoria to parents Arthur Ernest Thomas & Ethel Maud(e) French
There is a marriage for Arthur Ernest Thomas & Ethel Maude French in Victoria in 1909

Ethel died in 1940, aged 52 and probate was granted in 1952 to her son, Arthur Ernest Thomas Jr. She was said to be a married woman, late of Raleigh Street, Thornbury, which is only about 15 miles from Brighton.

I can only find two deaths in Victoria 1940-1980 for Arthur Ernest Thomas:

1949 aged 69 (the one already mentioned - born Birkenhead, parents Joseph Thomas & Annie James)
1963 aged 74 (Died Inverloch, born Sydney NSW, father Richard Thomas)

[grisel]

Victoria incoming unassisted passenger lists has an Arthur E Thomas arriving on the Oruba in 1905 who could be worth checking.