May Bennett

Hello, I too could find no suitable birth on the civil register, however May is a version of Mary I think  (aunt of mine was May but as a child was Mary) this does not get me much further but there is a Mary Bennett born in 1900 to a James Bennett and Catherine Gorden or Gordon,(married in 1896) however I cannot find her in the census of 1901 or any of them for that matter, in the 1911 census there is a 10 year old Mary Bennett a foster child to another family in Wexford, also they are Church of Ireland and Mary is listed as such.

Have you any further information, like parents names (likely fathers name is on her marriage certificate) were there siblings, when did she leave Ireland etc, why are they not in the 1911 census, was she born before the 1901 census (early April)

The child I found born in 1900 does not appear on the census either with a James or Catherine in Wexford nor do James or Catherine, there appears to be no deaths registered either. Maybe they had a thing about complying as an act of civil disobediance or some such.

Regards

Pat

Thank you very much Pat, Sorry for the late reply. We think her father could be Sidney, She was born 29 June 1901 so she would have missed the census. There is talk she left Ireland for England when she was 14 years old. We don't know of any siblings indeed the only record we have of May is when she got married to Thomas William COX in 1922. So any information at all before this would be fantastic. We don't know if it is her real name or what she did in Ireland.

William,

I can find no more definite records at all. I see on ANcestry the marriage but it is just the list, you can order up the actual certificate or the extract which is cheaper and that should record the father at least and possibly if he is living or dead and sometimes if you contact the church they may have more information if they will supply it, again it is an idea to make a donation etc for their time.

I checked the census for both 1901 and 1911 for any Bennett in Artramon, there was only one family and they were too old to be having a child in 1901 and he was a tailor, she was dead in 1911 and was only 50 in 1901, one other Bennett family of 2 sisters there, it is such a precise address to have it must be correct. I looked for a Sidney Bennett in all the BMDs available to 1950 from 1845 when civil records for Protestan marriages began.  There was none.

I found a Sidney Bennett aged 5 in the 1901 census and this may be interesting or not, there was no head of house in the Curragh in Kildare but the wife listed herself as wife to head indicating he was alive somewhere, it was a military house and she is Gertrude, they listed themselves as Church of England, there are a number of Gertrudes married to Bennetts in England so I cannot find the correct one but none to a Sidney. The wife Gertrude was only 32 in 1901 and had a 13 year old  child so married at 19 or so. I tried one or two children on Ancestry with unusual names to no avail, if you think there is any point in pursueing this the British Library may be your first port of call, I wonder if that child I found in the 1911 census in Wexford is her though listed I think as \Church of Ireland (Irish Anglican church). If May was born in the military complex she may be registered there rather than in a parish etc. Otherwise I am at a loss here.

http://census.nationalarchives.ie/pages/1901/Kildare/Ballysax_East/Curragh__Part_of/1442173/ Form B1 says all buildings are property of War Department, all Bennetts listed born in England.

Good Luck

Pat

Hello Pat

Thank you for all your efforts, it is greatly appreciated. Sidney was alive when May got married, so we know that was her father, possibly? The only thing I can think of is that she was in some institution or school. She moved over to England when she was 14 so the Military connection could be a possibility too, her father being reposted? Thanks again Pat. I will let you know how I get on.

Best

William