Find Ancestors

Hi, my first post on here, so please be gentle with me. I am trying to fathom my grandfather who understood he was called William Wood - not the rarest of names. I was told that he was shocked and ashamed to learn from his birth certificate (that he had obtained from somewhere in order to marry - which sounds odd in itself) that he was born Victor Brightmore. My cousin may have some sort of change of name document as he tried to formalise his past but she has not yet located it. He died in 1969. Can anyone guess what might have happened for him to "discover" this?

I have found quite a bit about Victor's family (who originate in Tideswell) and am fairly familiar with William's from 1939 onwards but it is the middle bit that is a puzzle, e.g. where was he in 1911? He was born 24 March 1904 in Knaresborough but had links with Matlock. The story I have been told is that someone was given £50 to look after him as child but didn't! He was looked after by George and Mrs Ibbotson but I can find nothing about this.

I was told he had several homes (Farm on Heights of Abraham near Matlock, Haddon Hall near Bakewell) before ending with a traveller named Hill. Travelled round South Yorkshire, Cheshire and Derbyshire and attended (supposedly) 63 schools!

I have found two William Woods attending school in Matlock - one has the wrong birth date, which makes it particularly difficult to get the right family. The "correct" one says: Father G Wood, born 24/3/1904, address Masson Lees Farm, admitted 24/8/1914 and again on 22/2/1915, left 15/2/1915 "Removal to Ashover" and the farm still seems to exist (I wonder if this is the big place with huge fireplace big enough to walk inside, stags' heads and tiger skins on walls, two military sabres crossed over fireplace my uncle told me he had been told?).

I am, however, struggling to find him in the 1911 census (or anywhere else).

If anyone can shed any light on this puzzle, I would appreciate the help - I was very fond of him. Thanks.

Was victors family also travellers

Have you found any family connection between the two families

No, Victor's family have generations in and around Tideswell. His mum's parents both died young (around 45yrs) and about the same time. One sibling went to relatives, his mum and a couple of others headed to Knaresborough / Harrogate - not sure why. Not found any link between the Brightmores and what little I know of the Woods.

He was illegitimate

BRIGHTMORE, VICTOR - Order
GRO Reference: 1904 J Quarter in KNARESBROUGH Volume 09A Page 104 Order


Have you located his family on the 1911 census

What about his mum have you followed her from his birth

£50 was an enormous amount of money then

How did he find out his birth name was Victor Brightmore

Do you have Victor's birth certificate? Who is listed as his Mum? Addresses etc?

Do you have William's marriage certificate (1927)? Who does he list as his father?

Thanks for the responses. Victor was "illegitimate" and no idea who his father was. His mother was Eleanor Brightmore. I have a copy of his birth certificate. Apart from "no dad", the house is not where his mum was living.

I also have his marriage certificate and, again, no father is listed. He was in Sheffield by then. It is the bit around his change of name, including 1911 census that I am missing. If he didn't know his birth name, it suggests he was called William Wood from quite young. I can't find him in 1911 but in 1914, when he went to Matlock School, he was living at Masson Lees Farm with G Wood family. I can't find William Wood family on 1911 census either but I did find the family of a different William Wood also born 1904, parents James and Mary Hannah.

So is this her??

View England & Wales, Civil Registration Marriage Index, 1837-1915
Name: Eleanor Ann Brightmore
Registration Year: 1907
Registration Quarter: Jul-Aug-Sep
Registration district: Knaresborough
Parishes for this Registration District: View Ecclesiastical Parishes associated with this Registration District
Inferred County: Yorkshire West Riding
Volume: 9a
Page: 210
Records on Page:
Name
Eleanor Ann Brightmore
Frank Maker


If so she hadn't kept victor

View 1911 England Census

Name: Eleanor Ann Maker
Age in 1911: 31
Estimated birth year: abt 1880
Relation to Head: Wife
Gender: Female
Birth Place: Tideswell, Derbyshire, England
Civil Parish: Scarborough
Search Photos: Search for 'Scarborough' in the UK City, Town and Village Photos collection
County/Island: Yorkshire-North Riding
Country: England
Street address: 5 Spring Bank Scarborough
Marital status: Married
Registration district: Scarborough
Registration District Number: 527
Sub-registration district: Scarborough
ED, institution, or vessel: 24
Piece: 28948
Household Members:
Name Age
Frank Maker 34
Eleanor Ann Maker 31
Frank Maker 3
Evelyn Mary Maker 11/12
Married 3 years 2 children born

When did he actually make this discovery? i.e. how old was he at the time?

Dea x

Victor Brightmore
England and Wales Birth Registration Index, 1837-2008

birth registration: 1904 Knaresborough, Yorkshire, England


Victor Brightmore
mentioned in the record of Ward and Victor Brightmore
Name Victor Brightmore
Event Type Marriage Registration
Event Place Bakewell, Derbyshire, England
Registration District Bakewell
County Derbyshire
Registration Year 1942
Registration Quarter Oct-Nov-Dec
Page 2148
Affiliate Line Number 60
Volume 7B
Spouse Name (available after 1911) Ward
Possible Spouse Elizabeth Ward

i think the marriage posted by Malyon is this man and can be discounted - you have the marriage certificate anyway:

Births Dec 1914 (>99%)
Brightmore Victor Taylor Bakewell 7b 1578 Scan available - click to view

Elizabeth died in 1979, her probate gives the same address as that for Victor who died 1991.

There are 2 members with Victor and Eleanor (apart from you) in their trees - Margaret & Simon. If you haven't already done so it may be worth trying to contact them.

Masson Lees Farm does appear to have a big fireplace, which I'm sure would be big enough for a child to walk into, and maybe an adult.

It has only 4 bedrooms, but lots of outbuildings, and maybe a four-bedroomed house would seem huge to him, especially if he'd been living in much smaller places.

https://tinyurl.com/y99ldrms


There was no G Wood living there in 1911 - it was James & Bertha Lomas and household.

Wow, such a lot of responders - many thanks.

He discovered his birth name when he needed his birth certificate to get married (1927, to Annie Rockett) - but I am not sure how he would get the certificate without knowing his name .... unless someone was looking after it for him.

Yes, his mum was Eleanor Ann Brightmore and she later married Frank Maker in 1907 - I wondered if Frank didn't want her illegitimate son and, at 3yrs old, he might have been given away. Even at 3yrs, it must have been confusing to have his name changed, unless he was given away a bit before that or he had forgotten the confusion?

Some years back (2009), I was in touch with a grandchild of Eleanor and Frank who told me:
"Family gossip says she once worked for a doctor and had a child (Victor) to the doctors son. She was then taken to Leeds to have the baby,who was given up for adoption. It was believed that the doctor made the arrangements.
Eleanor told Frank of her illegitimate son on their wedding night. This changed Franks attitude towards her. The love and affection ceased on the wedding night.
As she was dying she implored her son and daughter to find Victor and bring him to see her.
They could not do this as there had never been any contact with Victor, they had never met him and had no idea how to find him."
Which seems to suggest Victor was given away before Frank came on the scene and he would then have been less likely to recall being called anything else.

ArgyllGran: thanks for the link to Masson Lees Farm - I had found satellite and street views but hadn't spotted the house sale details (maybe I looked before it was sold?). As you say, that could be the large fireplace.

Flip: thanks for pointing out the other people with Victor in their tree - yes, I have been in touch with both and (I think) I probably provided them with the info.

I don't know if I am on the right track but I did find a George and Mary Ann Wood
who had lost a child by 1911 - could Victor have been a "replacement" perhaps.

I hope that I have responded to all the open questions, but please remind me if I have overlooked yours - it wasn't deliberate.

For our reference:

George Wood
in the 1911 England Census
Name: George Wood
Age in 1911: 40
Estimated birth year: abt 1871
Relation to Head: Head
Gender: Male
Birth Place: South Darley, Derbyshire, England
Civil Parish: Darley
County/Island: Derbyshire
Country: England
Street address: 4 Holmes Terrace Twodales Nr. Matlock
Marital status: Married
Occupation: Lead Miner
Registration district: Bakewell
Registration District Number: 439
Sub-registration district: Matlock
ED, institution, or vessel: 6
Piece: 21204
Household Members:
Name Age
George Wood 40
Mary Ann Wood 39
Fredd Hickman 7

One child, deceased.

They're together with no children in 1901, but George is unmarried in 1891.
So, their marriage :

George Wood
in the Derbyshire, England, Church of England Marriages and Banns, 1754-1932
Name: George Wood
Gender: Male
Marriage Age: 28
Birth Date: abt 1871
Marriage Date: 12 Sep 1899
Marriage Place: Dronfield, Derbyshire, England
Father: Benjamin Wood
Spouse: Mary Ann Ward


Their child's birth:

WOOD, GEORGE HENRY mms WARD
GRO Reference: 1901 J Quarter in BAKEWELL Volume 07B Page 867

And his death:

Deaths Dec 1906 (>99%)
WOOD George Henry 5 Bakewell 7b 471

So if Victor / William was a replacement, (and if this is the right George Wood) , it must have been just before Eleanor married Frank.

EDIT:
No, he's not with them in 1911, so it must have been 1911-1914.

So if we're on the right track, Victor/William must have been somewhere else in 1911, clearly.

In your 1st post you mention the name 'Ibbotson' - where does this come in please?

" He was looked after by George and Mrs Ibbotson but I can find nothing about this."

Dea x

ArgyllGran - I had much of that but thanks for spotting George Henry Wood - shows how helpful it is to have further pairs of eyes as I hadn't noticed him. Odd, if they changed Victor into William that they didn't just reuse George Henry although I notice that George had a brother William too.

Dea: Ibbotson - good question and basically I don't know. I was told either by my mom or her brother that George Ibbotson and his wife had looked after him. I have the feeling that was in Sheffield so, possibly, they took over looking after William from whoever he was travelling around. I haven't had much look in finding them.

As he can't be found on the 1911 census and not knowing what name he may have been known by then think it's unlikely you will find his movements before he married.

Those records wouldn't be online .

You seem to have found his school entry . Says removed to Ashover
Maybe that's an area or the name of another school

There's a village called Ashover, not far from Matlock.

Shirley~I,m getting the hang of it and ArgyllGran - Thank you both. I fear you are right in that it is a brick wall - at least until other records such as Ashover (which I took to be a school in nearby Ashover) or maybe closed 1911 records etc. become available. At least you have reassured me that I am not missing anything.

??

View


View Map
Add Alternative Information
Report issue
Name:
William Henry Wood
Age in 1911:
7
Estimated birth year:
abt 1904
Relation to Head:
****Adoped Son****
Gender:
Male
Birth Place:
Derbyshire, England
Civil Parish:
Derby
Search Photos:
Search for 'Derby' in the UK City, Town and Village Photos collection
County/Island:
Derbyshire
Country:
England
Street address:
68 Clifton Street Derby
Registration district:
Derby
Registration District Number:
435
Sub-registration district:
Derby
ED, institution, or vessel:
22
Piece:
20893
Household Members:
Name
Age
George Wood
48
Agnes Wood
42
George Wood
12
James Wood
11
John Wood
5
William Henry Wood
7
John Cullinan
29
Alice Stuart
28


Just adding this to the mix from 1911.