Could These Be Alice Mackenzie's Relatives ?

[Gary Barnett]

From GRO
Alice Pitts Birth J Qtr 1845... Peterborough ..Mums maiden name Watson
Volume 15 page 353

With all those brothers and sisters that did outlive her there may be a small chance of a family photo...??

Pat....

Presumably the houses in the Precincts were church-owned, and a family that lived in one for decades would have been 'respectable', if poor. There could well be a photo out there somewhere.

[Debra Arif]

Was there another son named Joseph b c 1868 who was living with his grandfather, George, grandmother Mary at Castle Donnington, Peterborough in 1871? I saw it earlier but didn't have time to follow it up. It might not be related.

[Pat Marshall]

Are you going to contact the family tree chap online Gary? Far better just you do it or it they may find themselves too bombarded to answer...? Thats if they know anything but they may put you onto descendants....
Pat

[Gary Barnett]

Was there another son named Joseph b c 1868 who was living with his grandfather, George, grandmother Mary at Castle Donnington, Peterborough in 1871? I saw it earlier but didn't have time to follow it up. It might not be related.

Hi Debs,

Castle D. is in Leicestershire, which ties in. Grandson Joseph was born in Handly(?) Staffs.

Gary

Edit: Hanley, not Handley, one of Arnold Bennett's 'Five Towns'. Wonder what Alice was doing there?

[Gary Barnett]

Are you going to contact the family tree chap online Gary? Far better just you do it or it they may find themselves too bombarded to answer...? Thats if they know anything but they may put you onto descendants....
Pat

Hi Pat,

I don't have a great success rate in contacting case-related descendants. I'll poke around for a few days to see what else is out there before making an approach, unless anyone else with a more diplomatic turn of phrase wants to have a go?

Gary

[Howard Brown]

What a great example of talent and teamwork this thread turned out to be.
:

[Gary Barnett]

What a great example of talent and teamwork this thread turned out to be.
:

Indeed, How. And further evidence that there's probably lots more stuff out there to be found. Very encouraging for newcomers to the field.

[Pat Marshall]

I would be useless. Every time I contacted Koz's family, once I mentioned Jack the Ripper that was it. They are quite respectable people.
Its hard to say "Hi you dont know me but I know more about your family than you, can you tell me more, and by the way were not related" ?

Pat....

[Jerry Dunlop]

What a great example of talent and teamwork this thread turned out to be.
:

I agree 100%, Howard. Pat, Gary, Debs and Robert have been nothing but remarkable on this thread (sorry if I missed someone). To go from wondering if someone was related to Alice McKenzie to actually finding never known details about her and a little extra was exciting for this forum.

This thread made me see that the use of aliases was a necessity for some of these women. I bet they had been in trouble so many times they used different names on a regular basis to try to avoid long sentences. Makes me wonder if the name Mary Jane Lawrence may be something more real than we realize?

[Howard Brown]

Pat, Gary, Debs and Robert have been nothing but remarkable on this thread (sorry if I missed someone)
-Jerry Dunlop-

You did. Anna & Dunlop fella.

[Jerry Dunlop]

Sorry if this has been covered in the thread. I don't recall seeing it. In 1871 Charles is listed as a gardener. Pretty sure this is the same family but all but Thomas and a James appear in this Census. It seems some of the other family members from the 1851 census should have been at an age to still be living at home? Perhaps a few of them passed in the 10 year period?



© Crown copyright images reproduced by courtesy of The National Archives, London, England

[Jerry Dunlop]

Pat, Gary, Debs and Robert have been nothing but remarkable on this thread (sorry if I missed someone)
-Jerry Dunlop-

You did. That Dunlop fella.

Anna! Sorry Anna. I didn't do much but post a record Gary had already found. haha And of course you always contribute to every thread no matter what too Howard!

[Debra Arif]

Indeed, How. And further evidence that there's probably lots more stuff out there to be found. Very encouraging for newcomers to the field.

Well said, Gary.

The more that gets digitised the more new information is being found that has been hidden for almost 130 years. In the past, unless a researcher was focusing solely on one person and knew their place of origin and checked the local papers, it was difficult to discover a gem of an article like the one Gary located that led to the identification of Alice McKenzie.
Like Anna, I'm hopeful that one day a simple article like this one will be the key to unlocking the past of Mary Jane Kelly.

We now know a bit more about the backgrounds and lifestyles of the characters living through these times and the victims themselves. To most researchers I know on here, rooting out these details and discussing them with other researchers is what's interesting and important to them. Much criticism is levelled at the 'field' lately but in our own little corner here, I think we are doing a pretty damn good job of adding to the knowledge of the lives of the victims and the men and women who lived alongside them, and have been for quite a while.

I'm all for celebrating the positive!
Well done Gary, Pat, Anna, Robert, Jerry and thanks to How for enabling us to have this space to meet, post and chat about what we find from different places in the world.

[Gary Barnett]

Well said, Gary.

The more that gets digitised the more new information is being found that has been hidden for almost 130 years. In the past, unless a researcher was focusing solely on one person and knew their place of origin and checked the local papers, it was difficult to discover a gem of an article like the one Gary located that led to the identification of Alice McKenzie.
Like Anna, I'm hopeful that one day a simple article like this one will be the key to unlocking the past of Mary Jane Kelly.

We now know a bit more about the backgrounds and lifestyles of the characters living through these times and the victims themselves. To most researchers I know on here, rooting out these details and discussing them with other researchers is what's interesting and important to them. Much criticism is levelled at the 'field' lately but in out own little corner here, I think we are doing a pretty damn good job of adding to the knowledge of the lives of the victims and the men and women who lived alongside them, and have been for quite a while.

I'm all for celebrating the positive!
Well done Gary, Pat, Anna, Robert, Jerry and thanks to How for enabling us to have this space to meet, post and chat about what we find from different places in the world.

Hear! Hear!

[Howard Brown]

Amen to that Debs !