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My great-uncle, Gilbert Littlejones, was born in Bath in 1883 to John Littlejones and Eliza Bolwell. He had two sisters Florence and Elsie. At around 16 years of age, in 1999, Gilbert packed his knapsack and left home. His sister, Elsie, my grandmother, was only 8 at the time, and she thought he went to Canada, but she had no evidence to back that up. He just disappeared, and never contacted the family again.

Can anyone suggest how I might find him? There is no record of him in any census after 1891, nor are there marriage or death records. If he went overseas, how will I find out? He didn't apply for a passport, but he could have been part of a ship's crew. How do I find that out? He might have joined the army and got killed in the Great War, but there is no record.

This mystery has been bugging my family for decades, and I should love to solve it!

?????????????

name: Gilbert Littlejones
event: Census
event date: 1891
gender: Male
age: 7
relationship to head of household: Son
birthplace: Bailbrook, Somersetshire
record type: Household
registration district: Bath
sub-district: Batheaston
ecclesiastical parish: Batheaston
civil parish: Batheaston
county: Somersetshire

name: Florence Littlejones
event: Census
event date: 1911
gender: Female
age: 21
birthplace: Bath, Somersetshire
record type: Household
registration district: Bath
sub-district: Batheaston
parish:
county: Somersetshire

name: Eliza Littlejones
event: Census
event date: 1911
gender: Female
age: 62
birthplace: Batheaston, Somersetshire
record type: Household
registration district: Bath
sub-district: Walcot
parish: Bath
county: Somersetshire

connection?


name: Francis Littlejones
event: Census
event date: 1861
event place: Bowmanville, Durham, Ontario, Canada
enumeration district: 02
gender: Female
age: 10
marital status: Single
religion: B Christians
birthplace: England
estimated birth year: 1851
sheet number: 36
line number: 16
library and archives canada film number: C-1015
film number: 349256
digital folder number: 4107391
image number: 00082

Border Crossings: From Canada to U.S., 1895-1954
about Gilbert Little Jones Name: Gilbert Little Jones
Arrival Date: Apr 1910
Port of Arrival: Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada
Residence Country: Canada
Age: 27
Birth Date: abt 1883
Birth Country: England
Gender: Male
Race/Nationality: English
Record Type: Manifests
Line Number: 2

Last permanent residence was Blucher, Saskatchewan. He's heading to Chicago, Illinois. Had been in Illinois from 1909-1910. Home address 359 Oak? St., Chicago. Born Bath, England. First arrived Quebec Aug. 1900 aboard the SS Mt. Eagle.

1910 US census has a G.L. Jones born 1883, England, emigrated 1909. He's 27, a lodger, has a wife H.L. Jones, aged 36, born USA. He's a machinist. Address is North Clark? St. That street name is very hard to read on both the passenger list and census.

The above man is married and list below him is Hilma Livia Jones aged 35 years (also listed as married)

Name: Hilma Livia Jones
Arrival Date: Apr 1910
Port of Arrival: Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada
Residence Country: Canada
Age: 35
Birth Date: abt 1875
Birth Country: USA
Gender: Female
Race/Nationality: English
Record Type: Manifests
Line Number: 3

Cook County, Illinois, Marriages Index, 1871-1920
about Gilbert Little Jones Name: Gilbert Little Jones
Age: 27
Gender: Male
Birth Year: abt 1883
Marriage Type: Marriage
Marriage Date: 1 Mar 1910
Marriage Place: Chicago, Cook, Illinois
Spouse Name: Helma Lura Anderson
Spouse Age: 35
Spouse Gender: Female
FHL Film Number: 1030474

Hilma seems to be widowed in 1930:

1930 United States Federal Census
about Hilma Jones Name: Hilma Jones
Gender: Female
Birth Year: abt 1875
Birthplace: Illinois
Race: White
Home in 1930: Chicago, Cook, Illinois
View Map
Marital Status: Widowed
Relation to Head of House: Housekeeper
Father's Birthplace: Sweden
Mother's Birthplace: Sweden

Household Members: Name Age
John Severin 57
Hilma Jones 55

Possible death of Gilbert?

Cook County, Illinois Death Index, 1908-1988
about Gilbert Jones Name: Gilbert Jones
Death Date: 15 Dec 1923
Death Location: Cook County, IL
File Number: 6032093
Archive Collection Name: Cook County Genealogy Records (Deaths)
Archive repository location: Chicago, IL
Archive repository name: Cook County Clerk

Edit: Guess not, another record has this with wrong parents:

Illinois, Deaths and Stillbirths Index, 1916-1947
about Gilbert Jones Name: Gilbert Jones
Birth Date: abt 1901
Death Date: 15 Dec 1923
Death Place: Chicago, Cook, Illinois
Death Age: 22
Gender: Male
Father Name: James B. Jones
Mother Name: Sophia Duars
Spouse Name: Louise Jones
FHL Film Number: 1877423

Many thanks to AnnCardiff and Margee for your prompt replies.

AnnCardiff. Thanks for the information. I don't know if Francis Littlejones in the US is connected to my Littlejones family in the UK. My Littlejones tree only goes back to the birth of John Littlejones, Gilbert's grandfather, in Bath, UK in 1832.

Margee. You could have knocked me down with a feather when I got your reply. The family has been wondering what happened to Gilbert for over 100 years! Thank you so much. From the information you have sent, I gather that Gilbert arrived in Quebec, Canada in 1900. It's a bit confusing after that. He was crossing the border from Canada to the US in April 1910, but he'd been in Illinois from 1909-10., and his last permanent residence was Saskatchewan. I'm not getting that bit.

In the second record you kindly sent, Gilbert is in the US (I don't know where), having emigrated from England in 1909. But he'd arrived in Quebec in 1900. Unless it means that Gilbert emigrated from Canada. Is that the case, do you know?

I'm very interested to see that he married a 36-year old lady with the initial H. How can I find out her name, and whether they had children? I might have relations in the US!

My thanks, once again, to everyone for their help

Hi Gillian, I think the 1900 arrival was just a mistake, it was very hard to read and I suspect it was supposed to be 1909.

Sorry, my mistake, on the second posting, the 1910 census I gave the address but neglected to say it was in Chicago, Illinois.

I posted the marriage. her name was Helma?Hilma Lura Anderson. She was born in USA but her parents were born in Sweden. I didn't see any records of children of the marriage.

here he is with the rest of the family in 1901

RG number: RG13
Piece: 2342
Folio: 57
Page: 17
Reg. District: Bath
Sub District: Walcot
Parish: Bath
Enum. District: 21
Ecclesiastical District: St Saviour
City/Municipal Borough:
Address: 14, Otago Terrace, Bath
County: Somersetshire


JONES, Eliza Head Widow F 52 1849
Bath, Somersetshire
>>>>JONES, Gilbert Son Single M 17 1884
Bath, Somersetshire
JONES, Florance Daughter Single F 11 1890
Bath, Somersetshire
JONES, Elsie Daughter F 9 1892
Bath, Somersetshire
JONES, Penelope Nurse Child F 0 (10W) 1901
Bath, Somersetshire
BOLWELL, Sarah Boarder Single F 66 1835 Living On Own Means
Bath, Somersetshire

Thank you rootgatherer and Margee.

rootgatherer. I'm not used to seeing records like that. Is the record saying that Hilma arrived in Winnipeg in April 1910 from the US? From Margee's record, she married Gilbert in March 1910 and they lived in Chicago. I've just created a picture in my head of Gilbert and Hilma honeymooning in Canada!

Margee. Thanks for the marriage notice. Since Gilbert and Hilma were married on 1 March 1910, I guess they weren't honeymooning when Hilma entered Canada in April 1910!

I'm sorry to see that Hilma was widowed by 1930. I feel quite devastated, having just discovered Gilbert, then finding out he died so young. And you've dashed my hopes of relatives in America, since he appears not to have had any children!

Once again, thanks both for your efforts. I'm thrilled to have all this information

Thank you, Choccy. I looked for the family in the 1901 census, but couldn't find them. Now I realize that I was looking for the father of the family, John Littlejones, and he was dead. I might have found Eliza, except she'd shortened her name from Littlejones to Jones. I don't know why she did that. I have her bible, which she signed in 1915 as Eliza Littlejones. Maybe she was just being bolshy in 1901!

Another surprise is Penelope (Little)Jones, aged 10 weeks. She can't be Elsie's or Florence's. At a pinch, she might be Eliza's, but Eliza's 52 and a widow. The only other choice is Gilbert, aged 17, which might explain why he hightailed it to Canada under a cloud. Well, well, well.

My last surprise from that entry is Sarah Bolwell, aged 65. She's not on my family tree yet, so she must be married to one of Eliza's brothers.

Thanks for giving me so much to chew on!

Sarah Bolwell is just says a boarder...living on her own means

penelope Jones...may not be any relation at all if listed as nurse child (foster)

I assumed Sarah Bolwell was Eliza's sister ? She is said to be single.

This is the only Penelope birth that would fit with the child on the census.

Births Mar 1901 Stewart Penelope Arabella Bath 5c 506


Here she is in 1911

Name: Penelope Arabella Stewart
Age in 1911: 10
Estimated Birth Year: abt 1901
Relation to Head: Daughter
Gender: Female
Birth Place: Bath, Somerset, England
Civil parish: St Andrews
County/Island: Glamorgan
Country: Wales
Street Address: Mezal Tor, Pencoedtre, Cadoxton Near Cardiff
Occupation: School
Registration district: Cardiff
Registration District Number: 588
Sub-registration district: St Nicholas
ED, institution, or vessel: 21
Household schedule number: 251
Piece: 32198
Household Members: Name Age
Edward Arthur Hamilton Stewart 47 Financier, Employer, b. Sussex
Millicent Jane Stewart 39 b. Married 11 years, 2 children
Edward John Stewart 7
Penelope Arabella Stewart 10
Eva Chalmers 22 cook
Ellen Collins 16 housemaid


Not actually married 11 years?

Marriages Dec 1902
Court Millicent Jane Cardiff 11a 509 <<<<<<<<<<
Gerhold Mabel Cardiff 11a 509
Stewart Edward Arthur H Cardiff 11a 509 <<<<<<<<<<
Thomas Edward Cardiff 11a 509

Not seeing either Edward or Millicent in 1901 but both are on the 1891 census. Looks like Millicent came from a fairly well of family as she was a University student in 1891 and her father a Town Surveyor.