Find Ancestors

HELP!!! Crossling is not a very common name - but I'm not having any luck with them! I am looking for relatives or any connection to Ada Crossling born in 1878 (county Durham?). She married Joseph Robson. They had four children: Joseph Vernon (1908), Vincent - both born in South Africa and then Audrey and Terence both born in Durham? Joseph was a hydraulics engineer and did contractual work in SA in the early 1900's. After Joseph died Ada went to live with her daughter Audrey down in Romford? Ada died 27 March 1959 - I think I have a match for her death listed as Ada C Robson vol 5a pg 719 age 81 in district of Romford in March 1959. Please if anyone has any information please contact me!
Many Thanks Carolyn Laing (nee Robson)

You might want to proofread/edit your subject line ... which says CROSSING. Not quite as uncommon as Crossling. ;)

There are 3 Ada Crossling births in the GRO index:

http://www.freebmd.org.uk

1868, 1889, 1899.

None matches very well with an age of 81 in 1959.

There is no Ada Crossling + Joseph Robson marriage in the GRO 1890 to 1910.

There don't seem to be births for an Audrey Robson and a Terence Robson that match up after 1908.

These ones might be interesting, especially if the mother's name on one is a mistranscription.

Births Jun 1919
Robson Terence Robson Gateshead 10a 1559

Births Dec 1913
Robson Audrey Dobson S Shields 10a 1604


If Ada was a Crossling by marriage, there could be a possible marriage here:


Marriages Jun 1899
Bridgwater Charles Alexander Barnet 3a 469
Crossling Albert Ernest Barnet 3a 469
Lane Ada Frances Barnet 3a 469
Whitley Emily Ann Barnet 3a 469

Births Jun 1876
LANE Ada Frances Ledbury 6a 489

Okay, never mind. Here we are.

I just searched all the Joseph Robson marriages from 1890 to 1910 at FreeBMD.


Marriages Sep 1906
MOFFATT Ada Crossling Sunderland 10a 1208
ROBSON Joseph Sunderland 10a 1208

Order that certificate

http://www.gro.gov.uk/gro/content/certificates

and you'll have her father's name, hopefully.


Or better -- search at FreeBMD for the birth of Ada Crossling Moffatt, and you'll have the info for ordering her birth cert. I'll let you do the search -- and remember to click on the spectacles to view the image and make sure the info is correctly transcribed.

You'll still need the birth certificate -- but this would seem to be Ada in the 1881 census.


Name: Ada C. Moffatt
Age: 3
Estimated Birth Year: abt 1878
Relation: Daughter
Father's Name: Joseph
Mother's Name: Ann E.
Gender: Female
Where born: Seaham, Durham, England

Civil Parish: Dawdon
County/Island: Durham
Country: England

Street address: 43 Marlbrough St
Occupation: Scholar

Registration district: Easington
Sub registration district: Easington
ED, institution, or vessel: 12b

Ada C. Moffatt 3
Ann E. Moffatt 34
Annie E. Moffatt 7
Emma S. Moffatt 8
Eveline Moffatt 1
Joseph Moffatt 35
Mary A. Moffatt 5


Name: Ann E. Moffatt
Age: 34
Estimated Birth Year: abt 1847
Relation: Wife
Spouse's Name: Joseph
Gender: Female
Where born: Houghton, Durham, England

Name: Joseph Moffatt
Age: 35
Estimated Birth Year: abt 1846
Relation: Head
Spouse's Name: Ann E.
Gender: Male
Where born: Iskellgite ?, Cumberland, England
Occupation: Clerk

A little more info.


Births Jun 1921
Robson Rupert T Moffatt Sunderland 10a 1451


Name: Rupert Terence Robson
Birth Date: 12 Mar 1921
Death Registration Month/Year: Apr 1996
Age at death (estimated): 75
Registration district: St Albans
Inferred County: Hertfordshire
Register number: A45C
District and Subdistrict: 5351A
Entry Number: 68


A child who didn't survive?


Births Sep 1911
ROBSON Robert W Moffatt Lanchester 10a 798


Probably Audrey's birth:


Births Dec 1910
ROBSON Audrey Sedgefield 10a 171

Re your message -- hope you've found the thread & replies again, Carolyn. ;)

I'm pretty sure these are the answers you're looking for.

Hi Kathryn

Yes I found those threads and you've been a great help! Don't know what I would've done without you - probably just given up, I suppose!

Talking about giving up - my husband and I are having a hard time tracing his relatives - perhaps we are going about it the wrong way. My hubby Rian is South African. His father John Henry Laing was born in SA on 17/05/1942. His father was also John Henry and he was born 22/10/1915. Now his father was Henry or Harry George Laing. We think he is originally from Scotland. He immigrated to SA in the early 1900's and married a local girl. They also had two daughters Maud Susan and Levi(?). Harry/Henry returned to the UK to enlist and he fought in WW1 under one of the Scottish or English regiments. After the war he returned to SA and died not long after that from poisoning. He landed in Cape Town and it is believed he was a policeman. Where all these events took place, we have no idea! Other family members have said that Harry/Henry went to SA with a brother. Sorry it is not much to go on. I have tried looking in the SA National Archives but you need to subscribe to get info and I've already got subscriptions here in England. I wouldn't know where to look for military records so I haven't tried that.
I know this search will be quite a challenge and I really don't have the time to sit and really look with a new baby and two young children.

So if you by some miracle find something, or can suggest where we should look or how to go about this challenge, we would be eternally grateful! Many Thanks again!

Best Regards Carolyn & Rian

P.S I did find two entries for Harry George Laing for about 1880 and both entries were down in Norfolk area. He is definitely not from down south - more likely Northern England and Scotland.

All I know about South Africa ... I read in a thread here at GR. But that sure was lucky. I found a quite amazing thing of my own on the archives site, and got a photocopy of it just for the asking!

http://www.national.archives.gov.za/index.htm

I always just go to

National Automated Archival Information Retrieval System (NAAIRS)

and then

Search

and then

All Archives Repositories and National Registers of non-public records

or just try all of the relevant looking databases one by one.


Searching for Henry George Laing produces one result:

DEPOT TAB
SOURCE TPD
TYPE LEER
VOLUME_NO 5/131
SYSTEM 01
REFERENCE 213/1919
PART 1
DESCRIPTION ILLIQUID CASE. DIVORCE.
HENRY GEORGE LAING VERSUS ALIDA ELIZABETH LAING (BORN VAN ZIJL).
STARTING 19190000
ENDING 19190000


Any chance that's the same one?

"Henry Laing" produces 16 results that don't look useful. I'd play around there a while, though.

You can look around at the instructions there for figuring out which archive that is and how to get copies -- they're all different.

Was curious whether your HGL might have been in the Anglo-Boer War so checked Kevin Asplin's site

http://hometown.aol.co.uk/kevinasplin/IYL.html

but he isn't listed.

Hi Kathryn

Thanks so much for your help! After reading about what you found on HGL I think it might be the same one. All that my father-in-law knows is that his grandmother was known as Bellie (it could be a shortened version of Elizabeth in the native Afrikaans) and he was told that she was carrying on with a Labascagne while his grandfather was away fighting, so it could be possible that he was going to divorce her. It is believed that he poisoned himself because of this whole affair. I'll put it to my hubby and perhaps if he phones his father in SA this week they can confirm the story. Just talking about it, might just trigger a far distant memory! I'll also ask him to confirm where all these events took place in SA, it might just help somehow!?

Anyway thanks again for all your hardwork, I really do appreciate it. I'll let you know what transpires.

Many Thanks
Best Regards
Carolyn

You're welcome! One thing I was forgetting -- the possible brother who went to SA. Take a look at the "L" list at Kevin Asplin's site -- there are other Laings, just not a Henry / HG etc. It's always possible that a brother preceded him there, possibly in the war. I believe that's how my gr-grfather's sister's son ended up there.

If you do manage to identify your HGL's origins in the UK, you could check that list for a brother.

Hi Kathryn

I managed to find a moment to look at Kevin Asplin's site. It is very informative and a lot of hard work has gone into it. I've made a note of all the Laings that served in the various divisions and filed them - just in case I find something later on. I'm shelving the Laing search of my tree for the time being. BUT I've ordered my ggrandfather and ggrandmother's marriage certificate (Joseph Robson & Ada Crossling Moffat) so I'll hopefully be able to tackle the Robson side when it arrives.
Thanks for your help - don't know what I would've done if you hadn't have found my cry for help!
Best Regards
Carolyn