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Tring to find information on William Cross and Margaret Caroline Woolf. William Cross was born in England in abt. 1873 but was disowned by his family when he married Margaret Caroline Woolf who was German. They left England and went to South Africa where they had a son born on 28 July 1921 in Paarl, Cape of Good Hope.On the birth certificate it appears that William Cross' age was 48.Margaret Caroline Woolf was also in her 40's at this time. They gave him up for adoption on 27 Jun 1924 to adoptive parents Arthur James and Jessie Elsdon who named him Robin Ernest Elsdon. Robin Elsdon died on 9 Oct 1984 in New Germany, Natal, South Africa. He was married to Joan Thelma Mills and had two daughters and a son. Robin Elsdon was my uncle and godfather. We have no information on his biological family. Can anyone help with this?

Not seeing a marriage for them in England.

Rose

I wonder about this person.

In 1881, she is with her parents:

Name: Caroline M. Woolf
Age: 5
Estimated Birth Year: abt 1876
Relation: Daughter
Father's Name: William
Mother's Name: Sarah A.
Gender: Female
Where born: Canewdon, Essex, England

Civil parish: Canewdon
County/Island: Essex

William Woolf 29
Sarah A. Woolf 31
William C. Woolf 7
Caroline M. Woolf 5
Dora May Woolf 3
Ernest A. Woolf 1


The parents are also shown as born in Essex.

The consistent use of a middle initial is often an indication that the person is going by a middle name, and the middle initial represents the "official" first name -- or the middle initial is in its correct place, and it is specified because that is the name the person goes by.

This is that Ms. Woolf in 1901:


Name: Caroline M Woolf
Age: 23
Estimated Birth Year: abt 1878
Relation: Visitor
Where born: Canewdon, Essex, England

Civil parish: Prittlewell
Ecclesiastical parish: St John the Baptist
County/Island: Essex

Pauline Vogelsang 41 (born in Germany, British Subject)
Otto Vogelsang 19
Amalie Vogelsang 15
Marie Vogelsang 12
Boles Sarnowski 33
William Merchant 59
Marion Merchant 44
Caroline M Woolf 23


There is plainly a German connection.

Perhaps your Margaret Caroline Woolf was ethnically German, but not German by nationality?

Looks like the marriage of those parents:


Marriages Sep 1873
Clarke Sarah Ann Bethnal Green
WOOLF William Bethnal Green 1c 702


but I can't find a Margaret/Caroline birth!

A possibility:

Births Sep 1874
Woolf Margaret Whitechapel 1c 328

Given the spouses' ages at marriage, a previous marriage is a possibility. If the bride was previously married, her surname would not have been her birth surname at the second marriage.

I wondered about this one:

Marriages Dec 1908
DE LANGE Emanuel Hackney 1b 931
GOTTHEIMER Woolf Hackney 1b 931
KATZ Yetta Hackney 1b 931
> WOOLF Caroline Hackney 1b 931

But this entry in 1911 seems to account for her, and the age would be way off likely:

DE LANGE CAROLINE 1883 28 West Ham Essex
DE LANGE EMANUEL 1883 28 West Ham Essex
DE LANGE GEORGE 1910 1 West Ham Essex

Thank you for all this information! I will look into it and hopefully find out more about them.
Still looking for information on William Cross. I believe he came from a wealthy English family, and his occupation on Robin Elsdons birth certificate was given as an Engineer.

I am now finding a Margaret Woolf on 1881 census. Her parents were Frank (1844) and Margaret Woolf (1845) both born in Germany. The lived in Whitechapel at this time. Three children listed as Henry (1867), Walter (1871) and Margaret (1875) born London, Middlesex. Am wondering now if this is the correct person/family as this could be the German connection. I do not find Margaret or the family on the 1891 census (possibly out of the country). On the 1901 census Frank and Margaret Woolf lived in St Marylebone, London county and have 1 child listed as Marie (1883)
A possible birth date mentioned earlier in this thread for Margaret Woolf was Sep 1874 in Whitechapel, appears to be the likely correct date which I will investigate further.