Page 13 - Loose Ends

Chapter 3         More Questions.

Loose Ends.

At the time of writing there are a few loose ends to be further researched, not at least what lies back beyond the partnership of Thomas and Emma MacKglew, where were they born? Who were their ancestors?  I had long considered that the answers lay elsewhere, away from our Bermondsey area maybe the West County of Somerset, now I am not so sure, for the Lighterman and Seal skinners may well have worked the river a Hundred years or more before, and it’s only with the advent of parish records around 1840 and the more detailed household census of 1861 onwards that we start to learn of our family.  The truth maybe that Bermondsey is our roots and the past there may need more extensive digging.

One loose end that needs to be  pursued is that of a Martha Caroline Pettard deceased 1863, she does not appear to fit within the family of the time and maybe the certificate of her death St Saviour 1d 11 will tell us more.

The family line of Alfred born 1872 contains a string of unknowns, the surname of his first wife for a start, was it Marsh?  Hopefully more will be revealed with the marriage certificate dated 1891 St. Saviour 1d 167.  Also confirmation of the parents of Christina Louis Pettard born 1897 St. Olave 1d 272, is she the daughter of Alfred and his first wife Elizabeth?  Lastly in this line and maybe the most interesting is the birth in 1917 of Alexander Alfred Pettard and his subsequent death in 1988, both events recorded Southwark 1d 92 and Southwark 15 31, respectively, also recording that he was the son of a Alfred and Lillian Pettard (Proctor).

Here may lay a hitherto unknown part of the family, one that may have lived in the area for 70 years or more.  Alfred would have been the uncle of my granddad William Francis making Alfred’s son Alexander Alfred, a cousin of granddads.  It seems strange that such a family could exist in the area of Southwark with none of our line being aware, however, Margaret Tomlin quotes that on at least one occasion around the 1939/40’s a woman named Pettard unknown to the family was questioned when she showed her ration book at one of the Leach family stalls, no reply came with the woman walking away.

This could have been Christina Louisa Pettard.  Research carried out by both Reginald Pettard and Dennis Ford established she was indeed the daughter of Alfred and wife Elizabeth, having died at the age of 98 in 1994, they also established that she died a spinster and had a theatrical career.  Cross reference was also made to the fact her mother Elizabeth may have been a ballet dancer.  I doubt whether this could have been a career, having married by the time she was 20 then giving birth four times before her death at 28, would appear to leave very little time for any career, maybe she trained as a dancer in her younger days.

   No further light is thrown on her up-bringing, whether she was raised by her father or by her aunt Eliza Marsh who we know she was living with at the age of 3.  Furthermore, it’s not clear if she lived her life in the area, although I am inclined to think she did, what family she had maintaining a presence in and around the area, plus the fact that Southwark has a long history connected to the theatre going back to William Shakespeare.  I am not sure where our researchers found the details of Christina Louisa but feel sure these must have been taken from her death certificate which is recorded somewhere in the area of Southwark.  We still do not have a date for the recorded death of her father Alfred and if we go back to Alfred’s brother, Henry Joseph born 1868 very little of his life is known.  Apart from his birth date Henry is listed in both 1871 and 1881 census, remembering that all our line was listed wrongly as Pittards in the 1881 census; he does not appear in either of the 1891 or 1901 census with his whereabouts unknown.  However, he may be listed in the 1911 census as H. Pettard born 1868 district St. Olave Bermondsay.   It’s clear that the census data for the area of Southwark and Bermondsay needs further researching.

With access to registration records on-line of census, birth, married and deaths it has been relatively easy to confirm almost all the research findings of Reginald Pettard and Dennis Ford.  As more data will undoubtedly become available in the future, so with it, more knowledge will be gained.  At this moment in time I am not sure if they traced Alfred Pettard and Lillian Proctor, a line that certainly produced one heir in Alexander Alfred Pettard.  I guess it will remain somewhat of a mystery why there appears to be no contact between the two lines of the family living in the same area, although in truth it may not be a mystery, just a case of two families living and socializing in different circles, which would be the case if Alfred’s line were part of the arts and drama world of the time.

 The records related to Alfred and Lillian need to be examined to establish for sure whether or not that this Alfred is indeed who we think he is, or whether this is yet another family line of Pettards that exists within the Southwark area.  The research of both Reggie Pettard and Dennis Ford unearth many names that had no established connection or link with our line, so it seems more then strange that Alfred and Lillian are not mentioned in their findings.  Alfred would have been 45 years old about the time of birth of Alexander Alfred, not having any further details of Lillian and unaware of any deceased date for Alfred, it may prove necessary for clarification to obtain a copy of marriage certificate of Alfred and Lillian Proctor; December 1916 Southwark 1d 116 and also a copies of the birth and death certificates for Alexander Alfred, Southwark 1d 92 and Southwark 15 31 respectively.