Reid and Ferris, just starting

nica · Post by **nica** » Sat Jan 21, 2006 1:03 pm

Hi
I am new to the site and I am starting to trace my mother's ancestors. My mother always said her name was Augustina Veronica Ferris but on her birth certificate (18 February 1910) she is named Ina Ferris. So, problem number one -Where did the Augustina Veronica come in? I have sent for her birth certificate and intend joining Scotlandspeople to see if I can find her Christening record. Maybe that is her Christened name.
Secondly, her parents never married and mum always said her mother Annie Reid, died in childbirth. However, the Register Office (via a very helpful young man named Neil) checked deaths of various Annie Reids advised they were in their 50's. The one Annie Reid he found that might fit the bill was Annie Reid, (Father Robert Reid, Mother Jane Cameron) who died in 1911 from Tuberculosis aged 22.
My mother's father is listed as Thomas Ferris, a printers assistant.
My mother was fostered by Patrick and Agnes Strain. We were always told that Agnes Strain was the sister of Thomas Ferris.
All this happened in Glasgow.
If there is anyone out there who has come across or has these names in their family, I would be delighted to hear from them.
Sorry my first post is so long winded, I don't always go on like this.

DavidWW · Post by **DavidWW** » Sat Jan 21, 2006 1:21 pm

Nica

Welcome to TS.

Not longwinded at all, as all the info that anyone needs to understand the situation is presently well in a logical and understandable manner.

David

JustJean · Post by **JustJean** » Sat Jan 21, 2006 1:24 pm

Hello Nica and Welcome!

Gosh I hate to start right off with telling you what you won't find....but it's only fair to warn you. The online Scotlandspeople birth indexes only go through [up to in UK English !! moderator] 1905. Anything newer than this has to be obtained direct from the good folk in Edinburgh. By this I mean direct order of a certificate from GROS when you have an exact date.....or by visiting New Register House in person or hiring a researcher to go for you. But you say you have already sent for you mum's BC (which you state as 1910)......so that is good

But there will be no other christening record available on Scotlandspeople

She may well have gone by Augustina Veronica....but if the registrar entered it as just Ina....well....I understand that was the legal name. Ina very well being a shortened or pet version of Augustina. (We once had a very long thread on names ending in ina on here....most interesting!!!!)

The next very sad news is unless the informant for the death of the Annie Reids that you have searched out happens to be Mr. Ferris or his sister....or some other person that would add a plausible link to the Ferris family (lacking a marriage certificate).....there's no way I can see of being certain you have the right Annie

......the address at death might prove lucky if it were the same as you mum's birth record. That's all I can think of at the moment. Good news though is that the deaths are indexed online through 1955. So you'll have no problem hunting down all the Annie Reids and checking them out.

It will also be possible to perhaps prove whether Agnes Strain was indeed a Ferris too.

So some stumbling blocks but still possible to perhaps find a bit more info....but at least you've been warned that this might be an inconclusive one......

Best wishes
Jean

nica · Post by **nica** » Sat Jan 21, 2006 1:41 pm

Hi Just Jean and DavidWW
Thank you for the welcome.
I read the threads on the name Ina JJ and found it interesting. I was given my mother's full name but go by the shortened version pronounce eye-na.
Typically, because we know so little about my mum and her ancestors, that is why we are trying to trace details!! Don't we like to give ourselves some puzzles??
I have done quite well tracing my dad's tree, he was born in England and met mum while serving with the Cameronians.
At the minute I am working on both. A lot of the groundwork for Dad was already on other peoples trees and I have found two cousins, relatives in Wyoming (distant relatives in more ways than one) and various other family members.
We just want to know a bit more about Mum if we can find it out.
Happy hunting.
x

JimM · Post by **JimM** » Sat Jan 21, 2006 1:50 pm

Hi Nica
Do you have your mums marriage certificate?
it might give you some more clues
good luck

Jim

JustJean · Post by **JustJean** » Sat Jan 21, 2006 1:53 pm

Hi Nica

Good to hear you've been having success with at least one side of the tree!

One other idea occurred to me...but it's almost worse than no records exisitng at all......if Annie happened to die after the 1911 census was taken....and your mum being born in 1910.....well....odds are they will appear enumerated together.

Only problem with this hairbrained scheme....the 1911 census is some 5 years down the road for being open to the public

What happy news I'm handing out today

!

Best wishes
Jean

DavidWW · Post by **DavidWW** » Sat Jan 21, 2006 2:40 pm

Hi Nica

I was having a "play" with the various names, and very came across the death in Glasgow of a Thomas FERRIS in 1953 where he's shown as the widower of Annie REID with the informant being his daughter Austustina V LILLEY (maybe LILLY) of 21 Playfair Street, Leeds 10 ......................

So whether or not this Thomas was regularly married or not, his daughter certainly considered that he was married to Annie REID !!

The above is there waiting for you at www.scotlandspeople.gov.uk for a few bawbees.

There's only one marriage in Scotland recorded between a Patrick STRAIN and an Agnes but neither her surname nor that of her mother, is FERRIS but could she have been a sister-in-law ??...............

Wayullllll........ in 1916 a Frank FERRIS married a Mary RAFFERTY, Widow, maiden name WELSH ..............

It may be the case that we're not dealing with siblings but a closely connected extended family ....................

Before looking for an Ann[ie] REID death on ScotlandsPeople we need to know her date of birth, given the frequrncy of occurence of those names.

David

DavidWW · Post by **DavidWW** » Sat Jan 21, 2006 2:48 pm

JustJean wrote:....snipped ..... She may well have gone by Augustina Veronica.... but if the registrar entered it as just Ina....well....I understand that was the legal name. ...snipped .......... Jean

Not quite

It was the registered name. Her legal name in Scots law was whatever her parents chose to call her, or what she chose to call herself in later life, as long as there was no fraudulent or criminal intent involved in the change of name from that registered or previously used.

David

nica · Post by **nica** » Sat Jan 21, 2006 3:36 pm

Hi David
Yep, that is them. My mum was notified of Grandad's death and her and my eldest sister went up to Scotland to see to his burial.
Grandad and Annie Reid were never married, and my mum was very touchy about the subject. From what we (my siblings and I) know, he never married but joined theMerchant Navy and eventually settled back in Glasgow living in a mens model (hostel as we know them in England).
As for Patrick Strain, yes, it is possible that his wife was not a Reid or a Ferris. We are only going from bits we picked up, but we do know that Patrick and Agnes Strain fostered quite a few children over the years but only adopted one child, Daniel. (who, ended up being brought up in my family as he was six months older than my eldest brother) shortly before Agnes died.
Unfortunately, I don't have any info. on Annie Reid other than her name, that she lived( we think) in Glasgow (that was where my mum was born) and that she died around the time of mum's birth( or so Mum was told)
Thank you for that info. I will join Sp but need to clear the decks so I can use all my credits in the allotted time.
thank you again for your help.
xx

DavidWW · Post by **DavidWW** » Sat Jan 21, 2006 3:45 pm

nica wrote:Hi David
Yep, that is them. My mum was notified of Grandad's death and her and my eldest sister went up to Scotland to see to his burial.
Grandad and Annie Reid were never married, and my mum was very touchy about the subject. From what we (my siblings and I) know, he never married but joined theMerchant Navy and eventually settled back in Glasgow living in a mens model (hostel as we know them in England).
As for Patrick Strain, yes, it is possible that his wife was not a Reid or a Ferris. We are only going from bits we picked up, but we do know that Patrick and Agnes Strain fostered quite a few children over the years but only adopted one child, Daniel. (who, ended up being brought up in my family as he was six months older than my eldest brother) shortly before Agnes died.
Unfortunately, I don't have any info. on Annie Reid other than her name, that she lived( we think) in Glasgow (that was where my mum was born) and that she died around the time of mum's birth( or so Mum was told)
Thank you for that info. I will join Sp but need to clear the decks so I can use all my credits in the allotted time.
thank you again for your help.
xx

Nae prob!

I like a richt guid puzzle now and then, and there's plenty more to find, including in the censuses, nicely complicated, of course, by both Thomas and Frank (Francis?) having been in the merchant navy..........

David