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I am looking to trace the spouse of a William Roberts born in 1798 in the UK. The documents linked to his name state he is widowed. His son is Richard Gilbert Roberts born 1821 in Shropshire, England. He married Mary Catherine Evans, and they emigrated to South Africa. They had eight children. Their son Richard married Susanna Kruger in Ladysmith, South Africa.
i would also like to trace the emigration documents showing the port of exit in the UK and port of arrival in South Africa of Richard Gilbert Roberts.
Very keen to know what you may discover or how you could assist.
Many thanks and Kind Regards,
Rowland Roberts.
Bulawayo, Zimbabwe
Thanks Graham. Is it common based on your experience that the son and grandson would carry the names of dads and grandads in their first or middle names? This may help narrow the search for the elusive William.
What I have discovered is the passenger list for William and Mary Roberts who emigrated to South African in July 1850 from Liverpool on the Devonian. With new hints and research it looks like the William and Richard Gilbert mentioned above do not belong on the tree at all. William and Mary had a son Richard who married Susanna Kruger in Ladysmith South Africa. Richard and Susanna had a son Richard Gilbert born in SA.
The challenge now is to trace William and Mary's origin in Liverpool. According to her probate, she passed away in 1902 in SA. She was married in Liverpool although her maiden name is not stated. She was born around 1821. Their UK born kids are Edward, Richard, Elizabeth and Catherine. Their SA born kids are William Henry and John Robert. Their son Richard lived from 1843-1925. Williams age and birthplace are part of the challenge - how to narrow it down.
In my experience, it is quite common for one of the children to be given the same name as a parent/grandparent as a first name. I have rarely seen it as a middle name. More common for a middle name is the maiden name of the mother. Sometimes this can pass down several generations. For example, two of my ancestors were John Spry and Jane Hume married in the mid 1700s. Hume became a middle name for several children with the surname Spry and it has carried on down to the current generation (not my line). My great grandfather had Hume Spry as two middle names (different surname)!
You mention a son Richard Gilbert Roberts. Gilbert is an unusual first name. I would say that there is a good chance this was his mother's maiden name. However, you now think he is not part of your tree so this is no help!
If they arrived in SA in 1850, they should be somewhere on the 1841 England census. Unfortunately the fact that they left from Liverpool does not prove that they came from that area. I have seen people leave Liverpool who came from Sussex! Your best hope is that, if some of the children were born before 1841, to try to find a family with all the right names in the 1841 census. With the surname Roberts, that will not be an easy task!
Hi Graham. This is great tool for some research. Excellent clues. The Richard Gilbert who is the son of Richard and Susanna appears to be genuine. Where the confusion came was a widowed William who had a son named Richard Gilbert - that combination could not be found so we scrapped that one.
Take my first name, my dad and grandad have it but my dads middle name is Arthur and his dads middle name is John. My great-grandad is John Robert. My first name could also be a clue, we came across a Daniel Rowland who was the son of a William and Mary. The Devonian William and Mary did not have a Daniel though according to the ship manifest. Gonna try these possible ideas and see what comes up. Appreciate your time Graham. A challenge indeed.
