Thread: London Cemeteries

Starry

Please can anyone help me locate the grave of my grandmother? She was born Hilda Ward in Pimlico, London in 1875. Her name when she died was Hilda Nash, although I have been unable to find any details of a marriage. On his birth certificate my dad's father is listed as Frank Nash. Hilda died in 1918 in Chelsea, London and my father was subsequently abandoned and brought up in a school in Mitcham run by the Board of Guardians.

As I have no relatives I would dearly like to find some and would be very grateful if someone could help me in my search.

Thank you.

staffie102

Do you have Hilda's birth certificate I have searched for the marriage under Hilda Ward and then for Frank Nash but found no connection so I looked for a Hilda Ward aged around 6 on the 1881 census there were only 3 shown within a +or- 2 years of 1875 birth and they were from 1875 1876 and 1877 and were from Black Heath, Kent, England 75 then 1876> London S W, London, Middlesex, England and 3rd <1877> Exeter, Devon, England
there was no sign of a Hilda Ward oround 1875 other than these so are you sure of her birth date ???

in the mean time a look here will show what London Cemeteries there were
http://www.londoncemeteries.co.uk/?page=list

You have me a little hooked so please let me have all the information you know is reliable and I will continue to look for you if you don't have the 1881 census take a look at http://www.familysearch.org/ENG/Sear...rch_census.asp

Look forward to hearing from you
Roger

Starry

Hi Roger
Thank you so much for getting in touch with me. I have been searching for information on my grandmother for 15 years now with very little success so an extra pair of eyes (and brain) might help!
This is what little I know of my family: (hope I don't bore you or confuse you too much!)
My dad Thomas Paul Nash was born in 1915 in Bow to a Frank and Hilda Nash (nee Ward). Like you I have never been able to find any evidence of a marriage. I have Hilda's birth certificate which states that she was born on 17th November 1875 in 90 Lupus Street, Pimlico to Paul Edgar Ward and Emily Dadd. Hilda died on 20th March 1918 at 8 Sydney Street, Chelsea. It states on her death certificate that she was the wife of Frank Nash, an admiralty clerk(temporary) despite the fact that there is no evidence of her being married. Her mother, Emily Winder (married twice)was present at her death. For years I have been unable to find where she is buried or indeed any of her family who might have produced children etc.
Frank (akaFrank Reynolds Nash)i s a complete mystery as in 1920 he abandoned my dad and placed him with the Board of Guardians in an orphanage in Mitcham where he lived until the age of 15 and went into the army. As far as I can ascertain Frank was already married in 1894 (maybe keeping 2 houses going in 1918??) to an Ellen Elvy and according to the 1901 census living in Ealing. Bizarrely at the top it says "1901 Census record for household of Hilda Ward from 1876 in London". Hilda at the time of this census was in Birmingham General Hospital as a patient.
Frank Nash died in 1931 in Bromley Kent and I have a copy of his death certificate and his will. My dad is not mentioned on it. I have not yet found out where he is buried. According to the Board of Guardian records after 1920 he never visited my dad again and dad had no contact with the Ward family either. Hilda had several siblings but I have been unable to find any of their descendants either and Frank had a brother William Kelsey Nash who had 5 children from 2 marriages but again I have been unable to trace them as yet.
If you are able to discover any further information on any of the above mentioned people I would be extremely grateful.
Thank you for your interest.
Stella

staffie102

Thank you for that information I found your dads birth as you say in the
June 1/4 of 1915 shown as Poplar
I will see if a stranger can see something you may have missed sometimes we are too close to see the things we are looking for

Best Wishes Roger

staffie102

You certainly are not Kidding this is more of a battlement than a brick wall I have been looking for a possible burial ground for both Hilda and Frank I am still waiting for the answer for Hilda but Bromley need a search fee a wopping £34 so I thought as it seems Hilda's last resting place is what you are looking for most I would continue there

I have a few questions that you may have answers for Like
What religion was she
could she have been a cremation rather than a burial
your dad was their only child
What was Hilda doing in a Birmingham Hospital did she have family there ?
Who registered Franks Death
Where exactly in Bromley did Frank Die
I contacted Bromley Borough to see what cemeteries there are their answer is below

There are seven Cemeteries in LB Bromley
Biggin Hill
Bromley Hill
Chislehurst
St Lukes
Plaistow
London Road
St Mary Cray
who was mentioned in the will ?????
do you know any of the names of Hilda's siblings and was their surname also Ward

I know the logical answer is that Frank and Hilda were never married she just assumed his name, after she found she was expecting your Dad,
I wonder just how long they actually lived together
My Grandfather did that when he settled down with his sister in-law she assumed his surname and was buried under that name but we know they never married
unfortunately all information is only as good as the person giving it and the person registering it writes what he is told
But it's too easy just to give up we should at least be able to find her last resting place and probably his as well so I will keep looking and get back to you when Chelsea gets back to me

Roger

Starry

It is certainly one of life's mysteries isn't it? It's taken me 15 years to get this far.It seems as if all my relatives have vanished of the face of the earth!
I can only presume that Hilda was C of E as her parents, Paul Edgar and Emily nee Dadd were married in the Parish church of Poplar. I don't know whether she was buried or creamted, just the date of her death in Chelsea. I don't know how long, if ever Frank and Hilda lived together. She had 3 sisters, Edith a nurse at Paddington infirmary, Emily ?? and Olive who was a shorthand student living with her mother in Edgbaston, Birmingham. The brother, Edgar Paul (same name as his father, very confusing!) was a draughtsman in Manchester in 1901. Their father was the son of a medical doctor, John Ward who moved down from Brixworth to London. Paul Edgar, aka Edgar Paul, died as a result of a fall in the street in 1900 in St Georges Hospital, London and this was recorded by a coroner on his death certificate so no names of witnesses on there. At various times he was recorded as being a physicist, opyician, chemist and scientific instument maker. His wife Emily remarried in 1903, I think and went to live in Birmingam with her husband, Christopher Winder, so I can only suppose that Hilda was living there when she was admitted to hospital.
Re Frank, he died in Shawfield Park, Bromley and left money in his will to his wife, Sophia, nephew and nieces, the Elvy family, and to the children of his brother, William Kelsey Nash from both his marriages. He appeared to be quite wealthy by todays standards being an oil and seed broker. No mention of my dad though!
As you can see there were many people who might have taken him in when Hilda died but I suppose the stigma of being illegitimate was too much for them.

Well, I will be very grateful if you are able to unearth any more information and thank you for all your inquiries so far.
Stella

staffie102

Hi Stella

I haven’t given up but I am beginning to suspect Alien abduction on a family scale

It does seem that your Granny was the unfortunate plaything of an already married man
( Some things never change ) but it would be nice just to find her last resting place but it seems this is going to be far from straight forward.
I will keep searching but if you have been searching for 15 years it is not going to be a quick find for me

Never give up I spent 10 years looking for my Grandmothers illegitimate son who I was not sure even existed all I had was a rumour he was killed by a Zeppelin bomb in WW1 the only other fact was his surname was Evans ( I didn't even have an initial )
But I found him and am now looking for a possible brother, My Nan must have been a very affectionate lady in her early years

I will keep looking for you

Best Wishes Roger

Starry

Hi Roger
Thank you so much for taking all the trouble for looking for my grandmother. I am beginning to wonder if she ever existed!!!! All the family seem to have gone to great lengths to cover their tracks for fear of being traced. My next move I think will have to go to Bromley to see where my grandfather is buried.
Today is the fourth anniversary of my dad's death so I really feel I should keep trying for all our family's sake including my two little granddaughters, who in years to come will no doubt be interested in their ancestry.
Good luck in the search for your family. Roll on the 2011 census being made available!

Best wishes

Stella

staffie102

I take it by the way you mention going to Bromley that you have found your Grandfathers grave, just a chance while you are there see if the grave is for him only the register should still be at the Cemetery office and they will normally not make any charge for a check

I take it too that you are not far away from Bromley I lived for the first 30 years of my life in S E London first Woolwich then Blackheath and Bromley then was in Kent
I well remember the outrage when it lost its status and became Borough 19,
I left London 25 Years ago and now live on the Essex coast so your mention of some of the London boroughs was a nice reminder
Please let me know what you discover I am still Not giving up, Unless Your grandmother spontaneously combusted she had to be declared dead and her remains cremated or Buried so there has to be a record some where we just need to find where
The trouble is not every one was buried in the place they died my own mother who is now 97 and living here in Essex will in her long rest be taken back to be with my father in a Cemetery in S E London

Good luck with your visit I hope it bring to light some new information please keep me in touch

Roger