Thread: Help needed in finding a burial (probably) in Hammersmith area

Hi everyone,



A colleague of mine has found out that his natural mother died giving birth to him. His father (now deceased) didn't tell him much about his mother and he didn't really know his relatives on his mother's side, so naturally he would like to know more about her.



Through the internet, we have established that his mother was born Ellen Doris MILLS in 1919 in the Hammersmith area of London. She married Henry DAVIS in 1944 and died on 29th November 1949 in Hammersmith Hospital, giving birth to their son Barry Henry DAVIS. Barry has not been able to find out where his mother was buried, and we have contacted the local churchyards / cemeteries in the Hammersmith area, but to no avail. Her death was registered in the Hammersmith district in the December quarter of 1949. Does anyone have any ideas about how we could find her burial record, as this is very important to him?



Also, does anyone know of this family, who were living in Hammersmith Grove at the time of Ellen's death? I'm sure there must be aunties / uncles, or at the very least cousins, who might wish to make contact with Barry.



Any help would be much appreciated.



Best regards, Marie

[quote name='mariehale']Hi everyone,



A colleague of mine has found out that his natural mother died giving birth to him. His father (now deceased) didn't tell him much about his mother and he didn't really know his relatives on his mother's side, so naturally he would like to know more about her.



Through the internet, we have established that his mother was born Ellen Doris MILLS in 1919 in the Hammersmith area of London. She married Henry DAVIS in 1944 and died on 29th November 1949 in Hammersmith Hospital, giving birth to their son Barry Henry DAVIS. Barry has not been able to find out where his mother was buried, and we have contacted the local churchyards / cemeteries in the Hammersmith area, but to no avail. Her death was registered in the Hammersmith district in the December quarter of 1949. Does anyone have any ideas about how we could find her burial record, as this is very important to him?



Also, does anyone know of this family, who were living in Hammersmith Grove at the time of Ellen's death? I'm sure there must be aunties / uncles, or at the very least cousins, who might wish to make contact with Barry.



Any help would be much appreciated.



Best regards, Marie[/quote]



Hi Marie,

You could check the local newspapers at the time of Ellens death for an obituary, (these will be found in the library for the area) with any luck you may find out where/when the funeral took place and where she was buried.



To find out the relations on his mothers side of the family, you would need to acquire a copy of her birth certificate, which should at least give both her parent's names, once you've got this info you can check back for a marriage and any siblings that may have been born to the couple.



The link for the certificate is as follows:





http://www.ons.gov.uk/



These are the details you will need for the certificate

Ellen Doris (Browning) Mills June Qtr 1919 Hammersmith 1A 267



When you've got the info, let us know and someone will pick up on the thread and will check further for you. Good Luck



(Browning is Ellens Mothers maiden name)



Nanna

Hi Nanna,



Thank you so much for the advice ... I hadn't thought about obituaries. It's such a shame that we live in Basingstoke, Hampshire as it is too expensive to travel to London to look in the Hammersmith library at the local newspapers of the time.



I know that Ellen's parents were Elizabeth Emily BROWNING and William Bertram MILLS. They married in 1907 in the West Ham district. I think I have some siblings for Ellen (based on mother's maiden name), but can't be 100% sure that they are true siblings. These are: Doris E. (born 1913 in West Ham district), George R. (born 1916 in Hammersmith district) and Lilian A. (born 1923 in Hammersmith district). The only way that I can be sure of their parentage is to order birth certificates for each of them, but that will be too costly. It would be a shame to look for their marriages and children without knowing that they are true relatives.



Once I have been able to find out more information, I will post it here.



Thanks again for your advice.



Regards, Marie

[quote name='mariehale']Hi Nanna,



Thank you so much for the advice ... I hadn't thought about obituaries. It's such a shame that we live in Basingstoke, Hampshire as it is too expensive to travel to London to look in the Hammersmith library at the local newspapers of the time.



I know that Ellen's parents were Elizabeth Emily BROWNING and William Bertram MILLS. They married in 1907 in the West Ham district. I think I have some siblings for Ellen (based on mother's maiden name), but can't be 100% sure that they are true siblings. These are: Doris E. (born 1913 in West Ham district), George R. (born 1916 in Hammersmith district) and Lilian A. (born 1923 in Hammersmith district). The only way that I can be sure of their parentage is to order birth certificates for each of them, but that will be too costly. It would be a shame to look for their marriages and children without knowing that they are true relatives.



Once I have been able to find out more information, I will post it here.



Thanks again for your advice.



Regards, Marie[/quote]



Hi Marie,

You could always contact the British Library to see if they can do a search for you, the address is as follows;



British Library Newspapers

Colindale Avenue

London

NW9 5HE

United Kingdom

Tel: +44 (0)20 7412 7353

Fax: +44 (0)20 7412 7379

Email: newspaper@bl.uk



If they don't have the staff available to do the search, they may have a list of people willing to do this for you at a cost.

It may be worthwhile going down this route, let us know how you get on.



Nanna

Hi Nanna,



Thanks for the information regarding the British Library. I will certainly contact them.



Regards, Marie

Hi listers,



Further to my previous message, I have now received Ellen's birth certificate, which shows her parents as William John Mills and Ada Mills (nee Browning). They were living in Rayleigh Road at the time of Ellen's birth. William and Ada were married March Q 1900, Fulham, 1a, 400, and were living in Kensington at the time of the 1901 census.



With regards to Ellen's death, I have tried the local undertakers, the hospital, local cemeteries (including Roman Catholic), the Hammersmith and Fulham archives and local history centre, the British Library newspapers, and have requested a lookup of the local papers from November 1949, to try to find an obituary and/or a record of Ellen's burial. It is possible that there wasn't an obituary but it would be a step forward if we could find out where she was buried, even if it was in a pauper's grave.



There are at least three possible siblings for Ellen, who are Henry F Mills (born 1913 in Kensington district), George R Mills (born 1916 in Hammersmith district) and Lilian Ada Mills (born 1923 in Hammersmith district). They all have the same mother's maiden name of Browning. I believe Lilian emigrated to Canada.



I still have the avenue of contacting the local newspaper and placing an ad in case any living relatives are still in the Hammersmith area.



Best regards, Marie

Hi Marie,

There is a cemeteries department at the local authority, and they should have a list of all burials. You may have tried them, but just in caseyou have not, they can be contacted at the following address. You would need to give them her full name, and the date of her death. NANCY

Contact the Cemeteries Team



For any information or assistance, please contact:

The Cemetery Office

East Sheen Cemetery,

Sheen Road,

Richmond,

TW10 5BJ

Telephone: 020 8876 4511

Fax: 020 8878 8118

Email: cemeteries@richmond.gov.uk