Thread: need help tracing gater family from stoke on trent

My great grandmother surname Gater lived in sun street stoke on trent.she had many children and was poor.she killed herself and her baby in a canal near her home.my grandad who was with her and the baby escaped but remembers only the house they was living at the time of her suicide (sun street hanley stoke on trent) as listed above.any help be very gratefull,my grandad and is siblings where but in to childrens home my grandad henry gater was adopted by elizabeth sutton

[quote name='welshlady']there are quite a few gator families around the area. can you give some years to narrow down the search and any other info you have eg any other first names of siblings or parents of your grandfather, when did the suicide take place.[/quote]

my grandad henry gater when he was adopted he became henry sutton he was born in april 1921 the suicide of his mother happened between 1922-1932 . when my grandad mother and baby brother or sister died he was put in to penkhull homes a childrens home in stoke on trent where 2 of is brothers died in this home .my grandads dad after this remarried.i just found out my grandads sisters where alive until about 4-6 yrs ago and yet i never met them there names ivy and (anne maybe annie gater.

Thel ocal paper would have covered both the suicide and the inquest. There might be some clues in that.

Hi Welling,



This looks like Henry Gator's birth registration.



Name: Henry Gater Mother's Maiden Surname: Johnson Date of Registration: Apr May Jun 1921 Registration district: Stoke T Registration county: Staffordshire Volume Number: 6b Page Number: 373



As you can see his mother's maiden name was Johnson.



I searched for Gator/Johnson marriages around the Stoke area 1905 - 1921, there's two.



1) Dec qrt 1907, Stoke on Trent, James Gator possible brides Ada Brindley or Jane JOHNSON.



2) Sept qrt 1919, Stoke on Trent, Wilfred Gator to Ada Johnson.

Hi Welling,



Thanks for your message re Henry Gator, unfortunately the birth indexes don't give addresses, to find the address you would have to buy his birth certificate.