Family history mysteries

Mike Towers, husband of my cousin Jennifer (she’s the daughter of my mum’s younger brother Dick), has been doing some family history research. He mailed me some time back to say that he’s been looking into my grandfather (mum’s dad) Richard Gibson Little.

The story was always that he had been born in Cumberland (now Cumbria) and had ginger hair (which was where my and my sister’s hair colour had come from). I was told he was born Richard Little, but had married first, above his status, and his wife’s family (wealthy shop-owners in Carlisle) had disowned her. She had died and Richard, presumably heartbroken, had taken her maiden name (Gibson) as his middle name and had joined the army.

I know that he had fought in the First World War and was in the army when the war broke out. He was therefore an Old Contemptible and had also fought in the first battle of Mons, when the German army invaded Belgium and tried to break through to Paris. They were stopped at the Mons canal by British riflemen, who had kept up such a fierce rate of fire that the Germans thought they were facing machine guns. But the British were outflanked (when those dodgy Frenchies gave way) and the army faced a difficult retreat into France and the Western Front was formed.

I have three medals from the war, including a Mons Star, awarded to those who fought in the first battle of Mons, so that much is probably true; also a fearsome bayonet from later in the war.

After the war, Richard Little settled in Yorkshire and married (secondly) to my grandmother Nelly and had six children – Jack, Nellie (my mother), Dick, Joyce, Jessie and Margaret. He worked as a cowman in Adwick-le-Street, just off the A1 north of Doncaster. His wasn’t a charmed life; his wife had suffered a stroke and was partly paralysed and I think she had a second, fatal stroke soon after the birth of Margaret. Jack was adopted by family, but the rest of the family, including the baby, were put into an orphanage in Doncaster, called Stanley House. My grandfather lived alone in a tied cottage in Adwick and probably didn’t look after himself too well. He died from pneumonia just before my mother’s 14^th birthday.

Now Mike has been doing some proper research, which, of course, has debunked some of the family myths. Richard was born in Cumberland, possibly illegitimate and was not brought up by his birth parents. He did have a marriage before marrying my grandmother, but the Gibson link and the disowned daughter don’t tally. Mike reached something of a block and could find out nothing more. It is possible Richard Little has a relationship before his first marriage.

He has now contacted me to ask about the medals and I’ve said I will photograph them carefully to see if I can capture all the detail. Mike has also found a record from the West Riding Regiment for an R Little, who was awarded the Distinguished Conduct Medal at Ypres. That may, or may not, be my grandfather; there certainly isn’t a DCM among the three medals I have.

I hope to get stuck into family history proper when I retire, but Mike’s work is shedding some light on the past. I’ve included his findings and the words of the DCM citation below.

Interesting the comment about Gibson and shops (grocers have cropped up before) but Jacqueline says the Uncle Jack always talked about the Gibson’s being cobblers and a low grade family with whom the Little’s had no truck! 

Still don't know were the Gibson name came from and, having just had a look back at our emails since we started this family tree lark, I couldn’t believe that the first one was 29 Dec 2001. Don’t know how much farther you have got with your tree and I think that your recollections of your Granddad Little are probably based on a family myth about the Gibson's which I have to change as I can trace no connection with a Gibson family. 

That said, I am still struggling to clarify his birth and parent details but this is what I have got at present.

Richard Gibson Little

Born 9 April 1888 – only registered birth is as Richard Little in Penrith and not Richard Gibson Little. Birth certificate shows mother as Margaret Little nee Lowis, Charwoman of Ainstable, Penrith.  No father’s details appear on the certificate and father thought to be a Joseph but cannot trace a marriage to Joseph (see below).   There are a number of Margaret Lowis that I’m trying to pin down.

His mother is said to have died when Richard was 4/5 years old i.e. 1892/3 and then fostered by a maiden aunt but census return of 1891 suggest different as already being fostered at age 3.

First Marriage - shown as Richard Gibson Little

This was to an Annie Elizabeth Braithwaite born Q1/1894 Penrith who was confirmed 12 May 1910 at C of E Ousby, Penrith – Aunt Margaret has her confirmation book endorsed by the vicar.

Married 20 Sep 1917 – Ousby, Penrith. Died 19 Nov 1919 in or from child birth or "Parturition, Post Partum haemorrhage and Exhaustion from Septicaemia"

At marriage no father’s name shown for Richard on certificate. Annie came from a family of farmers, John Cheesborough Braithwaite of Ousby, Penrith with 30 acres. This is confirmed to me by other Genes Reunited members and census records.

Second Marriage shown as Richard Gibson Little

To Nelly Beatrice Burrows – birth and death records show Nelly but marriage cert. as Nellie

Born 6 April 1894 – Warter, Pocklington

Married 20 Jun 1920 – Adwick-le-Street, Doncaster

Died 23 May 1933 – Doncaster

His Death – 15 Dec 1937 – Doncaster

At marriage a father is shown as Joseph Little, a miller – see below re Barnes

Census Records show him as Richard G Little

1891c - Nurse Child age 2; living with Anthony Sander and family at Cross House, Becks, Ainstable, Armathwaite, Penrith

1901c - living as son age 12 with Joseph Barnes at Ruckcroft, Ainstable, Penrith

1911c - cannot pin him down – there is an entry for a Richard Little in the army but not conclusively him.

Currently I’m working on the maiden aunt fostering him theory as, in 1901, Joseph Barnes was married to a Margaret nee Little who may have been Richard’s sister. The problem is matching this Margaret with a parentage. I have found a family of Little’s with children of Margaret and a Joseph who was much older and who married a different women.  If this is the correct family it may support illegitimacy.

I’m beginning to think that Joseph Barnes, who was a miller, was misquoted as the father on ‘respectability’ grounds on Richard’s marriage to Nellie. I have come across this before in my mother’s tree where children were illegitimate. So is Richard illegitimate and did Margaret Lowis also use Little for respectability – its frustrating to say the least.

The next problem is that if Richard’s father was a Joseph Little then there are dozens in Cumbria and I need to address this as a separate research line but I do not hold out any hope.

Presently, I’m speaking with Doncaster Council to see if they have any archived records for Stanley House Children's home.