Who was Edwin Henry Hooker and what happened to him?

[kiterunner]

I've had a look at all Edwins with dob 20/11/1883 on the 1939 Register but there are likely birth regs for all of them. And there is only one Edwin with that dob in the England and Wales Death Index on ancestry (exact dob is only shown on the index from 1969 onwards) and he is one of those who had a birth reg. So that didn't help.

[kiterunner]

Originally Posted by Merry

I looked at men called Edwin with that dob on the 1939 Register, but nothing stood out. If Edwin had a chaotic upbringing he may not have known his dob anyway!

Even some people whose upbringing seems to have been pretty normal have an incorrect dob on the 1939 Register.

I suppose Edwin could have been in the armed forces at the date of the register in which case he wouldn't be included anyway.

[Merry]

True.

[James18]

To me, a big clue is the 1911 census. In 1891, Henry is living with five of his six (?) children - Minnie is a servant at another house in Egham - and at that time we are led to believe that Henry and Maria had six children, and Edwin's birth certificate tells us that.

However, by the time of the 1911 census there is no sign of Edwin and he has apparently been disowned/forgotten, as there are clearly only five children mentioned. Also, as mentioned, only four of the five younger children were baptized in Longcross in 1893, which suggests that by then Edwin was no longer on the scene.

It does suggest to me that even by 1893, Henry may have abandoned Edwin to his mother's family (having since admitted to the obvious, that Maria wasn't his mother) and by 1911, he does not acknowledge him as a child of their marriage.

Of course, none of this can be proven!

[Merry]

Henry may have abandoned Edwin to his mother's family (having since admitted to the obvious, that Maria wasn't his mother)

I doubt he would have had to admit to anything - only the birth cert gives the mother as Maria, I don't suppose anyone was under any allusions about who Edwin's mother was - it's just us who are wondering! (time for the time machine again?)

Did we ever find Matilda Doe in 1901?

[James18]

Originally Posted by Merry

Did we ever find Matilda Doe in 1901?

I don't think so, no. Matilda isn't in any of my family trees and so I need to work through this thread and note all of her sources. She's still my #1 suspect, even if it's just speculation right now. The confusing aspect is that Matilda (minus her children) is still living with Henry in 1901, and so even if she was Edwin's mother, that doesn't explain his absence at that point, and even if Edwin did change his name, presumably it would be to Doe?

[Merry]

The confusing aspect is that Matilda (minus her children) is still living with Henry in 1901

So, your answer to my last question should have been yes, not no!!! lol

I had forgotten she was on the 1901 with Henry (I remember now that was the census with her age wildly out, wasn't it?). I had looked at Edwin Doe entries before without any luck (I think!)

[James18]

Haha, oh Merry, I am sorry. I am getting confused by all of this now!

[Merry]

You and me both! lol

[James18]

I think it was 1911 we couldn't find Matilda in, even though it looks like she died some time after that. We found her husband in 1911, though.

EDIT: Yes, from page 1:

Births Mar 1853

Brooks Matilda Yeovil 5c 558

Deaths Dec 1932

DOE Matilda 84 Windsor 2c 511