DNA Testing recommendations?

[kr236rk]

Originally Posted by Merry

Your grandmother was Louisa Mary Innell who married Arthur Kemp? (just checking).

Yes thanks, Louisa Mary INNELL born 1883, Dalston.

[Merry]

Were she and Arthur token C of E of were they regular churchgoers (C of E or some other denomination)?

[kr236rk]

Originally Posted by Merry

Were she and Arthur token C of E of were they regular churchgoers (C of E or some other denomination)?

Don't believe they had any Church connections at all, they would presumably have been nominally CofE, I come from a thoroughly secular background. There was more religion on my mother's side. Grandma's room at Bromley had no religious items in it at all, just endless Victoriana decorating each and every square inch of the wall space. She also liked a drink (when I wasn't there) and smoked Players Navy Cut, I remember the attractive turquoise cigarette packets. She never smoked in my presence though.

http://www.cigarettespedia.com/image...ign_canada.jpg

[Merry]

As we don't know who it was who told her she was not following her true religion, it might be very difficult to understand what they meant!

[kr236rk]

Originally Posted by Merry

As we don't know who it was who told her she was not following her true religion, it might be very difficult to understand what they meant!

Impossible in fact, it was obviously someone not that well known to the family or my father would have identified her, pretty sure it was a she. His mother never broached the subject further. Wonder if the dna test will come up with anything

[Merry]

It's possible. Of course it could be that they thought something about her that was incorrect - that she was originally a Catholic, for instance.

[kr236rk]

Originally Posted by Merry

It's possible. Of course it could be that they thought something about her that was incorrect - that she was originally a Catholic, for instance.

Thanks. Our family was close to grandmother, we'd visit practically every weekend, and I'd be left at her house 'to play' on Saturdays, she'd station me in front of her monochrome television set & I'd watch programmes like 'The Saint' with Roger Moore. There was never any conversation & I was 'quiet' as far as temperament goes. My father's sister lived upstairs with her husband - there's was lots of conversation upstairs - they had a son much older than I was; I used to enjoy going up to see them, sometimes they put me in 'the best room' up there. Everybody had a best room in those days, for entertaining. Another couple lived at the back of the property, the Simpsons, I don't remember anything about them except the name. I have no idea if there was a family relation. Anyway, any hint of Roman Catholicism would have stood out I should think, I'd have remembered it. There was no trace of Arthur, no pictures of him in uniform, that would have interested a small boy, only the picture of the sailor on grandma's wide cigarette packets. Many mysteries. Oh, grandma and dad's brother-in-law had a vague accent, my father's name was Reginald, 'Reg', they both called him 'Reej', grandma called me 'boysie'. I am going back over half a century here

[Merry]

It's great that you have these memories of your childhood and these relations etc. Make sure you write all this down, as otherwise one day it will be lost.

I treasure my great aunt's 'memoirs' - I expect she thought they were just silly little anecdotes, but makes a huge difference to what I know about the personalities of her siblings, parents, some aunts and uncles and two grandmothers - The same goes for my 3xg-grandfather who wrote about his life (1748-1821) - it's only three or four pages long but again, makes me feel like I 'know' him to some extent!

[Merry]

With regard to the Simpsons who lived at the back of the house....

Your father's brother, Jack Arthur Kemp seems to have married a Simpson:

Marriages Dec 1941
Kemp John A Simpson Bromley 2a 2226
Simpson Doreen M V Kemp Bromley 2a 2226 <<< possibly known as Marion

So could the other family be connected to her? (I know Jack is written John for the marriage when his birth reg was in the name Jack Arthur, but his death registration is also in the name John Arthur, so I think this marriage is the right person)

Doreen is living at 8 Kinnaird Avenue Bromley in 1939. The people she is with are Ernest (b 1880) and Ana (sic) (b 1887) Simpson. I'm not sure if they are her parents as I can't see a convincing birth registration for Doreen.

Ernest Simpson seems to have died in 1950, but I'm not sure about Ana.

[Merry]

Ernest Simpson's probate entry says he was still living at 8 Kinnaird Avenue. His wife was Ana Marie Simpson, so Ana isn't a spelling mistake as I'd thought!