#11
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I really enjoyed it, particularly the info about the lunatic asylum & the differences in the 2 times that Selina was admitted.
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Lynn |
#12
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What a tragic family. It's ironic that whilst Greg did get a divorce, he also gained custody of his children - something his great grandfather was unable to do.
Old mental asylum buildings can be beautiful, although I doubt if I'd like to live within those refurbished walls knowing what happened behind them. |
#13
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Rachel
If his great grandfather had attended his divorce hearing, he would undoubtedly have received custody of his son - men ALWAYS got custody of their children whether the wife was adulterous or not. Children belonged to their fathers. OC |
#14
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Links to the census entries on ancestry:
Selina Gill in 1861 Selina Gill in 1871 Eli and Selina in 1881 Eli and Selina in 1891 Selina in 1901 in the asylum Emily Springett in 1911 |
#15
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I felt there were too many assumptions made (though at least they proved some of them wrong!) and that Gregg was too quick to judge his ancestors.
They seemed to assume from Henry's name being crossed out in the 1911 census entry that he and Emily must have already separated, but it could just be that Emily had written his name in because he lived there, and it was crossed out because he wasn't actually at home that night, perhaps at sea. I know that later on they found out he had joined the Canadian Navy by then, but they shouldn't have assumed he wasn't living there when they saw the name crossed out. There are loads of census entries like that. Also Gregg seems to have decided that Henry was some kind of saint! We really don't know all the facts about what caused the marriage break-up so I don't think we can say who left whom and why. |
#16
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And I would have liked to see what Selina died of, but maybe it would have caused too many tears!
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#17
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Very good episode but agree about the tears. I thought that even the historian seemed to be on the verge of tears at one point when they were talking about the little girl who died of burns.
I haven't come across a death from burning in my own tree but I suppose in the days of only candles for lighting and open fires for heating (and cooking in some cases), it would have been much more common than it is today, especially amongst small children. How awful. |
#18
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Yes, that was the case, but the fact was he didn't through circumstances... and then had to put his daughters up for adoption after Emily 2 was tragically killed... that's why I felt it ironic that Greg (against the odds) got custody of his children... I find it interesting when events in our lives mirror that of our ancestors, but the outcome is so different because of social attitudes, money etc
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#19
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Rachel
I am seeing Henry's situation from a slightly different angle! In 1922 when he COULD have obtained a divorce, got custody of his son and made a decent woman out of Emily 2...he didn't. When Emily2 died, he could easily have found a live in housekeeper and kept his children. Of course, I don't know how he felt or what his circumstances were but I don't think we can say he was "forced" to give up his second family. Yes, I wanted to know what Selina died of. She wasn't all that old. OC |
#20
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Well, I enjoyed this episode, it was certainly "crowded with incident" as Lady Bracknell would say.
But as a more experienced family historian than Gregg, I was able to hold back the tears and also the judgments. We don't know what might have happened had Henry got custody of his son, we can only speculate. No-one except the spouses knows what goes on in the privacy of a marriage and its very likelyt hey have 2 different versions!
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Love from Nell researching Chowns in Buckinghamshire & Oxfordshire Brewer, Broad, Eplett & Pope in Cornwall Smoothy & Willsher/Wiltshire in Essex & Surrey Emms, Mealing + variants, Purvey & Williams in Gloucestershire Barnes, Dunt, Gray, Massingham, Saul/Seals/Sales in Norfolk Matthews & Nash in Warwickshire |
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