Bigamy help required.

[Lynn the Forest Fan]

In the latest email from Lost Cousins, there was a request for stories about bigamous relationships for a research project and I thought I would send details of mine. So, yesterday I was reviewing the details that I hold and found a couple of newspaper articles on FMP that I wondered if someone could get me the details on.

The details that I have are that in 1911 my gg uncle Douglas Stowell was living in Oxford Street Marylebone with wife of 14 years Alberta Victoria, son Douglas Bertie aged 13 and Mother in law ? Turnedge. They had 3 children born to the marriage, all still living. This all seemed rather odd, as Douglas was single in 1901 and living with his mother, whilst Alberta was living with her husband John D Dutton and 3 children John E age 11, Douglas B age 3 and Dorothy E aged 3 months. I found a marriage for Alberta and John in Bradford in 1889 and one for Alberta and Douglas in 1914 in Fulham. On the certificate for the marriage to Douglas, she lists herself as a spinster, one odd thing is that he lists his father as being and army pensioner deceased, but then gives the name of his brother Francis Samuel (my g granfather) rather than his father Samuel James. John Clyde was born in 1889 in Islington, Douglas Bertie October 1898 in Stoke Newington and Dorothy Ethel 1900 Stoke Newington ( she died in 1902). Douglas Bertie keeps the name Stowell and married in 1920, in Eastbourne and died in 1978. douglas senior and Alberta are together in 1939 and he died in 1941.

The 2 articles I found on FMP, were about her first marriage in Bradford in 1889, mentioned in Essex newspapers and his death in 1941 mentioned in a Fulham paper, where he is referred to as a Warden. Any help would be gratefully appreciated.

[Merry]

I can't see the 1889 entry. Perhaps you could give me the search criteria you used.

This is the 1941 entry:

Fulham Chronicle 24 December 1941

WARDEN'S FATAL COLAPSE

Sad Discovery in South Park

Douglas Stowell, 27 Clancarty-road, Fulham, who since the outbreak of war had been a Fulham air raid warden, was found dead at South Park on Saturday morning. He was 68 years of age and had lived in Clancarty-road about 30 years. The sad discovery was made at 6.30 a.m. on Saturday on a footpath near an entrance to the South Park trenches.
Mr. Stowell was due to report for duty at the wardens' post at South Park at 10 p.m. on Friday night. As he did not arrive an enquiry was made at his home, where it was thought that Mr. and Mrs. Stowell had retired for the night. As it was known that Mr. Stowell had not been well that day, it was decided not to disturb him.

Body Not Seen Before Owing to Darkness

On Saturday morning a shelter marshal in South Park found Mr. Stowell's lifeless body. It was then ascertained that he had a fatal collapse while on his way to duty at the wardens' post on Friday night. A medical examination disclosed that he must have been lying dead in the park all night. Wardens must have passed the body several times but it was not seen owing to the darkness. As death was due to natural causes no inquest is to be held.
Mr. Stowell was formerly a bus driver for many years. During part of his service with the Transport Board he was attached to the Putney Bridge garage. He was in Flanders as a driver during the last war and was a member of the British Legion.
The funeral takes place this (Wednesday) morning. The interment will be at Fulham Old Cemetery. The coffin will be covered with the Union Jack, and some of Mr. Stowell's fellow wardens will be pall-bearers. A guard of honour will also be formed at the cemetery by civil defence workers.

[Merry]

I can't see the 1889 entry. Perhaps you could give me the search criteria you used.

Forget that, I was looking for the wrong person as I didn't really read the whole post! Trying again now....

[Merry]

Essex Newsman 13 August 1889

There is a dearth of DUTTONANA this week. One piquant item however, comes to hand, in the shape of an announcement in the Illustrated Weekly Telegraph, a Bradford paper, which reads as follows:-
DUTTON-TURNEDGE - July 29, at the Register Office, Bradford, John Dutton, to Alberta V Turnedge, both of Bradford.
The Essex newspapers, doubtless inspired by somebody with a high sense of the proprietaries, and with a desire that as good a face as possible should be put upon things, united in representing that the parents of the runaway couple were careful, above all things, that they should be married in accordance with the rites of the Church of England, and that they had been so married. Our contemporary the Weekly was unconsciously oracular in the matter. It took in everything that anybody chose to tell it, and described the wedding as having been so edged round with precautions as to put off the scent any inquirers for the particular church at which it took place, until all risks were over. Mr. Dutton's forename of DODSON does not appear in the Bradford paper. We have quoted the announcement exactly as it is printed.

-----------

This is how they do things in the Evening News and Post:-

"A BASELESS SCANDAL.

"The Liberals have been making a lot at Chelmsford out of the alleged elopement of Alderman Dutton's son, who was secretary of the Conservative Club. He was alleged to have embezzled money, and other things. On Wednesday, however, young Dutton, with his wife, returned, and it then appeared that he had been properly married. His affairs are alright, and his father guarantees all monies. The Conservative Club affairs are sound, and of the £200 he is alleged to have stolen £130 was brought back. Great sympathy has been expressed for Alderman Dutton over the unnecessary hubbub of the Radicals"

[Lynn the Forest Fan]

Thanks Merry, that is brilliant. A sad end for my great uncle but he seems to have been a respected member of the community. Prior to my starting my family history research, my mum didn't even know that her grandfather even had a brother. She would have been 8 when he died.
The bit about the Dutton - Turnedge marriage looks very interesting, she sounds like she was a bit flighty, to then leave her husband & bigamously marry. I did find her first husband's death in 1921 in Hackney. Also whilst I was searching last night, i found a query from a Keith Dutton, asking about the 3 children from the marriage, although there were no replies to his question. This dated back to 2009

[Merry]

in 1911 my gg uncle Douglas Stowell was living in Oxford Street Marylebone with wife of 14 years Alberta Victoria, son Douglas Bertie aged 13 and Mother in law ? Turnedge. They had 3 children born to the marriage, all still living. This all seemed rather odd, as Douglas was single in 1901 and living with his mother, whilst Alberta was living with her husband John D Dutton and 3 children John E age 11, Douglas B age 3 and Dorothy E aged 3 months.

I wasn't sure whether you were thinking the three children "born to the marriage" were the three children you saw on the 1901 census who are (most likely!) the children of John Dutton and that Douglas and Alberta said they had been married 14 years just to cover the age of the child living with them? Of course one of those children had died, so the numbers are wrong.

I have to say the middle child being named Douglas is a bit of a co-incidence, if Alberta didn't yet know Douglas Stowell in 1898, but that's not what I was going to go into.....

In 1911 there are two Stowell children living with Alberta's brother, Consort Victor Turnedge. They are:

Niece, Helen Alberta Stowell aged 6 born Deanshanger, Bucks
Niece, Winfred Constance Myra Stowell aged 1 born Clapham Junction, London

Here are their birth registrations:

STOWELL, ALBERTA ELLEN
mmn TURNEDGE
GRO Reference: 1904 M Quarter in POTTERSPURY Volume 03B Page 22

STOWELL, WINIFRED MYRA CONSTANCE
mmn TURNEDGE
GRO Reference: 1909 D Quarter in WANDSWORTH Volume 01D Page 549


I couldn't find any more Stowell/Turnedge birth registrations, so did begin to wonder if Douglas was indeed the third sibling! Or perhaps he was treated as the third sibling as he was brought up by Douglas senior, whereas the older boy, John Clyde Dutton might have been approaching adulthood when Douglas Stowell sr came along.

[Merry]

John Clyde Dutton enlisted in the Middlesex regiment in 1906.

Oddly, he says his next of kin is a brother, Arthur!

[Lynn the Forest Fan]

Wow, Merry , that's fantastic. I had assumed that the 3 children referred to in 1911 were the 3 I mentioned and so had never looked for any other children. John Clyde would almost certainly be John Dutton's child, as he was born around 9 months after the marriage. I find it very suspicious that Douglas Bertie was given the name of his future "step father" and have always felt that he was actually Douglas's son. It seems strange that the oldest daughter was born in Northamptonshire/ Buckinghamshire, the 2nd daughter being born in Clapham makes more sense. I will have to try and trace then now.
I had been looking into what happened to John Clyde and found 3 references to him on FMP. Two were from the Army Service Records in 1906 and 1914, which presumably is connected with him joining the Middlesex regiment and the third was in 1915 in the Crime and Punishment records.

[Lynn the Forest Fan]

I have just found a possible marriage for Ellen in 1930 in Brentford to Harry Coe

[Merry]

On the 1939 Register Ellen A Coe's dob is 13 Feb 1904 which fits with the birth reg for Alberta Ellen Stowell.