Searching for George Draper Longdon 1911-1988 in Nottingham England

Question

George Draper Longdon is my Maternal Great Grandfather. I have Certificates etc proving his relationship to all of us. I cannot find anything earlier than his Wedding Certificate though. It appears the 'Draper' relates to the family who raised him. There are stories about how this came about but I have no names to then use for search routes. Has anyone got any info or any ideas please. I've been at this for nearly 3 years and can't seem to get anywhere

Answer 1

According to the GRO Births Index there is a birth registered for "George Longdon DRAPER" in the Jun Qtr 1911 Registration District: Basford Vol. 7b Page 237. Mother's maiden surname is blank, which usually indicates an illegitimate birth.

With "Longdon" as his middle name, it could be an indicator for his father's surname.

You can order a copy of the birth certificate via the GRO website above,

The 1939 UK National Register & the GRO Death Index records his birthdate as 22 May 1911.

Comments

That must be him!! Yes born 22/5/1911 oh wow thank you. Yes i will thank you x

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This is him, I'm sure of it. I just need to confirm as much as humanly possible before paying out for a certificate with no Mother's name on. My Grandfather has given me some little info bits and bobs but I have no idea how to bring them all together to help myself get any further. For example I now know the Draper family had a son called Jimmy (assumed to be James) born similar time to George. I have the Rd name where they lived too. I'm currently on Ancestry paying for Membership. I'm struggling to pinpoint the right James and the Rd name is no help I'm finding as I know neither of his parents' names. The James that seems to fit with the info i have best, I have a GRO for him, it states his Mother's maiden name as Harris. Can I use this in any way? My running theory is that Jimmy's mum Harris and a sister who had an illigitimate child George who Harris then bought up with her own son Jimmy. George had Longdon as middle name as homage to his Father and Draper as surname as they raised him, whenever he found out about his Father being Longdon is when he switched Surnames but kept Draper as they raised him. Long theory I know but yeah. My partner has just suggested ringing the records office for them to trace the GRO for the certificate but we've had problems with that route before. It was as if the GRO index was useless at the Records office. Have you found this? x

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The birth certificate WILL record his mother's name (which I believe would also be DRAPER), it is just that the maiden name is not included on the index for illegitimate births.

You also have the option of ordering a PDF copy of his birth entry which is a cheaper alternative & costs £6. (Certificates are £9.25) Once you have found his entry on the index, on the far right of the entry just click on the "PDF" option & go from there.

Feel free to send me a private message if you have any other questions.

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Ah thank you hun. Really really appreciate it. Keep ya updated x

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I ordered the Birth Certificate. It's him!! Thank you again. Now I know his Mother's name (Mary Ann Draper), Address (The Flat, Kimberley) and Occupation (Housekeeper, Domestic Service) at the time of his birth. What I now need to work out is the box of Father's name on his certificate has George Longdon written then crossed out. He is registered as George Longdon. From the Certificate I've managed to trace Mary Ann and her family. Now time to try and trace the Family story that she didn't raise George and was ill for the rest of her life and his Father was never around. New theory is Mary Ann and her Employer Mr Longdon had an affair. But how to trace that and find out if she was sick i don't know right now. I have her Birth Index, Parent's and Siblings names and residencies but after George's Birth Mary Ann disappears until her death in 1946. Is there a way to trace Hospital Admissions or something of the like? There's no Census to fall back on because of the year....

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This entry on the 1939 UK National Register (available on FindMyPast) maybe your Mary Ann:

Mary A. Draper, female, single, incapacitated, born 11 Aug 1881; Schedule 1; Schedule Sub-Number 77; living at 121 Highbury Road, Bulwell, Nottingham C.B., Nottinghamshire. On the 1st page of the Schedule written in faint writing below the address is "Basford Institution"

See this page http://www.nationalarchives.gov.uk/hospitalrecords/details.asp?id=729&page=27 for more information on this address - now the Highbury Hospital.

Answer 2

George D Longdon

mentioned in the record of Hopkin and George D Longdon

Name	George D Longdon
Event Type	Marriage Registration
Registration Quarter	Jan-Feb-Mar
Registration Year	1939
Registration District	Basford
County	Nottinghamshire
Event Place	Basford, Nottinghamshire, England
Spouse Name (available after 1911)	Hopkin
Volume	7B
Page	269
Line Number	102
George D Longdon probably married one of the following people
Name	Florence E Hopkin

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England and Wales Marriage Registration Index, 1837-2005

Citing this Record

"England and Wales Marriage Registration Index, 1837-2005," database, FamilySearch(https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:QV8V-HDBZ : 8 October 2014), George D Longdon and null, 1939; from “England & Wales Marriages, 1837-2005,” database, findmypast (http://www.findmypast.com : 2012); citing 1939, quarter 1, vol. 7B, p. 269, Basford, Nottinghamshire, England, General Register Office, Southport, England.

Comments

George Draper Longdon

England and Wales Death Registration Index 1837-2007

Name	George Draper Longdon
Event Type	Death Registration
Registration Quarter	Jul-Aug-Sep
Registration Year	1988
Registration District	Nottingham
County	Nottinghamshire
Event Place	Nottingham, Nottinghamshire, England
Birth Date (available after June quarter 1969)	22 May 1911
Volume	8
Page	1079

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England and Wales Death Registration Index 1837-2007

Citing this Record

"England and Wales Death Registration Index 1837-2007," database, FamilySearch(https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:QVZW-THL4 : 4 September 2014), George Draper Longdon, Aug 1988; from "England & Wales Deaths, 1837-2006," database, findmypast (http://www.findmypast.com : 2012); citing Death Registration, Nottingham, Nottinghamshire, England, General Register Office, Southport, England.

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Yes this is him and my Great Grandmother Flo. I do have their marriage certificate i got it through the local records office thank you sweetie. Are you a Notts lad yourself? X

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And his death yes I have his certificate. It is literally that I'm stuck going any further back. I'm going to order a copy of his birth certificate using the GRO index Vivian has kindly found for me. See where that gets me x