tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8955844379699946887.post3485080253173009615..comments2024-03-13T16:33:53.563+00:00Comments on <b>Dr Tony Shaw</b><br>: The Thomas Family of RedditchDr Tony Shawhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07565448709541046337noreply@blogger.comBlogger1125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8955844379699946887.post-89027977617554937472010-10-03T03:42:07.194+01:002010-10-03T03:42:07.194+01:00Let's flesh out a few things here.
Lilas Edit...Let's flesh out a few things here.<br /><br />Lilas Edith Beatrice Warwick, (née Thomas), left a will made in 1946.<br /><br />The principal beneficiary was her son Reginald, who sadly died in 1964 after a lifetime of increasing suffering from an early childhood swimming pool accident.<br /><br />Reginald's disability had made him painfully shy, but there was nothing wrong with his intellect and a personal recollection from David Guillaume graphically describes the woodworking shop where Reggie was active, presumably at Diamond Cottage, Bath Rd, Lymington, Hampshire.<br /><br />Interestingly, Auntie Lilas also made provision, (in default of Reggie succeeding her), for a legacy to her sister in law May Thomas of 43 London Buildings, 3rd Avenue, Saskatoon, Saskatchewan, Canada.<br /><br />Now, we know this was Ethel May Thomas, (née Morris), born in Holt, Wiltshire in 1884; but we do not at the moment know when she died. We also need information about her son George Albert Thomas, born 1915 in Coventry, England!<br /><br />Anecdotal evidence, (David Guillaume again), suggests George Albert Thomas was in the Royal Canadian Air Force or Royal Air Force and may have enlisted well before the start of World War Two, but no records of him come to hand.<br /><br />Going back to Samuel Thomas (1807-1878), his wife was Mary Retallack. Another surname was suggested, but is incorrect.<br /><br />Samuel and Mary were married on 2 Sep 1829 in the Stoke Damerel parish, (Plymouth).<br /><br />Several birth certificates, including for Henry Thomas the inheritor of his father's estate, confirm Mary's surname as Retallack.<br /><br />This of course is a Cornish surname, but it is not possible to pin down her ancestry exactly at the moment, because the Retallack family are well represented in Plymouth.<br /><br />Aaron Thomas as the father of Samuel is not substantiated by any record. In fact, it probably owes more to David Guillaume's father's fantasising than to anything else. The Bitton parish records are still a work in progress, but although there is a good record of Samuel Thomas' birth there, there is no mention of any Aaron.<br /><br />However, there are certain facts well established for now, and upon which we will build: Samuel Thomas Senior was born in Bitton according to several census records, and one of his brothers in Redditch was born in Bitton as well.<br /><br />Our cousin in Merthyr Tydfil who died in 1879 and left a substantial fortune to his widow has not had his case satisfactorily resolved, as it was referred to the Probate Court in 1898 and we have heard nothing further.Snatch51https://www.blogger.com/profile/10892372914963273478noreply@blogger.com