This week we welcome a post by
Society of Genealogists’ trustee, Amelia Bennett, who was delighted to solve her
own family’s mystery in Deceased Online’s Southwark Collection.
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| Nunhead Cemetery
My 2 x great grandmother Caroline Lageu was adopted in 1873, when she was 13 years old, by Alfred Strivens Hudson and his wife Ann. Her biological parents had
died tragically young after falling on hard times. Caroline’s mother, Caroline
Lageu senior, died of consumption in 1869.
Her husband, Thomas’ luck was dropping even before then, having started
at a pub just off the Strand, then one on King Street (now Kingly Street
between Regent Street & Carnaby Street), then out to Walworth, and finally
ended up at a pub on Well Street, Hackney in east London.
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I had searched for some time for the burials of
Caroline’s biological parents’ (my 3x great grandparents), but found nothing.
The search was complicated by the fact that Lageu is such an unusual surname
that it is almost always mistranscribed.
I decided instead to turn the hunt to records of
Caroline’s adoptive parents. Using the Deceased Online database, I found a
grave record at Nunhead Cemetery for Alfred S Hudson in 1888. After looking
at the burial register summary on the website, I checked the details of the
other occupants of the grave (reference number 123/8973). Although this
often just gives unrelated people, this time I found a treasure trove.
Firstly, there was Thomas Lageu (mistranscribed in the record as “Lagen”), Caroline’s
father, who was buried on the 7th February 1873.
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| Details from the Deceased Online database showing the list of those interred in grave 123/8973 at Nunhead Cemetery |
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| Entry in the burial register of 7 January 1873 showing Thomas Lageu |
Also, there was Caroline Lageu (née Jones), Caroline’s mother. Then
there were two other Lageus – Francis
& Henry. Looking at their records, they appear to be twin sons of
Thomas & Caroline senior – they died a few months apart. Before discovering
them on Deceased Online, I had no knowledge of these two at all. Also,
there was William Lageu, Caroline’s
younger brother who died in 1875 aged 11. I knew about him but hadn’t
known that he had died at the young age of 11.
In addition,
Carrie Lageu Smith is there – that was one of the daughters of Caroline
Lageu and her husband Frederick William
Norman Smith – I had known about her but hadn’t managed to track down her
burial.
Even more exciting was the discovery in the grave
of a William Jones. When I reviewed
Caroline’s mother’s tree, it became clear that William was Caroline Lageu’s
uncle. He had been born in Mold, Wales and, with such a common name, it
was unlikely I would have ever traced him down to London. I’m very pleased
I chose to check the records on Deceased Online. This experience confirmed to
me that I should always check grave details in full!
The records for Nunhead Cemetery can be searched on
the database in the county section of London in the borough of Southwark.
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Have you found any Welsh or other non-English
ancestors in the Deceased Online collections? Have you managed to find your
ancestor in burial records after failing to find them elsewhere? If you have
found any of your family members in the Southwark Collection, we'd love to hear
from you! Contact us in the box below or on our Twitter and Facebook pages.
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