Hi everyone I have had a death certificate this morning for Mary DONOGHUE, and it was registered by her son, A E GORDON of 37 The Polygon, Southampton. [A bit of a mystery as I wasn't aware that Mary had a son, and also the fact that it's a puzzle as to why his surname is GORDON, Mary's maiden name was LUDWIG, and she was a spinster at her marriage in 1897.] Does anyone have access to any directories after 1930 to see if A E GORDON is still in Southampton. I am trying to find a clue when he died, to try and find his birth. There are quite a few Albert Edward Gordon's (Can't find any A E Ludwig's, as he could have been born before Mary's marriage between 1880 and 1897, or after 1901 when she was a widow. I would have thought more likely before her marriage as she was over 40 in 1901 when her husband died. Still doesn't explain his surname unless he was adopted??) A google search for 37 The Polygon brings up Abbey Lodge, a guesthouse now at 37 The Polygon. Does anyone know if this has always been a guesthouse or was it a private house in 1930. Historicaldirectories online doesn't appear to have directories after the 1910's. I would be very grateful for any help or suggestions. Many thanks. Ally (Derby)

Hi, Ally, I've looked at some Kelly's Directories for you, and in some of them, an Albert Edward Gordon was not shown in the private residents list as being at the address, but in the street-by-street section he was shown as being at "37 The Polygon. Aparts" - presumably that stood for "apartments" so might support it being a guest-house? I looked from 1932/3 up to 1938/9, and he was listed there - there is then a gap as the Kellys weren't printed during the war, but in the next one, for 1948/9, a Leonard Gordon (his son?) is resident, but the word "aparts" is no longer included. I also looked at some of the voters' lists. For 1939/40, Albert Edward Gordon is listed at 37 The Polygon (with a letter "J" by his name, indicating he qualified to be called for jury service) with Lilian Ada Gordon and Leonard Francis Gordon (and others of a different surname - tenants in the "apartments"?) - wife and son? The next one is 1946/7 = the same three Gordons, right through to 1959/60 (with various others who might have been tenants), when for thre first time they were shown as living in the "top flat". I ran out of time then, I'm afraid, so couldn't check any later voters' lists to see when Albert Edward "disappeared". However, the last time a "J" for jury service appeared by his name was in the 1952/3 list, which suggests he was about to be 70, as that is the age at which a person can no longer sit on a jury (unless the age limit was different then - I didn't have time to check, as the library was about to close). Hope that helps with narrowing down when he might have died. You could try e-mailing the Special Collections Library at Southampton to see if they would check the voters lists after 1959/60 for you. If they can, and you get a possible year of death, if you then check the GRO indexes, some of the later death entries will give a date of birth rather than the age at death, but I'm afraid I can't remember offhand when that began. Good luck with your search! Best wishes, Sara ----- Original Message ----- From: "ally kingman" <ally.kingman@ntlworld.com> To: <ENG-HAMPSHIRE-L@rootsweb.com> Sent: Saturday, September 10, 2005 11:02 PM Subject: A E GORDON 37 The Polygon - Directory look up > Hi everyone > > I have had a death certificate this morning for Mary DONOGHUE, and it was registered by her son, A E GORDON of 37 The Polygon, Southampton. > > [A bit of a mystery as I wasn't aware that Mary had a son, and also the fact that it's a puzzle as to why his surname is GORDON, Mary's maiden name was LUDWIG, and she was a spinster at her marriage in 1897.] > > Does anyone have access to any directories after 1930 to see if A E GORDON is still in Southampton. I am trying to find a clue when he died, to try and find his birth. There are quite a few Albert Edward Gordon's (Can't find any A E Ludwig's, as he could have been born before Mary's marriage between 1880 and 1897, or after 1901 when she was a widow. I would have thought more likely before her marriage as she was over 40 in 1901 when her husband died. Still doesn't explain his surname unless he was adopted??) > > A google search for 37 The Polygon brings up Abbey Lodge, a guesthouse now at 37 The Polygon. Does anyone know if this has always been a guesthouse or was it a private house in 1930. Historicaldirectories online doesn't appear to have directories after the 1910's. > > I would be very grateful for any help or suggestions. > > Many thanks. > > Ally (Derby) > > ______________________________