Hello list I am looking for a needle in a haystack but as this is a most knowledgeable list I will go ahead and ask what seems the impossible. An ancestor was living in an hotel (un-named) at 22 Eastbourne Terrace, Paddington in the 1911 census. He described himself as a Theatrical Box Office Manager. He also described himself as "single" even though he had a "wife" and four or five children living in another part of London. Edwin Forfar CARTER, born in Luton 1880, family originally from Scotland was a mystery. A different occupation in each census and on his children's birth certificates, from Journalist to Circus Worker to Theatre Manager and no sign of him after 1911. He could of course have been killed or served in the First World War - his son, born 1905, never spoke of him in later life except to say he was dead. I have found a couple of E CARTER'S who served and survived the First World War plus a couple of the same name who were killed but no way of finding out exactly who they were or where the survivors went after that. How can I find out if there was an hotel at 22 Eastbourne Terrace in 1911? It had 12 rooms but there were only 4 guests there at the time of the census. I am assuming that if he was a Theatrical Box Office Manager he would have been working at a theatre nearby. The proprietor was Irish, Edward CROFTON, and employed a Hotel Manageress. He too was married but there was no sign of a wife living there. I have applied to the British National Library regarding the Electoral Registers of that time but Edwin CARTER did appear to move around London a lot. With thanks in advance for any advice or help you can give me. Kind regards Diana Ingram Wiltshire.

Hello Diana, ----- Original Message ----- From: "Diana Ingram" <dianakbradley3@talktalk.net> > I am looking for a needle in a haystack but as this is a most knowledgeable list I will go ahead > and ask what seems the impossible. > > An ancestor was living in an hotel (un-named) at 22 Eastbourne Terrace, Paddington in the 1911 > > census. ---What is he doing in 1901? With wife? Any sign of a marriage? >> He described himself as a Theatrical Box Office Manager. He also described himself as "single" >> even though he had a "wife" and four or five children living in another part of London. Edwin >> Forfar CARTER, born in Luton 1880, family originally from Scotland was a mystery. A different >> occupation in each census and on his children's birth certificates, from Journalist to Circus >> Worker to Theatre Manager and no sign of him after 1911. He could of course have been killed or >> served in the First World War - his son, born 1905, never spoke of him in later life except to >> say he was dead. I have found a couple of E CARTER'S who served and survived the First World >> War plus a couple of the same name who were killed but no way of finding out exactly who they >> were or where the survivors went after that. ------- Have you looked on the WWI pensions/service record for next of kin, marriage details, any later addresses (e.g.for pension or on back of medal card). If using Ancestry, be aware that you need to turn the pages *backwards* as well as forward from thew page you first land on to ensure that you have not missed any pages of the surviving records. > > How can I find out if there was an hotel at 22 Eastbourne Terrace in 1911? ----- Local directory - Kelly's will have survived in various libraries. Guildhall Library in London has a complete run; some are available online or CD. Use the neighbours facility [enumerator's summary sheet] to find out who (if anyone) else is at 22, Eastbourne Terr.. >>It had 12 rooms but there were only 4 guests there at the time of the census. I am assuming that >>if he was a Theatrical Box Office Manager he would have been working at a theatre nearby. ----- Eastbourne Terr. handy for most of West End. The National Theatre Collection at the V & A has a run of programmes for almost every play in London since the 18th.cent. Theatre Managers should appear, but Box Office Managers less likely. You would need to contact the V & A for more details about accessing the collection. >> The proprietor was Irish, Edward CROFTON, and employed a Hotel Manageress. He too was married >> but there was no sign of a wife living there. I have applied to the British National Library >> regarding the Electoral Registers of that time but Edwin CARTER did appear to move around London >> a lot. > > With thanks in advance for any advice or help you can give me. > > Kind regards> > Diana Ingram> Wiltshire. He may have had a brush with the law - newspaper reports. He may have left a will - probate indexes He may have (bigamously?) married again - FreeBMD For his death you may need to search as late as 1980! He may have emigrated - passenger lists, but unlikely to record enough detail unless distinctive name of "Forfar" is included in the record. Best wishes, John Henley

after years on research on this family I still cannot find a marriage between William John ARABIN and Catherine LE MERCHANT. He divorced his first wife in 1786 (Henrietta Molyneux) and had a daughter to Catherine in 1791 and the mother's name appears on the baptism register. Any help welcome. Shirley