The Mysterious Mr Slater

Now some ancestors I try to track down prove more elusive than others, and William Slater most definitely falls into this category.

He is the grandfather of my beloved Uncle George Slater (1923-1982). Uncle George was not a blood relative of mine, but I did the research for his tree for my cousins. They knew very little about their Dad’s family, mainly just his siblings’ names, and the names of his parents – John (1899-1967) and Lydia (1901-1932) Slater.

John Slater was difficult to track down, partly because there were 2 John Slater’s born in Preston around the same time. I eventually had to pay for the birth certificate of one of them, to rule him out. I then found our John on the 1901 census, aged 1, boarding with his mother Grace Slater in the home of another family. Grace is stated to be “married” though her husband isn’t on the census.

On the 1911 census, I struggled to find John, Grace, and Grace’s husband, whose name I still did not know. It proved a complicated search, but eventually I found Grace and John living with Richard Welsh and 9 other children – see below.  Everyone in the household, including Grace and John, are called Welsh and Richard and Grace are both described as “Married”. Indeed it says they have both been married for 12 years. I therefore assumed that they were both widowed (there were 4 girls older than John), and that the 5 who were younger than John were children of Richard and Grace. But it doesn’t seem to be as simple as that!

The 1921 census – something very odd is turned up…

On the 1921 census, see below, the family are living at 54 Senior Street Preston (I hope you are taking notes, and remember that address for later!!). However, only Richard has the surname Welsh, and Grace and the children in the house (Grace’s 4 youngest) are back to being Slaters. I did a quick check on the children and in each case they were registered at birth with the surname Slater, and their mother stated to be Booth. Bizarre!!! Because even the 1921 census clearly suggests that, despite them having different surnames, Grace and Richard are married to each other and that the children are Richard’s.

John Slater was not on this census. I actually found him in Plymouth on an army base, but as I knew he married Lydia in 1921 I was able to order their marriage certificate. On this he gives his address as the same address given for Grace and Richard on the 1921 census, ie 54 Senior Street.

But the marriage certificate states John’s Dad to be William Slater, a card room operator (a task in the weaving industry). There is no mention of his father having been deceased – which there would be if he was dead. I then found a William Slater on the 1921 census listed as working in the weaving industry and having been in the army. He is living with his son, George Slater,  who was born in January 1896. And lo and behold when I checked, there was indeed a George Slater born in the beginning of 1896 whose mother’s maiden name is Booth. Just like John Slater and his younger siblings.

I did a search, and yes a William Slater married a Grace Booth in 1895, a few months before George Slater was born. I could therefore be confident this was John’s Dad and my Uncle George’s Grandad. Bearing in mind the reference to the army, I searched military records for a William Slater and found one who joined the Loyal North Lancashire Regiment in 1893 and served until 1902. He thus served in the Boer War in South Africa, but crucially, did not set off for South Africa until 13/12/1899, thus enabling him to be John Slater’s father. Incidentally this is the same regiment John Slater later enlisted with later. This William Slater is stated to have been living in Preston but born in Garstang, and on the 1901 census I found a George Slater aged 4 living with a Slater family in Preston as their grandson, and this family are all from Garstang. I can only surmise that, William being in the army, his family were looking after George to ease the burden on Grace who had baby John at this time.

The pieces of the puzzle seemed to be fitting together…

Also, this William Slater, born in Garstang but currently living in Preston in 1893 when he joins up, is described as having “carroty” hair. See below, Now I know this is not overwhelming evidence, but my Uncle George Slater, 2 of his children and a number of his grandchildren, have the gingeriest hair you have ever seen!!!

Now for the oddest thing of all……….

On the 1939 Register, Grace Slater and Richard Welsh are still living together at 54 Senior Street. This time they are using separate surnames, Slater and Welsh, and this time Richard is described as “widowed”, and Grace is described as “married”. And then in 1945 Grace dies. And this is the death announcement in the 10th January 1945 edition of the Lancashire Evening Post….

Note the address 54 Senior Street! So beloved a wife was Grace to William Slater, that there is literally no evidence of them ever living together!!!! Indeed, she lived with another man for around 40 years. As Mulder and Scully said a number of years later – “The truth is out there…..” Frustratingly, I don’t think I will be unravelling this particular mystery any time soon though!