James’ second wife, Doreen, married a man named George Jevons in 1979 in West Lancashire, Lancashire, England. She died one year later. Do you know which George Jevons she married?

James William Oxborough

Born: 7 JUL 1921 in Newcastle Upon Tyne, Northumberland County, England

Father: John Richard Oxborough (1895 to 1965)
Mother: Isabella Ann Addy (1898 to 1988)

First Spouse: Helen West (1929 to 1989)

Married: 1947 in Newcastle Upon Tyne, Northumberland County, England

Children:

Ronald Oxborough (1948)

Second Spouse: Doreen Abbott (1922 to 1980)

Married: 1957 in Newcastle Upon Tyne, Northumberland County, England

Children: None

Died: 1977 in Newcastle Upon Tyne, Northumberland County, England

Timeline:

1947 Marriage to Helen
1948 Birth of son, Ronald
1955 Divorce from Helen
1957 Marriage to Doreen
1965 Death of father, John
1977 Death and Burial

Occupation: unknown

Records:

England & Wales, Birth Index: 1916-2005
England & Wales, Marriage Index: 1916-2005
Newcastle upon Tyne, England, Electoral Registers, 1741-1974
England & Wales, Death Index: 1916-2005

Variations of Surname: none

First Spouse:

Helen West:

Helen was born on 11 JUL 1929 in Newcastle Upon Tyne, Northumberland County, England. She died in 1989 in Kensington, London, England.

Helen’s father was Forbes West. He was born on 29 OCT 1895 in Fraserburgh, Aberdeenshire, Scotland. He died on 22 JAN 1964 in Hartlepool, Durham County, England.

Helen’s mother was Hilda Dawson. She was born on 11 MAY 1898 in Hartlepool, Durham County, England. She died on 4 APR 1977 in Montreal, Quebec, Canada.

Helen had one known sister:

Mary West (1924)

Finding Helen:

In 2016, when I was searching for information on Helen, I hit a brick road. Her name appeared on the marriage record but I did not know her age or where she was born. I was left with just her name.

In 2018, Ancestry.com released the 1939 England and Wales Register.  I decided to search this database and found the information that I needed to finish Helen’s profile.

In 1939, Helen was attending school in Sedgefield, Durham County, England. On this document, the surname of Oxborough was written above her maiden name. Oxborough was then crossed out and next to it was written the surname of Gedgaudas.

What Happened:

James and Helen appear in the 1951 and 1952 electoral registers for Newcastle Upon Tyne. They were living at 292 Church Street.

The 1954 electoral register shows that James was living at 292 Church Street. Helen’s name was not included in this entry. I discovered that James and Helen got divorced.

In 1955, Helen married Feliksas Peter Gedgaudas in Stepney, London, England. I do not know if any children were born to this marriage.

Feliksas Gedgaudas was born on 8 MAY 1918. He died on 30 JUN 1990 in Kensington, London, England.

Feliksas went by the nickname of Peter. He may have immigrated from Lithuania or Germany.

Second Spouse:

Doreen Abbott was born on 3 NOV 1922. I do not know her birthplace. She died on 8 AUG 1980 in Childwall, Lancashire County, England.

After James died, Doreen married a man named George Jevons in 1979 in West Lancashire, Lancashire, England. Doreen was 57 years old at the time of the marriage.

The name George Jevons was quite common in the Liverpool area. There were at least five men with this name. I do not know which one Doreen married.

Finding Doreen’s Maiden Name:

There are two indexes for Doreen and George’s 1979 marriage in the England & Wales, Death Index: 1916-2005. They both have the same information, Vol 40, Page 2223.

The first index shows her name as Doreen Abbott:

The second index shows her name as Doreen Oxborough:

This double-entry usually means that one surname was her maiden name and one surname was her married name. That is why I believe Doreen’s maiden name was Abbott.

If anyone has information on this family, please contact me. My email is dlwakenight@yahoo.com. You can also leave a message in the Comments Section of this post.

Notes:

The surname, Oxborough, originated in Norfolk County, England. It appears in church registers as early as the mid-16th century. As the world population grew, these Oxborough ancestors moved to other counties in England. By the late 19th century, some had immigrated to Canada and Australia.

Creating Your Family Tree

Interested in building a great family tree? Remember these important steps:

Look in your photo albums. You may have old pictures that your parents or grandparents gave you. Or, ask them for copies of photos that they have in their possession. Many people will write names and dates on the backs of photographs. Letters, diaries, and family bibles are also excellent sources for births, marriages, and deaths.

Talk to your older relatives to find out about your ancestry. They may relate stories about an ancestor that you can add to your family tree. Family history is usually not found in newspapers. It is more of a verbal memory that is passed down from generation to generation.

Find the right family tree builder that suits your needs. You can choose one that has a paid subscription like Ancestry.com. There are also free sites like FamilySearch.org.

When you start building your family tree, add documentation to your ancestor’s profile. The records can include birth, marriage, death, census, military, city, and county directory listings. Any information that you can find will help create a life story about your ancestor.

If you have a unique surname, like Wakenight, you may find databases on the internet that are useful in your search. I use SurnameDB.com for my English surnames. There are many others on the internet for other countries like Ireland, Italy, and Germany.

Genealogy is the study of a person’s “line of descent.” As you create your family tree, you would typically start with one individual and go “back into time.” You would add their parents, grandparents, and so on.  There are also family trees that go “forward into time.”  Many of these family trees start with a famous person, such as a president or royalty, and move forward into the present time.  The purpose of this type of pedigree is to establish a person’s bloodline with that famous person.

There is no limit on how big your family tree can grow. The blank canvas is there for you to use. Cherish your family history, and it will be there for generations to come!