Jesse Head 1861 - ?

Glyn Scally

Glyn Scally

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I am trying to trace my great grandfather's death and have hit a large brickwall. Jesse was born in 1861 to William Head and Jane Hudson. He married Caroline Botting on 21st November 1891 and they had 8 children between 1891 and 1905. I have found them on the 1901 and 1911 censuses. On Ancestry I found the Electoral Rolls for Wandsworth, and there they were in Wandsworth, at 25, Besley Street, until 1924. On the 1925 Electoral Rolls, Caroline is there, but her son Albert is living with her.
I checked the death registers and found a Jesse Wadham Head who died in Wandsworth and a Jesse Head who died in Ampthill, Bedfordshire in 1924-1925. I sent off for both certificates, but neither was the right Jesse.
I contacted Wandsworth Register Office and they kindly checked all deaths for 1924 and 1925, in case the Death had not gone to the Central Register Office, but no luck. They suggested I check with the Electoral Roll division. They checked and found Jesse and Caroline were on the Spring 1925 Electoral Roll, but Caroline and Albert were on the Autumn Roll of that year.
What happened to Jesse? Did he leave Caroline and start a new life somewhere else or did he fall into the Thames and was never identified? I have checked newspapers, as far as you can from Ireland, but no mention of a Jesse Head anywhere in London at that time.
Any help from anyone would be much appreciated. Otherwise he will remain a mystery.
 
Glyn Scally said:
I checked the death registers and found a Jesse Wadham Head who died in Wandsworth and a Jesse Head who died in Ampthill, Bedfordshire in 1924-1925. I sent off for both certificates, but neither was the right Jesse.
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Hi Glyn - welcome to Genealogy Specialists.

What were the reasons that you discounted these death certificates - especially the Wandswoth one?
 
Hi Jan,
The certificate for Jesse Wadham Head, said he was formally a variety artist, he was 55 at the time of his death and the informant was his son W. Head. My Jesse was a carman, he would have been 62-3 in 1924, and his only surviving son was Albert.
The second Jesse Head, was around the right age, stated as 65, but he was a general labourer and the informant was Lucy Head his daughter. My Jesse had six daughters, but none called Lucy.
 
Drat. :(

Have you followed through the whereabouts of the children to see if he died whilst visiting one of them at all? There is also the possibility that his death was recorded as Jessie (female) instead of Jesse (male).
 
I have checked them all as far as I can, all the girls were married in the Lambeth, Wandsworth area.
I phoned Streatham Park Cemetry today, as his wife, Caroline, died in Streatham, and they confirmed that she is buried there, in a double plot, but there is no-one else in the grave with her. I must say, the lady on the phone was most helpful. It was pure guess work that led me to that cemetery and a result first go! Amazing.
I have searched on Ancestry and Find My Past for Jess* with and without the surname Head, but none appear that eem to match his birthdate within a few years.

Glyn
 
I wonder if he could have gone overseas at all..... (clutching at straws...)
 
That's what I wondered. But he was 62, and had been a carman all his life, and all his family lived close by. Unless true love arrived and he disappeared with his new lady.....
It is Valentines Day after all - love is in the air!

Glyn
 
MollyMay said:
There is a death of Jesse Mead age 63 Dec qtr 1925 Camberwell 1d 796

Could a badly written 'H' have been mistaken for an 'M'?
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I was searching all afternoon and came up with nothing & so I checked for erroneous entries and obviously missed this one. I think MollyMay is on to something here. I find it difficult to believe he died anywhere but Streatham and I'd definitely get hold of this certificate.

[A death in Camberwell could well mean he died in King's College Hospital]
 
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Good work Glyn - it's just possible that he may have died in the Maudsley Hospital (which you can Google).
 
I have sent off for the Death Certificate, but when looking on Ancestry, it appears there is a Jesse Mead, born in Wiltshire in 1862, who lived in Southwark on the 1911 census. Just looked at the Electoral Rolls and he appears on the 1928 Southwark Electoral Roll, so maybe it is a transcription error. Fingers crossed.
You would think a name like Head would be easy to spell, but when I was younger I got letteres addressed to Heed, Hede, Ede and once even Foot! The person obviously remembered it was part of the body, just not what part.
 
Glyn Scally said:
You would think a name like Head would be easy to spell, but when I was younger I got letteres addressed to Heed, Hede, Ede and once even Foot! The person obviously remembered it was part of the body, just not what part.
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Also, don't forget that some bad handwriting can make it look like Hoad, which is one of my family names and so I look for Head as well!
 
The Death certificate finally arrived. It is not my Jesse Head. This one lived at 62, Gray Street, Blackfriars and the age is out by a couple of years. He was an excavator, whereas my Jesse had been a carman since his teens. Oh well it was worth a try. I guess he really has disappeared into the mist.....
 
So sorry you was not successful in getting the right Jesse. I am sure he hasn't disappeared into the mist - just perhaps a litlle shy and retiring about showing himself. I am sure when you least expect it - up he will pop.
 
What a shame it was not your man Glyn, thank you for letting us know. I will have another look for you.
 
Finally knocked down this brick wall. Family Historian now shows FMP hints. Jesse Head's hints showed a death for Charles J Head in 1925. I sent off for the cert, with very few expectations. It arrived this morning and it's him! The name may be wrong, Charles John not Jesse, but the occupation, carman, is correct. Even better he died at home, at the address I had for him on the Electoral Roll for 1924 and 1925. Finally, the informant was his wife, present at death! Her mark is noted on the Death Certificate, so as she couldn't write it is likely she couldn't read either, so could not correct the wrong name.
I feel like cheering, his death has bugged me for years, now it's solved! Hooray!!!
 
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