Maud Elizabeth Who?

[MollyMay]

Somehow I have managed to get into a muddle with the wife of George Cotton - I have George sorted and their life and times after the marriage.

George married Maud Elizabeth Fraser 21/6/1936 at St John Limehouse (my dad is one of the witnesses)
Maud names her father as William Fraser dec. Her address is the same as George's
It is Maud who has been causing me problems having previously got the wrong woman completely.
Firstly I cannot find a birth reg for Maud Elizabeth Fraser (dob 4/8/1910 - 1939 reg)
I found her on the 1921 census living at 32 Anglesea Street, Bethnal Green, part of a large family -
Maud Fraser b1881 Chelsea - mother wid.
Leslie Fraser b1899 Fulham
Frederick Fraser b1904 Battersea
Hazel Fraser b1906 Lambeth
Shirley Fraser (son) b1907 Brixton
Maud Fraser b1909 Brixton
Edna Fraser b1912 Fulham
Druscilla Fraser b1913 Fulham
Daphne b1916 Fulham

So far so good.

Trying to find this family in 1911 leads me to a family by the name of Schaffer
Living a 45 Blackwall Buildings, Whitechapel
William Schaffer b1880
Maud Elizabeth wife b1878
Leslie b1901
Frederick b1904
Hazel b1906
Shirley (son) b1908
Maud b1910

So this looks like the same family now with the surname Schaffer
William Schaffer (Schapper on Anc where the m/c image is) married Maud Elizabeth Cooley 7/8/1898
There is a death of William Schaffer age 38 Dec qtr 1918 Bethnal Green.

I have tried to discover when the name change took place, and why.
Looking for the birth regs of the children I have found some, not helped by the family registering with one name and putting another on the census return.
Aubrey Shirley Schaffer - I have a bap for 29/12/1907 born 26/11/1907 - reg March qtr 1908
Maud Elizabeth 1901 (this looks like the birth reg for Maud Fraser), Frederick John 1904, Hazel Isabel 1906 and Cherry Dora Drusilla 1913 (Druscilla) all registered as Schaffer with a mmn Cooley.
I cannot however find any birth regs for Leslie (a school admissions reg gives a dob as ?/8/1900), or Edna 1912 or Daphne 1916
Can anyone else find them

To complicate matters further I cannot find the Schaffers in 1901 - however
RG13/440/14/19 find a family by the name of Schwartz - original says Schwartz, is this an enumerator error or a completely different family?
William b1878 Islington (fits with William Schaffer on 1891 census)
Maud b1878 Chelsea
William L 3 months born Fulham - is this Leslie in 1911 & 1921? I cannot find a birth reg as William Schaffer or Schwartz.

Anyone who is brave enough to have kept with me through this and is able or willing to add anything, then I would be more than grateful.

 

[Daft Bat]

I have tried to discover when the name change took place, and why.

Part of the mystery solved...

The East London Observer of 22nd May 1915:



I wonder if the name SCHAFFER sounded too "German" and, with it being during the Great War, the family met with discrimination.

Just a thought...

 

[Daft Bat]

Maud Elizabeth 1901 (this looks like the birth reg for Maud Fraser),

Could it be 1909, rather than 1901? Certainly closer to 1910

 

[MollyMay]

Thanks Jan, that does solve the mystery of when. I did wonder about the germanic sounding name, so is the death that I found for William Schaffer in 1918 him?
So Daphne b1916 is likely to be reg as Fraser not Schaffer

Could it be 1909, rather than 1901? Certainly closer to 1910

Sorry my typo - yes 1909 (I was rushing to get to puppy training class - don't ask, see my media)

 

[MollyMay]

Still no luck with finding birth regs - but Daphne Ruth Fraser was baptised St Mary Whitechapel 6/12/1916 and the 1939 reg gives a dob as 29/8/1916

 

[MollyMay]

Just found William Leslie's birth reg as Schofer in Mar qtr Fulham 1a 313 -1901 - mmn Cooley
Just Edna 1912 to discover

 

[Daft Bat]

Not found Edna, but was wondering if it was a second name so was just known by that. With the various possibilities for the spelling of SCHAFFER, the words "needle" and "haystack" spring to mind...

 

[MollyMay]

Thanks for try Jan. There seems to be nothing for Edna other than that 1921 census entry (will look again later on).
I tried looking for births mmn Cooley, no first or surname, but that throws up nothing that is obviously her, as well

 

[janetbooth]

I too cannot find Edna's birth registration but love Drusilla's full name as she was registered in the December qtr 1913 at Fulham reg district as Cherry Dora Drusilla SCHAFFER mmn COOLEY.

Janet

 

[MollyMay]

I have finally found something on Edna (in case it helps anyone else in the future)
There is a marriage St Peter Hackney 2/9/1933 of Edna Elinor Mary Fraser to John Moore Lewis, father Wiliam Fraser dec.
One of the witnesses is Hazel Isobel Unstead (Hazel I Fraser married William H Unstead Dec qtr 1931 Bethnal Green)
From the 1939 reg Hazel's dob was 18/3/1906

On the 1939 reg Edna E M Lewis gives a dob of 21/3/1912 - so even though we have found no birth reg we do have a date.