How I Finally Found My Great Uncle (or a Divorce Rescinded)

Well, I have finally discovered why my great uncle, Henry James Webb, vanished from view 

after  1901. My grandmother's family were the first of my antecedents I investigated. I 

managed to  trace her eldest brother up to 1901 then he disappeared. In 1901 he was

 single, living with his parents and working as a carter. There were records for many men

 with his name but nothing  conclusive. Every so often I would attempt another search

 for him. On members' trees on Ancestry various records were attached to him but I was

 not completely convinced. Then  Find My Past added the records for the War Tribunals 

for Portsmouth. I had a breakthrough finding a Henry Webb in Portsmouth who could 

very well be my great uncle. Having entered these  details into the 1939 Register I found 

a Henry Webb living with a Hilda Couch. It looked like this  could be him. By researching

 Hilda I found the solution to my problem. Of course nothing in family history is easy. After

 considerably more research I found the records for Henry and his family. He had shared

 his life with a lady named Ada Couch. Ada was already married and so  on many records

 Henry (aka James) had used her surname as that was the name used by his children. Why

 had I not thought of that?! Twelve years after the birth of Henry and  Ada's first child her 

husband, Edgar, obtained a Decree Nisi by citing her adultery. It was posted in the Portsmouth 

News. Scandal! My grandmother would have been horrified! Then evidence emerged

 showing that Edgar had two daughters with two separate women. The Decree Nisi was then

 rescinded. I am not sure if this wipes out the scandal.

To read the story of Henry and Ada go to the page Henry James Webb aka James Couch .➨  

I have highlighted in red the sources I used to follow their story.

Hint 😉 New records are becoming available all the time. It is worth going back and doing a stock take every so often.

Hint 😉 After you have been going round in circles trying to find an ancestor taking a break can clear your head.

Hint 😉 If you have reached a brick wall researching  a particular person try looking at someone they are associated with.

Now I have a further mystery. This photograph taken in Portsmouth shows my grandmother, Elsie Wills nee Webb, with some of her family. She is seated with the little boy. The elderly man to the far right is her father, Henry James Webb. The man in the centre is one of his sons. Could it be the enigmatic Henry James Webb aka James Couch?

😧 More research!