Well Debbie, you are completely correct in your findings as I have searched and found exactly the same.  On the basis there was no other William Steward/Stewart Dibbs born in the year bracket 1865 - 1875 I would say certainly the death record you found in 1909 is the correct one.  Time and again we find mistranscriptions and variations on both Christian and surnames, so this is a typical example. 

 

Regarding Ethel, I did wonder if perhaps she remarried?  I found a marriage record in the second quarter of 1914 in Durham to an Alfred Davis, though Ethel is simply recorded as Ethel Dibbs, not Ethel Margaret Dibbs.  It's just a thought as to why, perhaps, you can't find a death record for her.

 

If she did die in England, the record should be obtainable and I can certainly check but it would mean going through every quarter of every year, so, I would need some "guesstimate" of approximately when you think she may have died.

 

Let me know your thoughts on the above and we'll see if we can dig a bit deeper!

 

Kay

Manager

Thank you Kay for replying so quickly.  Is there a way of finding more about this William Stewart(d) Dibbs who died in 1909 to see if he is ours?  Our William's parents are John Dibbs b1845 Knaresborough (d1912 Hunslet) and Emma Steward b1847 Birstall (d1906 Hunslet). 

 

As for Ethel Margaret Favell/Dibbs, I suppose it is possible she remarried.  I'd found two possible remarriages for her - your Davis marriage and another Ethel M Favell to William T Green at W. Bromwich.  The second isn't her as this woman had a child in 1921, when our Ethel was too old.  I'd dismissed both marriages thinking she'd gone overseas, but you're right to point out the Davis marriage as being of interest.

 

The couple had two known children, William Favell Dibbs b1899 and Anthony Charles Dibbs b1905, who moved here to Australia in 1922.  If William Favell Dibbs can be found still in England, it might point to the possiblility of his mother remaining there too.

 

I'll contact a relative to see if any clues can be found as to how long Ethel may have lived, and get back to you.

 

Thanks, Debbie.

Well Debbie, I think the only thing you could do, if you wish to spend the money, is to apply for the death certificate of this William Dibbs who died in 1909 to see who the next of kin was, or should I say, the informant.  In the hope of it being his wife, this should reveal if it is the correct one.

 

Regarding William Favell Dibbs, I'll have a look and see if anything shows up on him by way of a death record - do you have any ideas at all as to when, approximately, or where he may have died?

 

Kay

Manager

Hello Kay,

 

The death certificate cost and surcharge for a foreign currency cheque are beyond me, especially if we're not 100% sure it's the right one.  Are there probate indexes or something else which could give the correct spelling of his middle name as Steward to confirm it is him?

 

William Favell Dibbs - attached is his address in 1916 from his WW1 attestation paper.  You will know local place names better than I do.  Could you please tell me what the first word of the address is?  I presume he was living with his mother Ethel at the time.

 

He doesn't appear on the Commonwealth War Graves Commission records, so he survived the war.  That's all I know.  I didn't even know my grandfather had a brother till finding him on the 1901 census recently.  Death listings at FreeBMD website are only partially transcribed to 1930, and William's death wasn't there.

 

Not much information to go on I know.  I just don't know where to go with it from here.  Thanks for the help Kay.

 

Debbie

Hello Debbie

 

Well, firstly, regarding the address on your attachment, I'm not sure I've got all you posted - all I can see is William's name and (I think) Hannah's (?) and under that is says "near Derby".  Is that the part you were referring to - the word "near"?

 

Secondly, have you got William Favell Dibbs' birth record?  He was born in 1899 (I will gladly post this if you've not found it yourself) but going on from there I have found the following:

 

Name:	William Dibbs
Birth Date:	abt 1899
Age:	36
Port of Departure:	London, England
Arrival Date:	27 Dec 1935
Port of Arrival:	London, England
Ports of Voyage:	London, Brisbane, Sydney, Melbourne, Adelaide, Colombo, Bombay, Aden, Port Said, Malta, Marseilles, Gibraltar and Tangier
Ship Name:	Mooltan
Search Ship Database:	View the 'Mooltan' in the 'Passenger Ships and Images' database
Shipping Line:	Peninsula and Orient Steam Navigation Company Ltd
Official Number:	145435

 

 

Of course, there were other William Dibbs born around the same time but just on the basis we can't find him (easily) on other English records I'm wondering if perhaps this is the correct individual.  What do you think?

 

Kay

Manager

Also Debbie I've found this, which may help you with the address:

 

Name:	William Favell Dibbs
Age:	19
Birth Year:	abt 1897
Residence :	Farnale Green Belper, Nr Derby
Regiment Name:	RE
Regiment Number:	35432
Document Year:	1916
Number of Images:	27

Sorry Debbie, forgot to add in my last message, that I've looked for Probate Index records but alas, all the sites I found which may have been helpful charge a fee and possibly this could work out more costly than even applying for a certificiate. 

 

Kay

Manager

Hello again Debbie

 

Marion has also had a look for us on the attachment of your last message and fathomed that the place name is actually FARNAH GREEN, Belpher, Derby.

 

Hope this helps!

 

Kay

Manager

Hello Kay,

 

The image I sent was the name and address from William's WW1 attestation paper in 1916, cropped to keep it a small download size.  I couldn't read the first word of the address - it turns out it is Farnah, and I'd thought it was W Derby, rather than "Nr Derby" as you've picked up, thanks.

 

I have William Favell Dibbs' birth from FreeBMD online, in the first quarter of 1899, registration district of Eton.  The town of birth is Farnham Royal, from the 1901 census, so I'm right for that thank you Kay.

 

Regarding the passenger information, I'm not sure if it is him.  I followed the link you gave and (thanks to a friend who is an Ancestry.com member) viewed the original passenger list which has this William as a Tea Planter of 57 Albion Rd, Sutton, Surrey.  There were two other William Dibbs' born within a year or two of each other, but I'll make a note of this in case.  Thank you for finding it.

 

The address you posted for William made me rush back to Ancestry to view the 27 images mentioned!  I only had the first page of his WW1 record, but now have the rest.  His next of Kin in 1916 was "Ethell Dibbs, Farnah Green, Belper, Nr Derby. Mother".  So she didn't marry Alfred Davis in 1914, still being called Ethel Dibbs, and William was living with her when he enlisted.  Again, thanks for finding the record.

 

Someone from this site (I think?) told me that William Steward Dibbs didn't appear in the probate records in 1919-1921, but I can't remember who it was or how they found out.  I'll ask around to see if anyone I know has access to probates.  I've found only charging sites, as you have.

 

Thank you for those leads Kay.

 

Debbie

Hello again Debbie

 

Well I'm glad my searches have been of some help to you, although we've still produced nothing more solid, other than finding out Ethel didn't remarry!  If I come up with anything more for you I will naturally be pleased to post it here.

 

Thanks for keeping me posted of your own progress.

 

Kay

Manager

Hello Kay,

 

I think you've under-rated what we've found as a result of your leads. 

 

1. Your opinion that the death listing of William Stewart Dibbs at Wakefield in 1909 is almost certainly William Steward Dibbs (rather than him dying in 1919 in Panama) has been useful and has changed my research into William.

 

2. The passenger list you provided the link to has a 33% chance, since there were 3 William Dibbs' born around the same time, of being my William Favell Dibbs.  It has been added to my notes.

 

3. The address posting you gave sent me to the war record which gave us Ethel Dibbs' marital status and address in 1916, as well as her son's.  It also told us she hadn't remarried by then (or that her marriage to Davis was very brief!)

 

Every bit of information is useful and even information that doesn't fit tells us something, so thank you again Kay.  I'd welcome anything else you may find.

 

Debbie

Well that's very nice of you to say Debbie and I'm glad you feel what we have found is helpful.  Of course, I will be only too pleased to post anything further that may help solve the jigsaw!

 

Kay

Manager