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Birmingham Law Firms in 1901

C

cookecutter

proper brummie kid
My great-grandmother, Jane Davies, was not married when she gave birth to twin boys in Birmingham in 1901. Although her widowed mother and younger sister helped care for the boys while Jane was working, that arrangement ended as the grandmother became more feeble. Jane was advised to place the boys at Middlemore Home and her application stated that she had received payments from the boys' father off and on in accordance with a legal agreement drawn up by a firm of solicitors. However, the unnamed father had gotten married and was no longer sending payments for the support of his illegitimate sons. I really don't have any concrete clues regarding this "firm of solicitors", but one of Jane's sisters was working in the household of a solicitor named Thomas W. Ryland in 1901, at the time of the twins' birth.

Jane's sons were sent to Canada in 1912, shortly after being admitted to Middlemore. The twins were separated and placed on farms near each other. Jane kept in touch with them through the years and even tried to have the boys returned to her in England. She had gotten married and wanted to reunite her family. She wrote letters to Middlemore officials begging to have the boys back, but that was not to be. One of the twins, Albert (Bert) grew up and married a Middlemore girl who had been placed at the same farm. They became my grandparents. Details about their past were never discussed when I was growing up, although there were family legends of lawyers from England visiting them to ask that they relinquish any claim to an inheritance. None of our remaining family is interested in any legal claims, but we would really like to know the identity of the twins' father. Any information that might give me some clue to follow would be appreciated.
 
Don't think the solicitors would still have the papers , but:
Thomas William Ryland worked in the firm of Hooper & Ryland. He also seems to have been honorary secretary of the Birmingham Working Boys Home, Gordon Hall, 18-20 Deritend High St, so he seems to have had an interest in that sort of thing. The solicitor's offices were at 45 Newhall St., but just before WW1 they seem to have become Hooper, Ryland & Boddington, at Temple court, 55 Temple Row. They changed their name to Horton & Thomas after WW2, and they were still going in 1958, but not sure what happened to them.
 
Thank you for the information. Very interesting that Thomas Ryland was involved with a Boys' Home. Being from Canada puts me at a disadvantage when it comes to understanding the various cultural and social practices in England a century ago. Another possibility would be if there was a "bastardy bond" that names the father of Jane's twins. I know her family attended St. Michael's in Budbrooke, where Vicar Oliver Hunt officiated at the baptisms for Jane's eight younger siblings, as well as the burial for one sister and for their father. I have contacted the churchwarden at St. Michael's but he couldn't help me with something that far back. My extended family is thrilled with the discoveries I've made in the past few months and I know that solving this "family mystery" would mean a lot to everyone. All I can do is keep looking for clues.
 
Even if that solicitors closed their business had to be passed on to another solicitor so there should be a firm out there who might be able to advise.

Another route might be Birmingham library which has some records from the Middlemore homes including records of children sent to Canada. https://calmview.birmingham.gov.uk/...rc=CalmView.Catalog&id=BCC/10/BCH/1/3/1&pos=4

Janice

mikejee said:
Don't think the solicitors would still have the papers , but:
Thomas William Ryland worked in the firm of Hooper & Ryland. He also seems to have been honorary secretary of the Birmingham Working Boys Home, Gordon Hall, 18-20 Deritend High St, so he seems to have had an interest in that sort of thing. The solicitor's offices were at 45 Newhall St., but just before WW1 they seem to have become Hooper, Ryland & Boddington, at Temple court, 55 Temple Row. They changed their name to Horton & Thomas after WW2, and they were still going in 1958, but not sure what happened to them.
Click to expand...
 
Budbrooke records are on Ancestry but a search of 1901 does not show any Davies baptised in that year. Budbrooke is in Warwickshire and does not actually come under Birmingham.

The 1911 census lists both boys with Grandmother Jane (62), an aunt Helen (20) . and Albert with Edward. Living in Haseley Beausale

In 1901 they are boarders at 39 Johnstone Street where Jane is listed as a servant. I imagine yu know about these last 2 records.
Janice
 
Hi Janice:

Thank you for your comments. Not being familiar with England, I hadn't realized that Birmingham was considered separately from the rest of Warwickshire. Yes, I do have those two census records and I've received copies of the pertinent Middlemore records from the Library and Archives of Canada. A couple of the records had the handwriting obscured by dark blotches and I've been wondering how to have someone check the original documents in the Library of Birmingham. However, just this weekend I decided to scan the copies onto my computer and work at improving the photo quality. That cleared up the handwriting enough to provide additional bits of supporting information but no real clues to pursue. I did come across a list of Middlemore records that includes minutes of their committee meetings. A newly discovered cousin in England has offered to help me so he may be able to check those records at the Birmingham Library.

Thanks again.

Cookecutter
 
It is confusing but as Birmingham is a large city it kept its own records which are stored at the library (for the most part) but Warwickshire records are kept at the county town of Warwick. These are listed separately on Ancestry.

Janice
 
The Birmingham, that we know now, is made up of so many districts. At one time, some were part of Warwickshire, some part of Worcestershire and some were part of Staffordshire. Hope this helps.
 
Thank you, pjmburns. Still trying to navigate my way around the Ancestry site to search for specific record collections. I appreciate your comment.

Cookecutter.
 
Thank you, NORTHFIELD. That explains a lot of seeming discrepancies. Will keep that in mind for future reference.

Cookecutter.
 
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