Comments

I think I've found Peggy on the Queen Mary in 1946!  It's on FMP and her entry is as follows:

SHIP: "QUEEN MARY"  APPROX. SAILING DATE: 30 MAR 1946

MILLER, Peggy P.  20  58126(PP No.)  Br.  22 Hillcrest Knowle, Bristol, Somerset.

Dependent of: S/Sgt. Robert J. Miller, ASN 36130145, US Army.
                        253 Crest Ave, Ann Arbor, Mich.


Hope this helps you to find out more.  

PS. I think these passenger lists must be a recent update on FMP.  

Hello again Beverly.

I feel your pain. I, too, have been looking for COOK families with Eliza, Leah and Rebecca in them, but to no avail - at least, not yet and not in or around Pitminster.

A few things occur to me. The first is that COOK was not Eliza's maiden name. I think Pat mentioned this earlier on. As I think she said, the possibility that she was a widow might explain the age difference and/or the apparent disapproval.

Secondly, COOK might not have been her surname at all. If she (they) were fleeing the wrath of family, perhaps she adopted an entirely ficticious name in order to hide her tracks.

Thirdly, although the passenger list for the ship contained very little information about Eliza, it is possible that the Immigration authorities in Australia required, and recorded, more about her before allowing her into the country. Have you tried contacting them?

Finally, is it possible that the family did not approve of William, not because of his age or occupation, but because he was considered to be a bit of a rogue? It might be worth looking at the Somerset Criminal records to see if anyone of that name was ever in trouble with the law. I know that I've got a few in my tree, including one who was regularly brought before the bench for "prophaning the Sabbath". He encouraged his friends to miss Church by enticing them with home-made cider!

Dave

Hi Beverley.

I eventually found William OATEN  by scrolling through all the 1851 Census images for Pitminster on Ancestry. The "O" in the original record was quite ornate and looks a bit like a "B" so the surname was transcribed as "Baton". No wonder I couldn't find it. I had hoped that, once I located him, I might find a COOK family living nearby. But no such luck. I need to put my thinking cap back on.

Dave