The Pearn Family - Search History -

The Collgren Discovery.......

To continue the search I hired the company A&H Associates, who I have now lost communications with, to assist in obtaining documents. The initial search was for the children's birth certificates and the parents marriage certificate. The only certificates that could be found was for William and Fred. No Amy, no James and no marriage. Both William and Fred are born as Pearn.

Examining the 2 birth certificates found, it was good to see Matilda and Jane were the same person. Matilda's maiden name Daw was then used to search for a marriage and one was found. However, it brings up a whole new dimension into the family, the Collgren's.

So, lets take a close look at this certificate. Married on the 29th of November 1880 in Plymouth, Devon. William Collgren was a 26 years old bachelor. He worked as a merchant seaman and was living at 28 Green Street in Plymouth. His father was Charles Collgren but was deceased at the time. Matilda was a 25 year old spinster living on Morley Lane in Plymouth and her father Richard Daw was a barber. The marriage was witnessed by William Hammond and Ketureh West at the register office.

So William is 26, making his birth year about 1854, that sounds right. Matilda was 25 making her birth year about 1855, that does not sound right. It was like every time someone asked her age she made a new one up. Oh well, something to figure out later.

So what can 28 Green Street tell us? I have no way to find out who was living there in 1880 but I can check the 1881 census. Did you notice that although there are no Collgrens listed, both of the marriage witnesses are. Otherwise it looks like it was boarding house. I also searched Morley Lane. No house number was given on the marriage certificate and I looked into every house I could find. I did not find anything relevant.

Around this time I decided to order Matilda's birth and death certificates for my records. I knew Matilda is buried in Iola Alberta so I simply ordered a copy of the death certificate from the local registry office. The Birth certificate was order from England.