Welcome to part 2 of Veils, vows, and vintage clues: family histories revealed! Here we take a look at another wedding photograph and the research done to uncover this lovely family. Once again, using free and paid research tools, I trace the lives behind the veils and vows, whilst uncovering surprising details along the way.
Who were Jacob and Edith?
The next wedding photo was taken on 15th July 1926, 12 years after the first photo, and also after World War 1. As you can see, it looks like the groom has a facial disfigurement. Was he injured in war? Or could it be something like Bell’s Palsy?
My starting point to find this bride and groom was again FreeBMD. I entered Jacob with no surname and spouse, Edith with no surname, in the third quarter of 1926. I had two results.
When I reversed the search for Rosen marrying Goggan, it showed that the bride’s name was Dorothy L. Goggan, so not my bride.
It had to be Jacob Timmins who married Rilley, but when I reversed it to check her name, I had no results, very strange. So I looked at the actual GRO index page by clicking on the squiggle after the word ‘info’ in the red box.
As you can see, it could also be Killey not Rilley. So i did a search with Killey, and that was correct, Edith Killey married Jacob Timmins, registered in Cockermouth, Cumberland.
Jacob’s Military Record WW1
Now that I knew the groom’s name, I had to try and find out a little more about him, especially about his World War 1 service. His birth date was on 17th March 1904 in Distington, Cumberland. So, looking at genealogy Military records, I found these first two records on Ancestry.
Jacob Timmins enlisted on 30th May 1918 and was discharged on 9th November 1918. As you can see above, Jacob was awarded the Silver War Badge. “The Silver War Bridge was a British medal awarded during World War 1 to service personnel who had been honourably discharged due to wounds, sickness, or other disabilities sustained during the war”.
It’s a matter of piecing together the clues. This is his war medal card record above, and as you can see, his cause of discharge was 392 XVI KR. The XVI relates to being ‘No longer physically fit for war service’. The military researcher website by Forrest Anderson is excellent for all sorts of free military information, linked here: Cause of Discharge. Military researcher.
Another free resource is The National Archives. They have many digitised records, including those related to World War 1 and 2, military records and some naval records, which are available for free online viewing if you create a free account. Jacob Timmins’ record is middle left on this sheet below.
From these records and the fact that Jacob was in the army for just a few months and was awarded the Silver War Medal, I do think he was injured while serving abroad.
We could delve deeper into this couple’s family, which would take a bit more time.
But I will tell you that the couple had three sons, and here’s the family living at The Cottage, 10 Lime Road, Workington, Cumberland, England. Jacob was a builder’s general labourer. Edie died in the Autumn of 1976, aged 69, and Jacob died in the summer of 1982, aged 78.
From a single wedding photograph, I have uncovered Jacob and Edith’s story. Including his brief military service, their marriage, and the family they raised. Once again, tracing the lives behind the veils and vows reveals how even small clues can unlock remarkable histories.
Are you a descendant of this family? If you are, please do get in touch either with a comment on here or via email lynnswaffles@gmail.com.
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