Message sent to a genesreunited contact, 29 Nov 2007:
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Hi Rosalyn,

First let me say that I haven't given this branch a great deal of careful attention yet, as the Beatties are related only by marriage to my wife's aunt. I did it because my wife was very fond of her "Auntie Lou", and went to see her every weekend during the late 1960s. She demanded that I fit Aunty Lou into her tree!

The weakest link in our chain is whether Florence M (probably Mary) Beattie (who married Frederick Hallwood in 1917) is indeed the daughter of Thomas Boswell Beattie. We think it very probable, as "Auntie Lou" was really the great Aunt of Gillian Hallwood (my wife's cousin), and Louisa Fanny Beattie (1899) is the best match. Aunty Lou had a large sepia photograph of her brother, in uniform, who died in WW1 (but we didn't know she had two brothers).

By the way, it would seem very likely that Thomas Boswell Beattie (1895) was the son of his namesake, but do you actually know that for certain? Would you happen to have his birth certificate?

Louisa Fanny Beattie and Florence Mary Beattie are definitely not the same person. Both can be found in the birth indexes. Florence married Frederick Hallwood, but Lou never married. Indeed she died a virgin. She used to say "I'm saving it for the worms". She must have been about 80 when she died. My wife recalls that the certifying doctor took great delight in confirming this fact. Sorry if that's too much information.

Anyway, I guess I must now rise to the challenge of proving the link to Thomas Boswell Beattie. We'll start by phoning Gillian Hallwood, and may have to follow up by ordering Florence's birth certificate.

The other mystery is where was Florence staying on census night 1901. In my handwritten notes, I have a comment about a possible orphanage (this is not out of the question if her widowed mother was in hard times), but nothing definite.

Stay tuned.
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