While I was reviewing and updating the family of Dr. Thomas Bernard Stedman, I looked for a death record for his daughter Dorothy May Stedman who was born 21 July 1899 in Leighton Buzzard, Bedfordshire. I found a death record for a Dorothy May Stedman whose death was registered at the Colchester RD in December 1994. That record showed a birth date of 2 August 1899. This was close, but I did not think it was correct, but no other record that seemed to match. According to Sussex Genealogies (where I found the birth date), she was unmarried as of April 1932 (the date of the publication).
I looked for another death record and none seemed to be a close enough match so I thought, maybe she married sometime after 1932. At this point, I decided that I should just sort out all of the women I had records for whose maiden or married name was Dorothy M Stedman. I did not check Dorothy M Steadmans or Dorothy M Steedmans. It is possible that some records left out the middle name initial and some used the wrong spelling. That study extension is for another day…
Believe it or not, there may be at least 40 different women whose name at one time was Dorothy M Stedman in UK or descended from a UK family. Most of them could be sorted out. But I still have a number of loose ends. In some cases, Dorothy may have left the UK, or married or died outside England and Wales, or changed her name, or was divorced, reverting to some former name.
Here is a summary of each of the ones that are not resolved. I welcome your help solving each of these puzzles.
1. Dorothy Mary Stedman (b. 1890, Gloucestershire – ?). She was a daughter of Charles and Minnie Stedman.
—> No further record. She has not yet been found in the 1911 Census.
2. Dorothy May Stedman (b. 21 July 1899, Bedfordshire – ? ). She was a daughter of Dr. Thomas Bernard Stedman and Clara Edith Hetherington. She was unmarried as of April 1932.
—> This is the Dorothy M Stedman who was the genesis of this study.
3. Dorothy Mabel A Stedman (1903-1904).
—> She was born and died in Wales (Crickhowell RD). I cannot identify who her parent were.
4. Dorothy Mabel Stedman (23 Feb 1905 – Feb 1992 in Sussex).
—> She is identified only from a death record. She is likely a wife or widow so her maiden name is not known or if she has any children. This is no England/Wales Dorothy Mabel Stedman that she could be. I suspect, but cannot prove, that she was the Dorothy M West who married Charles Frederick Stedman.
5. Dorothy May Stedman (b. 1907 in Surrey – ?) . She was a daughter of William John Stedman and his wife Sarah Jane.
—> She was likely the wife of Frederick Booth or one of the others mentioned below, but I cannot prove anything.
6. Dorothy Mary Stedman (b. 1909 in London – ?). She was a daughter of Walter John Stedman and Kate Lovett.
—> She was likely the wife of Frederick Booth or one of the others mentioned below, but I cannot prove anything.
7. Dorothy May Stedman (26 May 1910 – Nov 1993 in Surrey) married John Reginald Billmore (1922-1998) in 1953 in Surrey. They had children in 1955 and 1956 proving her maiden name.
—> Her birth date is found from her death record. I have not identified a birth record.
8. Dorothy M Carrington married Frederick Stedman (1903-1978) in Essex in 1967 as her second husband. Previously, she had been married to Alfred Thomas Saterlay (1909-1965).
—> She had children with Alfred Saterlay so I can be confident that her maiden name is Carrington, but I cannot determine when she was born or when she died. I would estimate that she was born 1905-1915. It is possible that she married again after Frederick died.
9. Dorothy M Stedman married Frederick W C Booth (b. 1922) in Hampshire in 1942. The appear to have had children in 1947 and 1958.
—> If these are her children, Stedman was her maiden name, and the birth years of the children eliminate her as being the Dorothy I was searching for. I do not know who her parents were. She was likely born between 1910 and 1925.
10. Dorothy M Stedman (b. 1922 in Kent – ?). Her mother’s maiden name was Horne, and I cannot identify for sure who her parents were.
—> She could be the Dorothy M Stedman who married either Frederick Booth, Cyril Hill, or David Philpott.
11. Dorothy M Stedman married Cyril B Hill in Surrey in 1949. No children identified.
—> This could be Dorothy. Or, she could be a widow or divorcee. I could not find any provable death record to help identify her. She was born before 1932.
12. Dorothy M West married Charles Frederick Stedman (1895-1959) in 1949 in Sussex. I have not identified any children.
—> Considering that this is a later married for Charles, Dorothy was likely a widow or divorcee. I have not identified when she was born. She could still be alive if she was young when Charles married her.
13. Dorothy M Stedman (b. 1929 in Surrey, to Charles Stedman and Lilian Gardner – ?) is not further resolved.
—> She could be the Dorothy M Stedman who married either Cyril Hill or David Philpott.
14. Dorothy M Stedman (b. 1937 in Surrey, to William Stedman and Doris White) is not further resolved.
—> She could be the Dorothy M Stedman who married either Cyril Hill or David Philpott.
15. Dorothy May Stedman married David J Philpott were married in 1954 in Lincolnshire. I can identify no children.
—> She also could be Dorothy. She could also be a widow or divorcee or another Dorothy M Stedman. I cannot identify when she died or any details about David. They might still be alive.
16. Dorothy M Corke (1936-) married Ivan George Stedman (1934-1993) in 1959 in Kent. They had children (born in 1965 and 1970) proving Corke as her maiden name.
—> She could be still living, she died after 2006, or remarried.
17. Dorothy M Hannah married John H Stedman in 1965 in Kent. No identified children.
—> I was not able to identify who either Dorothy or John were.
After all of this, I do have about 20 more Dorothy M Stedmans who are fully identified; all of them are in the tree. And I still have not solved what happened to Dorothy, the daughter of Dr. Thomas Bernard Stedman!
I have not decided what the reward will be for anyone who solves one of these puzzles.
john.
John,
Not sure if some of your 2013 post questions have been answered but I have checked records following what i input re Ernest Illimani Williams, son of Mercy Olivia Stedman.
In response to the question on Dorothy Mary Stedman daughter of Charles and Minnie Stedman (Minnie Hunt), I first found her in 1901 census living with grandparents George and Mary Hunt. She married Alfred C Witts in December 1/4 1924 in Cirencester district. They had 3 children…… Desmond C Witts born June 1/4 1925, Aubrey B Witts born September 1/4 1927 and John V Witts born June 1/4 1929. Alfred Witts died Deceember 1/4 1958 and Dorothy M Witts married Albert J Spencer in June 1/4 1962 in Cirencester district. She died September 1/4 1978 and her death record indicates her birth date as 3rd May 1890.
Dorothy May Stedman, daughter of Doctor Thomas Stedman may be on the passenger lists of 3 ships, if she followed her father’s line of work. In 1928 she may have sailed to Port Said, Egypt as a nurse and in 1949 and 1952 to Cape, South Africa as a therapist.
The Dorothy M Carrington who married Alfred T Saterlay in September 1/4 1930 is probably born 1st quarter 1911 in Hackney. The 1911 census has this child as the daughter of Hettie Carrington although there is no husband at home at time of census. Hettie may be Hettie Flower who married Reginald Carrington in December 1/4 1909 in Southampton.She did not remarry, but the reason you did not find a death record was that she was registered as Dorothy Maria Saterlay in Barking, Essex in June 1/4 1993. Her birth date at time of registration of death was gien as 2nd January 1911.