I found them, I found them!

After all this time, I think I've finally found my great grandparents on the 1911 UK Census!

I can't be 100% sure yet, of course, until I locate corroborating evidence.

But that will only take me about a month to do.

And oh it's gonna be a very long month indeed.

You see, I found a properly-named couple, of the right age, the precise occupation, married for the right length of time ... but the family size doesn't correspond to what I knew (up 'til now).

The couple I've found has a 16-year old son about whom I had no previous knowledge.

One of the more helpful aspects of the 1911 UK Census is that it asked how long the couple had been married, how many children had been born to the marriage, as well as how many were still living and how many had died.  

And this couple, of the right given names and the right occupation, married in the same year as my lost ancestors.  They declared that they had three children, all of whom were still alive.  But only one was in the household on the night the census was taken -- the one who until now was unknown to me, the one who would have been their middle son.

I already have their other two children's entries for that census.  Their eldest son was married and living with his in-laws.  Their youngest son, my grandfather, was at an Industrial School for Boys, from which he would eventually be shipped to Canada as one of thousands of British Home Children.

So, how do I go about finding out if my grandfather actually had a second brother?

I order the birth certificate for the child in question (I have the reference I need) and sit back and wait for the mail.

When it arrives (these things usually take about a month from the time of order until landing in my mailbox), it will confirm whether or not the named child was born to the same parents as my grandfather.

If the child proves to be my grandfather's brother, then I will have finally confirmed that my great grandparents were still alive in 1911.

And I will also know that I have yet another branch of that line to pursue because ...

Whatever happened to that brother?

Did he marry and have a family?

Are there living descendants -- more new cousins -- who don't know that they have relatives in Canada?

Might they know when their elusive ancestors died?

That is one huge brick wall that I can't seem to get over -- I have not yet proved that my grandfather was  orphaned when he was sent to Canada.

Have I ever mentioned how much I love genealogical research?