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Trying to find White

ProfilePosted byOptionsPost Date

Cherry

Cherry Report 16 Sep 2004 09:01

My name is Cherry Edwards, i am the grand daughter of Olive Coleman (formerly WHITE), I would really like to track down her identical twin sister IDA AGNES WHITE. They were both born on 2 January 1918, Olive was the first born and Ida was the second born. Ida and Olive were part of a large family having 9 other brothers/sisters (Ruby, Kitty, May, Freda, Jean, Eddie, Dolly, Edith and Mac) Ida and Olive were the second youngest children, Mac being the youngest. Their mother, Florence White (formerly Brown born in Ireland) died at the age of 54, when they were 11, their father, Eden John White (Scots), was a soldier in the Royal Square, he died at the age of 79 from a brain hemerage. At birth they were both living in Brook Street, Aston, Birmingham. They attended Dartmouth Street School, Ida was knocked over in the road and then they were sent to St Mary's where there was a policeman to watch them over the road. They both had very long, thick hair that they used to wear in plaits, at school the other children used to pull on them, so they had to sit on them in class to avoid it. Olive was the more imaginative twin and Ida was the clever twin who used to be excellent at algebra and math. Olive White got married to Sam Coleman on 23 April 1938, Ida White got married to a John Kelly shortly after 1938 (unsure of the year). Ida gave birth to four children Margaret (being the eldest), Joan, Ann (?) and John (i am unsure of their dates of birth). John Kelly lived in Cumberland, then moved to Birmingham to find work where he met Ida. They did move back to Cumberland where they had a 5 bedroom council house. There first daughter was born there, they then moved back to Birmingham where they had their other 3 children. John worked as a foreman at a factory in Birmingham, he fell into a container of acid at work. As compensation the company he worked for paid for him to have a house built in Manchester. Whilst the house was being built Ida, John and the children were living somewhere in Manchester. Around the time the that the house was finished (just before) the family were involved in a car accident, John Kelly, unfortunately, died as a result. John Kelly (jnr who was aged about 10-11 at the time) saved the rest of the family by snatching the handbreak of the car. My nan, Olive Coleman, read about the death of John Kelly in the paper. She did not attend the funeral. Just after the funeral John Kelly (junior) phoned Olive (and Sam (her husband) to tell that about his fathers death and informed them that the family were moving into the newly built house). My nan says they lost touch because she was moving at the same time that Ida was moving into the newly built house. So the last my nan remembers Ida and the children had moved into the newly built house. My nan thinks Ida may still be in Manchester. I would really like to re-unite my nan with her long lost sister, IDA AGNES WHITE (1st married name KELLY), Ida may have married since and even had more children. My nan is now 86 (Ida would also be the same age), there are a lot of suspicious circumstances and empty gaps of the story, i don't understand how they lost touch as they were such a big family, my nan doesn't have contact with any of her brothers or sisters (or even their children) but if anyone does have any information i would really appreciate your contact.