Genealogy Forum UK

OK, so we can rule out Albert James W Apted.

I give up. Even if he was adopted, why choose Averal as a name?

My theory....

Averal is nearly always a female name.

You will find the occasional male with it but really , Avril is the male form.

Just jump on FreeBMD and see how many males are called Averal.

So I think he was born James ..... and his mother was Averal .....

He was taken into the family in 1902 and baptised as James Averal Apted in recognition of his mother's name.

His birth year may not have been known.

I always thought Avril was a girl's name

Canada, Ocean Arrivals (Form 30A), 1919-1924 Record for Averal James Apted.

Averal James Apted. Occupation farmer.
Gender: Male.
Estimated Birth Year: abt 1888.
Birth Place: Enland.
Age: 35.
Date of Arrival: 30 Mar 1923.
Port of Arrival: Quebec.
Port of Departure: London, England.
Ship Name: Majestic.

Nearest relation, Miss. Alice Apted. Sister.

14 Mornington Road. London. N. W. 1.

New York Passenger Lists, 1820-1957.
about Averal James Apted.
Name: Averal James Apted.
Arrival Date: 27 Mar 1923.
Birth Year: abt 1888.
Birth Location: England.
Birth Location Other: london.
Age: 35.
Gender: Male.
/Nationality: English.
Port of Departure: Southampton.
Port of Arrival: New York, New York.
Ship Name: Majestic.

Miss. Alice Apted. Sister.

14 Mornington Road. London. N. W. 1.

When Alice Jane died all her money was left to her daughter Alice. No mention of James in the will.

U.S. Naturalization Record Indexes, 1791-1992 (Indexed in World Archives Project).
about James Avril Apted.
Name: James Avril Apted.
Birth Date: abt 1888.
Age at event: 46.
Court District: California.
Date of Action: 28 Nov 1934.

Thanks to everyone for all the help - it has all happened very quickly which is wonderful and I am grateful to you all for trying.
Unfortunately I already have all this information - everything except the Registration of his birth. There is an ambiguity of the date - could be either 1986/87/88, depending which document you are looking at, but with a name like Averal James (sometimes James Averal or even Avril) he should be easy to find. I have to assume either that he was registered as someone else entirely (foundling, adopted or?) or that he was not registered.

Thanks again
Chaffinch

Just a thought - I haven't fully digested all of this thread - so forgive me if I've missed anything.

There was a Dr Barnardos in Islington at this time in Ratcliffe, London. I did some work on an Islington family and we couldn't find one of the children who was born in 1877. His father had died and the mother couldn't look after him because he had had an accident at age five and lost a leg. He wasn't with the family in 1881, although we found his mother and sisters.

We contacted Barnardos on a whim and they searched and found him. They sent us loads of information on him, including photos and details of the training he had been given and the employees he was apprenticed to and the address of all of his loding places when he left.

It might be worth contacting them - here : http://www.barnardos.org.uk/history?gcl ... 4QodfBIbTQ

Maggie

Me again - it's always worth considering that he may not have been baptised with the same name he was registered with

Or - he could have been adopted from Barnardos - they will have the records if he was

Maggie

Thanks Maggie, I have emailed Barnardo's - a long shot but worth a try.
I have come to the same conclusion as several of you (yes James his "father" died in 1885) that he was taken in from somewhere else. If so the task is almost impossible. There are very few male Apteds that fit the bill, and I can't face buying certificates for them in a vain attempt.

I did a search of all census from 1841 to 1911 and did not encounter a single male Averal but apparently it is supposed to be a boys name???

I think its an American Name

Aukland War Memorial Museum. Ceonotaph Record.

http://muse.aucklandmuseum.com/database ... 01914-1918

Averal James Apted.
Averal James.
Surname.
Apted.
War.
World War I, 1914-1918.
Serial No.
45809.
First Known Rank.
Private.
Occupation before Enlistment.
Station hand.
Next of Kin.
Mrs C. Apted (wife). 15 Mornington Road, Regents Park, London, England.
Body on Embarkation.
New Zealand Expeditionary Force.
Embarkation Unit.
25th Reinforcements Wellington Infantry Regiment, B Company.
Embarkation Date.
26 April 1917.
Place of Embarkation.
Wellington, New Zealand.
Transport.
HMNZT 84.
Vessel.
Turakina.
Destination.
Plymouth, England.
Nominal Roll Number 62.
Page on Nominal Roll 7.
Archives NZ source.
Military personnel file.
Sources Used.
Nominal Rolls of New Zealand Expeditionary Force Volume III. Wellington: Govt. Printer, 1918.

According to most baby naming sites....its Australian from the mddle english for April.