Ada Family Updates

Ada Family Updates

Ada Family traced back to circa 1700
Research in Colchester has uncovered Thomas[103] and Rebecca Ada as the parents of Thomas[150] Ada, William[100] Ada's elder brother who died soon after birth. Although no documentation has yet been found relating to the birth of Thomas[103] there is a good correlation of dates and names to suggest that Thomas[103] was the son of Thomas and Mary Ada who had children circa 1738. Further research is required.

William Ada Sr dates established
Obtained Death certs for William Sr and wife, showed that he died in 2 Chapel Place, Brompton, aged 69 and was therefore born in Covent Garden in 1767. This link was previously discounted as it suggested that he would have been 53 when his last child was born. However it is now known that his wife Jane Mary was 10 years younger than him.

16 children so far...
A new database is under development - http://freebmd.rootsweb.com - covering the period 1837-1885 - checking this database revealed a wealth of data including three more children for William Ada and several other previously unknown members of the Ada family.

Two William Adas disentangled
Detailed research of CUST 47, the Public Records Office Minutes of the Customs & Excise, has revealed the movements of both William Ada Sr and William Ada Jr during the 1800s. William Sr was superannuated in 1837 which would make him 60 and therefore born around 1777.

More information on Joseph Ada
Information from Australia shows that William Ada was living in 1 Upper Street Gosport in 1853, probably his last posting before retiring to Maidenhead.

Australian Adas make contact
Adafamily website finally appears on Google, and is seen in Australia...
my name is Robert Ada , ,great grandson of Joseph Ada ,son of Bruce Ada , whose father was William Leslie Ada - son of Joseph, through an incredible "fluke" ,I happened to be surfing on the web last night ,and came across the Ada website ...
This is enormously exciting for us ,as it has added the pieces ,all the Adas in Australia have been searching for.Coincidentally we have recently had a family getogether in Melbourne ,at which 10 cousins from all over Australia had a very enjoyable weekend.
All the Adas are now scattered all over Aust. ,so even though out roots are in Sydney ,there are only 3 relations(including my cousin Louise) living there now.I am based in Brisbane ,with my brother Richard ,close by in Toowoomba.

Missing Link to Australian Adas found
Immense thanks to Norma Smith, a family history researcher in Drummoyne, Sidney, for her research on the Australian Adas. The following is the results of her latest research:
It seems as though Joseph Ada was probably the 1st arrival in Sydney. His parents were William and Sophia Ada but presume they did not emigrate. Joseph married Frances Maria Merrington in Sydney in 1881. It appears as though they only had two sons John Maurice Ada b. 1882 at Balmain and William Leslie Ada born 1884. John Maurice marr. Nellie Ethel Allen in 1907 at Annandale and William Leslie marr. Erica Maude Flower in 1912 at Waverley. William and Erica had 2 children-Alan Fletcher Ada b. 1913 at Glebe and Edna Frances b. 1916 at Drummoyne. I presumed Alan died during o'seas War Service, so thank you for the info re his death. Do you know you can get a copy of his War Record from the War Records Dept? Edna Frances mar. Allen Hamilton Sargeant in 1940 in Sydney. I cannot tell you how many children they had as birth records are only open access up to 1919. When I visit the State Library will see if Edna or Allen are on the current Electoral Roll.
There are 13 Ada names listed in the Sydney Telephone directory. 6 of them live at Merrylands and 2 at Old Guildford. None of the Initials from the two lines are in the phone book. Some people have silent numbers. Anyway the Electoral Roll may find someone. We will hope and see.

Arthur Ada died during the Zeebrugge raid
Arthur Fletcher Ada was 34 when he took part in the Zeebrugge raid. He was a Stoker on HMS Phoebe, probably killed when the vessel took a direct hit on the funnel. He was buried in Maidstone Cemetary. Many thanks to Dominic Walsh of The Times for ferreting out this information and Colin McKenzie for his excellent account of the raid - see http://www.mckenzie.uk.com/zeebrugge/ for details.