Ruth Madeley, actor, writer and disability activist, is the star of the latest episode of Who Do You Think You Are? Growing up in Bolton, her family always had close ties to neighbouring Manchester. She believed her ancestry wouldn’t reveal much outside of Manchester, with both her parents having been born in the city. However, a shocking revelation made by genealogists uncovers a hidden family secret on her dad’s side. His mother, Beatrice, was adopted.
“No one knew. My dad had no idea, so that was a huge shock,” says Ruth.
DNA testing
Beginning at home, Ruth catches up with her dad, Geoff, mum, Jackie and sister, Liz. Her dad had had no idea of his mother’s adoption. “When I got that phone call, I thought what’s going on? Could have knocked me down with a feather!” he says. Looking at old photographs of Beatrice, Geoff discusses how his mother was quite secretive. However, he had been close with his grandmother, Elizabeth Burrows, Beatrice’s adoptive mother.
Ruth first meets genetic genealogist Rachel King in north Manchester. Together, they view a marriage register. Leonard Madeley and Beatrice Burrows were married in 1937 when she was 23. From this, they work out that Beatrice must have been born in 1914, but they are unable to find a birth record under this name. To trace her ancestors, DNA samples from Geoff and his sister Ann are used, which revealed no genetic connection between them and the Burrows family. A DNA match is made to biological ancestors further back in the family tree. This leads Ruth to Charles Frost and Lucy Wilson, who Rachel believes are Ruth’s 3x great grandparents. Records show the couple to be from Hackney, but their link to Beatrice is unknown. As the 1921 census lists Beatrice as being born in Hulme, Ruth must find out how her London ancestors connect to Manchester. Charles and Lucy had six children. Genealogists look through each of the children to find a link to Manchester and discover that their daughter Lucy Frost had a connection. Her family moved to Manchester, making Lucy Ruth’s great great grandmother. A marriage certificate shows she married Henry Osborne in Peckham 1877.
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Workhouse stories
Ruth travels to London and meets historian Dr Vicky Holmes, who tells her Henry and Lucy had 10 children together. An 1893 police report reveals that Henry, who worked in insurance, had been charged for embezzlement. He absconded to Manchester and was sentenced to six months hard labour. Meanwhile, Lucy and their children were sent to a Greenwich workhouse, the youngest children being just toddlers and babies. The children were separated and sent to different district schools outside London and would only occasionally have been able to visit their mother. The children were not in the workhouse for too long. The 1901 census reveals that eight of them were now living with their father Henry in Salford, Greater Manchester. One of these children could be the biological parent of Beatrice.
To find out which of the children it could be, Ruth travels back to Manchester and meets historian Kate Gibson. The 1911 census shows none of the boys to be married or have children. However, this does not rule them out as potential fathers. Men were not required to be on the birth certificate, so a child born out of wedlock would have had no trace to their biological father. Ruth and Kate turn to the girls to follow the trail. No marriage records between 1911 and 1914 suggest that Beatrice would have been illegitimate. They search birth records for a baby Osborne and find a match - Beatrice Osborne, born to an Adelaide Osborne. The record also reveals she had been born at Withington Workhouse. Adelaide had gone to the workhouse when she was pregnant as workhouses provided good medical care. Beatrice was then adopted by William and Elizabeth Burrows.
Ruth phones her dad to share the exciting news and in a shocking twist, Geoff reveals he knew Adelaide Osborne! Adelaide had been a friend of his grandmother. He fondly remembered her as “Aunty Addy”.
Meeting Professor Juliemarie Strange, Ruth wants to know why and how Beatrice was adopted. The exact adoption date is unknown as adoptions were informal. A 1912 marriage certificate shows William and Elizabeth married in 1912, aged 35 and 33, unusually old ages for working class families at the time. Looking into Elizabeth, the 1891 census shows her living with her aunt and uncle, whilst the rest of her family were in Salford Union Workhouse. She sadly became the sole survivor of her family. Her experiences of poverty and workhouses bear a resemblance to that of Adelaide’s. “Even though their lives take quite different paths in adulthood, they have that shared bond, a shared experience of the cruelty of poverty and shared understanding of a need to survive” says Juliemarie.
"A family of survivors"
Returning to Rachel King, Ruth relays the information she’s learnt on her journey. Rachel reveals Adelaide died aged 75 at Withington Hospital in 1965. Her will reveals she was buried at Southern Cemetery and left everything she had to Beatrice. The executor of her will was Kenneth Cecil Pike. Interestingly, he wasn’t a solicitor but seemingly a trusted friend.
Rachel reveals she tracked down Kenneth to Stratford-upon-Avon. Whilst he had since passed, his wife and daughter, Dorothy and Margot, wanted to meet Ruth. To solve the last mystery of who Kenneth was to Adelaide, Ruth pays them a visit. Adelaide had come to clean for them in 1960 and stayed with the family when Dorothy had Margot. She adored Margot for day one. The pair say they were "very fond of [Adelaide]” and believe that “perhaps we made her happy in her later years”. They show Ruth photos of Adelaide with baby Margot.
For the final part of her journey, Ruth travels to Southern Cemetery, where Adelaide was buried alongside her father. “I feel very happy that I’ve been able to find where she is resting” says Ruth. Coincidentally, her adoptive great grandmother, Elizabeth was also buried there. “Both my great grandmothers’ lives were intertwined, and it feels really fitting that they’re buried in the same place”.
Ruth's emotional journey has left her feeling very moved by their stories of struggle and strength: “It’s really humbling to learn about them both and honour them both... I am from a family of survivors”."