MY cousin's wife Elsie Donlon, ne Galvin, aged 69 years and living in Ashford, Kent, spent her childhood years in the Bolton area, residing in a children's home for most of her early life until she left to get married.

She has always known that she had siblings and is making efforts to try and trace at least one of them.

The children were split up when her mother died in 1932 and she has had no contact with her brothers and sisters since. She knows of at least two sisters and two brothers, but believes that there may well be another child of whom she has no record.

To make things more difficult, the parents were not married. At birth, the females took the surname Galvin and the males took the surname Chadwick. In addition, some of the children's forenames show differences between birth and baptismal certificates. Elsie has evidence that at least one of the children was baptised at St Mary's Roman Catholic Church, Walton, Liverpool. Three of the children - Ivy, Nelly and Harry - were adopted through the Blackburn Courts.

All she knows is that her brothers and sisters, including Thomas, were born between 1922 and 1932 and that her sister Ivy's adoptive name was Howorth and her married name was Rawlingson.

If any readers can help her trace any of her family, I would be most grateful if they would contact me.

BARBARA PROCTOR, 33 Pershore Grove, Southport, Merseyside PR8 2SY.

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