Beatrice May Rowland Killey

Beatrice May was the daughter of Maggie May Rigmaiden from her first marriage to Charles Rowland and was born in 1896. She married Charles Killey in 1916 in West Derby, he being 29 and born in Birkenhead. According to the 1891 census his father, Thomas Henry, was a solicitor's clerk and his mother was born on Jersey in the Channel Islands, her maiden name being Legros. In 1901 they were living in New Bebington on the Wirral and Charles' occupation was a messenger. He had an older sister Lilian Jesse and a younger brother, Herbert Henry. By 1911 his mother has died as his father was then living with his new wife, Cornelia, 23 years his junior.

Charles does not seem to appear in the 1911 census but on his WWI US draft records for 1917-8, he states that his year of immigration into the United States was 1902, so he could have been living there already.  According to the United States census of 1920 the address for Charles  and Beatrice Killey is  9 65th Street, Kings, New York. He is aged 32 she 23. She entered the US in 1916 and in 1920 was recorded as an alien. Both Charles and Beatrice were recorded as born in England and their mother tongue was English. Both fathers were English and their language was  English, her mother the same, but his mother was from the Channel Islands and mother tongue was French. He was a stevedore (docks) foreman, she had no occupation. 

Beatrice applied for naturalization and signed the Oath of Allegiance on 5 June 1928. Her petition shows that she lived at 301 73rd Street Brooklyn she was a housewife and was born on the 29 February 1896 in Liverpool.  She had left Liverpool on the 19th August. Her husband was born on the 20 April 1887 and she married January 11th 1916 at Liverpool. Her husband was naturalized on June 7th 1924, Brooklyn, and the petition shows her signature. Her husband Charles is a witness, occupation painter; the other witness is Frederick Truchsess a plumber. Beatrice and Charles had no children at that time.

Charles' ‘Old Man’s’ registration card for WW11 shows him living at 361 95 St Brooklyn with Beatrice but the address has been crossed out and replaced with 427 Palm Drive Beverley Hills. His employers are Wood Dolson & Co of 290 W 72 St, New York [ a real estate company]. He is 6 ft tall and 155 lbs with brown eyes, hair and light complexion. He registers April 27 1942. The street in Beverley Hills is the same one in which Simon Cowell has his mansion!

The next piece of evidence is Charles' death record in Los Angeles in May 1964. Beatrice dies in October 1965, also in California. They do not seem to have had any children.