Ada M Youell M for Mildred

 

In the early days of my research I did find a marriage for an Ada M Youell to an Aubrey M Cohen and not finding any other Ada M Youell births I sent for the certificate. It turned out not to be Ada May Youell but an Ada Mildred Youell, who, further research proved to be another distant relation by marriage. As happens whilst making a search for newspaper articles for Ada May Youell, I came across an interesting article indirectly concerning Ada Mildred.

This is that story:

Ada Mildred Youell nee Matthews. b. 1894

Ada Mildred Matthews married Frank Ernest Youell a theatre manager, in 1914. She became his widow in 1919, when he died of Tuberculosis, having been invalided out of the Royal Navy in 1917 due to the illness.

Ada Mildred Youell married Aubrey Mendelsshon Cohen, an Insurance Agent at the Register Office St Martin in London on the 7^th January 1921.

@crown copyright

A record shows Ada Mildred Matthews was baptised at Holy Trinity, Islington, London on June 10^th 1894, the daughter of Walter and Mary Susan Matthews. Her fathers occupation documented as a Mathematical Instrument Maker.

Aubrey Mendelsshon Cohen was born into a relatively affluent middle class family, Samuel and Florence Cohen. His father Samuel was a solicitor employing other workers and in the 1901 census they resided in Belsize Park, Marylebone with a small number of domestic help. This included a Nurse, Under Nurse, Cook, Housemaid and Parlourmaid. Samuel asserts that he was born in New South Wales, Australia, there is documentary evidence to support this.

The next document I found was Aubrey’s WW1 medal card, this indicated that he was demobbed from the Army in 1920. He had reached the rank of Lieutenant in the Royal Army Service Corps, having spent some time in France.

As the marriage certificate shows Aubrey and Ada married in January 1921, then the search goes cold. Until numerous newspaper articles in 1935 piece together a tangled story of the life of Aubrey Mendelson Cohen, which directly affected the validity of his marriage to Ada.

One of the most comprehensive articles appeared in The Scotsman 18^th April 1935.

It describes a court case bought by Ada Mildred Cohen, (the second suit), and Mr Geoffrey Michael Elliott Square, (first suit), both questioning the validity of their own marriages, Ada against Aubrey and Geoffrey against Mrs Valerie Jean Square nee Sinclair, on discovering their spouses, had made a previous ‘irregular’ marriage on the Isle of Arran in 1912.

The Scotsman 18 Apr 1935

Précis of article

The 1912 irregular marriage occurred between Mr Cowan and Mrs Berwicke, widow, as Mrs Square was known then, by a promise of marriage, a written declaration

‘I hereby swear solemnly to take thee ---- to be my lawful wedded wife/husband until death do us part’ signed by both parties and lastly a residency of at least 21 days in Scotland by both parties, one of whom, was Scottish (Mrs Berwicke) and subsequent co-habitation.

Mrs Square was originally known as Jean Sinclair Grant Davey, domiciled in Scotland. She originally aimed to make a living as an actress known as Valerie Jean Sinclair. In 1909 she married a Mr Berwicke which she described as an unhappy marriage until Mr Berwicke’s death in 1911. Due to the nature of the ‘unhappy’ marriage Mrs Berwicke asserted that she did not wish to repeat the experience.

In 1912 she returned to live in Scotland but on a visit to a casino in Boulogne she met Mr Cowan. There was a mutual attraction and Mr Cowan proposed marriage, but it was agreed that Mrs Berwicke would live in Paris with him as his mistress. After a short time in Paris they both returned to Glasgow and then spent a period of 25 days on the Isle of Arran. It was here that after a disagreement, Mr Cowan pursuaded Mrs Berwicke to sign the documents previously described.

Mr and Mrs Cowan then returned to Surrey living and known as man and wife through 1913 to 1914.

Mr Square was a gentleman cadet at Woolwich in 1914, when he met Mrs Cowan at a tennis party. Mrs Cowan had asserted that she had not married Mr Cowan but lived as his mistress. On May 15^th 1915 Mr Square and Mrs Cowan married. This marriage was said to have been kept secret from Mr Cowan until 1920, Mrs Square being able to maintain some relationship with both men, helped by Mr Cowan being rarely in England for short periods of Military Leave.

In 1920, Mr Cowan met his believed wife in Edinburgh and attempted to pursuade her to join him on his military service on the Rhine. Aware of a possible violent confrontation the Mr and Mrs Square made Mr Cowan aware of their marriage. Mr Cowan then on Jan 21 1920 filed a petition for divorce.

However the legal proceedings became messy, the documents relating to the Isle of Arran marriage having gone missing and with divorce proceedings due in both the Scottish and English courts, incurring 2 sets of costs. Mr Cowan withdrew the petition. Under an agreement with both Mr and Mrs Square and signed by all 3, he undertook not to maintain that any type of marriage had taken place.

In January 1921, Mr Cowan had married Mrs Youell, a widow and it was in this year too that Mr Cohen changed his name to Mr Cowan.

All would have remained but for in 1929 Mr Square becoming tired of Mrs Square and commencing an ‘amorous correspondence’ with another lady. By 1933 Mr and Mrs Square’s estrangement had deteriorated further and it was whilst closing his bank account that the original documents related to the Isle of Arran marriage surfaced again and Mr Square sought a divorce on the grounds of nullity from Mrs Square and the secondary nullity on behalf of Ada Youell, both of which were upheld by the Judge.

Daily Herald 18 Apr 1935

Whilst the Judge asserted opinions of both Mr and Mrs Square, their behaviours and outcomes, other than granting a divorce to Ada no other mention was made within the newpaper report.

Aubrey Mendelsshon Cowan, of Rushington, Maidenhead, died on the first January 1939 at Norfolk House, Taplow, Bucks. Probate was granted to the public trustee, for the sum of £643. This is a wish list death certificate. I am intrigued by the date of death and address.

So what happened to Ada post divorce. Her address at the time of the court case was given as ‘Goldsmiths, near Fairwarp Sussex.’ There is a possible Ada M. Matthews listed on the 1939 register born 1894 and a single unemployed typist in Deptford, London. Ada M Youell in the Hounslow area can be discounted as she is Ada Maud Youell married to Arthur.

However it is difficult to ascertain what name she may have taken post divorce so, for me, this sadly is where her story ends. If anyone can take the story further I would love to know.