Our surname is now Smith. We believe it would have been Hodgson if my late father had not been adopted by his maternal grandparents. He was not aware of his adoption until he joined the Navy during World War II and was not able to produce a birth certificate. It was simply explained at enlistment the only truth he knew--that his parents had died and his Smith grandparents brought him up from his first birthday as their youngest child. The circumstances surrounding my father's adoption remained shrouded in mystery,

When my young daughter was asked to create a family tree as a school project, much letter writing ensued. Eventually a surprising and shocking telephone call from the Manchester Juvenile Court explained to me that my father's mother, Margaret Alderson Hodgson nee Smith, and her infant daughter, my father's sister, Margaret (aka Metty) Hodgson, had both been murdered. My grandfather William Thomas Hodgson was found guilty and hanged for his crime at Walton Gaol, Liverpool, where he is probably buried.

The victims (my daughter's great grandmother and preschooler great aunt) were murdered in their home at 16 Central Park Avenue, Liscard, Wallasey, England. They were interred together at the Manchester General Cemetery. The senior Margaret and perpetrator William had married 14 Sep 1910 at St. Stephens Church, Harpurhey, Manchester.

My daughter's great great grandfather is shown as Joseph Hodgson, who may have been born at Howden, Yorkshire, on 23 Feb 1883. Her great great great grandparents are Joseph and Eliza Jane Hodgson nee Howdle. Their marriage certificate in turn reveals my daughter's great x4 grandfather as a William Hodgson.

As a side note, the family murderer fathered an illegitimate son, probably Arthur, born in 1917 to his mistress Helena Llewelyn.

But to the main story, our surname will remain as Smith. If it had not been for my daughter's school project, we may never have known the horrible facts and--that our family genes are really Hodgson.