Inherited Craziness
A place to share all the nuts found on my family tree

Showing posts with label Cork. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Cork. Show all posts

Saturday 17 February 2024

David Jones and Laura Elizabeth White

Christ Church Rushbrooke Cobh

My great-grandparents, David Jones, son of Thomas Jones and Mary Harty, and Laura Elizabeth White, daughter of Walter White and Hannah Blazey, married at Christ Church, Church of IrelandRushbrooke, Cobh (Queenstown, as it was then), Ireland on 17 Feb 1892. David Jones was then Sexton of the Anglican Christ Church. But this was not David's first marriage, so we have to rewind for the story that led to this point: 

David was born at Sutton Bridge, Lincolnshire on 10 Jul 1850 and baptised, on 1 May 1851, at St Mary’s Roman Catholic Church, Kings Lynn, Norfolk. That last detail certainly wasn't ever common knowledge.

After being pensioned off from the Navy, at 16, in 1866, David Jones was next recorded at Castle Oliver in Limerick at the time of his father's death in 1873. Records of his Dog Licences then place David at Castle Oliver in 1874 to 1877 too and, from 1878 onwards, man and dog were at Rushbrooke.

On 5 Oct 1880, David Jones married Johannah Anne O'Callaghan at the Parish Church in Inchigeelagh, Cork, By Licence. Johannah's father, Cornelius O'Callaghan was a Schools Inspector and on a later census return pedantically listed himself as Church of Ireland, and a member of the 'Irish Truth Society - Protestant'. Interesting choice of father-in-law for "a nice Catholic boy".

By the time of the baptism of David and Hannah's first child in 1881, David was listed as "Sexton of Church". Rushbrooke had docks, a tradition of ship building and the Irish Naval Service nearby, so I don't suppose it hurt that he was a Naval Pensioner, but the timing and the fact that the pedantically detailed school records were held in the church, lead me to believe that his father-in-law's contacts may have secured David this position. 

From the records in the church, I was able to ascertain that David and Hannah had five children, all baptised at Christ Church, Rushbrooke: 
  1. Thomas Jones b. 19 Oct 1881, bap. 19 Nov 1881. (Died 8 Jan 1891.)
  2. Marcella Jones b. 10 May 1883, bap. 2 Jun 1883
  3. Helena Jones b. 4 Mar 1885, bap. 14 Mar 1885 [1]
  4. Anna Jones b. 14 Feb 1887, bap. 19 Mar 1887. (Died in 1902.)
  5. Marion Jones b. 27 Aug 1889, bap. 21 Sep 1889 (Died 8 Mar 1891.)
And so things might have continued, but Johannah Jones (35), wife of David Jones a Naval Pensioner, died of Typhoid fever, on 18 Feb 1891. 

Johannah was buried, on 20 Feb 1891 in the same plot as David's father, Thomas Jones (Section S, Row 9, Position 76), at the Old Church Cemetery (Cobh), where her son Thomas (9) had been buried little more than a month earlier, on 10 Jan 1891. One assumes from the same cause. Youngest daughter, Marion (2), also died on 8 Mar 1891. There's no record of Marion's burial, but I imagine she'll have been buried with her mother.

The inscription on the grave reads: 
Erected by David Jones In memory of his beloved father Thos. Jones Who died Jan. 8th 1873 aged 56 years Also his beloved son Thomas Who died Jan. 8th 1891 Aged 9 years and 3 months And his beloved wife Johanna Who died Feb 18th 1891 Aged 35 years.
The kitchen at Fota House

And so it was, on 17 Feb 1892 - one day less than a year after Johannah's death - that David Jones married Laura Elizabeth White. Witnesses were Ellen Jones (David's brother Nicholas' wife) and Annie Jones, David's sister. On the marriage certificate, Laura's address is given just as 'Fota', the island in Cork Harbour, just north of Great Island and Fota House & Gardens was (and is) probably all there was there, so perhaps Laura was employed at Fota House, which makes sense, because my gran talked about them baking cakes for "the big house". We also know that the family from Fota House attended the Anglican Christ Church, which is obviously where David and Laura met.

David and Laura added yet another six children: 
  1. Cornelius Walter Jones (Con) b. 2 Jan 1893, bap. 22 Jan 1893
  2. Ellen Jones (Nell) b. 23 Apr 1894, bap. 13 May 1894
  3. Laura Mary Jones (Queenie) b. 2 Aug 1896, bap 28 Aug 1896 [2]
  4. David Jones (Young Dave) b. 10 Nov 1898, bap. 9 Dec 1898
  5. Alice Jones b. 26 Jul 1903, bap. 14 Aug 1903 [3]
  6. Agnes Jones (Daisy) b. 27 Feb 1907, bap. 15 Mar 1907
Here I should mention that prior to going to Cobh in 2014, I'd only known that my grandmother had lived in Ireland growing up: we didn't know when or where she was born. There'd been some mention of her father marrying twice and I'd known of a younger sister. Getting to the church and being let loose with all the original records was a huge surprise: finding record after record until I had various marriages, all eleven children, every relevant baptism, school record and, where appropriate, burial, was quite a shock.

It's interesting that the first son by the 2nd wife is named after the 1st wife's father first and the 2nd wife's father second. (Irish logic?) David appears to be - less strictly with the girls - following the traditional naming pattern that was often used by Irish parents until the later 19th century, but it's clear that this is in the order of the father's 1st, 2nd, etc., child irrespective of which wife produced it. Did wives not matter? That's probably rhetorical.

In 1901, David Jones (50), Laura (30), Helena (16), Cornelius (8), Ellen (6), Laura (4) and David (2) were living at Queenstown Urban, Cork. Marcella had already left home and was working as a servant in the household of Edward Gibbings, Rector of Kinsale, at Rampart's Lane (Kinsale Urban, Cork), while Anna (or Annie) (13), was staying with her grandfather O'Callaghan.

Then on 13 Apr 1902, Annie Jones (14), Daughter of a Naval Pensioner, died from Tuberculous meningitis. Her grandfather was present when she died.

In 1911, the household, still at Rushbrooke, included David (58), Laura (40), Cornelius (18), Ellen (16), Laura (14), David (12), Alice (7) and Agnes (4). 

On both census returns, David listed his birthplace - wrongly - as Wales, but I think we can all imagine reasons why being Welsh in Ireland was far more desirable than being English and with a name like Jones and his father supposedly born in Swansea, this was a perfectly believable fib.

Laura Jones, wife of David Jones a Naval Pensioner, died, aged 46, on 17 Jan 1917 from Splenic Leucocythemia (or Leukemia) and Influenza. Laura was buried, on 19 Jan 1917 at the Old Church Cemetery (Cobh), in Section D, Row 6, Position 50. So David was widowed again. Daughter Ellen (Nell), then 23, (resentfully) looked after the house and younger children until she married, after which David's sister, Annie, took over as housekeeper. 

On 7 Aug 1935, David Jones, widower, 79, Sexton of Church, died at Church Lodge from Hemiplegia 2 years (from which I'm reading that he'd probably had a stroke in 1933) and Cardiac failure. David was buried, on 10 Aug 1935, at the Old Church Cemetery (Cobh), in Section D, Row 6, Position 50, along with second wife, Laura, and their son Cornelius, who had died in 1926.

The Jones Family Church Lodge Rushbrooke at Rest, Section D, Row 6, Position 50
Old Church Cemetery (Cobh). Resting place of David Jones (1850-1935), Laura Elizabeth Jones (1870-1917), Cornelius Walter Jones (1893-1926) and David Jones (1898-1966).

[1] The last record I have that mentions Helena Jones is where she was witness to the marriage of her sister, Marcella to Edward John Bicknell, in Portsmouth, in 1906, so we know she was in England then. There are also records of voyages to America for a Helena Jones of the right age.

[2] Laura Mary Jones was alive and unmarried in 1942, when she and her sister Alice were both witnesses at their brother Dave's wedding.

[3] As with her sister, Laura Mary, I've found no records that I can definitely attribute to Alice Jones beyond 1942. My belief is she stayed in Ireland, as when I was a child, my gran used to have shamrocks sent to her for St. Patrick's Day and I'm sure I remember them coming from an Alice, in Ireland. Family stories - we know how reliable those are - alleged that Laura and Alice had been thrown out of the family home and sent to the workhouse as they both had children out of wedlock. We were unable to find records of them entering the Cork workhouse. My late cousin had said they had lived at the Cork County Hospital for years and visited them there in 1946. Unfortunately, without an admission date, the Health Service in Ireland couldn't (wouldn't) make a search of the records for me to be able to confirm.

More about David Jones: 

Sunday 7 January 2024

Thomas Jones and Mary Harty

St John the Baptist Church, Cobh (Queenstown) Via: Cobh Heritage Centre

Cobh Parish Office, were able to tell me that my 2x great-grandparents, Thomas Jones and Mary Harty had married, on 7 Jan 1844, at St John the Baptist Catholic Church in Cobh (Queenstown). St John the Baptist was the Catholic Church for Cobh from 1810 to 1868, when it was demolished to make way for the bigger St Colman's Cathedral. Nobody in the family had even considered the possibility of an Irish Catholic ancestor. 

Thomas Jones, according to his merchant seaman's register ticket, issued on 5 Mar 1847, while on board HMS America, states he was born on 9 Apr 1817, in Swansea, Glamorganshire. (On the 1851 census in England, he is listed as having been born in Swansea, Glamorganshire too.) The merchant ticket goes on to tell us that Thomas Jones, then a Ship's Corporal, was 5 ft 9½ in, with dark brown hair and, it looks like hazel eyes and had a ship [tattoo] on his left arm and a man & woman on his right; that he went to sea as a boy (of 10) in 1827 and, 'when unemployed', resides at Cove of Cork.

Born in the reign of George III, during the The Regency, Thomas Jones lived through the reigns of George IV, William IV and much of Queen Victoria. He served in the First Opium War and the Crimean War; emigrated TO Ireland during the Great Famine and lived through four Cholera pandemics.

Mary Harty, according to what records there are, must have been born around 1821. Although she married in Cobh, I see no reason to assume that she was from there originally. My late cousin in Ireland had said that Mary later went "up country" to where her people were from, so perhaps she may have come to Cobh for work and met Thomas there. What we do know from that 1851 English census is that Mary was born in Ireland and, later from the 1901 Irish census, that she spoke both Irish and English. But I've found no records that tell me where her exact place of birth nor original parish was though. 

The 1844 parish marriage record is very scant in detail and does not include the names of the bride and groom's parents and there wasn't civil registration in Ireland at that date, so there aren't any of the usual hints to follow.

The only other clue is that Mary had a younger sister, Ellen Harty (b. 1825), who was visiting them in Sutton Bridge, England in 1851, but who was also one of the sponsors at Nicholas Jones' baptism, in Rath, Ireland in 1853.

Thomas and Mary Jones had six children in all: 

  1. Mary Ann Jones, b. in Ireland in 1844
  2. Rees Jones, b. 25 May 1849 in Long Sutton, Lincolnshire
  3. David Jones, b. 10 Jul 1850 in Long Sutton, Lincolnshire
  4. Anna Jones, bap. 4 Oct 1851 at Sacred Heart Church, Rath
  5. Nicholas Jones, b. 10 May, bap 17 May 1853 at Sacred Heart, Rath
  6. Thomas Jones, bap. 17 Sep 1854 at Sacred Heart, Rath
Rath and The Islands Parish is the Catholic Community of Baltimore, Sherkin Island and Cape Clear Island and surrounding areas. This explains why my late cousin drew a complete blank when she'd gone down to Baltimore to try to find records of the family: she'd only looked in the Church of Ireland.

Nobody ever spoke of Mary Ann, Rees, nor Thomas Jr. The only mention of Mary Ann is on the English 1851 census. David was the one who did things one would associate with the role of eldest son, so I'm sure Rees perished as an infant. One month before they moved back to Ireland, both Rees and David were baptised, on 1 May 1851at St Mary’s Roman Catholic Church, Kings Lynn, Norfolk. That's the last record for Rees. David was my great-grandfather. Anna still lived with her mother in 1901 and later became David's housekeeper. She never married and died on 8 Mar 1934. Nicholas was my cousin's grandfather. The baptism is the first I heard of son Thomas. 

The only other record I've found [so far] for Thomas Jones Jnr is when he was enlisted in the Royal Navy as a Boy 2nd Class on 14 Apr 1871. On it, there's a reference provided by a John Lombard, which states, "Thomas Jones is a Protestant Parishioner of Queenstown, and son of a Naval Pensioner. He is a steady, well conducted lad." Emphasising Protestant for what purpose? 

Also attached to the record is a Declaration Before a Magistrate in Thomas Jones (the father's) own handwriting - I recognise his signature - stating that, "I hereby certify that my son Thomas Jones was born in Baltimore, Cork on May 25th, 1855." Not when he was baptised in 1854, he wasn't! Clearly the date wasn't a mistake and can only have been a deliberate falsification, because later on the form, it states that, "Boys for the Navy must be over 15 and not above 16½ years of age ..."  He was 17. Thomas Snr had retired in ill health, so one can perhaps understand him doing this in an attempt to ensure that his son was taken care of. The most curious part of this record, however, is that the service record is blank. Thomas Jnr was not even assigned to a training ship: it's like he didn't even turn up. He then just disappears. 

Thomas Jones Sr had a 40+ year career: 
Thomas Jones died, aged 56, on 8 Jan 1873, at Castle Oliver, from Morbus Cordis (unspecified heart disease) 4 years certified (which ties in with his date of retirement) - presumably in the surrounding village, rather than Kim and Kanye's honeymoon castle itself. Could that be the "up country" area Mary had originally come from? Can't think of another reason for them to be in Limerick.

Thomas Jones was buried, on 10 Jan 1873, in the Clonmel Old Church Cemetery (Cobh), Cork in section S, row 9, position 76

The inscription on his grave reads, 
Erected by David Jones In memory of his beloved father Thos. Jones Who died Jan. 8th 1873 aged 56 years”.
In 1901, Mary Jones, widow, was living with her daughter, Annie (who claimed to be 30, but was 50) at The Glen, Passage West (Monkstown, Cork). Mary Jones (81), Widow of Thomas Jones a Coastguard Pensioner, died of senile decay on 14 Aug 1903 at The Rock, Queenstown, Cork. 

Section S of the Clonmel Old Church Cemetery (Cobh), Cork

Tuesday 12 December 2023

Edward John Bicknell, Marcella Jones & Harry Babb

Portsmouth Cathedral
cc-by-sa/2.0 - © N Chadwick - geograph.org.uk/p/6829155

Edward John Bicknell married Marcella Jones, daughter of David Jones and Johannah Anne O'Callaghan, at St Jude's Church, Southsea on 12 Dec 1906. Among the witnesses was Marcella's younger sister, Helena Jones. At the time of this marriage, Edward John Bicknell was a Corporal RGA (Royal Garrison Artillery) and was then stationed at Southsea Castle. On the marriage certificate, Bicknell's father is listed as Edward Bicknell, a farmer

Their only child, David Nicholas Bicknell was born on 20 Jan 1909, at 15 Gold Street, Southsea and baptised, on 10 Feb 1909, at The Anglican Church of St Thomas of Canterbury, now known simply as Portsmouth Cathedral.

In 1891, Edward Jno Bricknell (sic) (10), nephew, had been living with Henry Palmer (42) Butler domestic and Elizabeth F Palmer (54) from Withycombe, Devon, at Hencroft Street, Upton with Chalvey, Eton, Buckinghamshire.

On 17 Dec 1895, Edward John Bicknell, listed originally as aged 14 years, 11 months (although the 14 appears to have been over-written as 15 on the 2nd page), from Withycombe [Withycombe Raleigh], Exmouth, Devon, formerly a Telegraph Messenger, had enlisted for Long Service in the Royal Artillery, at Slough, Bucks. The name and address of his next of kin was given as Mrs F E Palmer, 18 Hencroft Street, Sough, Bucks. In 1901, Elizabeth F Palmer (60) Tailoress, from Withycombe, Devon, was listed at that address.

Records show that Henry Palmer had married Elizabeth Fanny Bicknell, at St Margaret's, Westminster, London, in 1873. In 1881, they had been living at Church End, Tempsford, Biggleswade, Bedfordshire, where Henry was Under butler. Elizabeth Bicknell (bap. 5 Jan 1834), listed in Withycombe Rawleigh in 1841 and 1851, certainly had a brother named Edward, born in 1830. However, he had died in 1870, so could not have been the boy's father. In fact, there were very many people named Edward Bicknell, in Withycombe, going right back to the 17th Century. Not one of them were farmers.

There is no birth, nor baptism for an Edward John Bicknell, around 1880/1. The most likely record is of an illegitimate birth of an Edward Bicknell in St Thomas, Devon (under which Withycombe would fall), in 1879. That child, born 19 Nov 1879, in the Village, Withycombe Raleigh, was the son of Rose Creasley Bicknell, Domestic Servant, Cook. His birth was registered by his mother, on 9 Dec 1879 and the name of the deputy registrar on the certificate was Edward John Carter. Is that where the Edward John came from?

There was a Rose Cressly Bicknell b. 1859 M Quarter in TOTNES Volume 05B Page 173 and baptised on 2 Jan 1859 at St Saviour's Church, Dartmouth, Devon, the base child of Elizabeth Bicknell (and a bloke named Cressly, I wouldn't be surprised). Edward John was described as Elizabeth's nephew, but I think it possible that she was actually his grandmother.

That and naming their son after Marcella's father and uncle and not after his father, leads me to think Bicknell had no idea who his father was and, as is so often done, just made one up for appearances on the marriage certificate.

Fort Rowner-Gosport
cc-by-sa/2.0 - © Colin Babb - geograph.org.uk/p/704877

When he enlisted in 1895, Edward John was 5' 1⅝' tall, weighed 98lbs, had a fresh complexion, hazel eyes and dark brown hair. He was then sent to Fort Rowner, Gosport on 21 Dec 1895. Initially passed as fit, he spent 29 days in hospital from 5 Feb 1896 to 4 Mar 1896, suffering from an illness referred to only by the initials V.D.H. (valvular disease of the heart and implies some organic disease or heart malfunction), of unknown cause and was discharged on 7 Mar 1896, as "Not being likely to become an efficient soldier."

On 19 Sep 1900, in London, at 18 years and 9 months, Edward John Bicknell, once again enlisted in the Royal Artillery. The record, again, says he was from Withycombe, Exmouth, Devon. Was he cured of his previous condition, or hopeful nobody would tie the two together (which they don't seem to do)?

In 1901, Edward John Bicknell (19) Gunner Royal Artillery, was listed on the census at Leith Fort North Fort Street, Leith, Edinburgh, Scotland.

Part of Tigné Barracks, now incorporated in The Point Shopping MallSliemaMalta.

In 1911, Sergeant Edward John Bicknell (29), from Exmouth, Devon, was listed on the census of Overseas Establishments with 96th Company RGA (Royal Garrison Artillery) at Fort Tigné, Malta. Also listed there at that time were wife, Marcella Bicknell (26) and son, David Nicholas Bicknell (2) (96th Company, I believe, remained in Malta for the duration of World War I.)

But on 27 Oct 1919, Edward John Bicknell, then a Battery Sergeant Major at Sandown Barracks, Sandown, Isle of Wight, filed for divorce from Marcella, citing her adultery with co-respondent, Harry Babb, a Fitter in His Majesty's Dockyard at Portsmouth, with whom she was allegedly residing at 34, Castle Road, Southsea. The final decree was granted on 29 Sep 1920 and Harry Babb was ordered to pay costs of £63 18s 4d (around £2,900 in 2021).

In 1920 and 1921, records show that Sergeant Major Edward John Bicknell was a member of Sandown Masonic Lodge on the Isle of Wight. 

Edward J Bicknell remarried, to Ida G Priestley, on 25 Mar 1921, on the Isle of Wight. Ida Gertrude Priestley (b. 31 Dec 1891), was the daughter of Thomas F (a Yacht steward) and Sophia C Priestley (from Jersey, Channel Islands). In 1901, the family address was Grocer's Shop, 62, West Street, Ryde, Isle of Wight (now a branch of The Co-operative Food). In 1911, Ida Gertrude Priestley (20), had been employed as a Lady's Maid to a Mrs Winifred Walker at 10 Marmion Road, Battersea, London.

Edward John Bicknell was discharged from the Army on 18 Sep 1921, at Dover, under Paragraph 392 (xxi) of the King's Regulations - the end of a period of engagement. He was awarded a pension of 51½d per day for life from 19 Sep 1921. His address on discharge was 177, Filbert Street, Leicester. But Edward John Bicknell of 4 Burton Street, Leicester, Bank Messenger, died on 21 Apr 1922, at Leicester Royal Infirmary from shock following an operation, having been diagnosed with stomach cancer 5-6 months previously. He was 40. His death was registered by P H Priestley, Brother-in-law (Ida's younger brother, Percy H Priestley, born 1895).

34, Castle Road, Southsea, alleged address of these shocking adulterers.

Marcella Bicknell had remarried to Henry Babb in the 4th quarter of 1920.

Babb was no easier to pin down than her first husband. The only relevant birth of a Harry Babb, in the 4th quarter of 1894, is in Barnstaple, Devon, with his mother's maiden name given as Ware. There was a marriage of an Eli Francis Babb and Annie Ware on 21 Feb 1880, at St Martin-in-the-Fields, in The Strand, London. Harry was baptised on 25 Jan 1895 at Holy Trinity Church, Barnstaple and the baptism record gives his parents as Levi Frank and Annie Babb, with his father's occupation listed as 'Boots' at the Fortescue Hotel. (The word 'Boots' came from, ‘boot boys’, an occupation in the 1830s and 40s requiring young men to clean the boots of hotel guests. Later, the occupation had become simply known as ‘boots’, and duties included odd-jobs.)

In 1921, Henry Babb (30) - making himself 4 years older - from Barnstaple, Devon, working for the Department (Engineering) H M Dockyard Portsmouth was indeed living at 34, Castle Road, Portsmouth with Marcella Babb (36), step-son David Bicknell (12), four Boarders and one Domestic servant.

In 1939, Harry Babb (b. 17 Nov 1894), Marine Engineer, Marcella Babb, David N Bicknell and a lodger were living at 10 Wilberforce Road.

Marcella Babb of 1 Festing Grove, Southsea, died on 9 Oct 1963, at 80.

Henry Babb, also of 1 Festing Grove, Southsea, died on 19 Nov 1967. 

David Nicholas Bicknell never married. He died of a cardiac arrest on 22 Jan 1987, two days after his 78th birthday. The retired production controller still lived at 1 Festing Grove, Southsea. His place of birth on his death certificate was India. The records show that he was, in fact, born in Southsea, so I wonder if his father spent time in India while he was growing up, or did David only think it was India, being just a small child in the heat of Malta?

Festing Grove, Southsea
cc-by-sa/2.0 - © Kate Jewell - geograph.org.uk/p/3319369

Friday 1 December 2023

David Jones and Catherine Rice

The door from Kitty's solid fuel stove. Photo: Jerome Mc Cormick

David Jones, son of David Jones and Laura Elizabeth White, married Catherine Rice, daughter of Richard Rice and Mary Hagerty, at the Registrar's Office, Cork on 1 Dec 1942. David Jones, Labourer, of The Bungalow, Rushbrooke, Cork, known as 'Young Dave', was 44 and Catherine, a Domestic Servant, residing at 14 Middleton Park, Rushbrooke, known as Kitty, was 36. Witnesses were Dave's sisters, Laura Mary Jones and Alice Jones.

Young Dave 'inherited' the job of Sexton of Christ Church, Church of Ireland, Rushbrooke from his father - and Christ Church has only ever had these two Sextons, both called David Jones - and he seems to have kept the job even after his marriage to Catherine, who was a Roman Catholic. Allegedly, he also worked for the Rushbrooke Lawn Tennis & Croquet Club, cutting grass, etc.

Richard Rice, from Fermoy, County Cork, Harness Maker, son of John Rice, Farmer, married Mary Hagerty, farmer's daughter, from Lismore, Waterford, at the Roman Catholic Chapel at Ballyduff, Waterford, on 27 Sep 1900. In 1901, they were in Princes Street, Fermoy. By 1911, they were in Bank Street (apparently now renamed Kent Street), with Richard Rice (42), Mary Rice (43), John Rice (9), Mary Rice (8) and Catherine Rice (5).

Dave Jones died on 21 Nov 1966 (aged 68). Under his name on the record of his burial, on 23 Nov 1966, kept in Christ Church, is marked (Sexton) in brackets, hence knowing he had kept the job. He is buried in the family plot at the Old Church Cemetery (Cobh), along with his mother, brother and father.
Hendrick Verwey (Visit Cobh), once told me, "I grew up just up the road from Christ Church Rushbrooke and a very small lady called Mrs Jones lived in a tiny corrugated iron house across the road. I think that her husband looked after the church, but he died many years before her."
Kitty Jones, Widow, died on 13 Aug 1987 (aged 80–81) and was buried on 15 Aug 1987, also at the Old Church Cemetery (Cobh)

Friday 18 August 2023

Andrew Ephire King and Annie Jones

The former St. Luke's church
cc-by-sa/2.0 - © Jonathan Thacker - geograph.org.uk/p/5436811

Annie Jones, only daughter of Nicholas Jones and Ellen White, married Andrew Ephire King, Chief Yeoman, United States Navy, son of Joseph Damos King and Josephine Martel, at St Luke's Church, Cork, Ireland on 18 Aug 1919. Witnesses were Frederick Joseph Lee and Nelly Jones.

Andrew Ephire King, b. 10 Nov 1894, in 1910, was in Dover, New Hampshire, with parents Joseph D King (39), Josephine (35) both Canadian, Andrew (15), Dina (13), Wilfred (12), Victor (10), Lena (9), Philip (4) and Amelia (2).

The couple met in 1917, wrote their daughter, Margery, "... when Dad was on one of the destroyers sent by the US Navy to patrol the south coast of Ireland and convoy supply and troop ships to English and French ports."

Later, "When Cork became "out of bounds" to the crews of the US Fleet when the Sinn Féiners attacked them, Dad asked Mum to come down to Rushbrooke / Queenstown to visit him. In this way, Dad became acquainted with Nellie and the rest of her family, often going to Rushbrooke for tea when he had a few hours liberty when his ship was in port." One entry from Andrew's diary:

April 24, 1918: "Liberty was granted today. I went ashore at 4:30 p.m. and went to see Nellie Jones. Today was her 24th birthday. She had made a chocolate cake and some cookies so we had a quite nice little tea party. I gave her a gold pendant for a gift. Novak came up about 7:30 with a fruit cake that his sister in Portland, Oregon had sent him. We had cocoa and some of the cake. Returned to the ship at 10:30 p.m."

After they married, Annie King applied for permission to depart for the United States, expecting to sail on USS President Grant on 6 Sep 1919, giving her future address in the US as 31 Chapel Street, Dover, New Hampshire.

Andrew and Annie had three children:
  1. Douglas Andrew King born 23 Mar 1921 in Norfolk, Virginia
  2. Edith M King born 22 Feb 1923 in Brooklyn, New York
  3. Margery Ellen King born 6 Apr 1927 in Cork, Ireland
In 1920, Andrew King (25) and Annie King (29), were living in Duval, Florida.

In 1921, Annie King applied for a US Passport for herself, accompanied by her minor child, Douglas Andrew King.

In 1930, in Norfolk, Virginia, were Andrew E King (36), Annie King (40), Douglas A King (9), Edith M King (7) and Margery E King (3). In 1935, they lived in Portsmouth, Virginia. A record shows that on 7 Jul 1935, Douglas Andrew King (14) travelled from Cobh (Queenstown), on the RMS Laconia, arriving in Boston in 14 Jul 1935. Margery remembered them visiting the family in Rushbrooke in the 1930's.

And by 1940, they had moved out to San Diego, California, with Andrew E King (45), Annie King (49), Edith M King (17) and Marjory E King (12).

Andrew Ephire King sailed from Pearl Harbor on 7 Aug 1942, on USS Henderson, while she did service as a transport between California and Hawaii during World War II, arriving in San Francisco, California on 15 Aug 1942. He was still serving in WWII. Was he in Pearl Harbour the year before?

On 5 Apr 1945, Douglas Andrew King (24) married Daisy Mae Hadlock (19), daughter of Ivan Hadlock and Esther Smith, in Hampton, Virginia.

Margery and her mother travelled to Ireland and England, visiting Dave and Kitty in Rushbrooke, Queenie and Alice in Cork City, my grandparents in Birmingham and stayed with Marcella in Portsmouth, in 1946. Margery wrote that, "My mother had kept in touch with her cousins all through WWII while we were in the USA and was anxious to see them all again."

A licence had been applied for, for the marriage of Margery Ellen King to a Donald William Gemmel in January 1950, but this marriage never took place. Margery never mentioned this. No surprise. I always knew her as Mrs Margery Hamilton, but haven't been able to find any record of a marriage for her.

In 1950, Edith King married Kenneth Crawford, in Cork. Her parents went to Ireland for a couple of months for the wedding, and returned on RMS Franconia, leaving Liverpool on 21 Sep 1950, arriving in Quebec on 29 Sep 1950. The Crawfords had at least one son (name and birth date unknown, but thought to be still living in Ireland), as Margery often mentioned her nephew - who now has possession of Andrew Ephire King's detailed diaries.

Annie King of 28 Oceana Avenue, Ocean Park, Maine (wife of Andrew Ephire King, Retired Lieutenant Commander U.S.N.), died on 21 Dec 1950, at the Trull Hospital, Biddeford, Maine, aged 60, leaving her effects to her husband. Annie King is buried at, New Town Cemetery, Rollinsford, New Hampshire.

On 26 Sep 1953, Margery King left Cobh on the MV Britannic, presumably for her father's marriage, on 24 Oct 1953, at the Methodist Church, Plymouth, New Hampshire, to divorcee, Elma Marguerite Wyman (née Dunphy).

Andrew Ephire King, who died on 1 July 1983, Lieutenant commander United States Navy Mexican Border, WWI & WWII, is also buried in the family plot at New Town Cemetery, Rollinsford, New Hampshire.

Douglas Andrew King died on 13 Mar 2002.

We visited Margery in Ireland in 2014. Her sister, Edith, had died not long before. Margery must have died in 2016, which, sadly, we only discovered when the Post Office returned my correspondence. Her contribution to this research has been invaluable: even when the family stories she was told weren't quite true, they've provided valuable clues that I continue to pursue.

Saturday 5 August 2023

Nicholas Jones and Ellen Brennan otherwise White

Glenbrook from the R624 near Carrigalore
cc-by-sa/2.0 - © Ian S - geograph.org.uk/p/5837006

Nicholas Jones, son of Thomas Jones and Mary Harty, married Ellen Brennan otherwise White, widow, on 5 Aug 1886, at Christ Church, Church of Ireland, Rushbrooke, Cobh - the church where his brother, David Jones, was Sexton. Nicholas' address at the time of the marriage was given as Rushbrooke and Ellen's as Glenbrook. Witnesses to the marriage were a George Owens and Annie Jones - David and Nicholas' sister. Nicholas' rank or profession is Able Seaman. Records show he was a Merchant Seaman. 

Nicholas had been baptised on 17 May 1853 at the Catholic church of the Sacred Heart, Rath, near Baltimore (Rath And The Islands Parish), Cork. Sponsors were a James Hayes and Ellen Hart (sic) - his mother's sister. 

Ellen White was born in Epsom, Surrey in 1854. The civil record of her birth gives her mother's maiden name as Smith. On the record of Ellen's marriage to Nicholas, she gives her father's name as William Henry White, a farmer, but it hasn't been possible to find a marriage of a William White and someone whose surname is Smith in the right timeframe and area. Nor has it been possible to locate Ellen's previous marriage to Mr Brennan.

Nicholas and Ellen had one daughter, Annie Jones. On both the 1901 and 1911 census returns the ages given for Annie, 12 and 22, respectively, calculate to a year of birth of 1889/90. In both cases, it states she was born in England. Annie's own daughter could never find a birth record for her, so I'm sure I can't and we're forced to conclude that Ellen probably didn't register the birth before leaving England, nor once she got back to Ireland.

Records of Shipping agreements and crew lists at the National Archives of Ireland suggest that Nicholas served on various vessels, including the following ships: SS Xema departing from Cork in Jun 1891, Dec 1891, Jun 1893, Dec 1893, Jun 1894 and Dec 1894; SS Rotterdam from Dublin in Dec 1896, Lee from Cork in 1898 and Blamey from Cork in Dec 1900.

In 1901, Ellen Jones (47), wife, and Annie Jones (12), scholar, were living in the Lower Glanmire Road, Cork City. Nicholas will have been at sea. 

In 1911, still in Lower Glanmire Road, were Nicholas Jones (57) Ship's Steward, Ellen Jones (57) and Annie Jones (22) Bookkeeper. The household also included three Boarders: Samuel Donald Dare (42), James Raynane (22), John Foley (25) and Hannah Healy (40), Domestic Servant, Visitor. 

Nicholas Jones, Sailor, died on 22 Jan 1930, ultimately from cardiac failure. His death was registered in the district of Carrigaline, KinsaleCounty Cork. The record said he was 72, but he will have been 76. 

Ellen Jones, Sailor's Widow, died on 23 Dec 1931, also in Carrigaline. She was 76. Her daughter, Annie King, was present at her death.

See also:

Sunday 2 January 2022

Thomas Jones' posting to Baltimore, Cork 1851-1868

Coastguard station and coastguard cottages: Mariner’s Row, the terrace of
coastguard houses on the edge of the Cove in Baltimore, Cork

Thomas Jones' Pension Record, lists that he'd joined the Coast Guard service as a Boatman on 28 Dec 1847. That may have been when he was posted to Sutton Bridge, Lincolnshire, where he was at the time of the Census in 1851.

Thomas Jones' posting to Baltimore, Cork on 2 Jun 1851

The Coastguard Establishment Books for Ireland (ADM 175/19) at The National Archives show that Thomas Jones was posted to Baltimore, West Cork on 2 Jun 1851Baltimore is the main village in Rath and The Islands Parish and, confirming this, three of Thomas and Mary's children were baptised in the Catholic Sacred Heart Church, Rath.

Griffith's Valuation of 1853 shows that Thomas rented a house and office in Tullagh civil parish from John Goodchild. On the map it's in Baltimore.

After Thomas returned from his last voyage to the Baltic during the Crimean War, o6 May 1856, Thomas went back the Coast Guard Service as Boatman, at Baltimore (this is where my late cousin in Ireland knew that her grandfather - Thomas' son Nicholas - was brought up), until Fri 31 Jan 1868, when he retired from the service, early, aged just 51, due to heart disease.

NextIrish Roots: Thomas Jones and Mary Harty

Sunday 29 August 2021

Cornelius Walter Jones


Cornelius Walter Jones, born 2 Jan 1893 in Queenstown (Cobh), Ireland, eldest son of David Jones and his second wife, Laura Elizabeth White, was my grandmother's elder brother. We've never been able to find his military record, but know he enlisted in the Army and served during World War I. His first cousin's husband, who was in Queenstown with the US Navy, kept a detailed diary and had written that Cornelius (Con) was leaving for Egypt in 1917

The image above, which I admit I downloaded some years ago (the page no longer exists) [1], is dated 10.11.1917 EGYPT. The taller man (that makes perfect sense too as his grandfather, Thomas Jones, had been 5' 9½", which was tall for his time), second from right, back row, is so much like my father it's literally like looking straight into his eyes. His stance, his eyes, ears, nose, mouth, brow line and, above all, hair, are all identical. It's so close a resemblance that it's eerie and uncanny and, unless someone can prove otherwise, I feel sure this has to be my great-uncle, Cornelius Jones.

Though our cousin had thought that Con didn't return from the war, I now know he did, probably suffering shell-shock, for which one of his younger siblings described him as "daft" - such was the lack of understanding. 

Not expecting to find him there in Ireland, we were quite shocked when we read the listing of his burial at the Old Church Cemetery (Cobh)

Cornelius Jones, late of Rushbrooke, Cork, died on 21 Apr 1926 at the Cork District Hospital (now St. Finbarr's Hospital, with its origins in the Cork Union Workhouse and Infirmary). He was a bachelor, previously employed as a labourer. The record says 30, but he was 33 and died from Pneumonic Phthisis (tuberculosis, also known as consumption), after 8 months in hospital. The informant was Helena Lynch, "Inmate" Cork Union. 

Cornelius Walter Jones was buried on 24 Apr 1926, in the family plot at Old Church Cemetery (Cobh), along with his mother, who had died in 1917.

[1] The file name of the image above, b4croad3 matches the file name of the now defunct page at the former Royal Munster Fusiliers website at http://royalmunsterfusiliers.net/b4croad3.htm (also mentioned here) appertaining to a Private Frederick R Croad, 2nd R. Munster Fus, who I believe is also in the image. We have no record of what unit Cornelius joined or when, however, two Extra Reserve Battalions of the Royal Munster Fusiliers were mobilised at Queenstown (Cobh). The 6th (Service) Battalion certainly sailed on 9 Sep 1917 from Salonika for Alexandria in Egypt.

Wednesday 28 July 2021

Patrick Michael Clancy and Rosina Kathleen Stone

Resting place of Chief Petty Officer P M Clancy at Milton Cemetery, Portsmouth

Patrick Michael Clancy (b. 16 Sep 1904), son of Patrick Michael Clancy and Elizabeth Flynn, married Rosina Kathleen Stone (b. 14 Apr 1903), daughter of Tom Stone and Margaret Knapman, in Plymouth, in 1926.

In 1901, the bridegroom's father, Patrick Michael Clancy (25), Stoker, from Whitegate, County Cork, was aboard HMS Renard (1892) (an Alarm-class torpedo gunboat), in Devonport, while his wife Lizzie Clancy (27) was boarding at 14, Second Avenue, Devonport along with her two eldest children, Julia Kathleen Clancy (b. 1899) and Mary Elizabeth Clancy (b. 1901). None of the Clancy family turn up anywhere in the records of 1911. Patrick's sister, Mary Elizabeth Clancy died, at 19, in 1920 M Quarter in DEVONPORT Volume 05B  Page 441, but there are no further clues to the rest.

In 1921, Patrick Michael Clancy (16) R N Boy was a visitor in the household of Peter Cassidy (47) from Meath, Ireland, Labourer at H M Dockyard, at 88, Pembroke Street, Devonport. (Cassidy's son, Francis Noel Cassidy, also 16, was also an R N Boy and his elder on a Leading Seaman. Assume he was staying with a colleague's family, if no family of his own was left.)

Patrick Michael Clancy had joined the Royal Navy on 16 Mar 1920, when he was aged 15, as a Boy 2nd Class, he became an Able Seaman on his 18th birthday, 16 Sep 1922, and a Leading seaman by the time of his marriage.

Patrick and Rosina had two children:
  1. Theresa Margaret Clancy b. 28 Aug 1927, in Devonport
  2. Patrick Michael Clancy b. 1929, in Portsmouth
The entire family seemingly evade the 1939 Register. 

With HMS Renown from 1 Sep 1939, on 10 Mar 1944, Patrick was promoted to Chief Petty Officer and assigned to HMS Cyclops. Patrick Michael Clancy was invalided in June 1945 at Royal Naval Auxiliary Hospital, Southport. He died on 18 July 1946, aged 41, presumably as a result of injuriesChief Petty Officer Patrick Michael Clancy, Son of Patrick Michael and Elizabeth Clancy; husband of Rosina Kathleen Clancy, of Paulsgrove, Portsmouth, is buried in Portsmouth (Milton) Cemetery, Plot M. Row 17. Grave 55.

Then Patrick Michael Clancy, son of Mrs. R. K. Clancy, of Milton, Portsmouth, Constable in the Palestine Police Force, died, on 4 Jun 1947, aged 18. He was buried at Haifa (Sharon) British Civil CemeteryHaifaIsrael, Plot 4. Grave 6.

Both father and son's gravestones are united by the same inscription:
 
"IN THE SHELTER OF THY SACRED HEART, DEAR JESUS, MAY HE REST".

In 1951, Rosina K Clancy remarried, in Portsmouth, to a Cyril West. 

Rosina Kathleen West died in 1979, aged 76, in her native Plymouth.

Thursday 3 June 2021

Nicholas Jones, services to the French navy, 1886

Harbour View, Cobh
cc-by-sa/2.0 - © Ian S - geograph.org.uk/p/5840688

From the Cork Constitution (newspaper), 17 January 1888

MERITORIOUS CONDUCT OF A CORK SAILOR

At two o'clock yesterday, Nicholas Jones, of 11 Harbour View, Queenstown, was made the recipient of a silver medal, presented by the French Government for his meritorious services performed under the following circumstances:- 

In March 1886, he was serving on board the steamship Sarah Ann of West Hartlepool, bound from Baltimore to Galway. When in the neighbourhood of the Grand Bank of Newfoundland they fell in with a French brig Dix Freres (Ten Brothers) of Martinique, in distress, with masts gone and decks swept, a very heavy sea running at the time. The steamer hove to, launched a boat, of which Nicholas Jones was one of the crew, and they, after great difficulty and risk, brought four of the French crew on board the Sarah Ann the remainder being subsequently rescued by another steamer. 

The medal, which was accompanied by a certificate of merit, bore the following inscription:- "A Nicholas Jones, matelot a bord du naviere Anglais Sarah Ann; services a la marine Française, 1886." (To Nicholas Jones, sailor aboard the English ship Sarah Ann; services to the French navy, 1886.)

Mr W Harvey, President of the Board of Trade, presided; and Alderman Scott and Capt. M Dermott were also present.

Mr Harvey, in presenting the medal said that [the] board had very frequently been applied to to perform duties of the present pleasing nature, and that, he thought, spoke very well for the bravery of Cork seamen. He had very great pleasure indeed in presenting Jones with the medal and certificate which was so justly awarded to him for his share in the meritorious rescue, and he heartily wished him a long and successful career.

Alderman Scott said he had only to endorse what had been said by Mr Harvey, and he thought he was expressing the opinions of the community when he said he was proud of the recipient, not alone for the favourable record he bore, but for his instrumentality in saving human life, which was a most commendable quality. Mr Jones, having returned thanks, the proceedings terminated.

It may be mentioned that the delay caused in presenting the medal was due to the fact of Mr Jones being at sea almost constantly since the occurrence.

This further report of the incident, from the Northern Daily Mail, March 27th, 1886, tells us more, "The lifeboat by which the rescue was affected was in the command of Mr Andrews, the mate & it was so severely damaged by the heavy sea running at the time that it was little short of a miracle that she ever got back to the steamer. The entire crew of the brigantine were Negroes & the master & mate were quite drunk & not only resisted all persuasion to leave the sinking vessel, with which they declared they would go down, but they most inhumanely prevented a small boy from being rescued with the other four."

Wednesday 2 June 2021

David Jones Naval Pensioner

The stern gallery of HMS Implacable, formerly the Duguay-Trouin, on display at the National Maritime Museum, Greenwich. Geni, CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons

My great-grandfather, David Jones, made much of the fact that he was a Naval Pensioner, especially when filling out official forms, and it seems very likely it was 'useful' in obtaining him the position of Sexton at the Christ Church, Church of Ireland, Rushbrooke, Cobh (Queenstown, as it was then), Ireland. Family tradition was that David had "lost a hand in battle". 

You gotta love a family story. There's always a grain of truth in them, but usually some embellishment. We searched high and low for a naval battle in the right era and came up with nothing. "In battle" sounds more heroic, clearly. Maybe it also proved handy (pun intended) in attracting him two wives!

My cousin recounted that her older sister had remembered visiting the family in Rushbrooke and seeing David's 'Sunday Best' gloved hand hanging up in the kitchen (such a creepy image) and continued that, apparently, he had a fork attachment for everyday - from which we may deduce that it was his left hand he lost - that attached to a metal pin that was inserted at his wrist. 

Because David always claimed to come from Wales, I almost missed his naval record. In fact, I'd dismissed it twice, because, although many other details were close enough, the boy was born in Lincolnshire, which didn't seem relevant. Then I found his father's posting to Sutton Bridge, Lincolnshire and David's birth there and the pieces of the puzzle began to fall into place.

David Jones enlisted in the Royal Navy as a Boy Second Class, on 7 July 1865, when he would have been just shy of his 15th birthday. His father, Thomas Jones, and mother, Mary, co-signed the papers. David was described as being 4ft 8½in tall, with a sallow complexion, dark brown hair and hazel eyes. Once he was 18, his period of engagement was intended to last ten years, obviously intending to follow in his father's footsteps. 

David Jones' Naval Record

The rest of David's naval record fits onto one line. At 14 he was assigned to HMS Implacable, which had become the Royal Navy's first training ship at Devonport in 1855. But instead of continuing his service as planned, David was discharged on 17 Oct 1866, when he will have been just 16. The last item on the line, under the Cause of Discharge, is the abbreviation for Invalided.

There not being more detail, nor medical records we can access, we have to surmise the rest of story. That he lost a hand is not in question. He was still in training, so there was no 'battle'. But, taking into consideration that this was 1866 - general anesthesia was still very much in experimental infancy - my feeling is that the only place that such a procedure as inserting a metal pin into his wrist was likely to be carried out was in a military hospital and at that time there was the the former Royal Naval Hospital, Stonehouse. That they did this and sent him off with a pension at the tender age of 16, suggests that the Navy was at fault and, my cousin's sister had recalled that this was as a result of an exploding gun, which also seems to confirm this theory.

Former Royal Naval Hospital, High Street, Plymouth
cc-by-sa/2.0 - © Stephen Richards - geograph.org.uk/p/6083123
The Royal Naval Hospital, East Stonehouse