RootsChat.Com
England (Counties as in 1851-1901) => England => Lancashire => Topic started by: Gillg on Wednesday 12 November 08 13:21 GMT (UK)
-
In the WW1 records I have found the enlistment form for Alfred Fairey born Oldham, who signed up in Burnley for the Army Service Corps, His profession is given as Coachbuilder and his age 18 yrs 5 months. An-----y has the enlistment date as 1900, but I can't see it clearly. Looks like he intended to be a professional soldier.
On Lancs BMD I found his birth in Oldham in 1884 registered as Alfred Sullivan Fairey, mother's maiden name Fairey, so presume that he was illegitimate, though his middle name may give a clue as to his father's name.
I can't, however, find him in the 1891, when I imagine he would have been living with his mother, nor in 1901, when he may have been in the army.
Can anyone help me trace this probable relative, please?
Gillg
-
Hi Gillg, on his service record papers it looks like his mother is next of kin name of Kate and can't work out the rest?
Migky ;)
-
Tis Name: Kate Maud Fairey
Age: 22
Estimated Birth Year: abt 1859
Relation: Head
Where born: Easton, Hampshire, England
Civil Parish: Habergham Eaves
County/Island: Lancashire
Country: England
Street address: 36 Barrack Rd
This is her on the 1881 census RG11/4154
-
Hi Migky
I have only managed to see something called a Short Service form on An-------y, which didn't have much information on it. He does sign with very nice handwriting, though. How do I find the full record?
Could the next of kin's name be Kate? We do have a Kate Maud Fairey, born 1858, who moved with her family to Burnley in the 1880s and never married.
Gillg :)
Oh, I've just seen your second reply. Great minds think alike! She's looking after her siblings in 1881 while her twice widowed mother visits relatives in London. But I'm not sure where she is in 1891 and 1901. There's probably a spelling error in the census records. She was born in Easton, Hunts, not Hants - that's a frequent transcription error I meet. I know she returned to Huntingdonshire and died there unmarried in 1911.
Many thanks
Gillg
-
It is Kate maud on the second page of his short service records, half way down the page and very faint but it is her.
-
hi,
and on the 1891
Rg12/3370 7/8
279, Padiham rd, Habergham Eaves, Burnley.
Mercy Crow head mar 52 Dressmaker Spaldwick, Hunts.
Kate Maud Fairey dau s 30 Dressmaker Easton, Hants.
Alfred Fairey son s 6 Scholar Oldham, Lancs.
Isaac " son s 21 Weaver Cotton Easton, Hunts
Nellie Crow dau 10 Scholar Burnley, Lancs.
Squire Whittam son in law mar 27 Weaver Cotton " "
Edith Agnes Whittam dau in law 2 " "
A few relationships to sort out there then! On a* they are down as Crows but image says Fairey.
Best wishes
Cathy
-
Here we go then -
Mercy was married twice, firstly to Isaac Fairey, then to James Crow. Mercy & James had daughter Nellie.
Kate & Isaac were the children of Mercy & Isaac Fairey.
Squire Whittam married Isaac & Mercy's daughter Lavinia and had daughter Edith Agnes.
Which leaves Kate Maud with an illegitimate son Alfred, about whom I had no idea. :o Kate and siblings were my grandfather's much older cousins, children of my gt-grandfather's older brother.
Thanks very much, Migky and Cathy. I wonder what happened to Alfred after he enlisted?
Regards
Gillg
-
Hi Gill,
On the 1901 she is listed as Kate Maud Fairley aged 40 born Easton Hants ::) and living at 134 Padiham Road, Burnley. No Alfred - probably serving in South Africa.
Reference is RG13/3871 folio 139 page 7
By the way, you are actually lucky to find that record as it is estimated that only 10% of these records survived a bombing in WW2.
Regards,
Mo
-
Kia Ora Gill
There's a possibility he died in WW1 as A Fairey Private 18/740 Durham Light Infantry on 12/4/1918.
By that time many men had been transferred from their original regiment to make up numbers in others.
It might be worth a try on the "Great War Forum" - somone may have the Regimental Diary or similar.
Alternatively there might be a steer to records for the Boer War?
Delighted to find another Fairey allocated a home!
Regards
Marlene
-
Hi All
Just returned from a few days visiting the northern Faireys to find lots of emails waiting, so sorry for the delay in replying.
Looking at Alfred's Short Service record it does appear that he left the service on 23 Oct 1917, and the record seems to say that he was absent at the date of discharge. (Do you agree with me, Migky?) The records are quite faint, and there really isn't much information about his service at all - hence the "Short", I suppose. At 18 he was only 5 ft 3 tall, but it was interesting to see that he had a tattoo of a "Bust of Female" on his right forearm. :D
Marlene has discovered that the Alfred she mentioned is not the same chap, but I will try following up other war forums to find out his story.
Mo
Good to hear from you again. This is, of course, the same Fairey family that was connected with yours in the building business, Harrison & Fairey of Burnley. Kate Maud was the older sister of Charley Fairey.
Thanks again, everyone.
Gill ;)
-
I realise it is a long time since this post but I have come across it as I too am trying to locate an Alfred Fairley. The short service attestation had his joining the East Lancashire Reg't and then being transferred to the Army Service Corps.
The man I am trying to trace was in the 1st Bn East Lancs (service number 8196) and was killed on 15/09/14. His CWGC memorial and SDGW all have him as having enlisted as 'William Watson' in 1904? In 1910 he married Edith (or Ada) Taylor in Preston having a son Alfred shortly afterwards.
His entry in the soldiers effects register confirm that Watson was an alias and record his effects going to his widow who had subsequently remarried. His pension ledger entries also record the same details on the alias as do several entries on memorial pages for Burnley.
I could speculate that he left (deserted?) from the ASC and later joined under the false name.
Is this the missing Alfred? Any further information would be appreciate.
-
Hello PeteBam
I'm interested to see your reply, but I have really got no further with my Alfred than my earlier posts show, so have no additional information to offer. I wonder if the records you found give a physical description of Alfred, since at 5'3" and with a 'tattoo of a bust of a female on his right forearm' he should have been easy to identify. May I ask what your interest in him is? Are you related? It looks as though your Alfred's son, also Alfred, married in 1936 and had at least two children. If the two Alfreds are one and the same, then I have discovered some new relatives with your help!
On the other hand, you will see that my Alfred's Short Service Record states that he left the service in 1917 and was 'absent at date of discharge'. This does not fit in with your death date of 1914, does it?
-
Hello Gill
Thanks for the reply I wasn't hopeful of getting one after all this time!
I've looked more closely at the short service record and believe the date of his discharge is 1912 not 1917. This fits in with his service obligation i.e. 3 years with the colours + 9 years in the reserves. The dates tie in exactly to 12 years from his attestation to his discharge date in 1912 when his was absent so did not qualify for a pension.
I believe he completed his 3 years with the colours in the ASC and was transferred to the reserve but absented himself. On 19/8/1904 re enlisted in the East Lancashire Reg't at Burnley under the name of William Watson. This was illegal as he was still in the ASC reserves hence the need for the alias. He married in 1910 a Watson since this would need to be needed for his army records. His son's birth in 1912 was registered as Fairley.
His entry in the Register of Soldier's effects has his effects going to his widow & son both in the name of Fairley and records her as the sole legatee. It also records her 2nd marriage in 1971 to John Barton.
I am not related but am helping one of my wife's friend unravel a family mystery as she cannot understand the Watson/Fairley names. She is the grand-daughter of John Barton & Edith Fairley.
I hope this makes sense to you. I will document it more fully over the next few days and let you have a copy. Maybe we could continue via email which would simplify exchange of documents as further details of the rest of the family would help my research.
Best wishes
Peter
Hope you agree with my findings and Alfred has now ben found.
-
Thanks for your interesting reply, PeteBam. I am a bit concerned about the Fairey/Fairley spelling, though in earlier times the name was spelled in several different ways. As we don't exchange email addresses in open messages on this site, I will send you a Private Message with my email address and we can continue from there.
-
Apologies I have misspelt the name several times it is Fairey not Fairley! Fingers not warmed up yet.
Peter
-
Continuing this via Private Message.
-
Thanks to PeteBam the mystery of Alfred's disappearance has been explained. He re-enlisted under an alias and was killed in 1914.
-
Gill/PeteBam, would it be possible to forward the info for Alfred Sullivan Fairey to me please as I was also stuck to know what happened to him after 1891. Also I am in touch with a family member of who is descended from Agnes Mercy Fairey (1907 - 1982).
Many thanks
Avril
-
Hi Avril
If it's ok with PeteBam I will forward his emails with attachments to you.
There's something odd about Agnes Mary/ Agnes Mercia/Agnes Mercy in that Agnes Mary's birth is recorded in 1907, but her parents Joseph and Mary (Murray) also had another child in 1925, recorded as Agnes Mercy. The marriage of 1907 Agnes with Arthur Thomas in 1939, however, gives her name as Agnes Mercia. (LancsBMD) I haven't been able to trace what happened to the 1925 Agnes but there's no death recorded for her, unless she's the Agnes N Fairey who died in Surrey in MarQ 1963 age 38 (that fits). Their mother Mary's death is recorded as Mar Q 1938 age 72. I estimate she would have been 59 at the birth of the second Agnes, and yet the child's mmn is shown as Murray. Could she perhaps have been an illegitimate child of one of the other children but brought up by Joseph and Mary?
Would like to hear more about the relative you mentioned - perhaps by email or Private Message.
Keep up the good work. :)
Gill
-
That's fine by me. Glad to have been of assistance in solving this 'cold case'.
Peter
-
Thank you :)
-
Gill, re Agnes Mercy etc
"There's something odd about Agnes Mary/ Agnes Mercia/Agnes Mercy in that Agnes Mary's birth is recorded in 1907, but her parents Joseph and Mary (Murray) also had another child in 1925, recorded as Agnes Mercy. "
GRO index says the 1925 entry is a late entry. It is well late!!