Strange Memo . . .

[willsy]

Thomas Augustus birth NZ BMD is as

1900/4118   Foss    Thomas Augustus    mother and father Charlotte & Thomas

[willsy]

Thomas Jr, marriage online too, did you find it?

this is the second page

https://familysearch.org/pal:/MM9.3.1/TH-1961-29944-28317-9?cc=1804002

Olive, mother as Francis ?

[willsy]

Had also wondered about this marriage 1932

https://familysearch.org/pal:/MM9.3.1/TH-1942-29948-1082-10?cc=1804002

as the only Thomas Foss I could find 1930 had the different birth date to match this one, but also from Australia

[mike175]

Had also wondered about this marriage 1932

https://familysearch.org/pal:/MM9.3.1/TH-1942-29948-1082-10?cc=1804002

as the only Thomas Foss I could find 1930 had the different birth date to match this one, but also from Australia

Wow! I'd missed that one! I would say it is almost certainly the same Thomas; he was shown as divorced in the 1930 census. He seems to have been a little imaginative when it came to his age, parentage, marital status, etc. so we can't rely on the facts stated being totally accurate 

So far I have him married to or living with: Alice Jane Davis (NSW), Charlotte Peterson (New Zealand & Los Angeles), Emily T Foss (Los Angeles), and Grace Sage Griffith (Los Angeles)

I also found the marriage for his son Thomas (the one born in New Zealand) to Marian Beckwith, but he later appears living with Della Bench, and there is a memorial plaque to them in Forest Lawn Memorial Park, Glendale, Los Angeles County.

Still no firm evidence for the incident that inspired the memo, but a fascinating and growing story of a very full life 

I still await the NSW marriage certificate and the father's will . . .

Thanks for all the interest and assistance.

Mike.

[willsy]

Did you see she was a movie star 1930, did look at IMDB but not too much as I wanted to see what you thought as I can't see him 1940

[mike175]

He seems to be alone again in 1940, living with his daughter Olive Freese and her family in Beverly Hills. Well, that would tie in with Grace being an actress  and she might not have been with Thomas in that census because she was away working in the movies 

I now see that Thomas and Grace were nextdoor neighbours in 1930; I didn't make the connection before Willsy found the marriage.

One thing that bothers me is that Thomas, on more than one occasion, gives his mother's birthplace as Northern Ireland, but as he was 8 years old when his mother died he may have been genuinely uncertain about her.

All the other evidence supports it being one person with a timeline running from England to Australia, New Zealand, and California. The early life in England together with the fact that his sister clearly believed this to be her brother is also supportive. Yet there is still a lingering doubt . . . 

I'm pinning my hopes on the Marriage Cert at the moment . . . but NSW Registry is very slow 

And I suppose there might be a mention in the father's will . . . when that eventually turns up 

But is past my bedtime now so I'll leave the rest for another day.

Mike.

[LizzieW]

I've only just come across this saga, what a lot of info Rootschatters have found out, although nothing yet what 1st June has to do with it.

[willsy]

Have you got this reference?

http://discovery.nationalarchives.gov.uk/SearchUI/Details?uri=C11712026

he is listed with the rest of the crew

[mike175]

Thanks, but yes I do have that:

http://www.rootschat.com/forum/index.php?topic=255365.msg5024604#msg5024604

The following year he seems to have stowed away on a ship bound for Sydney. I imagine a stowaway would have to reveal himself once far enough from port, otherwise he would struggle to survive such a long voyage, on what appears to be a cargo ship since there are only a couple of passengers tagged on to the end of the crew list. I believe it would have taken at least eight weeks, depending on the type of ship.

Mike.