HARRIS family - Dover

[Kim Pearce]

Hi Tati!

I email'd the owner of the aforementioned tree and, whaddya know, she lives in Canada too  Not 275 kilometres from me!  We are going to keep in touch and, hopefully, get together later in the summer to compare notes.  I wonder what my father would have thought of all this.

I am hoping to pick your brains one more time.  Now that you've helped me trace my dad's mom's side of the family, I'm hoping that maybe you can help me do the same with his father's side.  I tried to find them on the 1911 census, with no luck.  I suspect that once again I am doing something wrong.  My granddad's name was Jack Thomas Pearce, son of Elizabeth Foster Brushwood and Thomas Henry Pearce.  He was born app 1901 in Dover and had siblings named Percy, Harold, Leonard, Arthur and Molly.  I've posted queries about this family before, but I believe it was prior to the 1911 census being released.

My fingers are crossed.
Cheers,
Kim

[Tati]

Hello Kim 

In 1901, he's Jack T Pierce, RG13/838 81 45. (I believe it's a record you've already added to your tree)

I'm getting one hit for Jack Pearce age 10 born Dover, still using this site www.1911census.co.uk. Household seems to match what you know about him.

Pearce children born Dover after the 1911 census, mother's maiden name Brushwood:

Harold 1912
Leonard 1913
Mollie 1919

[Kim Pearce]

Thanks Tati.  Looks like it was a case of the website being temperamental.  It couldn't find Jack unless I omitted his middle name (Thomas). 

Now that I have the census, I see that the family reported that they had a child who was deceased prior to 1911.  The Ancestry site shows 4 possibilities, two of which seem more likely than the others. 

Any suggestions on how to determine if any of these 4 children (Cissie Sophia b1901 d1902, Harry b1902 d1904, Nina b1902 d1902 or Dennis Walter b1906 d1906) is the child of Thomas Henry Pearce and Elizabeth Foster Brushwood?

[Tati]

Sorry, other than buying the birth certs I don't know.

Cissie Sophia is the only one we should be able to rule out because she was as born before the 1901 census. Birth Jun 1900. I can see a Cissie Sophia Pearce (the surname is misindexed) in Dover in 1901, parents Samuel William and Louisa but her age is down as 5 months - maybe a mistake?

[Kim Pearce]

I have found several members of Ancestry.co.uk who have William T. Harris and Sophia Frances Susannah George in their family trees.  All these members have different parents for both William and Sophia.

For William, all the other members have James Harris married to Elizabeth Webb.  I'd like to determine which couple is actually William's parents. 

[Tati]

The problem with ancestry trees is that many people just blindly copy from other trees without checking for themselves.

We found the marriage details earlier on this thread

16 Jul 1876, St John the Baptist, Hoxton
William Thomas Harris, full age, bachelor, Carman, 28 Britania St, Father Thomas William Harris, Bricklayer
Sophia Fanny Susannah George, full age, spinster, 32 Britania St, Father William George, Carpenter
witnesses William George and Frances Harris

and there was a matching 1871 census

1871
RG10/402 49 21
St Luke, London
10 Waterloo St
Thos Wm Harris, head, 45, Labourer, b. Paddington
 Elizth F, wife, 42, b. St Luke
William T, son, 17, Carman, b. Surrey Sydenham
John Reuben, son, 14, Carman boy, b. St Luke
Frances C, dau, 13, scholar, b. do.
Emily J, dau, 11, scholar, b. do.
Josephine, dau, 5, scholar, b. do.

[mmew]

Hello:

My sister just sent me this link, and I am pleased to say that we are great grandchildren of William T Harris and his wife Sophia.  Please contact for further information.  So delighted to have found this information.

M

[Kim Pearce]

Hi Cousin M!

How exciting!!  This branch of the family tree is the one I know the least about, never having met my grandmother.  I travelled to England in 1987, hoping to meet her, but she wouldn't see me.  I learned, upon my return to Canada, that she was terminally ill at the time and I guess she didn't need the emotional upset of a visit at that point.  So I missed my chance to meet the only member of the Harris family that I knew about.

I would love to know more if you have any info you can share.

Kim

[mmew]

Cousin!  This is awesome.  Yes, I have quite a bit of data/info, but have only recently discovered  John W. Harris and "Edie" (as she was known to the family) whereabouts after their marriage..  My mom, now 98 years, remembers John and Edie but they moved to Deptford and seemed to have lost contact with the rest of the Harris siblings.  There were a total of total of 12 children (one died shortly after birth) born to William T and his wife Sophia F.S. Harris.  My mom is named after her Grandma Sophia.  Not sure how much you know.  Keep in touch.

Cousin M