Just a quick update …
Finding out that we’re Catholic and the excellent suggestions from you all have opened doors. From the 1911 census, we knew that John &Grace had a second child, but without further clues we had no idea of the sex, name or date. We found baby John William Burns III born late 1892 and baptized at OL Lourdes in the following year. (They have transcribed Burns as Byrne which didn’t help matters.) Little chap only lived to 16 months and is buried in Ford Cemetery in grave 1168, which appears to be a pauper/mass grave.
However, knowing the John was around in early 1892 to father the child has helped eliminate some of the major crimes listed for John Burns. Unless he had very favourable visiting rights, the John Burns sentenced to 5 years in 1889 for passing counterfeit coins couldn’t be mine. So, maybe his wild ways did revolve around beer!
Grace’s spinster sister Ida was also buried in the same cemetery some 17 years later (again name mis-scribed as Ada Wilberforce) on 12 February 1911 aged 70, in plot 360, so if anyone is walking in that area, I’d love a photograph of her grave.
It looks like Mary Ida (born 1881) was the last Catholic in the family. All her children appear to have married in Church of England or Methodist churches.
Once again, thank you all for your help. I still haven’t found out which of the dozens of John Burns’ in Liverpool is mine, but I’m managed to eliminate most of the major crimes and for this, I’m truly grateful.
