James Edward Morgan born cira 1884/85

[DozyDora]

Further to my above post, there is another J E Morgan travelling to and from Shanghai on passenger ships but he is James Ernest Morgan and is a wine shipper.

Dora

[DozyDora]

There is a birth record in the 1st quarter Jan - Mar 1880 for a Edward Ynyr in Pancras - Vol 1b, Page 1 - what would the "Ynyr" stand for?  I'm just wondering whether it would be worth ordering this certificate to find out.

Dora

[CarolA3]

Hi Dora 

Out of idle curiosity, I googled 'Ynyr' and found that it's a traditional Welsh male name.  Not much help but might save you £9.25 

Regards,
Carol

[DozyDora]

Thanks Carol - I Googled it too.  I don't think our James was born a Morgan and I don't think I'll ever get to the bottom of this mystery.  I've been looking at the rest of the Morgan and Kalaher women in case one of them had an illegitimate son but only Louisa Kalaher had twin girls Lily and May, Lily dying the following year.

Dora

[DozyDora]

Records on A are continually being updated - probate records now go up to 1966 as against 1941.  James Edward Morgan's probate record is now shown, but I've also found his School Admission record for St Matthew's National School (now St Matthew's Church of England School) on 26th May 1891 showing his address as being 19 Wellesley Street, which ties in with the 1891 Census.  But the most uncanny thing is that James got the day and month of his birth correct, just not the year.  In a certified copy of his passport when he left Shanghai to come back to England in 1946 it stated he was born on 13th February 1880 and this School Admission shows he was born on 13th February 1885 (which again ties in with the 1891 Census).  There is no birth record for a James Edward Morgan born in 1885 (believe me I have ordered them) and in the School Admission record his father is not stated, yet for his brother Thomas George his father is stated as being Edward and gives an address that again ties in with his baptism record.

I have contacted the School in the hope that they may have some archives on this.

Dora

[mummabumblebee]

Hello Dora,
My mum is Doris Gunning; the daughter of Florence Josephine Harrison (Gunning)
The person you call James Edward Morgan was known as Uncle Edward to my mum and he lived with her family in East Finchley when he returned from Shanghai. He was in the police force over there. Her eldest sister was Josephine Holmes. My mum had no idea her mum was adopted. Just knew the only photo of her mum as a child was not with her mother. Think my mum has a photo of uncle Edward in his uniform. She also has a letter between her uncle Edward and her mum when he was in Shanghai.
Hope this information helps you?

Any more news on on what happened to Florence's mother, Florence Harrison?

[DozyDora]

Thank you for getting in touch about your Mum being Doris Gunning.

I found out that Florence Harrison was a farmer's daughter.  In the 1901 Census Florence is staying as a lodger with Mary Ann Burton (nee Morgan) and is stated to be a parlour maid.  You wonder whether her master had made her pregnant.

Then in the 1911 Census Mary Ann Burton is shown with Florence Josephine Harrison aged 11 (adopted girl).

I have not been able to find out what happened to Florence Harrison.  I did get Florence Josephine Harrison's birth certificate which doesn't state who the father is; however, in her marriage certificate to Henry Thomas Gunning on 25 December 1922 it states her father as being a nurse, which I think is untrue.

I also cannot find who was the Burton that Mary Ann Morgan took the name of - there is certainly no marriage.  Nor can I find out what happened to her after the 1911 Census.

Edward James Morgan was a Chief Inspector of the Public Works Department in the Shanghai Municipal Council.  I went to the National Archives on two occasions and have copies of all the papers relating to the pension payment when he came out of the Japanese Prisoner of War camp.  I also have a card for him when he was in the Prisoner of War camp.  Sadly he died of oesophageal cancer.

I would love to see a copy of the letter exchanged with Edward and your Mum.  We have 3 letters from him to Henry.  Henry and his family had moved when Edward returned to England in 1946 and, in those days, it was impossible to trace where someone had moved, so he never hooked up with Henry again.

We also have a photograph of Edward in a smart suit.  I will try and copy it tomorrow and attach it to another message, as it is late now.

This is my partner's family tree, not mine.  If you would like any more information yourself.  Please get in touch.

Dora

[mummabumblebee]

Hello Dora. This system won't allow me to reply to your personal email. My mum has her mothers birth and marriage certificate. But thank you for offering to email it to me. Her mum always celebrated her birthday the next day to her real birth date and my mum suspects this was a way to stop people finding out that she was adopted. She has seen other inconsistencies, like her grandfathers occupation etc. Unfortunately, all my mums brothers and sisters and in-laws are dead now, so she has no one to check any information with. I only remember my cousin (now deceased) saying that Nan told her that she was left behind with an aunt and her 'brothers went to Canada'. My mum has no knowledge of this. So this may be a red herring. My nan loved having her children (a girl, a boy, identical twin girls and a set of fraternal twins Boy/girl) She had 19 grandchildren and lots of great grandchildren. She made up for being abandoned didn't she All my family's friends were also welcome and in fact, my nan met my husband, who was one of my cousins friends, before I did. Having Uncle Edward to stay would be the most natural thing in the world for her. She was a super-intelligent women, who looked young for her age and was a mother figure to many waifs and strays over the years. Probably taking after her adoptive mother's nurturing skills.
Sounds like you have the same photo of uncle Edward as she does. I'll see if I can find the letter again.

[KGarrad]

You need 3 posts before you can use the PM system.

It's to help avoid spammers!
Hopefully, they get fed up, and disappear before they can make 3 posts?!