Francis Joseph Mitchell
(3rd quarter September 1857 at Manchester Lancashire 8d194)
son of John and Eliza Mitchell; and brother of John Bertram Mitchell , and later Alice M Mitchell was recorded in 1861 as being a son whose father was a Plumber and Roof Slater employing folk but is later recognised as being a glazier as well.
By 1871 was recorded as being the nephew of Ann and Alice Malligan who was engaged as an office boy in the field of gasfitting, while his brother John was still a scholar.
Which only leaves 8 years of his life left before he dies in Jamaica, of which I suspect Malaria may have contributed .
His father John passes 21st of February 1865 leaving probate 2nd August 1865 for which monies under 1000 pounds passes to his wife Eliza.
Francis' father John had come from a large family for which Ellen , Hannah, Sarah and William were amongst the siblings and children of John ,(elsewhere stated as Patrick being father ?) and Mary(Alice) Mitchell nee Mulligan.( who was of Irish background). Francis' grandmother died in Manchester in the 1st half of 1865 as well,leaving Francis and his siblings to fend for themselves. It was obvious that the family took them in as the children were in fact still very young but probably there was some money in lieu of the parents dying in the same year.
I suspect Francis saw an opportunity of some sort offered to him to go to Jamaica for work and a chance of better money, however, did his siblings also go to Jamaica, and
did they go with some member of the Malligan family or was it some other connection?
I see their lives as very difficult , probably emotionally as well as physically cut short probably with an untimely death of Francis.
Best of luck in your quest to find his occupation, but at that time most of Jamaica was in a period of plantations , and having just come out of Slavery
circa that period(slavery ended in 1834) there were probably workers needed for all manner of things.
PS I hope I got all the facts right in the bio....
Have you tried any of the links in my post for Jamaica on this board?
good luck with your research
Marty
