Bits of new nerdy stuff on the Blog.
I've installed a counter so you can see how many other like-minded Fitz(-)henry buffs there are subscribed to the Blog. It's 18 at the last count.
Have you spotted the search box at the top left of the screen?
If you are looking for a name or place, put it in the box, hit the "search blog" key and the Blog's own internal search engine will put up all the postings where that word or phrase is mentioned.
If you are looking for a particular Fitz(-)henry, you can just put in the christian name.
And I've changed the navigation bar at the top of the page to silver just for a change.
Why not subscribe to this blog and get the updates sent to your inbox? Or send us an email about your Fitz(-)henry family links.
Sunday, 25 January 2009
My East End family in the 1911 census.
It's been a while since I've written anything about my particular family group in London England. The newly released 1911 census has given me more previously unpublished information about them.
My great great grandparents John and Caroline Fitz-Henry (nee Thompson) are still living at Katharine Buildings, the tenements near the St Katharine's docks on the Thames next to the Tower of London. Here's where the tenement used to be before it was demolished in the 1960s.
John and Caroline have been married 42 years and have had 9 children, 7 of whom are still living. I've only collected 8 of the set so far and I'm missing one of the ones who have died before 1911.
John is 63 years old and now described as a shopkeeper, having been a carman (driver of a horse and cart) and a coalwhipper (coal deliverer) in previous documents. He was born in Stepney, London. My father talks about a shop in the Katharine Buildings, that John and Caroline's daughter Elizabeth took over with her husband William Dongray.
Caroline is 60 years old and was also born in Stepney.
Their address is 27 Katharine Buildings, Tower Hill, E6.
And here we have William Joseph and Elizabeth Maria Dongray living in a single room at 80 Katharine Buildings with their 2 daughters:
Valentine Amelia aged 4
Ellen Teresa Annie aged 15 months
At this time William is a horsekeeper.
John and Caroline's eldest son Thomas and his wife Rebecca (nee Lamb), my great grandparents and the subjects of my very first post on this blog are living in rooms 200, 201 and 202 of Katharine Buildings, although they give the road as Royal Mint Street. The blog link shows a photo of the pair of them taken at the tenement.
They are both aged 43, have been married 23 years and had 6 children 4 of whom are still living in 1911. (Rebecca may think her child-bearing days are over but in 1913, my great-uncle Jim is born!)
Both were born on Shadwell, London and Thomas was a carter.
Living with them in these three rooms were their children:
Thomas James aged 21 a yeast packer
Mary Ann aged 17 a lace maker
John Lawrence aged 15 a plumber
Henry Edward aged 10 (my grandfather)
and also Edward John aged 11, a nephew.
This nephew Edward ("Teddy") Fitz-Henry was the son of Thomas' brother John. John's first wife Julia Dibben had died shortly after Teddy's birth, and Thomas and Rebecca had adopted him into their family.
The remarried John Fitz-Henry (father of Teddy) is lving with his second wife Isabel (nee Day) in Forest Gate (further out in the leafy suburbs of East London) with a daughter Eileen aged 9. John is an accountant and has a six roomed house.
John and Caroline's eldest daughter, the widowed 36 year old Caroline Gilburns (sewing machinist) is living in a single room with her 11 year old daughter Theresa in Royal Mint Square.
Living just round the corner in Royal Albert Buildings (another tenement) are John and Caroline's youngest daughters:
Annie Fitz-Henry aged 25 a military tailoress
Amelia Fitz-Henry aged 23 a clerk in a stockbroker's business
The census was on the night of 2nd April, and on the 13th April Amelia married Sylvian Romaine.
The only one of John and Caroline's children that I've not been able to find as yet is Henry born 1882. The search goes on.
Why not subscribe to this blog and get the updates sent to your inbox? Or send us an email about your Fitz(-)henry family links.
My great great grandparents John and Caroline Fitz-Henry (nee Thompson) are still living at Katharine Buildings, the tenements near the St Katharine's docks on the Thames next to the Tower of London. Here's where the tenement used to be before it was demolished in the 1960s.
John and Caroline have been married 42 years and have had 9 children, 7 of whom are still living. I've only collected 8 of the set so far and I'm missing one of the ones who have died before 1911.
John is 63 years old and now described as a shopkeeper, having been a carman (driver of a horse and cart) and a coalwhipper (coal deliverer) in previous documents. He was born in Stepney, London. My father talks about a shop in the Katharine Buildings, that John and Caroline's daughter Elizabeth took over with her husband William Dongray.
Caroline is 60 years old and was also born in Stepney.
Their address is 27 Katharine Buildings, Tower Hill, E6.
And here we have William Joseph and Elizabeth Maria Dongray living in a single room at 80 Katharine Buildings with their 2 daughters:
Valentine Amelia aged 4
Ellen Teresa Annie aged 15 months
At this time William is a horsekeeper.
John and Caroline's eldest son Thomas and his wife Rebecca (nee Lamb), my great grandparents and the subjects of my very first post on this blog are living in rooms 200, 201 and 202 of Katharine Buildings, although they give the road as Royal Mint Street. The blog link shows a photo of the pair of them taken at the tenement.
They are both aged 43, have been married 23 years and had 6 children 4 of whom are still living in 1911. (Rebecca may think her child-bearing days are over but in 1913, my great-uncle Jim is born!)
Both were born on Shadwell, London and Thomas was a carter.
Living with them in these three rooms were their children:
Thomas James aged 21 a yeast packer
Mary Ann aged 17 a lace maker
John Lawrence aged 15 a plumber
Henry Edward aged 10 (my grandfather)
and also Edward John aged 11, a nephew.
This nephew Edward ("Teddy") Fitz-Henry was the son of Thomas' brother John. John's first wife Julia Dibben had died shortly after Teddy's birth, and Thomas and Rebecca had adopted him into their family.
The remarried John Fitz-Henry (father of Teddy) is lving with his second wife Isabel (nee Day) in Forest Gate (further out in the leafy suburbs of East London) with a daughter Eileen aged 9. John is an accountant and has a six roomed house.
John and Caroline's eldest daughter, the widowed 36 year old Caroline Gilburns (sewing machinist) is living in a single room with her 11 year old daughter Theresa in Royal Mint Square.
Living just round the corner in Royal Albert Buildings (another tenement) are John and Caroline's youngest daughters:
Annie Fitz-Henry aged 25 a military tailoress
Amelia Fitz-Henry aged 23 a clerk in a stockbroker's business
The census was on the night of 2nd April, and on the 13th April Amelia married Sylvian Romaine.
The only one of John and Caroline's children that I've not been able to find as yet is Henry born 1882. The search goes on.
Why not subscribe to this blog and get the updates sent to your inbox? Or send us an email about your Fitz(-)henry family links.
Saturday, 24 January 2009
1911 census - Dr George William Fitz-Henry and Isabella
One of the BIG mistakes in any form of research is to let your imagination run away with you. This entry from the 1911 census has neatly brought me back down to earth and reminded me that I shouldn't take anything at face value unless I've seen the documentary evidence to back it up.
In the "Out of Africa" series of postings, we met William Cooper Fitz-Henry and his indefatigable wife Lassie and in passing, a Jack Cooper Fitz-Henry who ran the fire service in Hong Kong. I assumed they were the sons of Dr. George William Fitz-Henry and his wife Isabella nee Cooper. (George William, also known as William George, was the eldest surviving son of Captain William Fitz-Henry of Ashtead by his first wife Barbara Morrison).
The 1911 census was the first England and Wales census which asked how many children living and dead had been born to that marriage.
George and Isabella stated that they had been married 23 years and had had 4 children, all of which were still living.
Also living at the household were three daughters! This means that at least one of the sons that I had ascribed to them was not theirs!
So for the record here is their census return. Although it's made me eat humble pie, it has also confirmed some other assumptions that I had made.
7 East Dulwich Road, South East London.
George William Fitz-Henry head aged 49, married, born Winchester Hampshire, General Medical Practitioner
Isabella Fitz-Henry wife aged 50, married (place of birth not stated) she has been 23 years in this marriage and has had 4 children, all of whom are still alive.
Barbara Eleanor Fitz-Henry aged 21, single, born Lyttelton New Zealand (British Subject)
Dorothea Tighe Fitz-Henry aged 16, born Amberly New Zealand (British Subject)
Margery Bell Fitz-Henry aged 5, single born East Dulwich London.
The births of Barbara and Dorothea in New Zealand confirm that this was the same doctor Fitz-Henry who was appointed public vaccinator and local doctor in Lyttelton in 1887. From the Christchurch Star of Monday 25 July 1887:
Dorothea had the middle name Tighe. The only other incidence of this name that I have found in this family is her step-uncle Woodfield Duncombe Tighe Fitz-Henry, the patriach of the Canadian branch of this Fitz-Henry family and the son of Captain William Fitz-Henry of Ashtead by his second wife Martha Eagles.
Why not subscribe to this blog and get the updates sent to your inbox? Or send us an email about your Fitz(-)henry family links.
In the "Out of Africa" series of postings, we met William Cooper Fitz-Henry and his indefatigable wife Lassie and in passing, a Jack Cooper Fitz-Henry who ran the fire service in Hong Kong. I assumed they were the sons of Dr. George William Fitz-Henry and his wife Isabella nee Cooper. (George William, also known as William George, was the eldest surviving son of Captain William Fitz-Henry of Ashtead by his first wife Barbara Morrison).
The 1911 census was the first England and Wales census which asked how many children living and dead had been born to that marriage.
George and Isabella stated that they had been married 23 years and had had 4 children, all of which were still living.
Also living at the household were three daughters! This means that at least one of the sons that I had ascribed to them was not theirs!
So for the record here is their census return. Although it's made me eat humble pie, it has also confirmed some other assumptions that I had made.
7 East Dulwich Road, South East London.
George William Fitz-Henry head aged 49, married, born Winchester Hampshire, General Medical Practitioner
Isabella Fitz-Henry wife aged 50, married (place of birth not stated) she has been 23 years in this marriage and has had 4 children, all of whom are still alive.
Barbara Eleanor Fitz-Henry aged 21, single, born Lyttelton New Zealand (British Subject)
Dorothea Tighe Fitz-Henry aged 16, born Amberly New Zealand (British Subject)
Margery Bell Fitz-Henry aged 5, single born East Dulwich London.
The births of Barbara and Dorothea in New Zealand confirm that this was the same doctor Fitz-Henry who was appointed public vaccinator and local doctor in Lyttelton in 1887. From the Christchurch Star of Monday 25 July 1887:
Birth - FITZ-HENRY - July 23 at Lyttelton, to wife of William Fitz-Henry, a son, premature.As Isabella denied that any of her children had died, then I assume that the final missing (and eldest) child from this census is a son - but who was he?
Dorothea had the middle name Tighe. The only other incidence of this name that I have found in this family is her step-uncle Woodfield Duncombe Tighe Fitz-Henry, the patriach of the Canadian branch of this Fitz-Henry family and the son of Captain William Fitz-Henry of Ashtead by his second wife Martha Eagles.
Why not subscribe to this blog and get the updates sent to your inbox? Or send us an email about your Fitz(-)henry family links.
Thursday, 22 January 2009
The Fitz-Henry / Darwin connection?
Here in the UK, there's been a fair bit of celebration of the bicentenary of the birth of Charles Darwin. And for a brief time I thought that we at the Blog could share in the party.
Back in December I did a piece about Captain William Fitz-Henry of Ashtead Surrey. His address was given in the 1885 Kelly's directory as Oakfield Lodge, Ashtead. When I randomly Googled "Oakfield Lodge, Ashtead", I was surprised to get a hit from the New York Botanical Gardens.
In the library collection of the papers of Charles Finney Cox, one of the founders of the Gardens and a great admirer and collector of all things Darwin, was a letter written at Oakfield Lodge. The letter had black borders and was sent from that address on 18th March 1886.
Black edged paper was used for correspondence by families in mourning, and this letter was sent within the six months of deep mourning that would have followed the death of the head of the family. William died in November 1885. I was very excited by this - I knew that Charles Darwin had died in 1882, but would this letter show that the Fitz-Henrys had some acquaintance with the Darwin family?
Stephen Sinon, one of the archivists, quickly brought me down to earth.
Commander Vereker was a member of the family who are holders of the title Viscount Gort. He himself was an explorer and surveyor, charting the Magellan Strait, the Sunda Strait and North East Borneo coasts and the Western Australian waters.
And this wasn't the last time that Oakfield Lodge had notable persons living there. In 1907, letters were sent to David Lloyd George (the British Prime minister) by Hubert Llewellyn Smith who worked with Charles Booth to improve the lot of the London dock workers in the late Victorian age.
If anyone out there has a picture of Oakfield Lodge, will they please email it to me. I believe that the house has now been demolished.
Why not subscribe to this blog and get the updates sent to your inbox? Or send us an email about your Fitz(-)henry family links.
Back in December I did a piece about Captain William Fitz-Henry of Ashtead Surrey. His address was given in the 1885 Kelly's directory as Oakfield Lodge, Ashtead. When I randomly Googled "Oakfield Lodge, Ashtead", I was surprised to get a hit from the New York Botanical Gardens.
In the library collection of the papers of Charles Finney Cox, one of the founders of the Gardens and a great admirer and collector of all things Darwin, was a letter written at Oakfield Lodge. The letter had black borders and was sent from that address on 18th March 1886.
Black edged paper was used for correspondence by families in mourning, and this letter was sent within the six months of deep mourning that would have followed the death of the head of the family. William died in November 1885. I was very excited by this - I knew that Charles Darwin had died in 1882, but would this letter show that the Fitz-Henrys had some acquaintance with the Darwin family?
Stephen Sinon, one of the archivists, quickly brought me down to earth.
The letter in question is an offer to publish some photographs and sketches the author has. They are being offered to an artist assigned to create drawings for an illustrated edition of Darwin's travels. Apparently the letter mentions they met aboard 'The Wanderer' at Cowes. The signature is a bit indistinct but seems to read "Foley C Vescken".While disappointed that the letter was not written by a Fitz-Henry, I can tell you that the author of the letter was the next occupant of the house, Commander the Honorable Foley C. Prendergast Vereker RN FRGS (Fellow of the Royal Geographical Society). I found him at Oakfield Lodge in the 1886 edition of Kelly's directory when the widowed Mrs Martha Fitz-Henry had moved to "The Shaw". This indicates that the Fitz-Henry family had moved out of Oakfield very soon after William's death.
Commander Vereker was a member of the family who are holders of the title Viscount Gort. He himself was an explorer and surveyor, charting the Magellan Strait, the Sunda Strait and North East Borneo coasts and the Western Australian waters.
And this wasn't the last time that Oakfield Lodge had notable persons living there. In 1907, letters were sent to David Lloyd George (the British Prime minister) by Hubert Llewellyn Smith who worked with Charles Booth to improve the lot of the London dock workers in the late Victorian age.
If anyone out there has a picture of Oakfield Lodge, will they please email it to me. I believe that the house has now been demolished.
Why not subscribe to this blog and get the updates sent to your inbox? Or send us an email about your Fitz(-)henry family links.
Sunday, 18 January 2009
A FitzHenry in the Land of Lincoln
In the United States the media is buzzing with anticipation about Tuesday’s Presidential Inauguration. Personal politics aside, the election of Barack Obama is an historic moment for our country. When Mr. Obama takes the Oath of Office, it will give some closure to “the unfinished work” Abraham Lincoln spoke about in his famous Gettysburg Address. If it hadn’t been for the American Civil War, would such an historic moment be at hand? The sacrifices made on the battlefield almost 150 years ago are shaping our history even today. With this in mind, my thoughts turned to one FitzHenry that would have called Abraham Lincoln, “Mr. President.”
I have written about Edwin Sawtell FitzHenry and his service in the Civil War previously. Please refer to the blog posts: When Family Meets History, Edwin Sawtell FitzHenry: After the Civil War and FitzHenry Footnote. I recently, however, received some new information that helped my research tremendously. Edwin was one of those deviants and variants Jo warned us about. He enlisted in the 6th regiment of the U.S. Calvary as Edwin S. Henry not FitzHenry. That little, but very significant piece of information, opened the door for discovery. In my next series of posts, I am going to explore Edwin’s service in the Civil War in greater detail. I am also going to highlight a Civil War blog that is a jewel for anyone seeking information on regular calvary regiments in the Civil War.
On January 20th the Chief Justice of the United States Supreme Court will give the Oath of Office to the first African American to hold the Office of President. With one hand resting on Abraham Lincoln’s Bible, Mr. Obama will personify what Lincoln himself sought to achieve. As the nation’s thoughts are transfixed with the promise of a new administration, I’m going to be thinking about the service and sacrifice of Edwin S. (Fitz)Henry, enlisted man.
Why not subscribe to this blog and get the updates sent to your inbox? Or send us an email about your Fitz(-)henry family links.
Saturday, 17 January 2009
The 1911 census
Last week, the 1911 census of England and Wales was publicly released two years early. However, me and Lesley were invited to take part in the beta testing of the online site in December as we were subscribers to the previous censuses released by FindMyPast.com.
Currently the 1911 census is only available as a pay per view of each page (at about £3 per page) rather than on a subscription, which does make it rather expensive for trawling through all variants of Fitz(-)henry. And as yet not all parts of England and Wales have been released. But we're using canny search techniques to minimise the duplications and soon we hope to have a summary of what we've found up on the FitzhenryDNA website. When we do, we'll let you know here.
What makes this census special is that for the first time the householder filled in the forms themselves and if there was a married couple involved, they were to state how many years they had been married and how many children living and dead the woman had borne.
So on the (very good) images of each household, you get to see your ancestors' own handwriting. You also hope that they knew how to spell their own surnames, so unlike the previous censuses one level of transcription error is removed. And their count of their own children should be accurate so we now have a cross reference for the trees that we have constructed so far.
If anyone has already "found a Fitz" in the 1911 census and wishes to share the information with us, please drop us an email so we can concentrate our funds on the Fitzhenrys that haven't been extracted yet.
Why not subscribe to this blog and get the updates sent to your inbox? Or send us an email about your Fitz(-)henry family links.
Currently the 1911 census is only available as a pay per view of each page (at about £3 per page) rather than on a subscription, which does make it rather expensive for trawling through all variants of Fitz(-)henry. And as yet not all parts of England and Wales have been released. But we're using canny search techniques to minimise the duplications and soon we hope to have a summary of what we've found up on the FitzhenryDNA website. When we do, we'll let you know here.
What makes this census special is that for the first time the householder filled in the forms themselves and if there was a married couple involved, they were to state how many years they had been married and how many children living and dead the woman had borne.
So on the (very good) images of each household, you get to see your ancestors' own handwriting. You also hope that they knew how to spell their own surnames, so unlike the previous censuses one level of transcription error is removed. And their count of their own children should be accurate so we now have a cross reference for the trees that we have constructed so far.
If anyone has already "found a Fitz" in the 1911 census and wishes to share the information with us, please drop us an email so we can concentrate our funds on the Fitzhenrys that haven't been extracted yet.
Why not subscribe to this blog and get the updates sent to your inbox? Or send us an email about your Fitz(-)henry family links.
Thursday, 15 January 2009
An Early London Fitzhenry group- and a possible Patrick connection revealed?
Whilst trying to uncover information illuminating to the personal history of Patrick Fitzhenry of St Giles in The Field, I viewed the will of one James FitzHenry, victualler, (an old word for tavern keeper) of St Giles in The Field. His will was written 16 May 1758 and proved 26 May 1758 - so his death may have been expected. My initial interest lay in both the time period and residence. Could this man be connected to our mysterious Patrick ?? Although Patrick married at St George Chapel in Chelsea, the marriage entry states that both bride and groom were from the parish of St Giles in the Field. We all know how uncommon this surname is -could James and Patrick be brothers? Certainly at this early stage, such a relationship can only be speculated on, but it is certainly an avenue worth exploring!!
From his will we know that James was married to Ann and had two children living at the time of his death - a son James and a daughter Margaret. Ann was listed as executrix and Charles Doyle of 29 Bloomsbury Square was listed with her as administrator - so (not surprisingly) another Irish name connected to a FH group! James (senior) appears most concerned that provision be made to enable his son to be apprenticed. Unfortunately no ages are mentioned. However, according to the brief outline found on the National Archives site, apprenticeships for this period usually commenced at the age of 14, suggesting James (junior) was aged 14 or younger in 1758, suggesting a birth year between 1744 & 1758.
Interestingly, James FitzHenry is also mentioned in the reports of the Old Bailey, in 1754 and a second time in 1756 as the victim of theft. In the 1756 trial, James stated he was a public house keeper, who was the victim of a theft for which Robert Sparrow was tried - and ultimately transported, for 7 years- in January 1756.
If you are familiar with James, Ann or their children, James and Margaret, why don't you drop us a line and let us know more about them ! (I for one would like to know if James junior did ever get an apprenticeship! and what occupation did he take up? did daughter Margaret marry? What happened to Ann? ) These, and other rivetting questions are waiting to be answered!!
Why not subscribe to this blog and get the updates sent to your inbox? Or send us an email about your Fitz(-)henry family links.
From his will we know that James was married to Ann and had two children living at the time of his death - a son James and a daughter Margaret. Ann was listed as executrix and Charles Doyle of 29 Bloomsbury Square was listed with her as administrator - so (not surprisingly) another Irish name connected to a FH group! James (senior) appears most concerned that provision be made to enable his son to be apprenticed. Unfortunately no ages are mentioned. However, according to the brief outline found on the National Archives site, apprenticeships for this period usually commenced at the age of 14, suggesting James (junior) was aged 14 or younger in 1758, suggesting a birth year between 1744 & 1758.
Interestingly, James FitzHenry is also mentioned in the reports of the Old Bailey, in 1754 and a second time in 1756 as the victim of theft. In the 1756 trial, James stated he was a public house keeper, who was the victim of a theft for which Robert Sparrow was tried - and ultimately transported, for 7 years- in January 1756.
If you are familiar with James, Ann or their children, James and Margaret, why don't you drop us a line and let us know more about them ! (I for one would like to know if James junior did ever get an apprenticeship! and what occupation did he take up? did daughter Margaret marry? What happened to Ann? ) These, and other rivetting questions are waiting to be answered!!
Why not subscribe to this blog and get the updates sent to your inbox? Or send us an email about your Fitz(-)henry family links.
Monday, 12 January 2009
Fitz(-)henry family groups on the FitzhenryDNA website
I've started updating the FitzhenryDNA website to be more focused on the family groups. It's going to become a resource where Fitzhenry family researchers can see what branches we've put together.
If you wish, you can have your contact details attached to your family group so that others can make contact. If you want your details added in this way, send me an email.
Why not subscribe to this blog and get the updates sent to your inbox? Or send us an email about your Fitz(-)henry family links.
If you wish, you can have your contact details attached to your family group so that others can make contact. If you want your details added in this way, send me an email.
Why not subscribe to this blog and get the updates sent to your inbox? Or send us an email about your Fitz(-)henry family links.
Wednesday, 7 January 2009
The South American connection - Ireland to Valparaiso, Chile
Rodrigo Palacios Fitz-Henry emailed us from Chile asking about his Irish Fitz-Henry forebears. He also sent us some wonderful photos from the 19th century which, to save on the allocated blogspace, I've put on our sister site Fitzhenrydna.com
Now, a South American Fitz(-)henry is a very rare occurrence indeed, and as Rodrigo so rightly pointed out, he and his siblings are the last left in Chile. So surely it wouldn't be too hard to trace this branch back?
This is the story as pieced together from Rodrigo, his sister Isabel and some sleuthing around the internet. Before we start though, here's a quick tutorial on the method of acquiring your surname if you are Spanish or South American (something I wasn't aware of before I started putting this branch together.
Generally the surnames are made up of two names, the first inherited from your father and the second inherited from your mother. If you have a child, you pass down the first name in your surname (the paternal one) as does your spouse. The child then takes the new surname in the order (father's paternal surname) (mother's paternal surname) so the surnames vary from generation to generation. Although it's a patriarchal naming system, it has the added bonus of having the mother's surname also included so family trees are easier to construct. You'll see how that works with Rodrigo's family tree.
The story starts with an Irishman called Michael Henry Gerald Fitz-Henry who was known as Henry.
His mother was called Ann Marie Bourke (so in the Spanish method of naming he would be known as Michael Henry Gerald Fitz-Henry Bouke).
He married Mary Macdonnell of Westport in County Mayo.
"Michael Henry Gerald" and Mary came to Chile in about 1865 as he worked for the Pacific Steam Navigation Company. This was profitable shipping line which ran between Liverpool and Valparaiso and was contracted to carry the post from the British Royal Mail between these two ports.
They had four children:
Michael Fitz-Henry Macdonnell
Charles Fitz-Henry Macdonnell (who died without issue)
Mary Fitz-Henry Macdonnell
Anita Fitz-Henry Macdonnell
Michael married Matilde Eichholtz and had two daughters:
Yvette Fitz-Henry Eichholtz
Yolanda Fitz-Henry Eichholtz
and Yolanda married Sergio Palacios Ureta which leads to the Palacios Fitz-Henry surname of Rodrigo, Isabel and their three other siblings. As the Fitz-Henry component of the surname is the maternal one, it dies out in this generation as any children will have the Palacios name passed down.
So that's the bare bones. What else can we add? I didn't have any firm dates apart from Henry and Ann's emigration to Chile. I know from a Chilean site that Mary Fitz-Henry Macdonnell married the Chilean senator Angel Guarello Costa (1866-1931) of the Democratic Party, and she was his second wife. Their son Fernando Guarello Fitz-Henry (1906-1971) was also a lawyer and Senator.
Here's another tantalising clue - on the Irish Family History Foundation website, I found the baptism of
Michael Joseph Fitzhenry,
son of Michael Fitzhenry and Anna Burke (spelt this way rather than Bourke)
on 22 September 1846
at the Roman Catholic church of St Nicholas in Galway.
It's the right mother with a Fitzhenry father, but surely there wouldn't have been two boys called Michael in one family unless this one died and our Michael Henry Gerald was named in his place (which I have seen before). So we can possibly go one generation further back on our tree and say that Michael Henry Gerald's father was also called Michael.
Rodrigo also said that there was another brother left back in Ireland called Henry.
Also in Rodrigo's photo collection was a picture of a Miles Fitzhenry, but Rodrigo didn't know how he fitted into the family group. I've got three Fitzhenrys called Miles on the database - one who died in Wexford Ireland in 1818 (too early for photography), and a father and son in Liverpool who were labourers so neither of these seem to be the right Miles.
Anyhow, if these names ring any bells with you or you can add in anything to this particular family history, please send us an email . My next road trip is back to the Maritime Museum in Liverpool to see if I can find anything about Michael HG Fitz-Henry's time at the Pacific Steam Navigation Company.
Why not subscribe to this blog and get the updates sent to your inbox? Or send us an email about your Fitz(-)henry family links.
Now, a South American Fitz(-)henry is a very rare occurrence indeed, and as Rodrigo so rightly pointed out, he and his siblings are the last left in Chile. So surely it wouldn't be too hard to trace this branch back?
This is the story as pieced together from Rodrigo, his sister Isabel and some sleuthing around the internet. Before we start though, here's a quick tutorial on the method of acquiring your surname if you are Spanish or South American (something I wasn't aware of before I started putting this branch together.
Generally the surnames are made up of two names, the first inherited from your father and the second inherited from your mother. If you have a child, you pass down the first name in your surname (the paternal one) as does your spouse. The child then takes the new surname in the order (father's paternal surname) (mother's paternal surname) so the surnames vary from generation to generation. Although it's a patriarchal naming system, it has the added bonus of having the mother's surname also included so family trees are easier to construct. You'll see how that works with Rodrigo's family tree.
The story starts with an Irishman called Michael Henry Gerald Fitz-Henry who was known as Henry.
His mother was called Ann Marie Bourke (so in the Spanish method of naming he would be known as Michael Henry Gerald Fitz-Henry Bouke).
He married Mary Macdonnell of Westport in County Mayo.
"Michael Henry Gerald" and Mary came to Chile in about 1865 as he worked for the Pacific Steam Navigation Company. This was profitable shipping line which ran between Liverpool and Valparaiso and was contracted to carry the post from the British Royal Mail between these two ports.
They had four children:
Michael Fitz-Henry Macdonnell
Charles Fitz-Henry Macdonnell (who died without issue)
Mary Fitz-Henry Macdonnell
Anita Fitz-Henry Macdonnell
Michael married Matilde Eichholtz and had two daughters:
Yvette Fitz-Henry Eichholtz
Yolanda Fitz-Henry Eichholtz
and Yolanda married Sergio Palacios Ureta which leads to the Palacios Fitz-Henry surname of Rodrigo, Isabel and their three other siblings. As the Fitz-Henry component of the surname is the maternal one, it dies out in this generation as any children will have the Palacios name passed down.
So that's the bare bones. What else can we add? I didn't have any firm dates apart from Henry and Ann's emigration to Chile. I know from a Chilean site that Mary Fitz-Henry Macdonnell married the Chilean senator Angel Guarello Costa (1866-1931) of the Democratic Party, and she was his second wife. Their son Fernando Guarello Fitz-Henry (1906-1971) was also a lawyer and Senator.
Here's another tantalising clue - on the Irish Family History Foundation website, I found the baptism of
Michael Joseph Fitzhenry,
son of Michael Fitzhenry and Anna Burke (spelt this way rather than Bourke)
on 22 September 1846
at the Roman Catholic church of St Nicholas in Galway.
It's the right mother with a Fitzhenry father, but surely there wouldn't have been two boys called Michael in one family unless this one died and our Michael Henry Gerald was named in his place (which I have seen before). So we can possibly go one generation further back on our tree and say that Michael Henry Gerald's father was also called Michael.
Rodrigo also said that there was another brother left back in Ireland called Henry.
Also in Rodrigo's photo collection was a picture of a Miles Fitzhenry, but Rodrigo didn't know how he fitted into the family group. I've got three Fitzhenrys called Miles on the database - one who died in Wexford Ireland in 1818 (too early for photography), and a father and son in Liverpool who were labourers so neither of these seem to be the right Miles.
Anyhow, if these names ring any bells with you or you can add in anything to this particular family history, please send us an email . My next road trip is back to the Maritime Museum in Liverpool to see if I can find anything about Michael HG Fitz-Henry's time at the Pacific Steam Navigation Company.
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Tuesday, 6 January 2009
More about the South African Fitzhenrys of the East Cape
Following on from the piece about Daisy Aletta Fitzhenry, the nurse who served in WW1, here's what I've managed to piece together about her Fitzhenry line. Once again, my grateful thanks to the sterling transcribing efforts of Ellen Stanton and Nolene Lossau who put together the Methodist birth and marriage lists from the East Cape area.
Our known starting point is a Henry Fitzhenry. I don't know when or where he was born, but on 31st December 1856 he married Frances Levett Gardiner in the Somerset East Methodist church. They both came from Zwaart Ruggens (now spelt Zwarte Ruggens)
They had a large family over some 23 years. Here are the children that I've found in the christening records.
John Arthur b. 3 Dec 1857
Henry Levett b. 23 May 1859
Francis Ann b. 12 May 1862
Andrew Parsons b. 18 Dec 1853
Alice b. 8 July 1865
Nathaniel Walter b. 14 June 1867
The twins Emma Faulkner and Ann Parsons b. 25 Feb 1870
Edward Noel b. 1 Dec 1871
Louisa Elizabeth b. 6 April 1874
Laura Jane b. 26 April 1876
Mary Jemima b. 23 Jan 1878
Edgar Ebenezer b. 31 July 1880
Daisy's father was John Arthur Fitzhenry who married first Kate Cawood somewhen around 1886 (I haven't seen the record for this one), and after Kate's death in 1893, Hester Sargeant Patrick on 24 April 1896. His brother Edward (here transcribed as "Edward Neil") was one of the witnesses to this second marriage and John Arthur was described as a farmer from Vanplaats Jansenville.
Details of the children from both these marriages can be found in my previous post.
The information I have after this generation comes from several sources on the internet and has not been verified.
John and Kate's daughter Florence Ann married Cecil Rhodes Dobrowsky in 1922.
Jansenville Cricket club had a number of Fitzhenrys playing for them during and after WW2 - the names of Sid, Will, Brian, Howard and Raymond Fitzhenry are all mentioned . It makes me wonder whether Russel Fitzhenry (featured both on the cricinfo website and in previous posts on this blog) is a member of this family as he was born in Graaff Reinet and his cricket was played for the Eastern Provinces. The Cawood surname is also prominent in the history of the club.
There is a beautiful memorial window in the Kingswood College chapelin memory of Brian Raymond Fitzhenry, farmer and conservationist in the Steytlerville district. A picture of the window and a description of its unveiling can be found here.
Apologies to any of our South African readers who may have spotted some elementary mistakes in my geography. Does anyone out there link into this family? Send us an email!
Why not subscribe to this blog and get the updates sent to your inbox? Or send us an email about your Fitz(-)henry family links.
Our known starting point is a Henry Fitzhenry. I don't know when or where he was born, but on 31st December 1856 he married Frances Levett Gardiner in the Somerset East Methodist church. They both came from Zwaart Ruggens (now spelt Zwarte Ruggens)
They had a large family over some 23 years. Here are the children that I've found in the christening records.
John Arthur b. 3 Dec 1857
Henry Levett b. 23 May 1859
Francis Ann b. 12 May 1862
Andrew Parsons b. 18 Dec 1853
Alice b. 8 July 1865
Nathaniel Walter b. 14 June 1867
The twins Emma Faulkner and Ann Parsons b. 25 Feb 1870
Edward Noel b. 1 Dec 1871
Louisa Elizabeth b. 6 April 1874
Laura Jane b. 26 April 1876
Mary Jemima b. 23 Jan 1878
Edgar Ebenezer b. 31 July 1880
Daisy's father was John Arthur Fitzhenry who married first Kate Cawood somewhen around 1886 (I haven't seen the record for this one), and after Kate's death in 1893, Hester Sargeant Patrick on 24 April 1896. His brother Edward (here transcribed as "Edward Neil") was one of the witnesses to this second marriage and John Arthur was described as a farmer from Vanplaats Jansenville.
Details of the children from both these marriages can be found in my previous post.
The information I have after this generation comes from several sources on the internet and has not been verified.
John and Kate's daughter Florence Ann married Cecil Rhodes Dobrowsky in 1922.
Jansenville Cricket club had a number of Fitzhenrys playing for them during and after WW2 - the names of Sid, Will, Brian, Howard and Raymond Fitzhenry are all mentioned . It makes me wonder whether Russel Fitzhenry (featured both on the cricinfo website and in previous posts on this blog) is a member of this family as he was born in Graaff Reinet and his cricket was played for the Eastern Provinces. The Cawood surname is also prominent in the history of the club.
There is a beautiful memorial window in the Kingswood College chapelin memory of Brian Raymond Fitzhenry, farmer and conservationist in the Steytlerville district. A picture of the window and a description of its unveiling can be found here.
Apologies to any of our South African readers who may have spotted some elementary mistakes in my geography. Does anyone out there link into this family? Send us an email!
Why not subscribe to this blog and get the updates sent to your inbox? Or send us an email about your Fitz(-)henry family links.
Sunday, 4 January 2009
That Pesky Search Result: Fitzhenry and Whiteside.
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We've all done it - that hopeful Google search for Fitzhenry, 1000 hits...but disappointment as 998 relate to books published by our friends in Canada, Fitzhenry & Whiteside. Frustration, annoyance - but lately, curiosity. Who are these Canadian Fitzhenrys? Where do they come from? I decided to see if I could discover anything about the founders of this iconic Canadian publishing house.
It was easy to discover through their own website that Fitzhenry and Whiteside was founded by two real people named - surprisingly enough - R I. Fitzhenry and C L Whiteside.
What surprised me greatly though was that Robert Irvine Fitzhenry, co-founder of this proudly Canadian company, was in fact - an American!! Yes!! South of the border!! Could this be another descendant of the prolific Enoch you ask?? Read on dear reader!!
Robert Irvine Fitzhenry was the (apparently) only son of Irvine and Margaret Fitzhenry, and the older brother of Margaret. He was born in 1918 in New York, spending his early and formative years in Westchester and New Rochelle. He attended New Rochelle High school, and after completion of those studies went onto to 4 years of study at the University of Michigan. However, on completing these studies Robert made an early decision to join the US military. He enlisted on 20 February 1941 almost 10 months before the bombing of Pearl Harbour, which brought America into the war. This act suggests a man able to see the way world events were playing out, as well as a man prepared to act in accord with his own convictions - a trait still in evidence 20 years later when he co founded Fitzhenry and Whiteside.
At the end of WW2 Robert had attained the rank of Lieutenant having served with the Army Air Corps. After leaving the Army Air Corps, Robert worked for a short time with United Press, before joining the editorial staff of the Rocky Mountain News in Denver Colarado (Clearly a real Fitzhenry...travel didn't seem to phase him at all !!) In 1949 he returned to his home town to marry Hilda Anderson, a former student of New Rochelle High school, who after completing her own college education, began a career on Wall Street. Was Robert a little non conventional even then? His wedding took place at Hilda's parents home, not the Methodist church as would have been the more common practice. After marrying, the couple moved to Chicago Illinois, but by the mid 1950s they were back in New York. They had 3 daughters, Sharon, Bridget (now deceased) and Hollister (aka Holly), By 1966 Robert had risen to Vice President of Sales for Harper and Rowe a large New York based publishing house. However, it was also at this time that Robert (and his colleague Cecil Whiteside) had made the decision to emmigrate to Canada to set up their own publishing house. On April 1 1966 Fitzhenry and Whiteside was born. Most thought they were crazy and doomed to failure- so much so that their company emblem is the Godwit, a Canadian bird whose distictive cry is most often described as sounding like 'Crazy, crazy crazy....correct, correct, correct'. Whilst they certainly started small, they have over time garnered an impressive position within Canadian publishing. Their site (www.fitzhenry.ca) has a photo of Robert and Cecil, and gives a sense of their relaxed and happy approach to work (have a look at the 'About Us' page and see the photos of the editorial team !!)
Just as it will come to us all, Hilda passed away in February 2007, and Robert (who had had a couple of strokes previously) passed away January 2008, a sadly missed icon of Canadian publishing .
But wait a minute... what about that Enoch connection I hear you ask??
Well..... Robert was the son of New York born parents, Irvine Fitzhenry. a clock salesman, and Margaret (nee Lowe/Loue/Lawe very hard to read that entry, so I stand to be corrected on the spelling of Margaret's maiden name!). He had at least two aunts from his mother's side, Helen and Hazel.
But here's the interesting part - in the 1920 US census Robert's father, Irvine, states that both of his own parents were .....Irish! Yep, Robert was the grandson of Irish immigrants...no Enoch link to this Fitzhenry family.
In the 1900 US census. Irvin (sic) Fitzhenry aged 23 salesman born New York is living with his mother Annie and stepfather Samuel Johnson. Annie states she is Irish, has been married to Samuel for 4 years and has had 2 children, both of whom are living. Try as I may I was unable to locate Annie (born c 1858) and her first husband in any earlier census's, so Irvine's father is still a mystery. We can say with some certainly however that his parents were Irishman Mr Fitzhenry and Irish woman Annie Fitzhenry
So next time the search throws up Fitzhenry and Whiteside, know that this (sometimes annoying) little company reflects the story of real people, of Fitzhenry immigrants whose dreams of a better life were realised in the lives of their son and grandson.
We've all done it - that hopeful Google search for Fitzhenry, 1000 hits...but disappointment as 998 relate to books published by our friends in Canada, Fitzhenry & Whiteside. Frustration, annoyance - but lately, curiosity. Who are these Canadian Fitzhenrys? Where do they come from? I decided to see if I could discover anything about the founders of this iconic Canadian publishing house.
It was easy to discover through their own website that Fitzhenry and Whiteside was founded by two real people named - surprisingly enough - R I. Fitzhenry and C L Whiteside.
What surprised me greatly though was that Robert Irvine Fitzhenry, co-founder of this proudly Canadian company, was in fact - an American!! Yes!! South of the border!! Could this be another descendant of the prolific Enoch you ask?? Read on dear reader!!
Robert Irvine Fitzhenry was the (apparently) only son of Irvine and Margaret Fitzhenry, and the older brother of Margaret. He was born in 1918 in New York, spending his early and formative years in Westchester and New Rochelle. He attended New Rochelle High school, and after completion of those studies went onto to 4 years of study at the University of Michigan. However, on completing these studies Robert made an early decision to join the US military. He enlisted on 20 February 1941 almost 10 months before the bombing of Pearl Harbour, which brought America into the war. This act suggests a man able to see the way world events were playing out, as well as a man prepared to act in accord with his own convictions - a trait still in evidence 20 years later when he co founded Fitzhenry and Whiteside.
At the end of WW2 Robert had attained the rank of Lieutenant having served with the Army Air Corps. After leaving the Army Air Corps, Robert worked for a short time with United Press, before joining the editorial staff of the Rocky Mountain News in Denver Colarado (Clearly a real Fitzhenry...travel didn't seem to phase him at all !!) In 1949 he returned to his home town to marry Hilda Anderson, a former student of New Rochelle High school, who after completing her own college education, began a career on Wall Street. Was Robert a little non conventional even then? His wedding took place at Hilda's parents home, not the Methodist church as would have been the more common practice. After marrying, the couple moved to Chicago Illinois, but by the mid 1950s they were back in New York. They had 3 daughters, Sharon, Bridget (now deceased) and Hollister (aka Holly), By 1966 Robert had risen to Vice President of Sales for Harper and Rowe a large New York based publishing house. However, it was also at this time that Robert (and his colleague Cecil Whiteside) had made the decision to emmigrate to Canada to set up their own publishing house. On April 1 1966 Fitzhenry and Whiteside was born. Most thought they were crazy and doomed to failure- so much so that their company emblem is the Godwit, a Canadian bird whose distictive cry is most often described as sounding like 'Crazy, crazy crazy....correct, correct, correct'. Whilst they certainly started small, they have over time garnered an impressive position within Canadian publishing. Their site (www.fitzhenry.ca) has a photo of Robert and Cecil, and gives a sense of their relaxed and happy approach to work (have a look at the 'About Us' page and see the photos of the editorial team !!)
Just as it will come to us all, Hilda passed away in February 2007, and Robert (who had had a couple of strokes previously) passed away January 2008, a sadly missed icon of Canadian publishing .
But wait a minute... what about that Enoch connection I hear you ask??
Well..... Robert was the son of New York born parents, Irvine Fitzhenry. a clock salesman, and Margaret (nee Lowe/Loue/Lawe very hard to read that entry, so I stand to be corrected on the spelling of Margaret's maiden name!). He had at least two aunts from his mother's side, Helen and Hazel.
But here's the interesting part - in the 1920 US census Robert's father, Irvine, states that both of his own parents were .....Irish! Yep, Robert was the grandson of Irish immigrants...no Enoch link to this Fitzhenry family.
In the 1900 US census. Irvin (sic) Fitzhenry aged 23 salesman born New York is living with his mother Annie and stepfather Samuel Johnson. Annie states she is Irish, has been married to Samuel for 4 years and has had 2 children, both of whom are living. Try as I may I was unable to locate Annie (born c 1858) and her first husband in any earlier census's, so Irvine's father is still a mystery. We can say with some certainly however that his parents were Irishman Mr Fitzhenry and Irish woman Annie Fitzhenry
So next time the search throws up Fitzhenry and Whiteside, know that this (sometimes annoying) little company reflects the story of real people, of Fitzhenry immigrants whose dreams of a better life were realised in the lives of their son and grandson.
Saturday, 3 January 2009
Lest we forget: Daisy Aletta Fitzhenry, South African nurse,1888-1918
In the post for the fallen combatants of the Great War, one name stood out because not only was she the only woman on the list, but she was a nurse rather than a soldier.
Here's a bit more about Daisy and the South African Fitzhenry connection.This has been mainly pieced together from painstaking transcriptions of the Uitenhage and Graaff Reinet Methodist Records by Ellen Stanton and Nolene Lossau. These records are spread across multiple postings on the Rootsweb South Africa British Immigrants messageboard.
Daisy Aletta Fitzhenry was born in South Africa on 30 July 1888 to John Arthur and Kate Fitzhenry (nee Cawood). She was baptised on 16 November 1888 at the Uitenhage Methodist Church and her baptism is number 221 in the register. Uitenhage is is the Eastern Cape Province, inland from Port Elizabeth.
She had at least 4 siblings:
William Henry (b. 15 December 1886)
Sidney Cawood (b. 22 October 1890)
Florence Ann (b. 13 April 1892, married Cecil Rhodes Dobrowsky in 1922)
Kate (b. 23 June 1893)
Her mother Kate died on the same date as her sister Kate's birth, presumably in childbirth.
John Arthur married again to Hester Sargeant Patrick in April 1895, and they had at least one son
Arthur Raymond (b. 6 December 1896).
Daisy joined the South African Military Nursing Service and served with the combined Allied troops in Southern Africa. Politically, the South Africans and British combining military forces was a significant occasion after the bitter battles of the Boer war less than 20 years before when the concentration camps had claimed the lives of many South Africans. She served in the military hospital at Dodoma in Tanzania. Dodoma was occupied by the South African troops in 1916 and the military hospital was used as a casualty clearing station.
Daisy was mentioned in dispatches in the London Gazette (6th August 1918 page 9228, although in the Gazette search engine the published date is 2nd August) with numerous other soldiers and Allied support personnel. She is listed as a nursing Sister rather then having a military title. Here's the whole list and it's amazing how many soldiers from throughout the old British Empire were here fighting in Africa. Someone would be "mentioned in dispatches" for a brave or noteworthy action in the field on battle, and received a certificate and a silver oak leaf to wear on their dress uniform.
Although the war in Europe finished on 11th November 1918, the war in East Africa continued until the German surrender on 23 November 1918 (the date the news of the German surrender in Europe was received by the German commander in Africa). By this time, an influenza epidemic was sweeping this part of the continent through a population weakened by years of famine. Between 50-80,000 people died (Here's more about the famine). Daisy died on 1 December 1918 (cause of death not known to me) and is buried in Dodoma cemetery.
In 1925 the Journal of the Royal College of Nursing (England) published an article listing those nurses from the Overseas Nursing Services who had died as a result of the combat and requesting donations for a memorial to be placed in the Elizabeth Garrett Anderson Women's Hospital in London. This article is reproduced here. Daisy's name is amongst those listed.
If anyone out there has any more information about Daisy Aletta Fitzhenry, please write into the blog and let us know more about her. In the next post, more about Daisy's family tree.
Why not subscribe to this blog and get the updates sent to your inbox? Or send us an email about your Fitz(-)henry family links.
Here's a bit more about Daisy and the South African Fitzhenry connection.This has been mainly pieced together from painstaking transcriptions of the Uitenhage and Graaff Reinet Methodist Records by Ellen Stanton and Nolene Lossau. These records are spread across multiple postings on the Rootsweb South Africa British Immigrants messageboard.
Daisy Aletta Fitzhenry was born in South Africa on 30 July 1888 to John Arthur and Kate Fitzhenry (nee Cawood). She was baptised on 16 November 1888 at the Uitenhage Methodist Church and her baptism is number 221 in the register. Uitenhage is is the Eastern Cape Province, inland from Port Elizabeth.
She had at least 4 siblings:
William Henry (b. 15 December 1886)
Sidney Cawood (b. 22 October 1890)
Florence Ann (b. 13 April 1892, married Cecil Rhodes Dobrowsky in 1922)
Kate (b. 23 June 1893)
Her mother Kate died on the same date as her sister Kate's birth, presumably in childbirth.
John Arthur married again to Hester Sargeant Patrick in April 1895, and they had at least one son
Arthur Raymond (b. 6 December 1896).
Daisy joined the South African Military Nursing Service and served with the combined Allied troops in Southern Africa. Politically, the South Africans and British combining military forces was a significant occasion after the bitter battles of the Boer war less than 20 years before when the concentration camps had claimed the lives of many South Africans. She served in the military hospital at Dodoma in Tanzania. Dodoma was occupied by the South African troops in 1916 and the military hospital was used as a casualty clearing station.
Daisy was mentioned in dispatches in the London Gazette (6th August 1918 page 9228, although in the Gazette search engine the published date is 2nd August) with numerous other soldiers and Allied support personnel. She is listed as a nursing Sister rather then having a military title. Here's the whole list and it's amazing how many soldiers from throughout the old British Empire were here fighting in Africa. Someone would be "mentioned in dispatches" for a brave or noteworthy action in the field on battle, and received a certificate and a silver oak leaf to wear on their dress uniform.
Although the war in Europe finished on 11th November 1918, the war in East Africa continued until the German surrender on 23 November 1918 (the date the news of the German surrender in Europe was received by the German commander in Africa). By this time, an influenza epidemic was sweeping this part of the continent through a population weakened by years of famine. Between 50-80,000 people died (Here's more about the famine). Daisy died on 1 December 1918 (cause of death not known to me) and is buried in Dodoma cemetery.
In 1925 the Journal of the Royal College of Nursing (England) published an article listing those nurses from the Overseas Nursing Services who had died as a result of the combat and requesting donations for a memorial to be placed in the Elizabeth Garrett Anderson Women's Hospital in London. This article is reproduced here. Daisy's name is amongst those listed.
If anyone out there has any more information about Daisy Aletta Fitzhenry, please write into the blog and let us know more about her. In the next post, more about Daisy's family tree.
Why not subscribe to this blog and get the updates sent to your inbox? Or send us an email about your Fitz(-)henry family links.
Wednesday, 31 December 2008
Fitzhenry name stats from the USA
A top tip from the Guild of One Name Studies forum was to put the Fitz(-)henry surname into the US whitepages on-line.
As you can see, in the grand scheme of things, we're a small and select bunch with the Fitzhenry name ranking 33,784th most common surname in the US (between Everingham and Frankenberg). with 516 individual entries.
That's 516 individuals who have a phone of course.
Allowing for the fact that 3 are known to this blog (including Ann of course), where are the rest of you? Send us a "Hello, I'm one of the unknown Fitzhenrys" email.
A breakdown of the stats for the more nerdy brained amongst you can be found here by clicking on the Fitzhenry link below
Why not subscribe to this blog and get the updates sent to your inbox? Or send us an email about your Fitz(-)henry family links.
As you can see, in the grand scheme of things, we're a small and select bunch with the Fitzhenry name ranking 33,784th most common surname in the US (between Everingham and Frankenberg). with 516 individual entries.
That's 516 individuals who have a phone of course.
Allowing for the fact that 3 are known to this blog (including Ann of course), where are the rest of you? Send us a "Hello, I'm one of the unknown Fitzhenrys" email.
A breakdown of the stats for the more nerdy brained amongst you can be found here by clicking on the Fitzhenry link below
Why not subscribe to this blog and get the updates sent to your inbox? Or send us an email about your Fitz(-)henry family links.
Sunday, 28 December 2008
The Tale of Two Brothers
One of my favorite things about genealogy is encountering the unexpected. I was researching a family member interred at Ft. Snelling National Cemetery in Minneapolis, Minnesota, when I discovered not one, but three FitzHenrys buried there. Who were the other two FitzHenrys honored at this sacred place? With respect for their service to our country, I began to piece together the tale of two brothers, Donald W. and Kenneth James FitzHenry. These sons of William and Agnes FitzHenry, were born in Hennepin County, Minnesota in 1925 and 1928 respectively. Their older sister, Irene, was born about 1924 and died in childbirth in 1942.
Donald and Kenneth earned their place at Ft. Snelling for their service in WWII. Both men served in the Air Corps and eventually earned the rank of sergeant. They enlisted on the same day, January 12, 1946. I can only imagine their mother’s worry. Both men survived the war and went on to marry and have children in the 1950s. Their children joined the 79 million babies that were born in the baby boom years in the United States between 1946-1964. I have more information about their living descendents, but will refrain from publishing details for privacy reasons.
Donald was laid to rest at Ft. Snelling in 1998 and his younger brother, Kenneth, in 1989. Information about their interments can be found here and here.
The FitzHenry Connection
Once I had the first few pieces of Donald and Kenneth’s family group, I wanted to answer the question: Were they descendants of Enoch?
Patrick J. and Mary Gillan FitzHenry, Donald and Kenneth’s grandparents, were waiting to be discovered. Patrick and Mary were both born in Canada in 1858 and 1871, respectively. According to census records, they immigrated to Minnesota in the 1870s. Their parents were born in Ireland. No connection appears to exist with Enoch since he was born almost 100 years before. Following is the information I have gathered thus far:
Patrick J. FitzHenry was born 1858 in Canada. He died in Minnesota 1916 and is buried at St. Michael’s cemetery in Montgomery, Minnesota.
Mary Gillan FitzHenry, the daughter of Michael and Mary Gillan, was born about 1871 in Canada. She died December 3, 1938, in Minnesota and is buried at St. Michael’s cemetery in Montgomery, Minnesota.
Patrick and Mary had at least five children. Census records indicate there may have been six, but one was not living. All of their children were born in Minnesota.
William FitzHenry, was born July 8, 1896, he died October 1974. William and his wife, Agnes, had three children: Irene, Donald and Kenneth.
George FitzHenry was born March 6, 1899, and died September 16, 1962. George and his wife, Beatrice, had three children.
John Joseph FitzHenry was born October 19, 1900 and died June 21, 1979. Marital status unknown.
Margaret FitzHenry is buried at St. Michael’s cemetery in Montgomery, Minnesota. Her birth and death dates up for debate. According to the Minnesota Cemetery Inscription Index, Margaret was born in 1866 and died in 1884. Using those dates, her mother would not have been born at the time of her birth. However, the inscription indicates that Patrick and Mary Gillan FitzHenry were her parents. Something is definitely amiss!
James FitzHenry was born June 25, 1905 and died April 9, 1970. Marital status unknown.
Exact dates for this family have been difficult to verify. I have seen several conflicting records. If any of our Canadian friends have more information, please stand up and be counted.
Thank you to Donald and Kenneth for their honorable service to our country and for the unexpected opportunity to research their family. Rest in peace.
*Photo credit: www.findagrave.com. Contributor: G.B.O.
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Monday, 22 December 2008
Swim like a Fitz!
Back in July, six members of the Fitzhenry family from Sidmouth, near Exeter in Devon swam the English Channel.
An amazing feat especially when you see the rather circuitous route they took....by my reckoning they crossed at least 5 ferry lanes!
Bev Kronk spotted it all the way through the Earth in Australia - those of us nearer to the event (me) are ashamed to say we missed it.
So in an attempt to redeem myself as the contemporary historian of all things Fitz(-)henry, well done to Paul, Neal, Lee, Craig, Dave and Daniel. Here's the details of the charities they were supporting by doing their epic swim. You can still donate through their website.
Why not subscribe to this blog and get the updates sent to your inbox? Or send us an email about your Fitz(-)henry family links.
An amazing feat especially when you see the rather circuitous route they took....by my reckoning they crossed at least 5 ferry lanes!
Bev Kronk spotted it all the way through the Earth in Australia - those of us nearer to the event (me) are ashamed to say we missed it.
So in an attempt to redeem myself as the contemporary historian of all things Fitz(-)henry, well done to Paul, Neal, Lee, Craig, Dave and Daniel. Here's the details of the charities they were supporting by doing their epic swim. You can still donate through their website.
Why not subscribe to this blog and get the updates sent to your inbox? Or send us an email about your Fitz(-)henry family links.
Sunday, 21 December 2008
End of 2008 "State of the Nation" address
So here we are at the end of another year, and I just wanted to highlight how far this Fitz(-)henry one name study has come over the past 12 months.
At the end of 2007, this blog was just me prattling on, on a fairly irregular basis to an unknown audience.
Then some brilliant things happened.
Ann contacted me for the first time, and Lesley rekindled an old friendship.
Over the next few months they started providing me with such good stuff that they became co-authors of the blog - and I couldn't have done it without them!
And I also discovered Feedburner which meant we could offer people with an interest in the Fitz(-)henry name the chance to keep up with our findings by subscription, and gave us the information about how many people potentially were out there reading our blog. As of today, there's 13 of you, so you're still a small select band but growing!
This year we also kicked off the Fitz(-)henry DNA study. It only has two participants so far, so if you are wondering what to give the Fitzhenry man who has everything for Christmas this year, why not consider his very own DNA profile - linked to our study of course!
In April, the Guild of One-Name Studies (GOONS) gave us accredited One-Name study status and we are now the official registrants of the Fitz(-)henry name at the Guild.
And we've made contacts with Fitz(-)henrys from all over the world this year.
I'd like to name check all the people who emailed us or left comments on the blog - big thanks to you all all.
Keep reading the blog and sending us more stuff.
Tell your Fitz(-)henry relatives and friends about us!
Bev Kronk (Australia) - prolific supplier of facts. Thanks again, Bev.
Rodrigo Palacios Fitz-Henry (Chile) - thanks for your information about our only known South American branch, and will you please email me again through the blog, as I don't think my emails are getting through to you. I would really love to publish the info you've sent me and just need your permission.
Canon Patrick Comerford (Ireland)
Garry and Laurie Fitz-Henry and their family, Brian Dulcombe Fitz-Henry and Annabella Fitz-Henry (all from Canada and descendants of William Fitz-Henry and Martha Eagles).
Tom Fitzhenry (Dublin, Ireland)
Mrs Betty Volante and Mr Michael Volante (England)
Terri Tiffany (USA)
Sarah Murphy (England) a descendant of John Fitzhenry of Oswestry (died in WW1)
Kerry Robinson nee Fitzhenry and Christine Fitzhenry (Australia) who are both descended from Peter Fitzhenry of the AIF (died in WW1)
Sandra Fuller (Australia)
Norma Temperton (England)
Glen Porteous and Lynda Moseley (USA) for their research about William Fortune
Darren Fitzhenry (USA)
Shilo Fitzhenry (USA)
Kim Tregellas (USA)
Geraldine Cheyne and Paul Davies (Australia) researching the (Fitz)Henry connection in the Vitzdamm family.
There.... I think that's all of you - apologies to any I may have missed!
And what's in store for next year?
We hope to get more people interested in the DNA study - pop over here to take a look at the website.
The DNA website will be expanded to hold more in the way of reference material for our One-Name study - the family trees we've put together and suchlike.
And we hope that you all keep healthy and happy in the year ahead.
Merry Christmas.
Jo Fitz-Henry
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Thursday, 18 December 2008
Road Trip 3 - the Surrey Record Office
The Surrey record office in Woking is a real gem of a place. Lovely open modern building, lots of lovely records to lose yourself in and enthusiastic helpful staff.
I was on the trail of the family of William Fitz-Henry and Martha Eagles of Ashtead. I wanted to know where William was buried to see if a gravestone would give me any further clues about his ancestors. I'd looked in the graveyard of the parish church of St Giles when I visited Ashtead earlier in the year, but hadn't found a gravestone.
The first bonus was finding that the parish records of St Giles weren't on fiche - this meant I got to look through the original register. And what a splendid register it was, all leather bound and gold tooled. I have got photos of it, but the copyright declaration that I had to sign said I would put any of the photos on t'internet. Sorry.
So who did I find in the register?
William and Martha's first two children (Hester and Rowland) were born before they settled in Ashtead, but I did find the baptisms of:
Harry Duncombe Fitz-Henry christened 8 May 1882
Son of William FH (Captain Retired full pay) and Martha Elizabeth.
Woodfield Duncombe Tighe Fitz-Henry born 26 January 1883, christened 6 May 1883
Son of of William FH (captain in the Army, retired full pay) and Martha Elizabeth.
William Fitz-Henry, born 30 October 1885, christened 19 August 1886
Son of William (Captain in the Army) and Martha Elizabeth.
Harry Duncombe died in infancy, but neither he nor his father William (died November 1885) were buried at St Giles. One of the records office staff suggested that one or both of them may have been buried at the new municipal cemetery in Leatherhead (the nearest big town). This would mean a trip to the cemetery itself to consult their records.
As a stroke of fortune, the records office also had some editions of Kelly's Directories for Surrey on fiche. Amongst the "Private Residents" were
1885 edition, Fitz-Henry Capt. William at Oakfield Lodge
1886 edition, Fitz-Henry Mrs. at The Shaw.
I had previously thought that she had gone back to be near her family in Buckinghamshire straight after she was widowed, but the christening of William and the Kelly's entry showed that she was still a fixture in the village for at least another 8 months. Oakfield Lodge was still shown on the Ashtead map of 1932, but the current Google map shows some modern houses on the site in what is now Balquhain Close.
So... why was baby William's christening delayed for so long after his birth? This was answered the following day at Guild of One Name Studies lecture in Dorchester. In short, a woman did not re-enter society after the birth of her baby until she had been "churched" - going to Sunday service at her church a month after the birth. Often the baby was taken along and was christened at the same time - not before, unless the baby was very sickly. However, Matha's husband died before she had baby William christened and she entered her six month period of "deep mourning". To have the baby christened during this time was considered at the very least disrespectful, and at worst it would have brought misfortune on the child. Hence Martha had baby William christened when the mourning period was over.
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I was on the trail of the family of William Fitz-Henry and Martha Eagles of Ashtead. I wanted to know where William was buried to see if a gravestone would give me any further clues about his ancestors. I'd looked in the graveyard of the parish church of St Giles when I visited Ashtead earlier in the year, but hadn't found a gravestone.
The first bonus was finding that the parish records of St Giles weren't on fiche - this meant I got to look through the original register. And what a splendid register it was, all leather bound and gold tooled. I have got photos of it, but the copyright declaration that I had to sign said I would put any of the photos on t'internet. Sorry.
So who did I find in the register?
William and Martha's first two children (Hester and Rowland) were born before they settled in Ashtead, but I did find the baptisms of:
Harry Duncombe Fitz-Henry christened 8 May 1882
Son of William FH (Captain Retired full pay) and Martha Elizabeth.
Woodfield Duncombe Tighe Fitz-Henry born 26 January 1883, christened 6 May 1883
Son of of William FH (captain in the Army, retired full pay) and Martha Elizabeth.
William Fitz-Henry, born 30 October 1885, christened 19 August 1886
Son of William (Captain in the Army) and Martha Elizabeth.
Harry Duncombe died in infancy, but neither he nor his father William (died November 1885) were buried at St Giles. One of the records office staff suggested that one or both of them may have been buried at the new municipal cemetery in Leatherhead (the nearest big town). This would mean a trip to the cemetery itself to consult their records.
As a stroke of fortune, the records office also had some editions of Kelly's Directories for Surrey on fiche. Amongst the "Private Residents" were
1885 edition, Fitz-Henry Capt. William at Oakfield Lodge
1886 edition, Fitz-Henry Mrs. at The Shaw.
I had previously thought that she had gone back to be near her family in Buckinghamshire straight after she was widowed, but the christening of William and the Kelly's entry showed that she was still a fixture in the village for at least another 8 months. Oakfield Lodge was still shown on the Ashtead map of 1932, but the current Google map shows some modern houses on the site in what is now Balquhain Close.
So... why was baby William's christening delayed for so long after his birth? This was answered the following day at Guild of One Name Studies lecture in Dorchester. In short, a woman did not re-enter society after the birth of her baby until she had been "churched" - going to Sunday service at her church a month after the birth. Often the baby was taken along and was christened at the same time - not before, unless the baby was very sickly. However, Matha's husband died before she had baby William christened and she entered her six month period of "deep mourning". To have the baby christened during this time was considered at the very least disrespectful, and at worst it would have brought misfortune on the child. Hence Martha had baby William christened when the mourning period was over.
Why not subscribe to this blog and get the updates sent to your inbox? Or send us an email about your Fitz(-)henry family links.
Sunday, 14 December 2008
The Family of John and Anne Fortune
After Jo’s visit to the National Archives, I wanted to learn more about William Fortune. What circumstances led him to die in England all alone? What do we know about this supposed cousin of Enoch FitzHenry?
Fortunately, I have been in contact with a very knowledgeable Fortune family researcher. The following report is posted with her permission and is public record at Fairfield County, South Carolina. The document contains information about the entire Fortune family. However, for brevity, the excerpts below focus on William Fortune.
The comments in italics are my own.
Background Information
John Fortune was born about 1725 in Ireland. He and his wife, Anne and their family of seven children arrived in Charleston, South Carolina on August 23, 1767 aboard the ship Britannia. Anne was born about 1726. Her maiden name has not been proven, but may have been Fitzhenry. The names and dates of birth of the children: Mary, born June 15, 1746; William, born December 30, 1748; John Jr., born February 20, 1752; Jane, born September 1, 1754; Mark, born June 23, 1756; Richard, born June 17, 1758; and Elizabeth, born December 23, 1759.
Fortunately, I have been in contact with a very knowledgeable Fortune family researcher. The following report is posted with her permission and is public record at Fairfield County, South Carolina. The document contains information about the entire Fortune family. However, for brevity, the excerpts below focus on William Fortune.
The comments in italics are my own.
Background Information
John Fortune was born about 1725 in Ireland. He and his wife, Anne and their family of seven children arrived in Charleston, South Carolina on August 23, 1767 aboard the ship Britannia. Anne was born about 1726. Her maiden name has not been proven, but may have been Fitzhenry. The names and dates of birth of the children: Mary, born June 15, 1746; William, born December 30, 1748; John Jr., born February 20, 1752; Jane, born September 1, 1754; Mark, born June 23, 1756; Richard, born June 17, 1758; and Elizabeth, born December 23, 1759.
There is some confusion over where in Ireland the family departed. Janie Revill, in her book, Protestant Immigrants to South Carolina 1763-1773, pages 82-84, transcribed the South Carolina Council Journals, specifically Journal 33, pages 234-237 (meeting of September 1, 1767), which states the Britannia arrived from Newry. R. J. Dickson’s excellent book, Ulster Emigration to Colonial America 1718-1775, states the Britannia sailed from Belfast to Charleston in 1767, but sites the Revill book as its source.
Agents for the port of Newry were located in Belfast, and agents for Belfast were located in Newry, according to Dickson’s book. The overwhelming majority of Fortunes have been concentrated in Wexford County, Ireland since the 1600s, and the majority of Fortunes in Wexford since have been of the Roman Catholic faith.
Evidence contained in an 1815 letter written by William Fortune to his son, Joseph Fortune, proves he had relatives in Wexford. Whether they were Fortunes or members of his mother’s family is unknown, but I believe he was referring to his father’s family.
Revill’s book states the passengers aboard the Britannia were Protestant, but no proof has been found to determine the Fortune family’s religious denomination once they arrived in South Carolina. (It is likely the Fortunes were Protestant. Immigration to the Carolina’s exploded with the promise of free land to Protestants via the Bounty Act of 1761.)
Another letter written by William Fortune to his son Joseph in 1821 refers to an uncle, Owen Fortune, “the brother of my father, John Fortune”, and at least three of Owen’s children: Richard, John and an unnamed daughter who married and was living in London, England in 1821. At the time, Richard was visiting his sister and was enlisted with the 18th Hussars in France. His rank is not known. Richard’s brother John is also mentioned as being a soldier, but his company and rank are not given. This is as much as is currently known of Owen Fortune and his children.
The belief that Anne Fortune’s maiden name was possibly Fitzhenry also stems from a letter purportedly written by Enoch Fitzhenry to William Fortune. Enoch Fitzhenry allegedly wrote to William Fortune, in which he referred to William in the letter as a cousin. There is recorded evidence Enoch Fitzhenry was in New York during the early 1800s, but no connection to him or his descendants has been proven.
There is no evidence the Fortunes arrived in South Carolina as indentured servants. Written evidence proves they were literate. They also paid for the surveys of their bounty land very shortly after their arrival in Fairfield District. There is a seven month period between their arrival and the issuance of their grants in which the family’s whereabouts are undocumented, and it is assumed they spent the time traveling from Charleston to Fairfield District, possibly stopping from time to time to work and earn enough money to continue.
The Bounty Land
John Fortune, Sr. was granted 100 acres in Craven County on the head of Jackson’s Creek on March 2, 1768, which I believe is the same 100 acres surveyed for John Fortune, Jr. on October 1, 1767.
John Fortune, Sr. was granted 350 acres in Craven County on the head of Jackson’s Creek on March 8, 1768, being the 100 acres surveyed for John Fortune, Jr. who apparently died before the grant was finalized.
Mary Fortune was granted 100 acres in Craven County on the head of Jackson’s Creek on March 8, 1768, bounded on the Northwest by land laid out to her brother, William Fortune.
William Fortune was granted 100 acres in Craven County on the head of Jackson’s Creek on April 6, 1768.
The record shows that Richard Winn purchased William Fortune’s 100 acre grant from William and his wife, Mary on November 26, 1771. This 100 acre tract is the site upon which Winn would later establish the Town of Winnsborough.
John Fortune, Sr. died in Fairfield District in November, 1776. He is buried on the 350 acre plantation granted to him in 1768, although the exact location of his grave is unknown. Although several sources report that his Will is of record in the Office of the Probate Judge for Kershaw County, it is not. The estate file there contains a transcribed affidavit from his daughter Mary Fortune McCreary who testified in an 1815 civil action in Richland District that her father died in 1776 and that he had made a Will, which was in her possession for some years after his death. She testified the Will directed the bounty lands in his name be sold by her mother, Anne.
Robert McCreary and wife Mary Fortune McCreary conveyed Mary’s 100 acre grant to Joseph Owen on February 8, 1778.
Anne Fortune died in 1783 while living on Thorntree Creek near Camden, probably with the family of her daughter, Jane Fortune Robinson, wife of Judge Walter Robinson. Her Last Will and Testament is of record in Kershaw County in Will Book A1, page 157. In it, she states her husband’s Will was destroyed by their son, William Fortune and devises the 350 acre tract owned by her husband to her Executors, Walter Robinson and Thomas Mews. She contracted to sell the 350 acres under Bond for Title to John Milling in shortly thereafter, although the exact date is not revealed of record.
William Fortune fled South Carolina for England in 1783. By 1802, he was living in Hawkesbury, Canada. On February 8, 1802, claiming by right of primogeniture, as the oldest son, sold his father’s 350 acre tract and the 100 acre tract surveyed for John Fortune, Jr., to John Woodward, Sr., James Barkley and James Barber.
On May 10, 1813, in Columbia (Richland) District-Sarah Milling filed suit for partition against John Woodward, Sr., James Barber and James Barker to recover the land sold to them by William Fortune in 1802. The land was eventually ordered to be divided into lots and sold in Winnsborough at public auction on the first Monday in August, 1818. It is not known who purchased the property at the sale.
The suit was over the 350 acre tract only, and it appears Woodward, Barber and Barker retained possession of the 100 acre tract originally surveyed for John Fortune, Jr.
The Town of Winnsborough was later established on much of the 650 acres granted to the Fortune family, particularly the 100 acres granted to William Fortune.
Life of William Fortune
William Fortune was born December 30, 1748. He married Mary (last name unknown), probably Brown, in Fairfield District. At least two of his children, William Jr. and Joseph, said to be Cornwallis Joseph, were born there as well. William and Mary had six children. In addition to William and Joseph, they were: Thomas Patrick, Rawdon, Eliza and Louisa. Joseph, Eliza and Louisa all lived in Canada. Eliza married a Hoople. Letters written from William to his son, Joseph between 1817 and 1821 consistently state that Joseph was his only son, so the other boys must have died young.
Much of William Fortune’s life is revealed in the many letters he wrote to his son Joseph. He was a land surveyor and a soldier. Pay vouchers and affidavits from several Loyalist officers, including Lord Rawdon, Earl Cornwallis, Maj. Thomas Fraser, Col. Alexander Stuart and other officers and enlisted men in the Volunteers of Ireland prove he was a Loyalist for most of the War. He petitioned the Canadian government from Charleston and from Point Fortune for bounty lands, eventually amassing several thousand acres. There is also evidence William and his brother, Richard, served the American cause as members of Col. Thomas Taylor’s regiment, from which they deserted prior to 1783. Their names, along with brother-in-law John McWatty, appear on a list of 38 deserters from Col. Taylor’s regiment. William’s property was confiscated and he left South Carolina around 1783 for England. His numerous petitions for bounty lands in Canada state he was involved in the Battle of Hobkirk’s Hill in 1781, and the Battle of Eutaw Springs, as well as the evacuation of Charleston.
William Fortune’s letters paint a portrait of a greedy, self-absorbed man who appeared to suffer from grandiose fantasies. To say that he was enamored of Lord Rawdon is an understatement. He claimed a close connection to him and several high ranking or titled men in England. He was a scoundrel and led a colorful life, and according to his letters, was estranged from his daughters for many years.
It is fact that he spent months incarcerated in debtor’s prison in Gloucester Castle, London, England between 1815 and 1817. It is also fact that he mostly lived apart from his family between 1789 and 1821. His letters during those years are franked from London, Bristol, Bath and Brighton. He relates in one that he was rescued from Gloucester Castle by a woman who paid him 15 lbs. sterling in exchange for the promise of marriage, although he never married her. He died after 1821 and is said to be buried at Point Fortune, Canada. (We now believe he is buried at Hurstpierpoint, England. Please refer to William Fortune -The National Archives, Kew.)
Thank you to Lynda and family for their years of research!
If you would like more information on the Fortune family, please contact us.
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Sunday, 7 December 2008
Road Trip 2 - William Fortune (The National Archives, Kew)
To the American Fitzhenrys, William Fortune has the same mythic status as Enoch Fitzhenry. The legend of Enoch has it that William Fortune (his cousin) was the only relative that Enoch had contact with after his arrival in the United States. One of Enoch's sons (William Fortune Fitzhenry) was given the middle name Fortune in his honour. William Fortune was a soldier who had fought for the Brits in the American War of Independence (bad idea!) and had subsequently lost his lands in South Carolina and went north to Canada after a stay in England.
Ann Fitzhenry (co-author of this blog) and Glen Porteous (another Fitzhenry researcher) had both done their research on William Fortune, and they had found that there was a file on him in the War Office Records held at the National Archives in Kew. Was this going to be a story of heroics and being mentioned in dispatches? Or William acting as a double agent while he was staying in England?
No.
It was a bureaucratic wrangle over who should pay for William's funeral. Probably the only reason these few sheets of paper were kept was because it set a precedent which enabled the War Office to pay for funeral expenses of British Army soldiers to someone other than the next of kin or executor of a will.
Let me summarise what I discovered (for indeed there was a lot of repetition).
William Fortune had found himself in the village of Hurstpierpoint in Sussex in the year 1822. Hurstpierpoint while unremarkable in itself, is just north of Brighton on the south coast of England and at that time in Regency England, Brighton was the most fashionable place to be seen apart from London. Hurstpierpoint was also on the main coaching route from London to Brighton so William may have been just "en route", or he may have been paying someone a visit.
He was taken ill. Then he died on 26th November, and was buried in the Hurstpierpoint parish churchyard on 29th November 1822.
We know this as the curate of Hurstpierpoint, a Reverend John Charles Fowell Tufnell wrote to the War Office asking for recompense for the medical bills and the cost of the funeral which he had personally paid for.
The Reverend said that there were no relatives in the country (England) who could pay these bills and William had not enough money at the time of his death to cover his debts. Could he (the Rev. Tufnell) receive the balance of the army pay that was outstanding up to the time of his death, which William Fortune was entitled as a British Loyalist in the War of Independence.
There was then a flurry of correspondence around the War Office, and from his first request in November 1822, the Rev. Tufnell finally received his money in March 1823.
What else did I find?
William Fortune was either a Colonel or a Captain; he is mentioned as both in the correspondence although the Rev. Tufnell referred to him as Colonel.
His regiment was referred to as either the American Loyalists or the American Provincials.
His regimental number was 132807.
He had been placed on half pay in 1783 and was still receiving this pay at the time of his death.
His outstanding pay amounted to £15 and 15 shillings, or 15 Guineas (a Guinea being a pound and a shilling, an archaic form of British currency which is still used in horse-racing). This sum was not to be sniffed at, as an agricultural labourer's wage was 8 to 12 shillings a week.
I visited the Sussex Record Office a few days later on the road trip.
A very old and worn microfiche scan of the Hurstpierpoint parish register confirmed that Colonel William Fortune had been buried on 29th November 1822 at the age of 74 years by the Rev Tufnell. It gave his place of residence as Hurstpierpoint rather than saying that he was visiting from elsewhere.
Unfortunately there was no records of the monumental inscriptions in Hurstpierpoint churchyard at the records office, and Hurstpierpoint was at the other end of the county and in the opposite direction to where I was heading next.
So that's a visit for another time.
Why not subscribe to this blog and get the updates sent to your inbox? Or send us an email about your Fitz(-)henry family links.
Ann Fitzhenry (co-author of this blog) and Glen Porteous (another Fitzhenry researcher) had both done their research on William Fortune, and they had found that there was a file on him in the War Office Records held at the National Archives in Kew. Was this going to be a story of heroics and being mentioned in dispatches? Or William acting as a double agent while he was staying in England?
No.
It was a bureaucratic wrangle over who should pay for William's funeral. Probably the only reason these few sheets of paper were kept was because it set a precedent which enabled the War Office to pay for funeral expenses of British Army soldiers to someone other than the next of kin or executor of a will.
Let me summarise what I discovered (for indeed there was a lot of repetition).
William Fortune had found himself in the village of Hurstpierpoint in Sussex in the year 1822. Hurstpierpoint while unremarkable in itself, is just north of Brighton on the south coast of England and at that time in Regency England, Brighton was the most fashionable place to be seen apart from London. Hurstpierpoint was also on the main coaching route from London to Brighton so William may have been just "en route", or he may have been paying someone a visit.
He was taken ill. Then he died on 26th November, and was buried in the Hurstpierpoint parish churchyard on 29th November 1822.
We know this as the curate of Hurstpierpoint, a Reverend John Charles Fowell Tufnell wrote to the War Office asking for recompense for the medical bills and the cost of the funeral which he had personally paid for.
The Reverend said that there were no relatives in the country (England) who could pay these bills and William had not enough money at the time of his death to cover his debts. Could he (the Rev. Tufnell) receive the balance of the army pay that was outstanding up to the time of his death, which William Fortune was entitled as a British Loyalist in the War of Independence.
There was then a flurry of correspondence around the War Office, and from his first request in November 1822, the Rev. Tufnell finally received his money in March 1823.
What else did I find?
William Fortune was either a Colonel or a Captain; he is mentioned as both in the correspondence although the Rev. Tufnell referred to him as Colonel.
His regiment was referred to as either the American Loyalists or the American Provincials.
His regimental number was 132807.
He had been placed on half pay in 1783 and was still receiving this pay at the time of his death.
His outstanding pay amounted to £15 and 15 shillings, or 15 Guineas (a Guinea being a pound and a shilling, an archaic form of British currency which is still used in horse-racing). This sum was not to be sniffed at, as an agricultural labourer's wage was 8 to 12 shillings a week.
I visited the Sussex Record Office a few days later on the road trip.
A very old and worn microfiche scan of the Hurstpierpoint parish register confirmed that Colonel William Fortune had been buried on 29th November 1822 at the age of 74 years by the Rev Tufnell. It gave his place of residence as Hurstpierpoint rather than saying that he was visiting from elsewhere.
Unfortunately there was no records of the monumental inscriptions in Hurstpierpoint churchyard at the records office, and Hurstpierpoint was at the other end of the county and in the opposite direction to where I was heading next.
So that's a visit for another time.
Why not subscribe to this blog and get the updates sent to your inbox? Or send us an email about your Fitz(-)henry family links.
Friday, 5 December 2008
Revealed:The Mystery Lady of Brompton Cemetery
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Well, this is one loose end that can definately be sewn up !! Today two death certificates arrived, one of which was for the mystery lady, Ann Fitzhenry, discovered at Brompton cemetery by erstwhile Fitzhenry sleuth Jo!
The document positively confirms the lady's identity as Ann Fitzhenry daughter-in-law of Elizabeth (and Michael) Fitzhenry, and widow of their eldest son George Fitzhenry.
Ann died of Enteritis on the 29th April 1889 at 61 Duffield Street West Battersea. Her occupation is listed as "Widow of George Fitzhenry a compositor" . Whilst one might take issue with this description as being an occupation, it certainly helps to confirm her identity!. The absolute proof though, is the name and relationship of the informant, A E Puddle. This is Annie Puddle, Ann's eldest child, and who was living with her brother George FH in Battersea in 1891. The certificate identifies A E Puddle as the deceased's daughter, and she was present at her mother's death.
So another mystery solved, but another emerges........what happened to Ann's two sons, William born in Ireland in 1868 and George Fitzhenry born Manchester 1875 ? Maybe the 1911 census release will help to solve this one....but if you know what happened to the two FH boys, please don't keep us in suspense, drop a line here !!
Well, this is one loose end that can definately be sewn up !! Today two death certificates arrived, one of which was for the mystery lady, Ann Fitzhenry, discovered at Brompton cemetery by erstwhile Fitzhenry sleuth Jo!
The document positively confirms the lady's identity as Ann Fitzhenry daughter-in-law of Elizabeth (and Michael) Fitzhenry, and widow of their eldest son George Fitzhenry.
Ann died of Enteritis on the 29th April 1889 at 61 Duffield Street West Battersea. Her occupation is listed as "Widow of George Fitzhenry a compositor" . Whilst one might take issue with this description as being an occupation, it certainly helps to confirm her identity!. The absolute proof though, is the name and relationship of the informant, A E Puddle. This is Annie Puddle, Ann's eldest child, and who was living with her brother George FH in Battersea in 1891. The certificate identifies A E Puddle as the deceased's daughter, and she was present at her mother's death.
So another mystery solved, but another emerges........what happened to Ann's two sons, William born in Ireland in 1868 and George Fitzhenry born Manchester 1875 ? Maybe the 1911 census release will help to solve this one....but if you know what happened to the two FH boys, please don't keep us in suspense, drop a line here !!
PS. For those who were wondering, the second death certificate was for Ann's husband, George Fitzhenry who died 9 May 1879 of Phthisis (TB) aged 39. He was living at 18 Pimlico Rd Pimlico Belgrave when he died, and was an Army Pensioner at this date (having previously been in the 12th Lancers). The informant was his widow A Fitzhenry (see subject of above entry).
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