Listers who've been around for a while might remember this plea: On 19 December 2007 20:29, Marion Lowe <[email protected]> wrote: > Not sure I'd want to invite this guy to share my festivities, but I'd > certainly like to find out more about him. > > In 1896 Horfields, my gt grandmother's sister Selina BINDING gave birth to > an illegitimate daughter Mary Ann (known as May). I can find no record of > the birth being registered. In 1901 the infant is with a nurse mother, > while mother Selina is working as a servant nearby. > > The father of this child called himself James SPRY-PALMER. He was an actor > and musician, and may have used a stage name as I cannot find anyone of that > name on any census or FreeBMD > As a direct answer to this appeal, I did find the birth registration of the daughter, who was actually registered as Alice Mary BINDING, in 1896. And there things lay until this week. I had posted my search on several websites, and I've been contacted by a gentleman from New Zealand, enquiring about a "missing" relative named James SPRY, and who disappeared around 1893. We have spent the week swapping information and it seems to me to be certain that we are talking about the same man. Born in Gosport as James SPRY, the son of James & Elizabeth nee PALMER, his family moved to NZ while he was a child. He left behind a wife and 5 children in NZ when he vanished. I still don't have any information on the daughter after 1932, when she registered the death of her mother in London, but it's been a very interesting week, and it is very satisfying to feel that a loose end has been tied at last. Marion

Marion, your contact might have done this already, but perhaps you could try searching on Papers Past. http://paperspast.natlib.govt.nz/cgi-bin/paperspast Do you have a place in NZ where your man lived? Jeanette >> Not sure I'd want to invite this guy to share my festivities, but I'd >> certainly like to find out more about him. >> >> In 1896 Horfields, my gt grandmother's sister Selina BINDING gave birth >> to >> an illegitimate daughter Mary Ann (known as May). I can find no record >> of >> the birth being registered. In 1901 the infant is with a nurse mother, >> while mother Selina is working as a servant nearby. >> >> The father of this child called himself James SPRY-PALMER. He was an >> actor >> and musician, and may have used a stage name as I cannot find anyone of >> that >> name on any census or FreeBMD >> > > As a direct answer to this appeal, I did find the birth registration of > the > daughter, who was actually registered as Alice Mary BINDING, in 1896. And > there things lay until this week. > > I had posted my search on several websites, and I've been contacted by a > gentleman from New Zealand, enquiring about a "missing" relative named > James SPRY, and who disappeared around 1893. We have spent the week > swapping information and it seems to me to be certain that we are talking > about the same man. Born in Gosport as James SPRY, the son of James & > Elizabeth nee PALMER, his family moved to NZ while he was a child. He > left > behind a wife and 5 children in NZ when he vanished. > > I still don't have any information on the daughter after 1932, when she > registered the death of her mother in London, but it's been a very > interesting week, and it is very satisfying to feel that a loose end has > been tied at last. > > Marion > > ------------------------------- > To unsubscribe from the list, please send an email to > [email protected] with the word 'unsubscribe' > without the quotes in the subject and the body of the message