Thanks so much for this! I would have always thought it a prank by or on the paper. I, too, thought Effendi was a term of address, not a surname, and it seems it was. This is on the Web: ef·fen·di (-fnd)n. pl. ef·fen·dis 1. Used as a title of respect for men in Turkey, equivalent to sir.2. An educated or respected man in the Near East.[Turkish efendi, from Medieval Greek aphents, master, alteration of Greek authents.] and this: Definition of EFFENDI : a man of property, authority, or education in an eastern Mediterranean country So there's still a bit of mystery in this, isn't there? Perhaps the Turks didn't use names the same way the British did, and that was his 'official' name. Let's hope the couple met the challenges facing them, and had long, happy lives. Speaking of Christmas traditions, my husband's family lived in an area where "Christmas Fooling" was in vogue. People would dress up in costumes, and knock on a neighbor's door. They'd be greeted, invited in, and fed - and they had to guess everyone's identity. Then they'd dress up as well, and the group would go to another neighbours. Everyone went, including Grandmas and babies. By the end of the night, the last house visited had a whole lot of guests to feed, and lots of guesses. Of course, this was in a rural area, and most folks knew one another since birth. Made it difficult to hide an identity, but some folks were very, very clever in their disguises. (My mother-in-law bought very inexpensive clothes from the local Goodwill during the year, so people wouldn't be able to recognize her from what she'd worn in the past!!) She said they'd followed the tradition for at least 70 years, if not longer, and at Christmas time, always had cakes and cookies ready just in case someone dropped in. Cheers, Julia M. West Briton Transcriptions, 1836-1856 at http://freepages.genealogy.rootsweb.com/~wbritonad St. Austell Area History and Genealogy at http://freepages.genealogy.rootsweb.com/~staustell > From: Jordan <paynescrossing@gmail.com> > Subject: Re: [CORNISH] West Briton, 25 Dec 1857 - tiny thought > > There's no hoax. > > The parish register of Stoke Demerel records the reception into the > established church of Mahmoud EFFENDI (the more usual spelling of this > surname) on 20 Dec 1857 with his parents recorded as Abdurahman and > Hatidge and a date of birth of 19 Oct 1827. > > The marriage register at Stoke Demerel parish then records the > marriage on 21 Dec 1857 of Mahmoud EFFENDI, age 30, Captain in the > Turkish Army, son of Abdusrahman EFFENDI, Judge and Lucy HEATON, age > 21, in service, daughter of Edward HEATON, Captain in the Army, with > both parties having Stoke Demerel as the place of residence at the > time of marriage. > > I have viewed both images via findmypast.co.uk. > From: "A & B Currie" <berandav@slingshot.co.nz> > Subject: Re: [CORNISH] West Briton, 25 Dec 1857 - tiny thought > To: <cornish@rootsweb.com> > > Well, as youngun's in the 1940 era we used "Efendi" to mean something like > 'honoured friend'. Of course, we, as ignorant kids probably had it > completely wrong, but your idea of a prank is probably correct - as usual, > honoured friend! > > Bern

Hi Julia and list Stoke Damerel: I've only just noticed that my earlier post referred to Stoke Demerel. My apologies. My 4GG Richard BUZZO is recorded there in the 1841 Census, so I should have looked a little closer at my typing! Hoax: Last night I counted over 40 British newspapers which covered the same story of the marriage and the subsequent events from the Royal Cornwall Gazette, to The London Times ("Marriage Of A Turk And A Christian", The Times (London, England), 28 Jan 1858, p3) as well as many other metropolitan and regional papers. What happenned to the wedded couple?: When the matter was reported, the Turkish ambassador summoned the groom and asked him if it were true that he had converted to Christianity; when Mahmoud said that he had become a Christian "in his heart". the ambassador ordered him to return to Turkey and told him that his Turkish Army pay had been stopped. The groom wrote to a "friend at Calstock" a letter which was subsequently published in several papers in which he said that he believed that if he returned to Turkey his life would be in danger and he had thus decided to keep his new faith, not return to Turkey but to live in England with his wife and get by without his Army pay thanks to his savings and the support of friends. I've traced them through the census and found a death and will for Lucy but that has taken me too far from Cornwall to really continue on this list with that. What happenned to the Minister? The Minister (St. Aubyn) who baptised Mahmoud and performed the marriage was subject to disciplinary proceedings in the ecclesiastical courts but I haven't found the end of this. This Mr. St Aubyn may have been the same St. Aubyn who was a friend of Byron and Shelley: "Prothero, based on a study of Alumni Oxonienses, speculates that St. Aubyn was William John St. Aubyn, who matriculated at Christ Church in 1814, became rector of Stoke Damerel in 1828, and died 30 July 1877" (quote from footnote 17, Richard B. Kline, 'Byron's Boat, the Morat Bones, and Mr. St. Aubyn: A New Autograph Letter' (1972-73) 21/22 "Keats-Shelley Journal" pp. 33-38.) Regards