Hope you are not sick of me yet! Just figured if I start the conversation, you will all join in.... If you looked at my home page, you have the genealogy. Here is the anecdotal information supplied mostly by my grandmother, with some information from my father and my uncle: My ggrandfather James William was widowed at the age of 42 with 7 children. The chart shows twin girls, but Edith Emily died at the age of ten months. My ggrandmother, Ellen Elizabeth Reeves died of an infected tooth just months after birthing my grandfather, James Sidney in June of 1895. James William stayed in London working as a welder on cathedral pipes "around town." The family supposedly had a 200 year lease on a flat near Piccadilly Circus. His eldest daughter, Nellie, married the year after her mother died and lived in the area. Sons William and Arthur were drafted into service for the Boer War and both died in Africa, leaving my grandfather as the sole surviving son in the family. Around the turn of the century, the two older sisters went to the USA working as nannies. One of the daughters became pregnant out of wedlock, and the father of the baby did not choose to marry her. She lost her job. My ggrandfather decided to let go of the lease on the flat and come to the USA to help his daughter. This caused a family rift. All the daughters were upset that he had let go of the flat and had left the family furniture behind including possessions of their mother's that held sentimental value for them. There is a vague story about especially bad feelings over an ivory and onyx chess set that were never forgiven..... So, James William brought James Sidney, age 9, with him to Canada in 1903. This much we know for sure. There is also a family story about land in Edinburgh, Scotland that my ggrandfather may have sold or traded to get to the New Country. I have come to understand that he probably chose to come to Canada because as part of the British Empire, papers were not required for British citizens coming to Canada and my ggrandfather was in a hurry. The next part is where I am stuck and where I wish I had known to ask better questions.... Somehow, in transit from the Old Country to the New Country, the names of my ggrandfather and grandfather changed! James William Dewhurst became William James McPherson and James Sidney Dewhurst became Sidney James McPherson. One family story suggests it had to do with entry papers and the land in Scotland - perhaps the land was traded for a New Country work permit to someone named McPherson. Until this Spring, that story was good enough for me to wait until the "someday" came when in traveling, I could try to authenticate the facts. Then, in a purely random way, I learned that there was a ship named McPherson which was so named only between 1897 and 1907 and which traveled between the British Isles and the New Country exclusively. Now, I wonder if my birth name came from a boat.... and why was it important to change the names? One day, I hope to untangle this mystery... any help out there? William James' daughter was stronger (or more stubborn depending on how you look at it) than her father knew! She did not marry and proudly gave the Dewhurst name to her newborn son, Lawrence. Today, the two daughters of this son are the only remaining family members to use the name Dewhurst. As I understand it, one of these two daughters married relinquishing the name and the other did not. In any case William had no need to rescue this daughter. She lived on her own, later married and ran a boarding house most of her life. I met her son when I was 10 and liked him very much. He was introduced to me as Uncle Laurie and there was never any secret kept of his story. A couple of years before his death he wrote me to tell me that he firmly believed origins did not matter nearly as much as what a person made of themselves when they were alive. He lived a very good life. I have kept the letter. William James secured work keeping the organs in a convent in Canada where my grandfather could receive a Catholic education. This apparently was a promise my ggrandfather made to his wife upon her deathbed. She was supposed to be Irish Catholic from Ulster - I do not yet know if she or her mother was born in Ulster. More work.... A few years passed and the two moved to Salt Lake City where William supposedly built the pipes for the new Mormon Tabernacle. A letter of recommendation written by the Mother Superior of the Canadian convent refers to my ggrandfather as William James McPherson and gives him the highest praise as a worker. Back in England, Nellie Dewhurst Eastman-Hill had given birth to a daughter, Ursula. I do not have her birth date and we have lost contact with this branch of the family. There may be more children. Any of you have a link for me??? The surviving twin, Ethel Leah, was killed in a factory fire in London in 1908. The family had dwindled to five members from 10. In 1909, the other daughter became pregnant out of wedlock as well in New York and the father wouldn't marry her either. A baby daughter was born on Long Island. This daughter soon married another man who was willing to adopt her baby daughter and they moved to San Francisco, California. There they had another daughter. I have the names of both fathers, but no more information. I do know that no birth certificate exists for the first daughter. My ggrandfather decided to move to the San Francisco Bay Area to be closer to his daughter. The two men settled in Vacaville, CA. where William James became a sheet metal worker and Sidney became an electrician. More time passed, politics began to heat up in Europe and WW1 began. William James was determined not to lose his sole surviving son to another war and was quite glad they had established new identities in this world. But, somehow it wasn't quite this easy... Sidney was found in this country. It was suggested to me that Nellie, Sidney's English sister gave his assumed name to the authorities out of spite for her father's choice to give up the flat. But, this is not authenticated information. Emotions can run high in my branch of the family. In any case, Sidney was drafted and put on a boat back to England. Here is where I really do not have the whole story. I know that somehow, Sidney jumped ship to avoid the war. I do not know where. He succeeded. He and my grandmother gave birth to three sons, all who served proudly in WW2. Between them are three sons and three daughters to carry on the family and embarrass the elders! These children so far have produced 11 more descendants of the Dewhurst line in the USA..... My grandfather died when I was 18 months old, so I have no first hand information. I did interview his cousin and much of my information comes from her. As yet, I am not identifying her generation by name until I have permission to do so from all the descendents of that generation. I am in the process of acquiring permission. The only other information I have is that my grandmother was very bitter to have lost all her own brothers in WW1 and though she never applauded his actions out loud to me, I got the impression that she felt he was right in his decision. I have very vague recollections of hearing this discussed when I was very small as a justified act. Later, the UK joined other countries in creating a "sole surviving son exclusion" to the draft and this is no longer a problem. I just know that had he not jumped ship, I nor any of the rest of my family would most likely be here to tell such stories! You can decide if that is a good thing or a bad thing! In 1937, my grandfather became a naturalized citizen of the United States and had our family name legally changed to McPherson. Anything I have said that any of them do not like will indubitably get corrected here! All who have computer skills have been invited to join the list. I am sure the word will spread. Remember, I said I like to work collaboratively..... OK!!!! Probably way more than enough from me..... YOUR TURNS!!! Let's get this list going! Jana Black Listowner, DEWHURST-L