Re: John Henry Brown My apologies to those who spent so much time trying to find information about my gf, John Henry Brown. I did not intend for it to generate so much activity but I should have known, since I know how much the members of this board love to do research. I was trying to keep it simple and see if I could find out about some possible military service that my gf may have been involved in. I do know much more about JHB and I have traced him through all of the censuses from 1871 to 1901 which is where I have lost him. As others have discovered, he lived in Halvergate while very young and then moved with his family to Yarmouth where they resided for about 20 years. Around 1890, the family, with some of the children, moved to Byker, in Newcastle. I am guessing that it was a result of the decline in boat building in Yarmouth that precipitated the move. Altogether, Elizabeth Hannah Howard and Samuel Brown had 13(!) children, the last two born in Newcastle. The last child, named for the mother, died at birth or shortly after. The other child born in Newcastle is mid-identified in some censuses. Her correct name is Isabella Myra. In 1892, John Henry was recruited by a coal-mining company in Pennsylvania and traveled to Philadelphia to join workers in the coal fields. He did not last long, for in 1893 he had met and married his wife, my grandmother, Ellen Blemmings, who was born in Glaslough, County Monaghan, Ireland, in 1863. They were married in Philadelphia. The couple returned to the Newcastle area after their marriage and it was there that my father, John Albert Brown, was born in 1895. On my father's birth reg it identifies JHB as a "wire rope maker". By 1901, another child, a daughter, also Ellen, had been born (1898) and the family was living outside of Bradford and JHB was a "carter for railway". When JHB and EB were married, JHB identified himself as a "coachman". In 1902, one more child, Margaret, was born. By 1909, JHB had abandoned the family and Ellen and the three children had come to Philadelphia where Ellen's sister was living. Four years later, in 1913, Ellen died, leaving her unmarried sister, Margaret, to raise the children. JHB may have had a drinking problem, as that is the family lore. My father clearly was very ashamed of his background and never revealed any of the circumstances of his arrival in America to me. On the other hand, he was quite prone to fabricating stories and one of the recurring ones was that his father was in the military. I have discovered in my journey to uncover my father's story (and there is quite a lot to it!) that often times there was a kernel of truth in his tales, hence the query about his father's military connection. It does not seem likely however, given what I have found, but you never know. In the past, there have been some folks on this board, Ian Layton in particular, who have helped me enormously in tracing my family back in Merry Olde. I have made one unforgettable trip to Norfolk and walked around in the churchyards of Halvergate, Reedham, Wickhampton and Cantley to visit some of my ancestors. Ian and I visited the grave of Edward Layton, my third and Ian's fourth great gf in Cantley. Edward and his first cousin, Sarah Browne, had two illegitimate children, the second, John, being my gg-gf (hence my surname). You can find some of Edward's story in the archives of this Board, if you care to. An interesting genealogical detective story as it were. I began my search for my ancestry when my father died in 1988. Until that time, my knowledge of his lineage was spotty, at best, and often contradictory due to his fabrications. Until just before he died, he had maintained that he had been born in Virginia. It was only literally on his deathbed that he told me one day, quite out of the blue, that he had been born in England. I realized then that I had to find out and I have been at it ever since. What I have found has been exciting, exhilarating, scandalous, puzzling at times and occasionally heartbreaking, but it is my story and it now can be passed on to my daughters and their children. What I have discovered has been life-changing and extremely personal, probably enough to fill a book (maybe some day). As all of you know, you can only know yourself when you know where you came from. Thank you all for all your help. On 4/18/2016 3:00 AM, norfolk-request@rootsweb.com wrote: > > > Today's Topics: > > 1. John Henry Brown (Gloria) > 2. Re: John Henry Brown (Rosie) > > > To contact the NORFOLK list administrator, send an email to > NORFOLK-admin@rootsweb.com. > > To post a message to the NORFOLK mailing list, send an email to NORFOLK@rootsweb.com. > > __________________________________________________________ > To unsubscribe from the list, please send an email to NORFOLK-request@rootsweb.com > with the word "unsubscribe" without the quotes in the subject and the body of the > email with no additional text.

Here, I hope, is the Dropbox link for Chapter 5: https://www.dropbox.com/s/7pjgztzpu76i39i/NEW%20Chapter%205%20Edward.docx?dl=0 Good luck! Ian On 18 April 2016 at 17:23, Tod Brown via <norfolk@rootsweb.com> wrote: > Re: John Henry Brown > > My apologies to those who spent so much time trying to find information > about my gf, John Henry Brown. I did not intend for it to generate so > much activity but I should have known, since I know how much the members > of this board love to do research. I was trying to keep it simple and > see if I could find out about some possible military service that my gf > may have been involved in. > > I do know much more about JHB and I have traced him through all of the > censuses from 1871 to 1901 which is where I have lost him. As others > have discovered, he lived in Halvergate while very young and then moved > with his family to Yarmouth where they resided for about 20 years. > Around 1890, the family, with some of the children, moved to Byker, in > Newcastle. I am guessing that it was a result of the decline in boat > building in Yarmouth that precipitated the move. Altogether, Elizabeth > Hannah Howard and Samuel Brown had 13(!) children, the last two born in > Newcastle. The last child, named for the mother, died at birth or > shortly after. The other child born in Newcastle is mid-identified in > some censuses. Her correct name is Isabella Myra. In 1892, John Henry > was recruited by a coal-mining company in Pennsylvania and traveled to > Philadelphia to join workers in the coal fields. He did not last long, > for in 1893 he had met and married his wife, my grandmother, Ellen > Blemmings, who was born in Glaslough, County Monaghan, Ireland, in 1863. > They were married in Philadelphia. The couple returned to the Newcastle > area after their marriage and it was there that my father, John Albert > Brown, was born in 1895. On my father's birth reg it identifies JHB as a > "wire rope maker". By 1901, another child, a daughter, also Ellen, had > been born (1898) and the family was living outside of Bradford and JHB > was a "carter for railway". When JHB and EB were married, JHB identified > himself as a "coachman". In 1902, one more child, Margaret, was born. By > 1909, JHB had abandoned the family and Ellen and the three children had > come to Philadelphia where Ellen's sister was living. Four years later, > in 1913, Ellen died, leaving her unmarried sister, Margaret, to raise > the children. > > JHB may have had a drinking problem, as that is the family lore. My > father clearly was very ashamed of his background and never revealed any > of the circumstances of his arrival in America to me. On the other hand, > he was quite prone to fabricating stories and one of the recurring ones > was that his father was in the military. I have discovered in my journey > to uncover my father's story (and there is quite a lot to it!) that > often times there was a kernel of truth in his tales, hence the query > about his father's military connection. It does not seem likely however, > given what I have found, but you never know. > > In the past, there have been some folks on this board, Ian Layton in > particular, who have helped me enormously in tracing my family back in > Merry Olde. I have made one unforgettable trip to Norfolk and walked > around in the churchyards of Halvergate, Reedham, Wickhampton and > Cantley to visit some of my ancestors. Ian and I visited the grave of > Edward Layton, my third and Ian's fourth great gf in Cantley. Edward and > his first cousin, Sarah Browne, had two illegitimate children, the > second, John, being my gg-gf (hence my surname). You can find some of > Edward's story in the archives of this Board, if you care to. An > interesting genealogical detective story as it were. > > I began my search for my ancestry when my father died in 1988. Until > that time, my knowledge of his lineage was spotty, at best, and often > contradictory due to his fabrications. Until just before he died, he had > maintained that he had been born in Virginia. It was only literally on > his deathbed that he told me one day, quite out of the blue, that he had > been born in England. I realized then that I had to find out and I have > been at it ever since. What I have found has been exciting, > exhilarating, scandalous, puzzling at times and occasionally > heartbreaking, but it is my story and it now can be passed on to my > daughters and their children. What I have discovered has been > life-changing and extremely personal, probably enough to fill a book > (maybe some day). As all of you know, you can only know yourself when > you know where you came from. Thank you all for all your help. > > > > > > On 4/18/2016 3:00 AM, norfolk-request@rootsweb.com wrote: > > > > > > Today's Topics: > > > > 1. John Henry Brown (Gloria) > > 2. Re: John Henry Brown (Rosie) > > > > > > To contact the NORFOLK list administrator, send an email to > > NORFOLK-admin@rootsweb.com. > > > > To post a message to the NORFOLK mailing list, send an email to > NORFOLK@rootsweb.com. > > > > __________________________________________________________ > > To unsubscribe from the list, please send an email to > NORFOLK-request@rootsweb.com > > with the word "unsubscribe" without the quotes in the subject and the > body of the > > email with no additional text. > > > ------------------------------- > To unsubscribe from the list, please send an email to > NORFOLK-request@rootsweb.com with the word 'unsubscribe' without the > quotes in the subject and the body of the message >