Miller, Jamaica -St Ann Bay or Kingston

[rellim]

My GrandDad Joseph Alexander Miller born 31 August 1854 was a "Ship's Cook" who arrived in Australia circa 1879.

His Dad (Joseph Miller) was a Mariner and married a Margaret Turner in St Ann Bay Jamaica circa 1850.

Can't find any reference to either Joseph or son J. A. Miller in arrivals by ship in Australia. Nor any reference to birth or marriage for J or JA Miller in Jamaica.
Unfortunately, Miller is a very common name.

JA had 3 sisters who were living in Kingston in the 1920's there names were:
Annie, Hattie and Sarah.

Does anyone know how to get to records at St. Ann's Bay or Kingston?
Is it possible to search Admiralty records via the web?
Are there any web searches for ships crews?

Any help will be welcome.

Charles

[Heather]

My GrandDad Joseph Alexander Miller born 31 August 1854 was a "Ship's Cook" who arrived in Australia circa 1879.

His Dad (Joseph Miller) was a Mariner and married a Margaret Turner in St Ann Bay Jamaica circa 1850.

Can't find any reference to either Joseph or son J. A. Miller in arrivals by ship in Australia. Nor any reference to birth or marriage for J or JA Miller in Jamaica.
Unfortunately, Miller is a very common name.

JA had 3 sisters who were living in Kingston in the 1920's there names were:
Annie, Hattie and Sarah.

Does anyone know how to get to records at St. Ann's Bay or Kingston?
Is it possible to search Admiralty records via the web?
Are there any web searches for ships crews?

Any help will be welcome.

Charles

Hi Charles.....

I am the Admin for this Forum, but due to some glitch, I was not notified when there were posts.

That said, I have well over 200 films at the Mormon FHC on Jamaica and it is very easy to research the Church of England parish records prior to 1880, which is when Civil Registration started. There was a gray area from 1870 to 1880 as they tried to get Civil Reg'n. up and running. The records from 1880 on are excellent.

However....you will not find any of the above information on the IGI. It is very sparse for the West Indies. Also I might mention that your "Miller" is also an occupation and that makes it even harder. My english name I am researching is "Cooper".....same thing as Miller.

Give me some time and I might get over to the FHC, or you could go to Patricia Jackson's most excellent *pay* website and put the name in. The search function is free of course, and a lot of the records are too. The link is jamaican family search.

OK.....I put in both Miller and Margaret Turner and naturally got an awful lot of links. But it looks like quite a few of them are from the Falmouth area, which is where there were military garrisons.

Also a lot of them were in the catholic records....is this possible??

Cheers.....Heather (had some down time due to surgeries, but bear with me)

[rellim]

Hi Heather,

Many thanks for your reply. My GrandDad ( J.A ) has been a bane in the lives of all the Miller grandchildren mainly because:
1) he died in 1939 and we were too young to ask questions before his death. 2) He arrived in Sydney (deserted?) circa 1879 and had relationships with at least 2 women and on the childrens birth certificates he used different places for his own birth.
In total there were 9 children ALL with different places for his own birth ranging from:
Canada; Halifax, Canada; Halifax, Jamaica; Falmouth UK;
Falmouth, Jamaica; Kingston; Jamaica and no entry.
THEN on 11 April 1930 he had ALL of the childrens birth certificates altered to read his own place of birth as "Halifax, Canada". How he convinced the NSW BDM Office to do this is a mystery.
Family oral history states that he had a "blazing row" with his eldest son Charles, who was a Ship's Steward (pre 1914) and had been to Jamaica and had not visited J.A's 3 sisters in Kingston. (Charles joined the Army and was killed in France June 1918)

I will try the site you mentioned and again thanks for providing a glimmer of hope.

Charles

[Heather]

Hi Heather,

Many thanks for your reply. My GrandDad ( J.A ) has been a bane in the lives of all the Miller grandchildren mainly because:
1) he died in 1939 and we were too young to ask questions before his death. 2) He arrived in Sydney (deserted?) circa 1879 and had relationships with at least 2 women and on the childrens birth certificates he used different places for his own birth.
In total there were 9 children ALL with different places for his own birth ranging from:
Canada; Halifax, Canada; Halifax, Jamaica; Falmouth UK;
Falmouth, Jamaica; Kingston; Jamaica and no entry.
THEN on 11 April 1930 he had ALL of the childrens birth certificates altered to read his own place of birth as "Halifax, Canada". How he convinced the NSW BDM Office to do this is a mystery.
Family oral history states that he had a "blazing row" with his eldest son Charles, who was a Ship's Steward (pre 1914) and had been to Jamaica and had not visited J.A's 3 sisters in Kingston. (Charles joined the Army and was killed in France June 1918)

I will try the site you mentioned and again thanks for providing a glimmer of hope.

Charles

Hi Charles.....

Wow, you do have a rather involved mess there, but it may just be unravelled with a bit of patience. First of all, what I find intriguing (as a Canadian married to a Jamaican, grin) is that the birth places he used were Halifax, Nova Scotia, and Falmouth, Trelawney, Jamaica. There is a l-o-n-g history of Jamaicans going to Nova Scotia for schooling and so on....happened in Ron's family as well. They usually went to Dalhousie University in Halifax!!!! Ok, that is one clue.

Another is that there are Canadian sites that I will find that are on the Maritime Provinces (Nova Scotia being one of 4) and perhaps there might be something there. I will poke around the World War One sites as well. My own ancestors are from the Province next door to Nova Scotia and there is a wealth of info out there.

So don't give up hope. The Jamaican films just may give some information as well.

Cheers....Heather in snowy Toronto.

[Geoffers]

My GrandDad Joseph Alexander Miller born 31 August 1854 was a "Ship's Cook" who arrived in Australia circa 1879. His Dad (Joseph Miller) was a Mariner and married a Margaret Turner in St Ann Bay Jamaica circa 1850.....Is it possible to search Admiralty records via the web? Are there any web searches for ships crews?

Admiralty records relate to the Royal Navy. Merchant Seamen are covered by Board of Trade (BT) records, these are held at The National Archives (TNA).

Have a look through this TNA research guide on Merchant Seamen, Registers of Service 1835-1857 (http://www.nationalarchives.gov.uk/catalogue/RdLeaflet.asp?sLeafletID=127)

There is an index to the registers in BT114. You may be able to pay for TNA to search this in order to obtain his ticket from BT113

[rellim]

Hi Geoffers,
Many thanks, I will give the Archives a try.

Charles

[rellim]

Hi Heather,

I trust all your surgery has now healed and all is OK and your cold weather would not help much would it?

About a year ago I joined a "Pay" Jamaican site and whilst it gave a few contacts there none of them proved helpful and the only reference I found was for the "Will" of a Miller, Margaret, St. Elizabeth, Jamaica, widow, 1881. It 4 #32. And this did nothing for me because I could not look at this Will.

Another Member of this site (Jamaican Family Search ) sent me the following:

Samuel Wilson MILLER b.circa 1820, married Rebecca REID on 16th July 1854 at St.Luke's Anglican Church, Aboukir, St.Ann. Jamaica


Alexander MILLER married Mary Ann BROWN

Again not much use even though my Granddad (J A ) MAY have married in Jamaica before turning up in Sydney. I have just looked through my original "Post" and find that I failed to mention that JA is recorded as marrying a Mary Ann Blake or Lake in Sydney 1890 and 2 daughters were of this union.
Also JA and my Dad's mother (Ann E Chalker) "Officially" married in 1927 after all children had been born.
SO, was JA escaping from a Jamaican marriage or waiting for Mary Ann Blake (or Lake) to die before he could make an honest woman of Grandma.???

If J A told the truth and his own Dad was a Mariner then the suggestion of Geoffers about the UK National Archives might shed some light.
You mentioned Dalhousie University in Halifax and whilst JA had a very "English" type of speech he was - he says - a Ship's Cook so I don't think he went to Uni.

Many many thanks for any info you might be able to uncover in Canada and by the way, JA was a coloured person - say an walnut type of skin colour and I have attached a photo of him to this Post.



G:\Miller Tree\J. A. Miller\J. A.Miller .jpg


Charles

PS The photo will not upload?

[rellim]

http://s306.photobucket.com/albums/nn242/delmil/

I have tried to follow the method described by Rod Neep on B-G Forums and can only hope that it works.

Charles

Heather,

I can't see the photo so I guess it did not upload.

[MarkJ]

G:\Miller Tree\J. A. Miller\J. A.Miller .jpg


Charles

PS The photo will not upload?

You have tried to link a photo from your G drive here, which won't work.
Not sure why you had problems with photobucket or other photo app online, but it will only be something easy to sort out.
When you upload an image to photobucket, you are given a link to paste into the forum.
Have another try and, if it doesn't work, please feel free to PM the link address to me and I will see if I can get it to work for you.

Cheers,
Mark

[rellim]

http://i306.photobucket.com/albums/nn242/delmil/JAMiller.jpg

[rellim]

Hi Mark,

Thanks it worked.

[RICARDO]

It is strange. My mother had an Uncle Joseph Miller from Australia that would send money to his sister Mary Mildred Miller "Aunt Min" . This money were for Charles Albert Robinson also known as Charlie's two surviving children and and his brother William's children every Christmas. My grand mother Mary Robinson would visit Aunt Min at a Wesleyan orphanage for girls in Saint Ann's Bay Jamaica where she was head. My mother remembers her very vividly. When she died at nearly 100 years old. all contact with Australia was lost. My mother remembers a photo of Uncle Joseph's son who wore a cap and who was said to have died in World War I.

In the 1950's the famous Australian cricket player Keith Ross Miller visted Montego Bay Jamaica and he met with my grand mother on two different occasions inquiring what happened to his cousin Charlie. My great grand mother's name was Margaret Miller. My mother was not in Jamaica during these visits because she moved to Cuba with my senior brother Juan in 1953.
We did not find out about these visits until two years ago.
My late Uncle's name was Hugh Noel Robinson, My mother's name is Gertrude Conswalia Robinson. William's children's names were William and Alberta Robinson. Alberta was born blind.

[rellim]

Hi Ricardo,

Can't say I have ever heard of the name Robinson in my family. Also can't see any connection with Keith Ross Miller.
I'm sure that my Dad would have mentioned him if he were a relative.
However you say your G Grandmother's name was Margaret Miller,
SO, can you find out what her maiden name was? And was she a Jamaican born woman?

Do you have any photos of your Mother's Uncle? If yes, could you post it on this site?

Best wishes,

Charles

[RICARDO]

Hi Charles,
My great grand mother was a Miller, she was born in Scotland and they met in England. My Grand father's full name was Charles Albert Robinson and he was called Robbie the bird because of his melodious voice. He was a Saddler who was said to have played the fife. His uncle was named William who was a mariner and he travelled extrensively with him. I have been told that another brother by the name of Albert also traveled extensively even to Australia I have attempted to contact Keith Ross Miller's sons but as of this day I have been unsuccessful. I would like to put a face to uncle Joseph who was very kind and perhaps locate a picture of my grand father who became ill while my mum age 86 was very small.My mum remebers Charlies as tall and having long black hair. She said Charlie carried her on his shoulders everywhere he went and they spent hours together. But when he became hospitalized her mum refused to take her to see him . I would like her to see their faces before she leaves this earth. Charles as far as you know did your grand father have a son that died in World war I?

[rellim]

Hi again Ricardo,

I am sure we have no direct connection as my grandfather's first son Charles Miller born 1896 in Sydney Australia died in France in 1918.
GrandDad Joseph A Miller may have had other family - brothers, uncles/aunts etc. livingin Jamaica however I have no knowldege of them, except possible sisters.

Hope you find your connections and photos,


Best wishes,

Charles

[RICARDO]

Hello Charles,
Did your Grandfather have sisters by the name of Mary Mildred, Gertrude and Margaret Miller?
Did Charles die in World War I as a member of Australia's Royal Air force?
Are there any exisiting photos of him?
When did J.A. die?
I know that these are a lot of questions but I would like to assure you that my attempts in finding relatives are purely benevolent.
Thanks,I must say that this was really interesting.

[rellim]

Hi Ricardo,
Sorry I have no info about my grandfather's family outside of the claim that his parents married at St. Anne's Bay, Jamaica.
My uncle Charles Miller died in France serving in the Australian Army.
JA died 1939

You may have seen the photo of JA in this thread. 14/4/2008

Best wishes,

Charles

[RICARDO]

Hi Ricardo,
Sorry I have no info about my grandfather's family outside of the claim that his parents married at St. Anne's Bay, Jamaica.
My uncle Charles Miller died in France serving in the Australian Army.
JA died 1939

You may have seen the photo of JA in this thread. 14/4/2008

Best wishes,

Charles

Good day Charles,
By anyway is there a photo of your Uncle Charles? My mum distinctly remembers a photo of her Uncle Josephs son who died in World war II. Charles was also the name of my grand father. The connection with St. Ann's Bay and my mums Uncle Joseph is indeed striking.

[rellim]

http://i306.photobucket.com/albums/nn242/delmil/Charles--Dolly3.jpg

Ricardo,
Hope this photo of Charles has uploaded.

Regards,

Charles

[RICARDO]

Hello Charles,
How have you been?
My e-mail address is RicardoDOTbiltonATgmail.com