Results 1 to 8 of 8
  1. #1

    Default PERCY HORACE UNDERWOOD -POSSIBLY PERCY HART

    I have put a new posting on Percy Horace Underwood possibly Percy E Hart in an attempt to 'flesh out' and discover more on his actual identity.
    Based on my own research and information from the grandaughter of Percy this is what we know:
    Percy Horace Underwood b cirac 1860 died 1924 Eucha Hospital divorced from Clara Elsie Adeline Underwood nee Bateman c 1895 leaving Elsie Clara and Mabel as their children.
    Percy received an annuity from Claud Spencer John Hart ( son of James Nathan Hart and Kate Theresa Whelan b 1880-1952).
    In her will Sarah Hart 1820-1890 left bequests to her 2 sons James Nathan Hart and John Hart. However, the 1861 British Census shows she had 3 sons- John, James Nathan and Percy E Hart. Percy recorded as born 1860 Middlesex.
    The death certificate for Percy Underwood shows he was born at sea, mother Sarah Hart and father unknown.
    Sarah in her will describes herself as wife or widow of David Hart. David Hart was still alive post 1861 and 1900 and appears to have re- married.
    There is some form of connection between Percy Underwood and the Hart lines but it is unclear and the speculation is that Percy Underwood and Percy E Hart are one in the same with Percy possibly being illigitimate which may explain why Sarah described herself as a widow in the 1861 census.
    Any further data resolving this puzzle very welcome.
    Phillip

  2. #2
    Name well known on Brit-Gen
    Join Date
    Jul 2008
    Location
    North London
    Posts
    5,147

    Default

    Can you please post some census references?

    EDIT: Now found the 1861, sorry. FMP have transcribed as HEATH.
    RG9/450 folio 212 page 5

  3. #3

    Default

    The posting dated 01-10-2006 Jewish Roots Posting 8 under the main title 'Hart-Simmons-Thorley-Whelan -Willett UK and Australian links' has the 1861 census data and the previous posting 7 has the 1841 census data for Sarah Hart with her parents and siblings.
    Phillip

  4. #4
    Name well known on Brit-Gen
    Join Date
    Jul 2008
    Location
    North London
    Posts
    5,147

    Default

    Thanks. For anyone helping, that other thread is here.

  5. #5

    Default

    This new post is an attempt to add new data to resolving the question of whether or not Percy Underwood was also Percy Hart an illegitimate son of Sarah Simmons nee Hart.

    I will add further data if and when it emerges.

    As a recap,see threads Sarah Hart nee Simmons-John Butler Bushelle started 22.07.2018; Claud Spencer Hart 1880-1952 started 03.01.2014. There are others including David Hart- Sarah Simmons and on the parents of David Hart (John Hart-Elizabeth Jacobs).

    Some 8 years ago a researcher descended from Percy Underwood contacted me and referred to correspondence her father had collected on Percy in Australia which included reference to an annuity left to Percy in the estate of Claude Spencer Hart.

    This annuity referred to a voluntary settlement dated 23.2.1921 from the trustees of Claude Spencer Hart (he died in 1952) over property in Hunter Street Sydney NSW. This settlement required the trustees to pay Percy Underwood a small amount for life.
    When Percy died in the 1920s the newspaper records referred to an allowance of 2 pounds a week he had received for many years from an unknown benefactor.
    When Percy died his death record stated father unknown and mother Sarah Hart.

    The key question is whether or not Sarah Hart nee Simmons was his mother.

    When Sarah died in 1890 she was buried in Rookwood Jewish Cemetery and the tombstone was erected by her 2 sons James Nathan Hart and John Hart. No mention was made of Percy nor in her death record.

    Sarah's parents were James Simmons who died in 1849 and Agnes Thorley. James Simmons is well documented both in UK and Australian records including his conviction and transportation. He was a Jew but married out of the faith to Agnes Thorley. Sarah was not a Jew in the strict matrilineal descent. However, she married David Hart in a Jewish ceremony in London and I hold a copy of the marriage record. Her father James was present and Henry Jacobs grandfather of David were witnesses.

    Another researcher a year or so ago contacted me to say that Sarah Hart nee Simmons had a relationship with John Butler Bushelle and may have married her. David Hart the husband of Sarah was still alive and he also was later to re-marry.
    This researcher has asked if there was any evidence that Percy was an illegitimate son of John Butler Bushelle. I have no data to confirm or reject the question as yet.

    The date of the annuity for Percy Underwood in 1921 is important because it appears to have been a continuation of an earlier will from James Nathan Hart who died in 1920 and left all his money etc to his son Claude Spencer Hart.
    In turn, when Sarah Hart nee Simmons died in 1890 she left her very significant estate including numerous properties in Sydney to her two sons James Nathan and John Hart.

    Of further importance, when James Simmons died in 1849 he left various bequests and records confirm that he owned land and property in Hunter Street Sydney NSW.

    I will post on the Hunter Street properties.

    Based on current evidence it appears that for whatever reason Percy Underwood received an annuity from the Hart which covered many years until his death. The questions remains-if Percy had no personal connection through birth to the Hart why did he receive an annuity? Was Percy Underwood and Percy Hart one in the same?
    Why did Sarah Hart nee Simmons not fully acknowledge Percy as her son? Was John Butler Bushelle his father or an unknown?

    Phillip
    Phillip-Jewish,British Ancestry

    "The only true dead are those who have been forgotten"

  6. #6

    Default

    The Local Government reports of Australia Vol 75 Page 413 1992 (Google Books snippet) refers to land at 1523 Hunter Street Sydney owned by James Simmons prior to 1848 and which formed his estate at the time of his death in 1849. The Cohen and Cassirer website established by Jim Falk further refers to the emporium in Hunter Street owned by James Simmons and at the time of his death Henry Cohen owned 15-17 and 19-21 Hunter Street which he bequeathed to two of his sons in the late 1860s. The Cohen-Simmons had married into each other.

    On the Cohen and Cassirer website reference was made for Sarah Hart nee Simmons to a law case where she was the defendant in John Solomon plaintiff v Sarah Hart - The Sydney Morning Herald Sat 31 July 1869. In this law case Sarah Hart had received 200 pounds from Solomon which she had given to a John Hart. She was described as no longer residing in the colony or its dependencies.
    Whether or not this Sarah Hart was Sarah Simmons and John Hart her son is not known.

    The plaintiff's attorney in the case was David L Levy who in his turn was to marry a daughter of Henry Cohen. He is also one of my Levy/Jacobs relatives as are the Jacobs/Hart.
    If Sarah Hart the subject of the law suit was the same individual as Sarah Hart nee Simmons then this might shed light on her being in the UK 1861 Census with her 3 children John, James and the baby Percy E Hart.

    Phillip

    Phillip
    Phillip-Jewish,British Ancestry

    "The only true dead are those who have been forgotten"

  7. #7

    Default

    A researcher who has been looking at the data on Sarah Hart nee Simmons and John Butler Bushelle has identified a possible baptism record for Percy Hart possibly Percy Underwood. We are still looking for further data however in the 1861 British Census Percy Hart son of Sarah b 1860 had an initial middle name (full name not known) of the letter E. The census also said he was born Middlesex.
    A London Baptism record shows a Edmund Percy Hart born 6 April 1860 baptised Aug 5 1860 St Mary Islington Middlesex. The parents were Sarah Ada Hart and Philip Hart Merchant Duncan Terrace.

    There are no other baptism records in London for further children with parents of the same name. There is also no GRO Birth record for a Percy or Edmund Hart covering 1860-61.

    We have no data currently to indicate that Edmund Percy Hart and Percy Hart possibly Underwood are one in the same. We also have not identified Philip Hart. The baptism in a Church of England ceremony suggests none Jewish parents but this is not conclusive.

    The original BG Forum private e mail from a descendant of Percy Underwood back in 2011 indicated that the address of the voluntary settlement of an annuity for Percy Underwood paid from the estate of Claude Spencer Hart was on property of the jewellers Fairfax and Roberts 23 Hunter Street Sydney.
    Fairfax and Roberts originated by that name in 1886 from a much earlier business partnership established in 1858.
    Importantly, when Sarah Hart died in 1890 she left property in Hunter Street to her 2 sons John and Nathan aka James Hart which included Fairfax and Roberts.

    Earlier in 1882 -The Sydney Morning Herald Sat 18 March 1882 notice was given that Agnes Simmons was seeking to construct 2 'first class dwelling houses' in Hunter Street.

    There is a later notice of a Waggenheim occupying premises of Fairfax and Roberts Hunter Street. This may refer to Elizabeth Simmons daughter of James Simmons/Agnes Thorley who married Gustav Waggenheim.

    The search continues.

    Phillip
    Phillip-Jewish,British Ancestry

    "The only true dead are those who have been forgotten"

  8. #8

    Default

    The following record is taken from the Tasmanian Archives and relates to the marriage of Percy Underwood to Mabel Bateman:

    Chalmer House Hobart Tasmania
    Dec 5 1888
    Percy Horace Underwood 28 Compositor
    Mary Bedelia Bateman 23 spinster
    Married according to the Rites and Ceremonies of Free Presbyterian Church
    Witnesses-J Broughton
    E Broughton

    Mary was the eldest daughter of William Bateman of Glenorchy,Tasmania.

    I will post further as new data emerges.
    Phillip
    Phillip-Jewish,British Ancestry

    "The only true dead are those who have been forgotten"

Bookmarks

Posting Permissions

  • You may not post new threads
  • You may not post replies
  • You may not post attachments
  • You may not edit your posts
  •  
Select a file: