Alias all his life

[Bevolson]

You are a sleuth

[Jomot1]

Actually I didn't realise that FmP and Ancestry have two different documents. Ancestry says she was to be employed by Mrs Pleasance, Gore Street, Collingwood.

Oh, and the Ancestry documents are under Pirie and Perrie, with one adding that she was from Dundee, which I think matches up with the info on her death certificate.

[Bevolson]

Ellen Pirrie

A summary:
I am not asking for anything here in this post.
Bare with me if you will while I express my thoughts.
At this time with the Covid-19 Pandemic history wags a finger at us.
'Told you so.'

I have just listened to Chancellor Merkel ’s address ‘Take it seriously'
‘Grandchildren stay away from Grandparents’

My daughters will facilitate that advice.
I usually see them daily.
I will not be lonely because I am looking backwards just now as a g.grandchild myself.

My thoughts
When I sat beside Ellen's grave, 17th February this year, in the quiet historical goldfields cemetery of Stafford (near Hokitika where I was born),I was moved by my g.grandmothers death and stumped by her life.
Her grave is silent.

'A Portal opened and I Entered Into_Rest’

There is no mention at all of her husband or his alias.
What was her early life?
I really want to know.

Now I am uncovering some of it thanks to this forum.

The signpost was always at the soldier father Robert Pirrie's details, and his daughter Ellen's birth and the military Garrison in Malta 1838. It was too unique to be a fabrication.

Yet I have, with others, doubted and dismissed everything and subsequently missed evidence in plain sight.
When you know there is a basic lie evidenced by the couple’s alias, it defeats the motivation to uncover why.
Shame and blame and withdrawal result.

I do not know personally of death by suicide, but it must be the one of the worst.
Death by the uncovering of your husbands deceit and your father’s and grandfather’s and your brother's deceit.
That carries a cost especially in 1893, I am sure you agree.
I feel that ripple of confusion has carried down the generations.
I think I will uncover a life and death a reason for his alias.
I sense a celebration coming on for his independance of thought and his bravery.

Ellen’s and Sid’s, alias Charles Murray’s daughter went on to suffer some nasty consequences of the second world war long after both parents died (1896)
Two horrors arrived close together.

Dad said his mum carried a letter from the Army. It was tucked in the pocket of her apron and she moved it each morning to her clean apron.
Ernest her oldest son died 19yrs old in a hospital in Malta, after catching ‘dysentery'.
I wonder if Ernest knew his own grandmother was born where he lay sick.
Most likely he did.

Its on the -TO DO LIST
I will find out if Ernest was at Gallipoli. The word Gallipoli is legible on the note.
(I have a photo of it since our reunion.)

His mother Emma was guilty of helping him lie about his age to swap 'Engineer in the NZ Railways NZ' for 'cleaner in the Army'.

3 months after Ernest died Emma’s daughter died of The Spanish flu' dad said
In hospital overnight and dead in the morning..
Perhaps it was the pandemic visiting early. The first wave in 1816. Maybe.

Thank you again forum.
Until a month ago we knew so little about Ellen. She was a good mother to my grandmother Emma. She certainly passed on her mothering skills to her daughters.
Emma was one of her daughters. She was a dedicated mother to my dad and all his siblings and half brothers, and to the grandchildren she met and enjoyed eveyrday.

On the 16th February at the reunion I had the huge privilege of meeting one of those elderly ‘grandgirls’ who knew our grandmother intimately and I was asked by her to phone the older sister, my cousin.

25yrs it has been since I last spoke to them.
What a waste.

Of course I hungered to ask about our mutual grandmother Emma.

They knew all about grandmother Emma and my younger dad dad and they shared that they personally knew her violent second husband, who wastheir own dad’s stepfather, and they did not hide the truth.
I appreciate that.
One of those ‘grandgirls’ my cousin has cancer and the other is too old to leave the house.

I questioned them and found they knew nothing about our mutual g.grandmother The Ellen Pirrie /who lived with her husband under the alias of Murray. A complete mystery.
One of them phoned mr yesteday to ask me something and when I told her we had new info on Ellen ,she said “Who is Ellen?"

Silence is charged with reasons waiting to come into the light.

Bev

[Bevolson]

Helachau
I wonder what you found looking for the death an the adult life of John Francis Merewether. First son of Dean John Merewether.
He is a mystery.
Seems odd considering his status as First son. The silence might mean shame or suicide do you think?
Bev

[helachau]

There's mention somewhere about John going to Italy to train as a priest? Seems he wasn't the only one converting!

https://archive.org/stream/a583403600...duoft_djvu.txt

Screen search for "merewether"

Will post seperately about findings (or lack of) re. John Francis.

[Bevolson]

Thanks
I look forward to engaging with you about him on this thread in Family History General Family History Queries Alias all his life.

Ask me anything and I will teel you specificallt what I have found to date.

Bev

[elsinore]

There is a John Francis Merewether baptised 1831 in Kington, Herefordshire and I have followed him through to his death in 1908.

I can find him on all censuses except 1861. He was a farmer, remained single, but had the same housekeeper for many years. Two of her sons were executors of John Francis's will.

One snag is that, according to his baptism, his parents were Francis Merewether, a vicar and his wife Margaret, not Dean John and Mary Ann!

If you think it might be him, I'll post up all the info.

Peter

[Bevolson]

John Francis Merewether born 1823 died UNKNOWN

Helachau

I mentioned John going to Italy to train as a priest.

I found this on a google search years ago and chased it to a brick wall.

reference:
The Collected Letters ofA.W.N. Pugin 1851 -1852
https://books.google.com.au/books?isbn=0198713916
Margaret Belcher-2015-Architecture

6weeks ago saying that he was anxious to get to Rome in....to be....Catholic faith previous to joining the church & required a loan of 25 pound (my computer dosn’t have Pound to pay the amount of...he was the first son of John Merewether Dean of Hereford who died in 1850.

another reference
I dont know where I got it Helechau

small blue writing
'1843 Newman published a retraction of all the hard things he has said about against RC’

‘he stayed until 1845
the age of eighteen, he was the first son of john Merewether, dean of Hereford who died in 1850
Pugin makes a note of the name J.F.Merewether on the front end-paperof his diary for 1851 immediately below the name and address of “M Merewether to Clarence buildings Weymouth’ Now Hotel Rex

Helechau somewhere I have the content of Pugin’s letter to JFMerewether’s mum who I know lived at Clarence House.
He was putting her son’s pot on for borrowing money from his benefactorShrewsbury.

I will find it and with your encouragementI can dig around for other snippets.

Bev

[Bevolson]

The snag is the family have so many John francis Merewether's

I have his correct baptism details

Uncle Rev Francis and Margaret are John’s Uncle and Aunt
brother of Dean M

Bev

[Bevolson]

John Francis Merewether
Baptism

on ancestry.com
London Metropolitam Archives

view of baptism

oct 26th
note in column born 17th August 1823
John Francis
parents John and Mary Anne
Hampton
Cleric
John Merewether Curate