Author Topic: May Holt (actress)/Abortionist?  (Read 5851 times)

Offline majm

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Re: May Holt (actress)/Abortionist?
« Reply #9 on: Monday 06 November 17 01:41 GMT (UK) »
1895 departing London 6 Sept 1895 on the Cuzco.

UK Outward Passengers from London, contracted to land at Adelaide (South Australia)
Ticket 57
Mrs FAIRBAIRN aged 44 (no profession)
Elsie May FAIRBAIRN, aged 13 ˝ 

JM
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Offline humanracer

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Re: May Holt (actress)/Abortionist?
« Reply #10 on: Monday 06 November 17 20:20 GMT (UK) »
Thanks for your help. Some great info.

Offline humanracer

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Re: May Holt (actress)/Abortionist?
« Reply #11 on: Monday 06 November 17 21:34 GMT (UK) »
I wonder who Dr Brierley was? A second husband?

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Re: May Holt (actress)/Abortionist?
« Reply #12 on: Tuesday 07 November 17 20:39 GMT (UK) »
1895 departing London 6 Sept 1895 on the Cuzco.

UK Outward Passengers from London, contracted to land at Adelaide (South Australia)
Ticket 57
Mrs FAIRBAIRN aged 44 (no profession)
Elsie May FAIRBAIRN, aged 13 ˝ 

JM
Hi Majm
Is there place you can find ships from Australia to UK? Fairbairn would have came back to London between 1908 and 1911.


Offline majm

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Re: May Holt (actress)/Abortionist?
« Reply #13 on: Tuesday 07 November 17 23:40 GMT (UK) »
Re the return of Melissa and Elsie May FAIRBAIRN to the UK … several of the commercial family history websites should have inward passenger lists, likely based on the UK’s National Archives holdings of the Board of Trade’s passenger lists from ports outside of Europe and the Mediterranean. 

Re Dr Brierley ... cannot be a second husband, she was noted as wife to Reginald FAIRBAIRN, barrister at law in 1911.   :)

I am still concerned re joining the dots to confirm if May HOLT and Melissa FAIRBAIRN are one and same person ....  seems reports about her 1880 husband are a tad confused about her father in law ! 

Well, err .... according to several New Zealand newspapers, a Miss May HOLT, daughter of Clarence  (Joe) HOLT, quit the stage to marry  John FAIRBURN or FAIRBAIRN. 

The headline in most of these papers seems to be ‘From the Stage to the Altar”

See: 
Kumara Times, 24 May 1880
Otago Daily Times 27 May 1880
New Zealand Times, 28 May 1880
Southland Times 29 May 1880

https://paperspast.natlib.govt.nz/

ALTHOUGH the South Australian newspapers have:

Miss May HOLT, …. In consequence of her marriage with Mr R FAIRBURN, son of Sir Thomas FAIRBURN, Bart, proposes to leave the stage ….
http://trove.nla.gov.au/newspaper/article/160131911 Adelaide Observer  1 May 1880

Miss May HOLT, daughter of the manager of the Duke’s Theatre, Holborn, ,,,, marriage with the son of Sir Andrew FAIRBAIRN ….. 
http://trove.nla.gov.au/newspaper/article/160132816  Adelaide Observer 29 May 1880

Miss May HOLT, well known in New Zealand …. Engaged to Mr John FAIRBURN, son and heir of Sir John FAIRBURN/FAIRBAIRN.   
http://trove.nla.gov.au/newspaper/article/196695076  Leader 1 May 1880


JM 
The information in my posts is provided for academic and non-commercial research purposes. 
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Qui scit et non docet.    Qui docet et non vivit.    Qui nescit et non interrogat.   
All Census Look Ups Are Crown Copyright from www.nationalarchives.gov.uk
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Offline humanracer

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Re: May Holt (actress)/Abortionist?
« Reply #14 on: Wednesday 08 November 17 19:10 GMT (UK) »
Re the return of Melissa and Elsie May FAIRBAIRN to the UK … several of the commercial family history websites should have inward passenger lists, likely based on the UK’s National Archives holdings of the Board of Trade’s passenger lists from ports outside of Europe and the Mediterranean. 

Re Dr Brierley ... cannot be a second husband, she was noted as wife to Reginald FAIRBAIRN, barrister at law in 1911.   :)

I am still concerned re joining the dots to confirm if May HOLT and Melissa FAIRBAIRN are one and same person ....  seems reports about her 1880 husband are a tad confused about her father in law ! 

Well, err .... according to several New Zealand newspapers, a Miss May HOLT, daughter of Clarence  (Joe) HOLT, quit the stage to marry  John FAIRBURN or FAIRBAIRN. 

The headline in most of these papers seems to be ‘From the Stage to the Altar”

See: 
Kumara Times, 24 May 1880
Otago Daily Times 27 May 1880
New Zealand Times, 28 May 1880
Southland Times 29 May 1880

https://paperspast.natlib.govt.nz/

ALTHOUGH the South Australian newspapers have:

Miss May HOLT, …. In consequence of her marriage with Mr R FAIRBURN, son of Sir Thomas FAIRBURN, Bart, proposes to leave the stage ….
http://trove.nla.gov.au/newspaper/article/160131911 Adelaide Observer  1 May 1880

Miss May HOLT, daughter of the manager of the Duke’s Theatre, Holborn, ,,,, marriage with the son of Sir Andrew FAIRBAIRN ….. 
http://trove.nla.gov.au/newspaper/article/160132816  Adelaide Observer 29 May 1880

Miss May HOLT, well known in New Zealand …. Engaged to Mr John FAIRBURN, son and heir of Sir John FAIRBURN/FAIRBAIRN.   
http://trove.nla.gov.au/newspaper/article/196695076  Leader 1 May 1880


JM

Hi
It is certainly odd about the father in law but he is definitely Sir Thomas http://www.thepeerage.com/p40261.htm#i402608


I think it's likely Melissa Fairbairn/Madame Harpur is May Holt for the following reasons,
1. Several newspapers have stated they are one the same. Many journalists would have recognised her.
2. This article states that Madame Harpur's husband was a barrister and had a young daughter. May Holt was married to Reginald a barrister and had a young daughter.
http://trove.nla.gov.au/newspaper/article/92303336?searchTerm=%22%20%20brierley%22%20%22abortion%22%20%22fairbairn%22&searchLimits=

3. The sketch on the following article
http://trove.nla.gov.au/newspaper/article/162371395?searchTerm=%22harpur%22%20%22fannie%20blain%22&searchLimits=
Looks uncannily like May Holt
http://www.mandmclark.com/userimages/May%20Holt%204.jpg

4. May Holt/Fairbairn is missing on the 1891 census so it is likely they were in fact living in Australia

5. Elsie Fairbairn is noted in conjunction with the estate of Reginald Fairbairn. Elsie was noted as the daughter of Melissa Fairbairn

On the other hand,
1. Newspapers are known to make mistakes, as you pointed out with the confusion regarding the father in law.
2.You would have thought that the true identify of Madame Harpur would have been bigger news considering May Holt was a star  and married into a prominent family. It only seems to be mentioned in minor gossip columns.
3. In this article, Madame Harpur describes herself as an AMERICAN expect in this article   http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article208552839 only a two years after May Holt made her acting debut in Adelaide (http://trove.nla.gov.au/newspaper/article/208530566).
4. They only had one surviving daughter, Ada but why did she change her name to Elsie May?

Offline majm

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Re: May Holt (actress)/Abortionist?
« Reply #15 on: Friday 10 November 17 03:20 GMT (UK) »
....

4. May Holt/Fairbairn is missing on the 1891 census so it is likely they were in fact living in Australia
.... 

Are you sure that she is the only one missing - what about her daughter and her husband, .... I wonder if searching the UK census for 1891 and the census for 1901 for Reginald FAIRBAIRN, the barrister at law to seek his wife and daughter and check their names/ages/places of birth if with him may help sort your quest .... Just because you have not found May on the 1891 census does not mean they were in fact living in Australia ... even if not in the UK, there's many other outposts of the Empire  :)  including Canada, New Zealand, South Africa .... :D  :D  :D   

JM
The information in my posts is provided for academic and non-commercial research purposes. 
Random Acts of Kindness Given Freely are never Worthless for they are Priceless.
Qui scit et non docet.    Qui docet et non vivit.    Qui nescit et non interrogat.   
All Census Look Ups Are Crown Copyright from www.nationalarchives.gov.uk
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Online heywood

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Re: May Holt (actress)/Abortionist?
« Reply #16 on: Friday 10 November 17 09:05 GMT (UK) »

4. They only had one surviving daughter, Ada but why did she change her name to Elsie May?

Where do you have the daughter as Ada? Sorry if I have missed it but there is no name in birth register and other references seem to be for Elsie May.

Heywood
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Offline humanracer

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Re: May Holt (actress)/Abortionist?
« Reply #17 on: Friday 10 November 17 09:19 GMT (UK) »

4. They only had one surviving daughter, Ada but why did she change her name to Elsie May?

Where do you have the daughter as Ada? Sorry if I have missed it but there is no name in birth register and other references seem to be for Elsie May.

Heywood
Ada, I original got from the wiki article and also the peerage site. Also someone posted the likely birth record for Ada earlier I think,

Ada's birth reg - no christian name shown but GRO maiden name search confirms Ada and mmn Holt

Births March qtr 1882   
Fairbairn    Female Marylebone    1a   668

Oddly enough I can't find a mention of the birth in any of the newspapers yet I can find articles about three stillborn children in 1880,1883 and 1884.