John Atlantic Stephenson

[jon541]

Great sleuthing, Ian!  Sometimes buying the cert. is the only way, particularly for those like Alfred who seem keen for some reason to stay well ‘under the radar’.  In this case, it looks like being £9 well spent because it has unlocked the secret to his seeming disappearance between 1871 and 1915.

A street musician!  Who knew?!  I wonder why he chose to use his middle name as surname and to drop the ‘Stephenson’ ...  Ironically, he was living about 100 yards from my own Brumwells (at 27 Hotspur Street).

I guess the moral of your discovery is that we should never underestimate the potential deviousness of our ancestors or, to put it more kindly, their capacity for invention.  I knocked down a brick wall of 30 years standing on my Preston tree this year when I found that Stanley Preston, grocer, of 1901 had not disappeared, as seemed, into the ether but had become ‘Stanley de Greston’, theatrical artiste, by 1911.

That just leaves the elusive Leonard Quintus Stephenson ... 

[maggie360]

Hi Vicky1948!
 I had no alerts of any new posts on Rootschat and have missed your message. Sorry it has taken so long!
Your Aunt, Mignon Arnst, Cathy's mum, was the original holder of John Stephenson's journal of his voyage from England to India in 1829. She very kindly photocopied it and I transcribed it. It is a fascinating account of a voyage and reflects his love of science and natural history. There is a fleeting reference to his wife giving birth to his son John Atlantic!
If you read all the previous posts you will see how the sorry has unfolded and how we have reached so many of the family descendants. As you are based in New Zealand it is probably easiest to contact your aunt direct as she has a copy of the transcript and a rough family tree so far. There are lots of descendants still to add now however!
Wishing everyone involved on the Stephenson journey a very Happy and Healthy New Year. Who knows this may be the year we find what happened to Leonard Quintus?!
Best wishes
Maggie

[kiwifroggy65]

Hi All. Happy New Year! It looks like some great info has been discovered since I last logged on. How wonderful! I will sit down later and read more thoroughly.
To Vicki.....hello! I believe you are my Mum, Mignon Arnst (nee Woodhouse) cousin. I believe you are Vic and Beryl's daughter?
As you know, my parents now live in South Australia and mum has the original transcript if the Atlantic sea journey. Mum provided Maggie with a copy and Maggie laboriously transcribed it. I have a photocopy if it and would be happy to post you a copy, with Maggies permission of course?
Regards
Cathy
 

[ALTZA53]

Hi All,

Likewise wish everyone a very happy New Year. Certainly a warm one here so far in NZ.

As with Maggie's experience of the lack of Forum notification to new posts, I did not receive notice of her or Cathy's recent posts either.

Cheers
Ian

[brian.1948]

Hello all,

Just to let you know that I am back on the site after a longish absence; for some reason I couldn`t access the site, I just gave up after a while.
However, I received an email inviting me to alter my password...and hey presto, access is allowed again.

I`ll read back over the pages and catch up with what has been happening.

Regards,

Brian Stephenson (Winlaton, Tyne and Wear, U.K)

[ALTZA53]

Hi Brian,

Yes it has been awhile. Glad to see you reconnect. Some good progress lately on filling the gaps.
Cheers
Ian

[jon541]

Ian, Maggie et al.,

Bearing in mind, Ian, your recent revelation about Alfred being a street musician,  I wonder whether this could be the elusive Leonard in 1881.  He's the right age and born in Sunderland. 

The reference is RG11/3349 fo 38 pg 15

Jon

[ALTZA53]

Hi Jon,

Sorry for delay in reply. I had seen this 1881 Census record some time before but passed on it, given he was a 'servant/musician' , when previously he had been a compositor printer. But now with the new Alfred Gordon musical connection, you are right to raise this as a possibility. I think it is very plausible given date and place of birth.

Also showed he was a Widower. I have done another Census search Ancestry 1871 & 1891-1911without success, same re marriage.

At least a step ahead on last finding of 1861.

Cheers
Ian

[jon541]

I felt sure that you would have seen it at one time or other... it (the snippet I attached) has been sitting on my PC desktop for some months in the hope that I could find some other corroboration.  I haven't so I thought I would post it anyway in the hope that someone else's ingenuity could advance us further. I do feel this is probably him.

I find it odd that after marrying Jane Pearson in 1860, he is living, sans wife and described as unmarried, with his mother and brothers in 1861 though it may just be that Elizabeth Gordon S.  filled in her census return incorrectly in so describing him.

Regards,
Jon