HUNTER-GRAY / HENNESSY family

[HughC]

Major George Thornton Hunter GRAY (calling himself HUNTER-GRAY) m. (as his 2nd wife) Marie K.H. (I think known as Kathleen) HENNESSY in Williton district 1922 ii.
Their son John was b. the following year, possibly at Minehead or Porlock but birth registered in Bath.

Does anyone know anything about this Hennessy?  Was she, rather than her husband, the owner of Warden Court, Minehead?  Was she perhaps a member of Lord Windlesham's family?  John was educated at Ampleforth, so at least one parent was presumably Catholic.

[stanmapstone]

Their son John was b. the following year, possibly at Minehead or Porlock but birth registered in Bath.

Just to say that, by law, a birth must be registered in the registration district in which it is said it took place.
If you get a copy of the marriage certificate it will give you her father's name and occupation.
Stan

[HughC]

Thanks, Stan.

I didn't know that's the law, but I do know it didn't always happen -- for example, if a child arrived a bit unexpectedly while the parents were on holiday and they registered the birth after getting home.

And several times I've come across a considerable delay between the date of birth and the quarter in which it was registered, so it's very possible they fibbed to avoid paying a fine.

[stanmapstone]

There was nothing to stop them registering the birth at their local register office when they got home. The Registrar there would send the information to the registrar where the birth took place as allowed for in Section 6 of the 1874 Registration Act. There was only a penalty for non-registration in the 1874 Act, not late registration.  There was a fee for late registration in the 1836 Act, but not for non registration. A birth could be registered after three months and not later than twelve months, Section 5 of the 1874 Act. The Births and Deaths Registration Act of 1874 made failure to register punishable by a fine of £2.00. 


Stan

[HughC]

Thanks again, Stan.

My grandmother was born while the family was spending the summer hols at Seaton, Devon.  That's Axminster district, where she was registered in the last quarter of the year.  I envisaged GGfather (a headmaster) unable to do anything in Bristol and making a special trip back to the south coast to do it at Christmas.  Probably not so, in view of what you say, but I wonder why he waited at least six weeks.  Just shows one should take the quarter of registration as somewhat elastic.

And if the fine was only £2 then it's no wonder some wealthy people didn't bother.

[Josh P]

George Thornton HUNTER-GRAY (born on 18th September 1879, Wimborne, Dorset; died on 19th  January 1931), was a retired Captain in the Indian Army (31st Punjabis) on his marriage to Marie Kathleen Fedaro HENNESSY (1894-1960), on 22nd April 1922, at Minehead, Somerset.

She was the only daughter of James Martin Joseph HENNESSY (1860-1913), Master Mariner of Bristol, and his first wife, Mary LINEHAM.  Kathleen, as she was known, was born at Samurai, Papua New Guinea, on 1st May 1893.

In her widowhood, she was taken in by her cousin Desmond Macready CHUTE in Rapallo, Italy, as his housekeeper, where she met his friends Ezra Pound and Eric Gill, the latter spending the Christmas of 1936 with them.  Her son John also joined them, being taken out by his Ampleforth tutor and Desmond's and Eric's old friend from their Ditchling days, Walter Shrewring.

James Martin Joseph's father was Joseph HENNESSY (1824-87), wealthy cattle salesman with some 300 acres of land outside Bristol, where he lived in some style at 35 Richmond Terrace, Clifton.  His parents, Maurice (c.1801-74) and Mary (d.1844) had brought him over from Cork as a child, and lived at Conygre House, Filton, which a preservation campaign is trying to save from demolition.

I hope this is helpful.

[HughC]

Josh,

That's more than helpful: it's wonderful!

John was b. 24 July 1923 (I thought at Minehead but birth registered in Bath); d. (I think of cancer) at Great Shoesmith's Farm near Wadhurst, Sussex, 12 Aug. 1975.  He was said to have been in the commandos in the war, though he didn't strike me as the soldier type at all.  He was at Brasenose College, Oxford, where he apparently matriculated with the names Jonathan Simon but later signed an affidavit that he was really John -- he was a bit of an enigma all round.  By his first marriage he had a dau. Amanda.  His second marriage was to Nancy de Selincourt née Brown who was considerably older than him (but outlived him by many years).

_____ Hugh

[Josh P]

Thank you for this extra information, Hugh.  Most intriguing. 

Might you have a photograph of John?  I only really know of him through Desmond.

[HughC]

I'll ask Nancy's daughter-in-law whether she has a photo of John, or by any chance is in contact with Amanda.

You could try searching FreeBMD to see who John's first wife was, and whom she remarried, and perhaps whom Amanda married (I think not the man she was engaged to, as announced in The Times a good few years ago).