Hi,
John Samuel Gregory was born in St Helier, Jersey Channel Islands around 1851/2. He was not on the 1851 Channel Is Census but his parents John Samuel & Elizabeth Gregory (nee Desborough) were. He was age 9 on the 1861 census. His parents were born in Lamberton, Devon and Somersetshire, England respectively. Ancestry is not allowing me to check the profiles of my Family Tree for some reason tonight so I can't check the following details. I'm sure his parents were married in the Channel Islands around 1850. They were married on the 1851 Census. His father John Samuel was also known as just Samuel. This was on the 1841 England & Wales Census I believe. His father was also John & Mother Ann I believe.
My great grandfather, John Samuel Gregory, came to Australia but we believe he may have come via Canada. My grandmother who was his daughter-in-law said he was French-Canadian. He died when my grandfather was 2 years of age. He was married 3 times. We don't know the first marriage though. He married his 2nd wife in Parramatta, NSW in 1881. She died in 1886. They had a daughter in 1882. He then married for the 3rd time in Fitzroy, Victoria in 1888. My grandfather was the youngest child of his last marriage, James Alfred Gregory born in 1901.
John Samuel Gregory b. St Helier, Jersey, Channel Islands 1851/2, died in Balmain, NSW Australia in 1903. His life between the 1861 Channel Islands Census & his marriage in 1881 in Parramatta NSW Australia is a mystery to us still. His death record says he was in the colonies for 31 years. 30 years in NSW & 1 year in Victoria. His 2nd son from his last marriage actually died in Victoria in 1893 and his death record has John Samuel Gregory's handwriting & address at the time. The child had been in Victoria for 5 months and he was 1 year & 5 months old when he died. The address was 24 Lincoln Place, Carlton, Victoria. It's hard to read the occupation but it could be Broker. John Samuel Gregory was named as a Hotel Broker on my grandfather's marriage certificate. He was named as a Hotel waiter on his death record and on his daughter's death record too I believe. He was in San Francisco in November? 1887 when he sent an In Memorium notice to the Sydney Morning Herald on the 1st anniversary of his 2nd wife's death. He also lived at Mansfield Street, Balmain & 22 Waterview Street, Balmain. Ancestry has found records for a John Gregory living with disciples in Canada & also a record for a John Gregory in Darlinghurst Prison NSW Australia in 1880. From his death record he should have arrived in Australia about 1872. There is a John Gregory travelling from Brisbane to Sydney around 1874, I think as well. I have no way of knowing if he came here as a convict. He would have been about 20 or 21 in 1872. There is also a death notice of a Mrs John Gregory in Victoria & the death of a child too I think on Trove, which is the National Library of Australia's digitised newspapers, etc., search engine, I think. I think there was also a John or just J Gregory on a ship to Australia aged 24 (a bit old though I think). There are many many John Gregory's in this world as you can imagine & I have no way of knowing if they are him or not at this point. Thanks in advance if you can find any records of him leaving Jersey, Channel Islands and then later England or Canada to come to Australia. I also have a very old photo of a great grandfather who we believe may have been John Gregory but we don't know which one, or even if he was a Gregory. The photo looks like the style of a photo I saw on TV that was taken in Guernsey, Channel Islands though.
I think his father died in Jersey and had a livery stable. In 1861 they lived at 94 Rouge Bouillon, St Helier and had a Grocers shop then. John was gone on the 1871 Channel Islands Census records. He had a brother William who stayed in Jersey with his family too I believe, by the Census records. The 4 children were John Samuel, William, James Alfred? and Alice I think.
If anyone can help with any of the missing history or a birth record of John Samuel Gregory, or any of the children of John Samuel Gregory & Elizabeth Desborough or their marriage in the Channel Islands it would be very much appreciated. Thank you for reading this very long post.
Sue
