Author Topic: My mysterious grandfather - Ernest McQuillan Hargraves  (Read 31384 times)

Offline rosball

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Re: My mysterious grandfather - Ernest McQuillan Hargraves
« Reply #9 on: Saturday 12 October 13 05:14 BST (UK) »
Hi Eric,
  no problem for me to go - I am going to look up some stuff for other rootschatters too.

cheers,
   Ros
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Offline Eric Hatfield

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Re: My mysterious grandfather - Ernest McQuillan Hargraves
« Reply #10 on: Saturday 12 October 13 05:53 BST (UK) »
Thanks everyone for such a quick response. In reply to a few questions ....

1. The Francis & Mary connection.

I have obtained marriage and death information for Francis & Mary and their 9 children, and have followed most of these children through their lives via electoral rolls, etc. The only one who could possibly have changed his name to Ernest was Edward John, born 1875, and whose last record I could find was before the 1913 wedding, in 1909, when he is listed on the electoral rolls as a farmer. It isn't impossible that Edward John changed his name to Ernest McQuillan, gave up farming for cooking and dropped his age 5 years, then ran away with my grandmother to NSW, but I can't see any way to test that.

I live in Sydney (though a long way from Kingswood!) so I paid a couple of Victorian researchers to follow up more, by checking school records in Stawell & Carlton where they lived, police records and Francis' will (as you suggest, Ros). We couldn't find any trace of an Ernest - though, curiously, Francis' will wasn't granted probate until 1934, 32 years later.

The only possible (very vague) connections we found is that Francis Hargrave's father was a weaver, and one of his sons was a cook, same as Ernest. But that doesn't lead anywhere.

I also have been in contact with a descendant of one of Mary McQuillan's siblings, and he has quite a bit of family information, but nothing that identifies a possible Ernest.

2. The second marriage

Ernest married again and had one child. She was 7 when his second wife died and 12 when he died, so someone had to be looking after her for a while. She eventually went to England, married and moved to Rhodesia in 1956, and I haven't been able to trace her further. But her husband's name was Asgill-Tucker, quite an uncommon name, and there are a few Asgill-Tuckers in Australia now. Quite possibly the family migrated from Rhodesia after independence, but so far I haven't been able to contact any possible descendants.

3. The Jervis Bay connection

He was apparently a cook at the Jervis Bay Naval station, but was not a service person (according to an email from the Navy) and he left about the time it started up - so I assume he worked for the construction company. I haven't been able to find any record of all of this apart from my mum's memories and the notation on his marriage certificate.

Thanks everyone for helping out with suggestions. Thanks Ros for your wonderful help to a newcomer. Jude, I think you are right about the McWilliam/McQuillan thing being a mis-hearing, though when searching for McQuillan I usually also try McWilliam just in case.

Offline cando

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Re: My mysterious grandfather - Ernest McQuillan Hargraves
« Reply #11 on: Saturday 12 October 13 06:06 BST (UK) »
Why not purchase the birth certificate of the last child born to Francis and Mary.  All the previous chn living and deceased should be listed. I wouldn't rely on the indexes alone.

Birth
HARGRAVE Felix Reuben
Father Francis  Mother Mary McQUILLAN
At Melbourne South  1892 Reg#15572

Either of the parents' death certificates would also list their chn both living and deceased at the time of their deaths.

Cando
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Offline Neil Todd

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Re: My mysterious grandfather - Ernest McQuillan Hargraves
« Reply #12 on: Saturday 12 October 13 06:11 BST (UK) »
Although I cannot at this stage find a marriage to confirm anything. I have a Francis Hargraves Married to a Mary in LEICESTERSHIRE 1861 census. They dont appear again in 1871?

Both Francis and Mary were born according to census in Castle Donington LEICESTERSHIRE. Francis and Mary 1837. They have one son Thomas aged 1 so born 1860. Only trouble is Francis is a Bootmaker?

Neil
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Offline Eric Hatfield

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Re: My mysterious grandfather - Ernest McQuillan Hargraves
« Reply #13 on: Saturday 12 October 13 06:17 BST (UK) »
I have been able to find several Francis and Mary Hargraves in UK, but none of the Mary's were McQuillans.

Offline Eric Hatfield

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Re: My mysterious grandfather - Ernest McQuillan Hargraves
« Reply #14 on: Saturday 12 October 13 06:25 BST (UK) »
Why not purchase the birth certificate of the last child born to Francis and Mary.  All the previous chn living and deceased should be listed. I wouldn't rely on the indexes alone.

Birth
HARGRAVE Felix Reuben
Father Francis  Mother Mary McQUILLAN
At Melbourne South  1892 Reg#15572

Either of the parents' death certificates would also list their chn both living and deceased at the time of their deaths.

Cando
It's a good idea, but unfortunately it didn't work out. I have both Mary's and Francis's death certificates, but no mention of an Ernest. There was no formal adoption in Victoria back then, but he could have been informally adopted (though why he would say Francis was a weaver when he was a policeman I don't know).

My grandmother (who I haven't mentioned here before) was informally adopted, but she was not listed on either of her adopting parents' death certificates.

But thanks again to you, Neil and others who are offering suggestions. They are all worth making, and hopefully somewhere someone will hit upon an idea that breaks through.

Offline rosball

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Re: My mysterious grandfather - Ernest McQuillan Hargraves
« Reply #15 on: Saturday 12 October 13 06:37 BST (UK) »
I couldn't find Asgill-Tuckers in whitepages but did find this http://www.reverseaustralia.com/lookup/0417914671/


cheers,
   Ros
Let's not tolerate bullying !
Herrington Kent  Henderson Scotland Kerr Scotland Reston Scotland  Smith Scotland  Kellow Cornwall  Doney Cornwall  Wadeson Lancashire  Whiteley Yorkshire Gregan Ireland

Offline Dundee

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Re: My mysterious grandfather - Ernest McQuillan Hargraves
« Reply #16 on: Saturday 12 October 13 06:47 BST (UK) »
Hi Eric,

Do you have Ernest's death certificate, and if so, what information does it give about how long he had lived in each State?  Although not always accurate, this can be an indication of whether his family thought he had arrived as a child or as an adult.

Debra  :)

Offline judb

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Re: My mysterious grandfather - Ernest McQuillan Hargraves
« Reply #17 on: Saturday 12 October 13 07:02 BST (UK) »
I note PROV has this Unassisted passenger:
Arr Dec 1865, Francis HARGRAVE, 20, per ship DONALD MCKAY, from a British port
(Fiche 252,  p004)
Ancestry (not always reliable) shows this man as being English and the ship leaving from Liverpool.

Australian Marriage Index:
Victoria, 1870, #2765
Francis HARGRAVE, Mary Alice Mcguillan

Neither of which is any help  :(

Judith
DYER - Wilts, London, Somerset, MIDLANE - Hants, Wilts, SONE - Hants, WRIGHT - London, Hants, SEAGER - Deptford, DWYER, FERGUSON - Victoria, MASON - Woodford Vic, BALLARD - South Wales, GOULDBY - Lowestoft
"Time present and time past are both perhaps present in time future..." T S Eliot

UK Census information Crown Copyrightt, from www.nationalarchives.gov.uk