Henry Leonard Graham

[dawnsh]

Illegitiamte children have no father's name recorded in the father's box on the cert. It can vary between the box having a line through it or the word 'unknown'.

The fact that the birth was registered by W Flint and is recorded as you mentioned infers that the father was unknown to W Flint, and that also very little was known by the informant about his mother in that no maiden name is recorded.

[MonicaL]

That is what I was thinking too Dawn. There is no confirmation that Henry Leonard's birth was illegitimate is there, just that the birth and parental details may have been a little confused/unknown really.

Hopefully, the later christening entry might include a birth date and place to help link the info all together.

Monica

[Millmoor]

Hi

The Helen Amelia Graham to whom Monica referred left a will. In it are mentioned her daughter Helen Bertha Wolfe, her niece Marianne Greatorex, her step daughter Margaret Isobel Page and son in law George Charles Wolfe. Her death cert states she was the widow of Captain Graham.

There is a marriage in Madras12 April 1860 between Frederick Graham and Helen Amelia Greatorex. He was a widower and she a spinster aged 20. The marriage was by licence.

William

[dawnsh]

Looking at the dates, you have to feel somewhat sorry for his mother, she would have been obviously pregnant at the time of the marriage, and then having to endure a long sea journey back to England just after.

[jaywit]

Looking at the dates, you have to feel somewhat sorry for his mother, she would have been obviously pregnant at the time of the marriage, and then having to endure a long sea journey back to England just after.

This is something I was thinking about. This maybe a bit Victorian melodrama but- - - say Amelia didn't realise just how far pregnant she was at her marriage. Middle of April, so she sets out back to England thinking she had plenty of time to get here and give birth but she arrived at say Southampton and got a train to Brighton, why Brighton? don't know unless her husband's regiment was stationed near by.
  By the time she got off the train she was in labour in a strange town, She gets a Fly ( taxi ) and the driver realises she is about to give birth so what does he do? He takes her to his own house where she gives birth and she isn't well enough to register the birth herself so he registers it although he doesn't know all Amelia's details, ie. her husband's Christian name etc.

It does sound as he knew Amelia had a husband but he just didn't know his name and maybe Amelia wanted to move on to somewhere else but the birth would have to be registered in Brighton.

[Millmoor]

Hi

A baptism record for Ellen Amelia Greaterex  in 1840 names her parents as John Greaterex and Mary Ann. There is a marriage 3rd Aug 1831 of a John Greaterex and Mary Ann Watson. John was a widower and Mary Ann is recorded as an Indo Briton. It looks as though John died in 1846. If this is the correct Amelia she may not have been to Britain before she gave birth to Henry.

There are quite a lot of records in the British India Office Collection on FindMyPast regarding the Graham's and Greaterexes. If you think that this could be the correct family they do make very interesting reading. Margaret Isobella Graham, named as Margaret Isobel Page in the will of Helen Amelia Graham, married twice. On her first marriage to Frederick Augustus Hodgson one of the witnesses is A Graham. Another witness is J T Greaterex who would appear to be the father of the Marianne Greaterex named in Helen Amelia's will.

William

[dptb]

Thank you everyone for the help you have given me so far.   I have another question I would like to ask.  On Henry Leonards marriage cert he names his father as Henry Graham Commercial Traveller.  I assumed that this was because he was illegitimate and his fathers occupation involved absences from home and was frequently used by unmarried mothers. 

The leads I have been following point to Fredrick Graham being the likely father.  Should I take the info on the birth cert as definite or could there be an explanation as to why he would use a false name.  I have been researching the illegitimate angle for years and getting nowhere so could the Fredrick angle be the correct line to follow

Any help would be much appreciated

[MonicaL]

Diane, I can see why you have struggled over the years given what Henry stated on his marriage cert to Mary Jane Bissett (in Dublin 1885?) regarding his father's details 

However, as has been mentioned in the other post www.rootschat.com/forum/index.php?topic=587321.0 and again here, it would be worth you following up on that 1869 christening to start with.

Did Henry died in 1893 in Meerut, India? If so, have you been able to see his death registration? Last of his sons, of four sons, born in 1892 in Calcutta, West Bengal, India? Service papers for him, have you considered following through on this aspect?

The name Henry Leonard Graham is very distinctive. So many close similarites and potential links to the family of Frederick and Amelia...

If this info is correct (from an online tree already mentioned before on the other post), there seems to be very strong ties.

Monica

[Millmoor]

The death of Henry Graham in Meerut states that he died of debility Nov 20 and was a sergeant in the 5th Lancers and that he died age 31. This age would give a birth year of 1862.

William