Author Topic: William Thompson GRAHAM  (Read 1623 times)

Offline gaffy

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Re: William Thompson GRAHAM
« Reply #9 on: Friday 09 April 21 01:23 BST (UK) »
Note the following marriage in Townsend Street Presbyterian church in 1849 of a 17 year old Mary Graham to William Boles (the same name as one of the witnesses at the 1850 Graham-Thompson marriage in the same church), the bride's father was recorded as Moses Graham, shoemaker, one of the witnesses was a James Graham:
https://civilrecords.irishgenealogy.ie/churchrecords/images/marriage_returns/marriages_1849/09364/5390959.pdf

Newspaper articles in the period 1850 - 1853 about various fracases in Durham Street Belfast mention a father and son Moses and James Graham, also a (son?) John Graham and an unnamed daughter of Moses.  In one of the articles, Moses is reported as saying "I am a shoe-maker, and live in 18, Durham-street".  This is borne out by the following entry in the 1852 Belfast street directory:

Graham, Moses, boot and shoe maker, 18 Durham Street
https://www.lennonwylie.co.uk/1852names2.htm

Moses is also listed as a shoemaker at that same address in Henderson's directory of 1846-47. And the name Moses Graham appears in a list of unnumbered houses in Hanover Street in the 1865 Belfast street directory - unnumbered possibly because contemporary newspaper notices indicate a lot of house building going on in the street - this Hanover Street entry ties in with the mention of an address in that street at Reply #1.


Offline gaffy

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Re: William Thompson GRAHAM
« Reply #10 on: Friday 09 April 21 01:50 BST (UK) »
An article in the Banner of Ulster of 20 July 1849 entitled THE DURHAM STREET SHOOTING CASE starts off thus "John Graham, a young man resident in Durham Street, and stated to be a shoemaker, was brought up in custody, for re-examination on a charge of firing at and wounding John Branagan, a labourer and occasionally a sailor, on the 14th July, in Durham St.".

The added interest is in the following extract, which was a key factor in the Bench's decision to acquit John on the basis of mistaken identity: "Mary Thompson, a respectable and rather pretty young woman, who was produced for the defence, swore that Graham, in whose company she had been before, was standing with her, at her own door in College Street, on Saturday evening, from a quarter past ten till a quarter past eleven o'clock..."


Offline Pennines

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Re: William Thompson GRAHAM
« Reply #11 on: Friday 09 April 21 08:15 BST (UK) »
Oh wow - what brilliant info for Rod, Gaffy!

I wonder if the respectable and pretty Mary Thompson was actually telling the truth, or simply giving her future husband, John Graham, an alibi? Great piece of 'gossip' and brings colour to a family tree.
Places of interest;
Lancashire, West Yorkshire, Southern Ireland, Scotland.

Online heywood

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Re: William Thompson GRAHAM
« Reply #12 on: Friday 09 April 21 09:23 BST (UK) »
Great information   ;)
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Offline Rod Blackshaw

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Re: William Thompson GRAHAM
« Reply #13 on: Friday 09 April 21 11:23 BST (UK) »
This is all much more than I expected. Absolutely brilliant. Big uptick to gaffy. I wonder if feelings were running high in Durham Street two days after the 12th? 

Offline gaffy

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Re: William Thompson GRAHAM
« Reply #14 on: Friday 09 April 21 12:38 BST (UK) »
Got it in one Rod Blackshaw, the local newspapers of that era confirm that the area around Durham Street was especially 'active' in July.


Offline Rod Blackshaw

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Re: William Thompson GRAHAM
« Reply #15 on: Friday 09 April 21 13:00 BST (UK) »
 Plus ça change.

Offline gaffy

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Re: William Thompson GRAHAM
« Reply #16 on: Saturday 10 April 21 03:37 BST (UK) »
Pennines at Reply #1 mentioned the gap between the 1850 John Graham - Mary Ellen Thompson marriage and the 1859 baptism of their son Rowland and the likelihood of there being more children. There is also a slight gap between the baptism of Roland in 1861 and the start of civil registration in 1864.  I couldn't find any more 'child' baptisms online for this couple, but there's more than one way to cook an egg... so I wonder if the following might be four more daughters of John Graham and Mary Ellen Thompson - and sisters to William Thompson Graham. See what you think.

Daughter #1

I noticed a transcript of what looks like an adult baptism on 15 November 1883 in Holy Cross RC church, Belfast, for a Mary Helena Graham, parents recorded as John Graham and Mary Helena Thompson, critically, the address was 'Shankill Road' and an annotation said that Mary Helena was being baptised as a 'Protestant Convert'.  When I went looking for a potential marriage for this person, I found a transcript of a church record for a marriage on 5 June 1886 in St. Mary's RC church, Belfast, of a Mary Ellen Graham to a William John Anderson, the transcript identified both parents for bride and groom, in Mary Ellen's case, the parents' names were recorded as John Graham and Mary Ellen Thompson.

Here is the civil registration for that marriage, note that Mary Ellen's father was recorded as 'John Graham dead':   
https://civilrecords.irishgenealogy.ie/churchrecords/images/marriage_returns/marriages_1886/10833/5951651.pdf

I found births for quite a few children to this couple and the family was then easy to find in the 1901 census:
http://www.census.nationalarchives.ie/pages/1901/Antrim/Falls/Leeson_Street/951727/

Mary Ellen's birthplace of 'Londonderry' in that 1901 census return was a surprise, the relevant 1911 census return showed the same birthplace for her, but the big break came with the inclusion of an 83 year old widowed Belfast-born grandmother Mary Ellen Graham in that 1911 household (I'm not too put off by her religion, they probably just scribbled the same down for everyone):
http://www.census.nationalarchives.ie/pages/1911/Antrim/Falls__Belfast_/Leeson/181260/

A quick search for a death registration for the grandmother brought back the following one some 8 months after the 1911 census was taken, while the age is quite a bit out, I think it pretty well has to be her, since her address of 228 Leeson Street is an exact match for the 1911 census return address, and her description is given as 'Widow of John Graham, a Shoemaker':
https://civilrecords.irishgenealogy.ie/churchrecords/images/deaths_returns/deaths_1911/05383/4502348.pdf   

Going back for a moment to review Mary Ellen the daughter, she was recorded as 22 at marriage, 35 in the 1901 census and 46 in the 1911 census, which of course places birth around 1864-66, but I couldn't find a civil birth registration, so she was either not registered or I'm guessing the various ages were slightly understated and that Mary Ellen Graham's birth slots into the gap between Roland in 1861 and the start of civil registration in 1864. Why born in Londonderry?  I don't know.


Offline gaffy

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Re: William Thompson GRAHAM
« Reply #17 on: Saturday 10 April 21 03:47 BST (UK) »
Following on from above...

Daughter #2

When elderly widow Mary Ellen Graham died at hospital (51 Lisburn Road) in December 1911, the informant present at death was recorded as 'M Robinson Daughter' of 16 Pollard Street.  That address reads across to this census return in Belfast earlier the same year:
http://www.census.nationalarchives.ie/pages/1911/Antrim/Falls/Pollard_Street/174381/

Which relates back to this census return in Belfast in 1901:
http://www.census.nationalarchives.ie/pages/1901/Down/Ormeau/Titania_Street/1213626/

The relevant marriage took place in July 1876 at St. Thomas' Church of Ireland, Dublin, Robert Graham Robinson's bride was recorded as Martha Graham, a minor, the daughter of John Graham, a 'Leather Merchant' (the first time I've seen this, rather than boot / shoe maker - but at least its within the same general trade):
https://civilrecords.irishgenealogy.ie/churchrecords/images/marriage_returns/marriages_1876/11177/8095107.pdf

So to  review, a minor at marriage and 42 in the 1901 census, I'm thinking Martha Graham was born in the second half of the 1850s.