Monday, December 1, 2008

An update on the George Hemus saga

My thanks, again, to Margaret Edgcumbe who has ferreted out some more information on George Hemus. I quote from her email to me today:

1. George [note - Hemus] must have married Margaret Hampson, possibly in 1886. In the 1910 Census for California they were recorded, incorrectly (but it has been corrected), as "George and Margerit Hennes", "evangilists", born in England and with English parents, living in Los Angeles County, though regarding the "world" as their workplace, and having emigrated in 1883 and 1885 respectively. Married for 24 years. I think that their ages are incorrect (65), or rounded up, but that seems to have been the case more often than not with the American censuses.

2.The Hemuses are recorded on the voting rolls for Los Angeles County in 1916 and an address is given. Unfortunately, I gave the info to Janet and didn't keep a copy. [note - Janet is Janet Crawford, who has recently delivered a paper on Margaret Hampson.] Can't find out anything more about them, probably because of the frequent misspellings and maybe they were in the 'world' when they died.

3. George must have been dead by 1924 because that is when Brett in White Wings said that only two Hemus sons were still alive.

3. Solomon was a bootmaker in Birmingham before coming to NZ with Mary Ann and the 6 boys. He seems to have eluded every British census. Maybe it was against his religion.

4. Charles (b 1849?) was the photographer, and he married Gertrude Evangeline (Eva) Edger - a theosophist like her sisters. Henry/Harry, acording to Brett, was a civil servant or something. Have forgotten. Don't know anything about Alfred, Joseph and James Walter.

5. Frances must not have returned to NZ, and it is her children who feature in the American records as living in Colorado Springs, El Paso, Colorado. Bernard Keane, the brickmaker [note - known to have lived at the Whau], must have been born in Scotland according to the 1900 census for Colorado, and his wife was Irish born.

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