darianzam on Family Tree Circles
Journals and Posts
Constant issues with Image additions
Over the last couple of years there have been issues on and off with FTC journal entries refusing to add images. In the past there's been a couple of workarounds. But at the moment there seems to be no solution. Hitting publish it simply heads to a blank page until you refresh. Editing text or anything else is no issue, it's just when you attach pictures. This is across multiple browsers. Anyone else having the same problem?
Large Collection of Richards/Watkinson Family Photos from the UK and NZ
Yet again a large collection of photos from one family was being sold off last week on Trade Me. This one is from the Richards and Watkinsons, who intermarried, and along the way there are Taylors, Firths and Plucks involved. There are a number of early-late Victorian photos from the UK as well as many from the 1920s-1940s, which seem to have been taken around Christchurch then Taranaki,and King Country New Zealand. There are a few notes with the images like ‘R. Richards, August 1904, 39 Glebe St, Penarth’ on the back of one group portrait which have allowed me to figure out who theywere and put names to some portraits. The Richards family were from the Glamorgan, Wales area and claim a connection to the Richards family of Connecticut, from which Nobel Prize winner Dickson Woodruff Richards was descended. The Watkinsons and Taylors were from Leeds/Sheffield area. Both eventually immigrated to New Zealand. The only couple in recorded history with both surnames who married in New Zealand was in 1931, and that was William Humphrey Richards and Elizabeth Hannah Watkinson. Elizabeth was born in Leeds, which tees with many of the older portraits. William was born in Penarth, Cardiff and his father’s name was Richard Richards.
You can read more and see about 30 images here. http://tinyurl.com/y54vpkc8
There were many more which I have kept copies of. Feel free to get in touch if you require more information.
Looking for Avidon Family
Update: This has now been solved. I am now in touch with the Avidon family and we have worked out the relation.
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This image is noted as being 'cousins Matthew and Kenneth Avidon.' These were passed on from my great grandfather's sister's side of the family, the Greenshpoons, who asked if I knew of them. The image was taken by a studio based in Feodosiya on the Black Sea in what was then Crimea but now the Ukraine. To the rest of the world it was all simply 'Russia'. An older Matthew was photographed with Itta's husband alone, later on in life, again Matthew was noted as being a 'cousin', so this indicates that the Avidons were likely his nephews rather than being related to the Zam family. Avidon is quite an uncommon name, so I have been able to find out that Matthew left the Ukraine and arrived in New York in 1922. He states he was from Feodosiya, where my family, the Zams, were also from. Matthew married Rose Tapo and had two sons, John and Kenneth born 1936 and 1937. They seemingly spent time in Queens, NY, Illinois briefly, and later Florida. There are still Avidon descendants in the U.S. today and I believe that John or Kenneth had a son they also named Matthew Avidon who is still alive. I am posting this in the hope that there is someone out there who can make the connection as to which female sibling of either the Greenshpoon or Zam family married an Avidon.
Looking for Broughton family of Newtown, Sydney, Australia
I'm looking for descendants of the Broughton family in Sydney, Australia to see if they can shed any light on the life of my first cousin, his wife and their child.
The Broughtons were in the Newtown, Marrickville, Petersham and Ashfield areas clustered in west (now classed as inner-city) Sydney. They came from Argyle, NSW and spent some time in Crookwell before moving closer to the city.
Marjorie M Broughton was a granddaughter of Richard and Sarah Ann J Broughton (nee Wright). She married my first cousin Nat Morris in 1931.
Marjorie was a machinist in the garment trade and prior to marriage she was living with her mother in Palmer Street, Darlinghurst. Seemingly there was no father present and none is listed on the birth record leading me to believe that Marjorie's mother, Amy Clara/Clair Broughton (1883-1934) bore Marjorie out of wedlock. Amy continued living at Palmer Street until her death three years after Marjorie and Nat married.
Nat was from a Russian-Jewish family of Glasgow where he started out life as Larten Slatopolsky. He took Nathan as his gentile name, a common practice to seem more Western. The story goes that he absconded from Scotland without telling anyone, leaving the family "heartbroken" as it's relayed, and came to Australia. Here he shortened his first name to Nat and took his father's first name as his new surname, thus becoming "Nat Morris" (and more or less untraceable). The family eventually tracked him down somehow but he refused to have any contact with them in his new life.
Marjorie and Nat settled in Newtown where Nat worked as a presser in the garment trade. They had one known child, Frank Nathan Morris, who died at a few years old in 1937 (I'm guessing he was five or six at the time). Presumably the line then died out.
I'm hoping there may be descendants of Amy's six siblings (including her twin, Ethel Virginia Broughton, known as "Virgie") who may have some information on the couple.
Below advertisements from The Sydney Morning Herald,Tuesday 23 May 1922, for Sarah Ann J Broughton's death lists most of her children, their spouses and grandchildren.
Looking for Cutts family of NSW
I am seeking information on Herbert Cutts known as Bert Cutts. Born in Derbyshire, c 1870, Bert also lived in Nottinghamshire with his wife Henrietta(nee Moody). there may have been three children from this union. He worked as a miner, and sometime labourer and gardener.
He was known to be musically inclined and may have also painted pictures for a period - landscapes and still life which may have led to an interest in photography.
He arrived to Australia from Britain apparently with a German band sometime between 1901-1910 and worked in mining at Kembla Colliery, South Coast of New south Wales, but also was considered the "local photographer" and took portraits of mostly groups and sometimes landscapes in Kembla Heights and Cordeaux Valley area. Very few are definitely confirmed as being by him - sometimes embossed on the back of the mount with "H. Cutts. Photographer. Kimbla Hights(sic)". He seemed to be working from the mid 1900s to the late 1910s. The M.O. is groups of early Kembla Settlers posed casually. Although he did seem to occasionally do formal shots in a studio setting.
Post photography he was well known locally as a musician - playing concertina and he and his wife sang and entertained at parties and dances.
Later he married a Mary Ann - who may have been known as "Polly". The earliest mention of her in records is 1930. Herbert and Mary Ann had no children. They left the Kembla area around 1943 and moved to the Liverpool, NSW area. Bert died there in 1949.
Bert had a brother Frederick, known as Fred, who lived nearby in Wollongong and was married to an Amy Sparling Cutts. They had five children; Winnie, Ada, George, Clarice, Eric.
Fred Cutts and Mary Ann Cutts both moved to Sydney where they died in the 1950s.
I have checked most databases and come up with little except some death notices on Trove. I'm hoping a descendant of Fred and Amy's family family may come forward with some information, memories, or even photos of the Kembla area.
Looking for Descendants of Freddie Earlle
Update: This has now been solved. Thanks.
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I am seeking descendants of my first cousin Frederick Medvidoff aka actor Freddie Earlle. He was born 1924 Prestwick, Scotland to my great-aunt Mannia (Mannie) and her husband David Medvidoff. They later changed their name to Taylor,and Freddie had two brothers Maurice and Albert who both used the hyphenated version Medvidoff-Taylor.
Unlike his brothers Albert and Maurice, who went into the wholesale garment trade like so many of the family, Frederick wanted instead to be on the stage. His early career was in vaudeville as a comedian in the late 1940s, and soon progressed to actor/writer/director in the music halls.
His first wife was Freda M Pearlman, who took the stage name Freda Mundy,in 1950. He, now as Freddie Earl, and Freda had a successful act as "Mundy and Earl", sharing the bill at times with Laurel and Hardy, Frank Sinatra and Gypsy Rose Lee, amongst other superstars of that era. He divorced Freda and married Naomi Mendel in 1958 subsequently having three children, a son and two daughters, from this second marriage. I do not know any of their names. At some point in the 1950s they moved to England and stayed here for the next few decades.
In the early 1960s he changed the spelling of his last name to Earlle and it was then he had television success between the late 1960s and early 1990s as a character actor. Amongst some of the well-known shows he appeared on were Doctor Who, The Bill, Hi De Hi! (ironically a comedy about the very place he used to perform as a comedian), Robin's Nest, Dad's Army, Yes Minister, Bergerac, Coronation Street - as well as children's TV show Rainbow.
His career seemed to wind down in the late 1990s, and he retired to live in Spain in 1998. and died in Estepona, Malaga, Andalucia in 2007.
Looking for Entrican family of Auckland
Seeking information for a story on the Entrican family of Auckland, New Zealand.
A.J. Entrican & Sims was a coffee and spice / wholesale provision merchant based in Customs Street East, Auckland, New Zealand - now named Australis House the building constructed circa 1904 still stands today and was recently refurbished as part of the Britomart Precinct project. The company went on to be one of the most successful of its kind in the country.
A respected and powerful member of the community, A.J. (Andrew James, 1859-1936) Entrican served as a city councillor and was for a great many years deputy mayor and a trustee of Auckland Savings Bank, amongst other titles of significance he held. He married Elizabeth Mary McKay and they produced about ten offspring.
His brother was apparently R.J. Entrican (Robert James,1868-1928 ) also an Auckland-based merchant who married Annie Lamb. They had four or so children including Alexander Robert (Pat) Entrican who was a well-known civil engineer and forestry administrator (featured bio on Dictionary of New Zealand) who played an important part in the history of his particular industry.
Robert William Gallaugher went into business with another of Andrew's brothers J.C (James Cuthbertson, 1864-1951) Entrican for a time - Their business was named Gallaugher & Entrican. Like Entrican & Sims they were also dealing as wholesale provision merchants. J.C. Entrican also served on the council and after a few years parted ways with Gallaugher and joined his brother at A.J. Entrican & Sims to form A.J. Entrican & Co.
I ran across this photo (below) and have discussed it with a descendant who thinks that "Missy" may be Ellen Isobel Entrican was born in 1906. This photo was taken in 1909 and the child looks to be around 3 years old or so. Ellen was Pat Entrican's sister.
Any titbits on family history appreciated. You can see the type of stories I do here, this one on a similar firm named Brown Barrett & Co (which were, incidentally, just two doors away from Entrican on Customs Street East):
longwhitekid.wordpress.com/2012/12/29/the-baron-of-britomart-john-mckail-geddes-and-brown-barrett
Portrait of Missie Entrican, Sir George Grey Special Collections, Auckland Libraries, 31-57972
Looking for Flannagan/Steward family of New Zealand
Update: This has now been solved. Thanks.
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I have to say I am loving FTC.
So far with the few journal entries I have put up I have had pretty amazing success at getting information about long lost family details from helpful members!
So here goes the next one.
Note the spelling of the name is quite specific - not Flannigan, Flanagan, Flanigan, or Flanaghan (although this in its self is a problem - since even my family spelled it incorrectly and I've found some BDM records with the name misspelled as Flanagan).
Mary Flannagan (1895-1992) was my first cousin twice removed.
Her mother Mary Young was my great-aunt and I have covered her siblings in a previous journal here.
http://www.familytreecircles.com/looking-for-young-family-of-new-zealand-thomas-and-elizabeth-young-51894.html
Mary Young married William (Bill) Flannagan (?-?) and had the following children with him:
Stanley John Flannagan (1900-1990)
Thomas William Flannagan (1900-1954)
Isabella Flannagan (1905-?)
Ann Flannagan (?-?)
Elizabeth Flannagan(1902-1990)
Joseph Flannagan (?-?)
and of course the aforementioned Mary Flannagan.
Mary Flannagan married Arthur Henry Steward (1889-1948). It is not Steward Ancestors I am so much looking for as Arthur was descended from the Hamiltons, Gerards, Douglases etc all of which is well documented as British peerage.
Arthur and Mary possibly had three sons:
Allen Stanley Steward (1925-1997)
Maximilian (Max) Steward MBE (?-2003)
William (Bill) Steward (?-?)
I suspect Max may have been the well-known New Zealand Decathlete and trainer that passed away about ten years ago. His wife may have been a Shirley Steward. If I can find some more recent Stewards, they may have some knowledge of the other Flannagans of which details are sketchy.
Thanks!
Looking for History of Dick's, Henderson, Auckland, New Zealand
Update: This has now been solved.
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I'm looking for information on Dick's Milk Bar, Henderson, in the 1950s-1960s. It was apparently "a few doors along from ANZ bank on Great North Road." Although there were a couple of older cafes that had hung in there, like The Tradewinds which I was taken to for lunch often as my father had his business almost opposite it, I certainly don't remember Dick's still being there when I was a child.
Judy Julian wrote: "Dick's Milk Bar was in the Ozich Buildings and was along from Railside Ave (Station Rd) towards Valley Rd. I am not sure what is there now - could be a locksmith. My dad used to go down to Dick's on a Saturday night to get the 8 o'clock and a couple of bob worth of mixed lollies."
In this image from the 1950s, a light up perspex sign under the awning on the left says "MILK BAR." Image entitled "Ozich Buildings completed, Henderson." unknown date in the 1950s, courtesy of J. T. Diamond Collection, West Auckland Local History Online, West Auckland Research Centre, Waitakere Central Library, ref JTD-14A-03975-1.
Looking for information on John (Johnnie) Osborne of Auckland, New Zealand
I am seeking information on John Osborne of Auckland, New Zealand, known to friends as Johnnie.
He was likely born between 1920-1925. The family resided in the area of the bays along the south shore of Auckland Harbour - so Okahu Bay , Mission Bay, St Heliers, Howick etc. One snippet I was able to find out is that while he was in his late teens to early twenties, his father, apparently a GP,died suddenly.
He attended art school at Elam around 1943-1945 or possibly as late as 1947 and was friends with some well-known commercial artists such as Linwood "Lin" Lipanovic who created some of the iconic TEAL airways posters. He was very active in the Arts community attending many Arts Balls and other events in Auckland in the 1940s and 1950s.
Johnnie founded a commercial art service named JO-EB Studios in the mid-late 1940s. Obviously, the JO part is his initials, but who EB is I do not know. There were a few people in his years at Elam with surname B: Baker, Brightwell, and Bailey. Auction house Art + Object sold a large lot of his commercial illustrations in July 2009.
He never married and was living in Glendowie, Auckland in the early 1990s.
I've found so little information on him that I strongly suspect that John was not his government name. I'm hoping someone will recognise him from my description and add to the information for a story.
Waitemata Ale, Johnnie Osbourne