Find Ancestors

Background

I am seeking advice and/or assistance with tracing details of the birth and ancestors of my maternal great grandfather (my mother’s father’s father), William John Gearing (WJG).
I currently accept the accuracy of the following details of his life in south London in the 1880s:
• Married Louisa Adelaide Tyler (LAT, 1865-1937) in the parish of Kensington (registration district of Lambeth), Surrey on 22 September 1886 –
o marriage certificate records WJG, a bachelor working in engineering, as being 33 (born 1852-3) and LAT, a spinster, as 21, living at what could have been 1 Trigon Place (indecipherable) – there is a Trigon Road in nearby Kennington; LAT’s father, Henry John Tyler, a hatter, was one of the two witnesses to the wedding, the other appearing to be LAT’s sister, Ada Eliza Tyler; WJG’s father is recorded as being an engineer named Henry George Gearing, though there is no evidence that he, or any other member of WJG’s family, attended the ceremony.
• WJ and LA became parents of a son, Henry William (subsequently to become my mother’s father), on 22 March 1887 –
o HWG was born in the family home at 78 Manor Place, Walworth (Southwark), with his birth registered on 25 March 1887 in the St Mary, Newington sub-district of St Saviour, Surrey. The names of both parents recorded on the birth certificate match those on the wedding certificate of September 1886, although WJG was now recorded as being an accountant.
• WJG died from ‘malignant disease of the lungs’ (lung cancer) in St Thomas’ Hospital, Lambeth on 26 July 1889 –
o the death certificate records WJG as being a 40 year old (born in 1848-9) clerk, living at 18 Smith Street, Camberwell.
I can provide additional details of the lives of both Henry William Gearing and Louisa Adelaide Gearing (from 1900 to 1916 married to Charles Harrison, and subsequently ‘Granny Harrison’ to my mother’s generation).
I have been unable to find convincing details of the birth and ancestry of WJG. Gearing was a surprisingly common surname in Victorian London/south east England, with several variations of the spelling (eg Geering/Gehring) – even within the same family unit – and a small group of forenames being repeated, including William, Henry, George and John.
I have found records for a handful of ‘potential suspects’, William John or John William Gearing born between about 1845 and 1855. However, in every case I have found evidence from existing family trees, census records, and/or records of marriages/deaths that lead me to doubt that any of these individuals are the WJG I am seeking.

A Theory
I have added a couple of unsubstantiated family stories about WJG to the criteria used in my search. He is said to have spent time in:

1) a Ceylonese tea plantation (ie there may have been a connection to the Indian sub-continent in the mid-nineteenth century); and

2) a London debtors prison (many, but not all, of these were being closed by the time WJG was old enough to be sent to any of them, which could mean he spent time in any London prison, perhaps for a fraud-related offence or something similar, which has some ‘fit’ with his status as an ‘accountant/clerk’; furthermore, it could mean that he may have been disposed to masking his identity by, for example, varying the spelling of, or otherwise changing, his name and/or varying his age/date of birth at a time when no great reliance can be placed on the accuracy of records of such details; the up to 16 year age difference between WJG and his bride may also have encouraged WJG to ‘vague up’ his age for the marriage record. I emphasize the speculative nature of all of this: I have no evidence that WJG did spend any time in any prison or was ever prosecuted for any offence).

This led me to explore a theory that WJG might have had some connection to the Indian sub-continent. To cut a long story short, this has identified one individual that might be the same WJG that was married, became a father and died in London in the 1880s. Since it also would reveal a previously unknown (to my family) arm of the Gearing family that appears to have been an integral part of the British Raj up to partition and independence in the late 1940s, I also am aware of the need for compelling evidence to forestall wishful thinking about any connection to this WJG.
The relevant family details are:
Father: Henry William Gearing, born in Greenwich, Kent in 1822, appears to have gone to India by the early 1840s as an engineer with what became the P&O shipping line – note the mixed connections to the brief details of WJG’s father recorded on the latter’s 1886 marriage certificate – the forenames are similar but not identical (and are the forenames of my grandfather), whilst the ‘engineer’ connection is striking, but potentially meaningless;
Mother: Eliza Jane Oliphant, born in England in 1822 or 1823, married to HWG in Calcutta on 4 November 1844, and died at Fort William (Calcutta) on 19 January 1852.
Children:
- Henry George (note the replication of the name given for WJG’s father on the latter’s 1886 marriage certificate), born at Fort William (Calcutta) on 11 August 1845, and died at Madras in 1916; he married Mary Ann Grinnol (born 1856) in Kidderpore, Bengal on 13 February 1872 and the couple appear to have had at least 7 children, at least three of whom (all married daughters) survived long enough to die in England between 1948 and 1972 (the last of these deaths was the second youngest daughter, Hope Gladys 21/8/1890-1972, who married Christopher Hughes Masterman 1889-1982 in Madras in 1921 – he was subsequently knighted for his work as a colonial administrator for the Madras government and appears to have been the first (acting?) British Deputy Commissioner for South India for a short period leading up to partition in 1947).
- Esther Amelia, born 23 July 1846, Kidderpore; died 2 June 1847, Fort William;
- Charles Murray Oliphant, born 1 September 1847 and baptised at Kidderpore on 30 November 1847; I have found a record for the death of a five year old (ie born in 1847) Charles William Gearing at Fort William (Calcutta) on 4 December 1852 (the apparent difference in birth and death names may owe something to the death following that of the child’s mother and – perhaps – the absence of his father?);
- William John (is this my great grandfather?), born Kidderpore 28 April 1849, baptised Agra 17 May 1850 – no records of marriage/death yet found;
- James, born, baptised and died at Kidderpore on 26 September 1851.

The evidence is that EJ had given birth to five children by September 1851, only two of whom remained alive by Christmas 1852, by which time she also was dead. The wave of bereavements in 1851-2 (following the one in 1847) may be attributable to typhoid or some other disease – I don’t yet know. But did the family tragedy send HWG’s life into disarray? I’ve found no records of him in India after the early 1850s (I may not have been looking in the right place), and there are some records of at least one HWG of about the right age living as a boarder in Greenwich, Kent (where HWG had been born in 1822) in the 1861 Census.
Such a theory may raise more questions than it answers: for example, if HWG did return to England with son William John, why did he leave an about seven year old Henry George in India, and what happened to William John after he returned to England: were the young boys ‘farmed out’ to other families, and – if so – where is the evidence in post-1851 Census records or the like?

Conclusion

Where might I look for additional evidence to test this theory – or for other evidence to formulate other theories if there is evidence for the rejection of this one?

Andy Turner

I am still having difficulty working this one otut.

I have fount this on Ancestry but there are flaws. There has been a submitted correction to Gearing.

1891 England Census about Henry W Jessing
Name: Henry W Jessing
[Henry W Gearing]
Age: 4
Estimated Birth Year: abt 1887
Relation: Granddaughter ???????????
Where born: Walworth, London, England
Civil parish: Newington
Ecclesiastical parish: Newington St Mary
Town: London City
County/Island: London
Country: England
Registration district: St Saviour Southwark
Sub-registration district: St Mary Newington
ED, institution, or vessel: 2
Neighbors: View others on page
Piece: 364
Folio: 39
Page Number: 27
Household Members:
Name Age
Henry J Tyler 52
Eliza Tyler 51
Lawson Jessing 25<<<< ?loisa
Frederick C Tyler 22
Ada E Tyler 26
Albert P Tyler 10
Edwin Tyler 11
Henry W Jessing 4

No Gearing father present.

London, England, Births and Baptisms, 1813-1906 about Henry William Gearing
Name: Henry William Gearing
Record Type: Baptism
Baptism Date: 21 Jul 1887
Father's Name: William John Gearing
Mother's Name: Louisa Gearing
Parish or Poor Law Union: Lorrimore Square St Paul
Borough: Southwark
Register Type: Parish Registers

looks like 78 Manor Place

father is an engineer.

This is the baptism of Louisa

The address is in Greenwich but hard to make out.
5 Cl........ Place
Avenue Road

London, England, Births and Baptisms, 1813-1906 about Louisa Adelaide Tyler
Name: Louisa Adelaide Tyler
Record Type: Baptism
Baptism Date: 8 Oct 1865
Father's Name: Henry Tyler
Mother's Name: Eliza Tyler
Parish or Poor Law Union: Camberwell St George
Borough: Southwark
Register Type: Parish Registers

Staff Records
the engineers’ registers 1847 to 1957

(the above is from below link)

http://www.poheritage.com/our-archive/research-guides/crew/po-archives-at-national-maritime-museum

(if of any use!)

Chris :)

(is it Chatham Place LK?)

That looks right Chris.
I was looking for my close up map but I have buried it.
I am still having difficulty. coming up with results.

I have looked at some of the the London Gearings and many of the street names are on my tree.

Afraid I've not been able to find anything for you, but these are suggestions.

If you're really lucky, you may be able to find a Will for Henry Gearing - naming his grandchildren.
The best I've found (on Ancestry, and it's not a very good find) is for Henry William Geering died 1898 of Greenwich Road, Blackheath. Naming his widow, Ellen.

Only backrupt William Gearing I can see (London Gazette) is in 1868 - a cork manufacturer from Bethnal Green. Perhaps you can find another (but how would you know if it was your Gt.grandfather or not)?

Incoming Passenger Lists on Ancestry start at 1878, which is a bit too late to be helpful. Maybe you can find earlier ones somewhere else.

The 1891 Census reference to Henry W Jessing is a 'mis-transcribed' reference to my grandfather, Henry W Gearing, who - with his mother (Louisa Adelaide, nee Tyler) - was living with the Tyler family following the death of William John Gearing in 1889. As far as I have yet been able to discover, Henry W 'disappears' from the 1901 Census to reappear as a lodger in Barrow-in-Furness in 1911, where he married Melvine Roberts in 1912. Louisa Adelaide married Charles Harrison in London in 1900.

Thanks for the other leads, which I will follow-up in due course.

Could you copy out the details on the marriage cert for William and Louisa.

No image available
Search collection
About this collection
groom's name: William John Gearing
groom's birth date: 1853
groom's birthplace:
groom's age: 33
bride's name: Louisa Adelaide Tyler
bride's birth date: 1865
bride's birthplace:
bride's age: 21
marriage date: 22 Sep 1886
marriage place: St Marks, Kennington, Surrey, England
groom's father's name: Henry George Gearing
groom's mother's name:
bride's father's name: Henry John Tyler
bride's mother's name:
groom's race:
groom's marital status: Single
groom's previous wife's name:
bride's race:
bride's marital status: Single
bride's previous husband's name:
indexing project (batch) number: M01064-5
system origin: England-EASy
source film number: 375305
reference number: 66, p 57

worth a look

Parish Records Collection marriage

Surname:GearingForenames:HenryYear of Marriage:1821Month of Marriage:JUNDay of Marriage: 2Spouse surname:HumphrysSpouse forenames:ElizabethPlace:DeptfordCounty:KentGroom notes:Bride notes:Source:St.Nicholas Deptford 1813-1847 Record source:Thames & Medway Marriages Data provider:Rob Cottrell, Trueflare LimitedTranscriptions © Rob Cottrell, Trueflare Limited

there is this marriage but not sure


London, England, Marriages and Banns, 1754-1921 about George Henry Gearing
Name: George Henry Gearing
Age: Minor
Spouse Name: Caroline Morley
Record Type: Marriage
Event Date: 3 Nov 1839
Parish: Shoreditch St Leonard
Borough: Hackney
Father Name: Simon Gearing
Spouse Father Name: Richd Morley
Register Type: Parish Register

London, England, Births and Baptisms, 1813-1906 about William Gearing
Name: William Gearing
Record Type: Baptism
Baptism Date: 2 Nov 1845
Father's Name: George Henry Gearing
Mother's Name: Caroline Gearing
Parish or Poor Law Union: Hoxton St John
Borough: Hackney
Register Type: Parish Registers

There are other children.

http://search.fibis.org/frontis/bin/aps_person_search.php

http://indiafamily.bl.uk/ui/Advancediscovery.aspx


(had a look on above links, for India side of things, but nothing. other than already known!)

Chris :)

Still can't find any Gearings coming into the country, from India, before the 1890s. And no censuses before then with a Gearing born in India.

I assume you've already spoken with the poster who has the Public Tree on Ancestry with Henry William Gearing going to India. I wonder how they know they have the correct one. That Henry Gearing appears to show up on the 1861 census claiming to be married.

That tree has also killed off mother, Elizabeth, in 1862. But she appears to be very much alive in 1871, living with her daughter Hannah, and her family.

Thanks for the leads: I'll follow them up over the next few days.

All,

Thanks for all the checking/searching, including the FIBIS site - that is the source of a lot of what I know about the Gearing family in India. I'll have another look at the 1839 marriage and 1845 baptism.

The tantalizing thing is that I have not yet been able to identify a marriage/death record for the India-born (1849) William John Gearing, and nor have I yet been able to able to confirm a record for the UK birth of my grandfather (JWG) who was married in 1886, became the father of my grandfather (HWG) in 1887, and died in 1889.

I'm a novice when it comes to passenger records, but I couldn't find anything remotely relevant on the Ancestry records for any Gearings returning from India anytime in the late nineteenth century. I did wonder if such a journey could have been 'obfuscated' by JWG's father being an employee of P&O, but that thought has yet to take me anywhere. I haven't found a relevant will yet, but acknowledge there is more searching to be done there, as there is among bankruptcy records and engineer registers.

The Gearing-Humphreys marriage of 1821, according to more than one public member tree, is of ancestors of the "Indian Gearing" family. I have sent a message to a couple of Ancestry public member tree contacts re their knowledge of JWG, but I await a response from both.

Andy Turner

OOPs - you will have spotted the transposition of my grandfather's initials in my previous message: he was William John Gearing (WJG), rather than JWG!!!

Baptism (Find My Past)
Forename(s):Henry William
Surname:Gearing
Year:1822
Month:Jul
Day:25
Father's Forename:Henry
Father's Occupation:Mariner
Mother's Forename:Elizabeth
Mother's Surname:
Birth Day:30
Birth Month:Jun
Birth Year:1822
Notes:Pn Denotes Poor Note, Believed To Be A Note From The Poorhouse To Pay For The Baptism.
Abode:Poor House
Place:Greenwich
Parish:St Alfege
County:Kent
Data provider:North West Kent FHS

Forename(s):Hannah Elizabeth
Surname:Gearing
Year:1825
Month:Apr
Day:4
Father's Forename:Henry
Father's Occupation:Waterman
Mother's Forename:Elizabeth
Mother's Surname:
Birth Day:7
Birth Month:Mar
Birth Year:1825
Notes:Pn Denotes Poor Note, Believed To Be A Note From The Poorhouse To Pay For The Baptism.
Abode:Roan Street
Place:Greenwich
Parish:St Alfege
County:Kent

Forename(s):John James
Surname:Gearing
Year:1827
Month:Aug
Day:20
Father's Forename:Henry
Father's Occupation:Waterman
Mother's Forename:Elizabeth
Mother's Surname:
Birth Day:27
Birth Month:Jul
Birth Year:1827
Notes:Pn Denotes Poor Note, Believed To Be A Note From The Poorhouse To Pay For The Baptism.
Abode:East Lane
Place:Greenwich
Parish:St Alfege
County:Kent

Forename(s):Caroline
Surname:Gearing
Year:1831
Month:Jun
Day:22
Father's Forename:Henry
Father's Occupation:Waterman
Mother's Forename:Elizabeth
Mother's Surname:
Birth Day:26
Birth Month:May
Birth Year:1831
Notes:Pn Denotes Poor Note, Believed To Be A Note From The Poorhouse To Pay For The Baptism.
Abode:Queens St
Place:Greenwich
Parish:St Alfege
County:Kent

Chris :)

Name: Henry Gearing (Bachelor)
Spouse Name: Elizabeth Humphreys (Spinster)
Record Type: Marriage
Event Date: 2 Jun 1821
Parish: Deptford St Nicholas
Borough: Greenwich
Register Type: Parish Register
(witnesses James Humphreys (would say his attempt as Humphreys), Caroline Clements)


Arrival (Fibis)
Month Jun
Year 1845
Name of Ship Clown
Captain J. Talbert
Title or Rank Mrs.
First Name H.
Passenger Surname Gearing
Passenger Origin Rangoon
Passenger Destination Calcutta
Vessel Origin Rangoon
Vessel Destination Calcutta
Source Bengal Directory
Edition 1846

I have ancestors on each of the streets mentioned in those baptisms.
East Lane is now Eastney Street.

They are in a very small area alongside the Royal Naval College.
There were a high concentration of fisherman/mariners in the area.
It was a dangerous occupation and many orphan's went to one of the fisherman's schools.
It would be worth checking the records of the Greenwich pensioners.

http://freepages.genealogy.rootsweb.ancestry.com/~genmaps/genfiles/COU_files/ENG/LON/creighton_greewich_1835.html

Thames watermen and lightermen 1688-2010 (Find My Past)

Last name:Gearing
First names:Henry William
Bound year:1885
Bound month:Mar
Bound day:10
Where from/Notes:Greenwich
Master's last name:Gearing
Master's first names:John James
Date free:1890 Apr 8
Source:Binding Records 1692-1949
Record source:Thames watermen and lightermen
Data provider:Rob Cottrell, Trueflare Limited

(think there could be more Gearing in this index)

Chris :)

Last name:Gearing
First names:John James
Bound year:1844
Bound month:Dec
Bound day:12
Where from/Notes:Greenwich
Master's last name:Gearing
Master's first names:Henry
Date free:11 Feb 1858
Source:Binding Records 1692-1949
Record source:Thames watermen and lightermen

Last name:Geering
First names:Henry
Bound year:1814
Bound month:Oct
Bound day:27
Where from/Notes:Greenwich
Master's last name:Starkey
Master's first names:Thomas
Date free:01 Apr 1824
Source:Binding Records 1692-1949
Record source:Thames watermen and lightermen