Genealogy Chat

This is my first time posting and I would be really grateful if someone would be able to help me find some information.

I have been searching for my Great Grandfather's birth certificate with no luck.His name was Joseph John Michael Gabriel Ewins and he was born on 21st December 1863.

In 1883 he joined the Irish Rifles and his Army papers listed his age as 19 years 8m and said he was from Bloomsbury,Middlesex.

He was said to have attended a boarding school as a child.
His Army papers listed his mother,Julia Ewins(nee Fitzgerald),as his next of kin.She was listed as living at Myrtle Cottage,Barnet.

Before he joined the Army he was said to be a musician.
We believe he moved to Belfast with the Army.He served in Canada,Gibraltar,the Mediterranean,India and I was always told he was in the Boer War.

He was a Lance Corporal and I have photos of him(taken in Poona,India) labelled"The Band" and "F Company".He was in the army 15 years 184 days and was discharged 1st March 1899 unfit because of Cancer(forehead).

On 23rd December 1900 in Lisburn,Belfast he married my Great Grandmother,Emma Singleton.His address was 136 Upper Meadow Street,Belfast and his occupation was a clerk.His father was listed as Joseph Ewins(deceased) harness maker.

They went on to have 9 children-Raphael, Unknown child Ewins-deceased(1911 Irish census-total children born alive:6 children still living:5)Agnes(my Grandmother), Ambrose(said to have emigrated to Canada and became a lumberjack),Ursula,Camillus,Theresa,Paul(said to have disappeared) and Mollie.
His sons were said to have been named after the teaching Brothers in the school where he was educated.

After the Army he became a Postman in Belfast (was also in the Post Office Band)and retired in 1925.

He is on the 1901 and 1911(age 47) Irish census but it only says he was born in England.I was once told he was from Essex.He died in Belfast in 1948 **CORRECTION**DIED 1945**


.I have attempted to trace his parents with limited success.

I know from his Marriage certificate that his father was Joseph Ewins but I don't know when or where he was born,married,or died.
He was listed as deceased in 1900 on Joseph juniors Marriage certificate and was not listed on the Army papers of Joseph junior as his next of kin(Julia Ewins,his wife was).

I located a "Julia Ewens" on the 1881 British census living at 8 Albert Street,Barnet,Hertfordshire.She is listed as a lodger who is a 41 year old widow and ex-laundress.She was listed as born in London,Middlesex.This puts her year of birth at about 1838. **SORRY**1840**

It ties in with her address(Myrtle Cottage,Barnet)on the 1883 (Joseph Ewins junior's) Army papers.
I can't find a marriage between her and Joseph Ewins senior.
I have found a possible listing of her death on Freebdm- Dec 1902 Barnet.

Thank you so much for any help offered.
Paula.

I found a marriage of Julia Fitzgerald to Robert Ewins St.Giles London 1849. Found them together 1851 census with a daughter May age 2.
Maybe a death of Robert Ewins and a further marriage of Julia to George Levick or William Charles 1866. Irene

Hi Paula - welcome to the boards - hope you are safe from the fires!!

found this 1881George BAMPFIELD Head U Male 53 St Johns Wood, Middlesex, England Roman Catholic Priest
Charles DONOVAN Boarder U Male 24 Clerkenwell, Middlesex, England Roman Catholic Priest
John BLOOMFIELD Boarder U Male 25 Ireland Theological Student
Francis SPINK Boarder U Male 20 Brompton, Middlesex, England Theological Student
James COLLINS Boarder U Male 22 Spitalfields, Middlesex, England Theological Student
John CLOHOSEY Boarder U Male 21 Hackney, Middlesex, England Theological Student
Joseph UPTON Boarder U Male 21 Wallsall, Stafford, England Theological Student
Francis SHUBROOT Boarder U Male 21 Scotland Theological Student
George EDWARDS Boarder U Male 21 London, London, Middlesex, England Theological Student
Thomas CASSIDY Boarder U Male 27 Ireland Theological Student
Edward LAWES Boarder U Male 36 Norwich, Norfolk, England Theological Student
Walter ROBINSON Boarder U Male 18 Theological Student
Boniface KNAPP Boarder U Male 22 Whitechapel, Middlesex, England Theological Student
James CONNOR Boarder U Male 17 Gravesend, Kent, England Theological Student
John HOOKWAY Boarder U Male 17 London, London, Middlesex, England Theological Student
Joseph EWINGS Boarder U Male 20 London, London, Middlesex, England Student
James DOHERTY Boarder U Male 23 London, London, Middlesex, England Theological Student
Charles EANITY Boarder U Male 19 Manchester, Lancashire, England Student
John BARRETT Boarder U Male 18 Chatham, Kent, England Student
John DAY Boarder U Male 18 Marylebone, Middlesex, England Student
(Continued)


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Source Information:
Dwelling Brunswick Hill
Census Place Chipping Barnet, Hertford, England
Family History Library Film 1341333
Public Records Office Reference RG11
Piece / Folio 1369 / 89
Page Number 18



Do you think you could put some breaks in your posting - it is very hard to read all in one block!!! Nearly gone cross eyed trying to read it

Ann X

1881 - this must have been a very big house!!!!


John EWINS Head M Male 40 Surrey, England Cotton Mill Stoker (CM)
Ellen EWINS Wife M Female 43 Derry Co, Ireland
James EWINS Son U Male 20 London, Middlesex, England Cotton Mule Piecer
John EWINS Son U Male 18 London, Middlesex, England Cotton Mule Piecer
Joseph EWINS Son U Male 16 London, Middlesex, England Cotton Mule Piecer
Charles EWINS Son Male 12 London, Middlesex, England Cotton Mule Piecer
Sarah A. EWINS Daur Female 7 Crompton, Lancashire, England Scholar
Louisa EWINS Daur Female 4 Crompton, Lancashire, England Scholar
Mary RUSH Daur M Female 24 London, Middlesex, England Cotton Speed Tenter
Matthias RUSH Grandson Male 3 Crompton, Lancashire, England
Mary E. RUSH Grand Daur Female 6 m Crompton, Lancashire, England
James MC CARTY Boarder M Male 28 Carthing, Ireland Cotton Cardroom Jobber (CM)
Annie MC CARTY Boarder M Female 27 Crompton, Lancashire, England Cotton Speed Tenter
Wm. MC CARTY Boarder Male 7 Crompton, Lancashire, England Scholar
Jeremiah MC CARTY Boarder Male 2 Crompton, Lancashire, England


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Source Information:
Dwelling 61 Neville St
Census Place Crompton, Lancashire, England
Family History Library Film 1341980
Public Records Office Reference RG11
Piece / Folio 4097 / 28
Page Number 52

1881Thomas BUNYON Head M Male 37 Melton, Hereford, England Gen Labr
Caroline BUNYON Wife M Female 35 Paddington, Middlesex, England
Caroline BUNYON Daur Female 14 High Barnet, Hertford, England
Thomas BUNYON Son Male 8 Whetstone, Middlesex, England Scholar
Sarah A. BUNYON Daur Female 6 New Barnet, Hertford, England
James W. BUNYON Son Male 5 New Barnet, Hertford, England
Agnes E. BUNYON (Daur) Female 3 New Barnet, Hertford, England
Ann BUNYON Relative W Female 55 Ware, Hertford, England Charwoman
Julia EWENS Lodger W Female 41 London, Middlesex, England Formerly Laundress


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Source Information:
Dwelling Albert Rd No 8
Census Place East Barnet, Hertford, England
Family History Library Film 1341333
Public Records Office Reference RG11
Piece / Folio 1370 / 42
Page Number 33

Hello everyone!

Thanks so much for your replies-they are coming faster than I can read!

I am in Sydney so I am safe from the fires physically....but feel shellshocked and traumatised by the horror of it all,as everyone else does.

So sorry for my long and jumbled posting...I attempted to fit in as much information as I could.I will try and fix it.

Once again thanks for all of your help.

Paula.

that's a lot better!!! for me anyway - glad you're safe - I have first cousins in Sydney so know that's OK - have another in Adelaide and she's fine too

Ann X

Richochet,
that was the 1881 census entry that I thought was the best match for my Julia Ewins.
I have been unable to find her on any other census records.

Irene,
thanks for that marriage info-I will have a look.

Ann of Green Gables,
the 1881 census listing for the dwelling Brunswick Hill at Chipping Barnet did sound like it fitted in with my information that Joseph Ewins(junior) went to a boarding school.Do you know if it was likely that the son of a widowed laundress would be there?

I too had looked at the other people in the big house(ha ha) in Lancashire and checked on a Lancashire BDM website.This showed that the mother's maiden name was O'Connor.

You,like Richochet, have listed the 1881 census result that I am sure is my Julia Ewens at Albert Street,East Barnet.I cannot locate her on any other census listings so far.

Thank you all for helping me with this.
It is so nice to have someone else to look over what I am searching for as I am fairly new to all of this!

they sound like Irish Catholic family and with him as a theological student seems to fit the bill somehow

The Barnet connection seems to keep coming up!

This is really strange because I was actually born in Watford which is just near there(so I am told).
When I started doing this I knew that my Dad's family was from Watford,Aldenham etc and that my Mum's family was from Northern Ireland.

So you can imagine my shock that I have seemingly traced Mum's side of the family(Joseph Ewins junior is my Mum's Grandfather) back to Barnet!

I have tried to trace Joseph Ewins(senior) by looking for harness makers.

I have uncovered a lot of people with the surname "Ewens"(the same spelling as Julia on the 1881 census listing)living in a town called Harting in Sussex.
There are lots of them and a few are listed as harness makers and saddlers etc.They go back to the 1841 census listings and there are lots of them on the familysearch-Harting-Sussex -births and marriages.

Does this sound like a feasible link?
Paula

Irene,
Thanks again for your info.

Please excuse my "newness"-I have just joined Ancestry(last week!) and am still trying to find my way around.

I was able to locate the 1849 St Giles marriage between Julia Fitzgerald and Robert Ewins but I cannot for the life of me find them(and daughter May aged 2) on the 1851 census!!!

May or may not be any use to you, but I know due to a distant great aunt marrying in the 1790s to a Ewin that there were also Ewin families in Haverhill, Suffolk as well.

I suppose it wouldn't be too great a stretch for him to be put down as "Ewin" or "Ewins" etc - might come in handy as another alternative spelling.

Could this be them in 1851?

51 Parker Street, St Giles in the Fields, Middlesex
Robert Ewens Head Mar 27 Basket maker b. London
Julia Ewens Wife Mar 23 b. Ireland
May Ewens Daur 2 b. London

Kate,
Thanks for your input.

I don't really know exactly where my ancestors came from at this stage so anything is possible!
I will add the possible Suffolk link to my growing list.

Thanks for adding to the info about the 1851 census-I will go back and have a look at them and see if this could fit in somewhere.

I also found a possible marriage for Julia Fitzgerald on Free BDM and Ancestry but cannot work out who her groom was.There are only 3 people listed.

Marriage Dec 1858

Clerkenwell

Fitzgerald, Julia
Blythe, Edward
Cole,Jane

I found a Jane and Edward Blythe on the 1881 census so they must have married each other so who did Julia marry?
Is there any way to check on her groom?

Kate(and Irene),

I finally found that family in the 1881 census.Looks like the daughters name could be Mary.It has Julia as being born in Ireland but I thought she was from Middlesex.
Unfortunately I don't know if my Joseph Ewins(junior) had any siblings.
I will try and follow them to see what became of them.

I have found a few Julia Fitzgeralds living in the St. Giles in the Fields/Finsbury etc. area.Apparently a lot of Irish people lived there.

I found a possible match of a Julia Fitzgerald(aged 2)on the 1841 census.

She was living with her family in King Street,Finsbury,St. Giles in the Fields.Her father is a John Fitzgerald aged 25,mother Jane Fitzgerald aged 25 and there are other children.Her age fitted with my "Julia Ewens" on the 1881 census.

I found the family on the 1851 census but Julia is not there so I think she may have died?

It is all so confusing!

Thanks so much for everyone who has been helping me.Your kindness and generosity is very much appreciated!

I need to get off my computer now-the kids are home from school and "NEED" the computer(ha ha).

I will be grateful for any replies and will check again tomorrow.

The most important (although it is all important!) thing that I am trying to find at the moment is the birth certificate for Joseph John Michael Gabriel Ewins(what a mouthful!)
I have an Aunt in her seventies(living in Kent) who has been trying to trace it since 1992 and I would love to find it for her!

Back tommorrow
Paula

Hi there I had another look around for your Julia. She could not be the Julia Fitzgerald that married Ewins in 1849 if she was born 1838. If Julia married again she would not be listed as Ewins- she would have another surname.
Have you found the cottage Julia lived at in the 1881 census. Irene

Do you have the army papers of your ancestor - do they name the place he signed on. If it was Ireland he must have been in Ireland 1883. Perhaps his mother sent him to Ireland to live as a child and that is why he was away at school. Irene

Hello Irene,
Thanks fo helping-I really appreciate it.

My Aunt who lives in Kent has Joseph Ewins(junior) Army papers.

She told me that when he signed up(in 1883) he was living in Bloomsbury,London and his mother(Julia Ewins) was listed as his next of kin.She was living at Myrtle Cottage,Barnet at that time.So it seems that his father(Joseph Ewins senior) was probably deceased).

The only census that I have found Julia Ewins on is the 1881 british census where she is listed as "Julia Ewens".

I am still looking for her at the moment on other census records.

Thanks for any help-I am very grateful!

My Aunt told me that Joseph Ewins(junior)ended up in Belfast after he joined the Army-possibly he had to go there for his training.He served overseas then ended up settling in Belfast.
Paula.

I think I may have located Joseph Ewins(junior) on the 1871 census.
Any opinions to help verify this wouls be appreciated.

I came across a "Joseph Ewings"on the 1881 british census living in what appeared to be a Roman Catholic Boys School or similar at Chipping Barnet,Hertfordshire.

I think it was Anne of Green Gables who listed the details in this thread.

That fitted in with the information that I was told(he attended a boarding school).

I couldn't find him on the 1871 census so I searched for the Priest who appeared at the top of the 1881 census list-George Bampfield.

He is there-
1871 census..Middlesex..South Mimms..District 7...
(Town:Barnet Civil Parish:South Mimms Ecc. Parish:Christ Church)
The listing is under: Presbytery-Union Street.

I couldn't find Joseph Ewins because he appears to have been transcribed incorrectly.However on page 45 of this census the 11th pupil from the top of the page looks like "Joseph Hewins" to me.

He is listed as age 10 pupil born London.

As he was there (aged 20) "Joseph Ewings" on the 1881 census it sounds like a match.

Any opinions?

Thanks,
Paula.