Hi Debra,

Apologies for the delay in replying, I really must drop by a little more often!

I also wondered whether the H W Bellsmith who is named as a promoter for Eastman might actually have been H S Bellsmith, but I am inclined to think it was Henry rather than Harold...

Hi Nemo,

I agree, his behaviour does seem extraordinary. Why did he stay out late at night? Why did he suddenly leave the Callaghan's and yet remain in London for a further three months? He was from a respectable family, and had a respectable occupation. What was he up to, and how did...

An update (Expect a further one in another three years!)

A newspaper report from 1889 states that Henry's Toronto accountancy business was in financial difficulty and that he was in England trying to launch a money lending concern. The company were described as 'assignees', so they managed...

I took this photo in the summer, just happened to be passing Llangwyryfon (not a lot of people can say that!)

This is the grave of Dr Morgan Davies, his wife Margaret and son Geraint.

The inscription reads 'Meddyg, Llenor, Cymwynaswr' (Doctor, Writer, Benefactor).
...

Apologies if this has been posted before, but I can't see it anywhere, and there's an awful lot of posts to look through!...

Wow - looks like one I'll actually be able to attend!

Chris,

I am a rare visitor to the site these days, so have only just seen this thread.

I have posted some info about Davies under the A-Z thread (discussion thread 2, post 22)

If you haven't found him already, he is in Whitechapel with his father on the 1871...

Wow! Thanks for posting these.

Still can't find him in the 1891 or 1901 census records, although it wouldn't surprise me at all if he was using an alias.

I am fairly certain he is living with a common law wife 'Carrie' on the 1911 census at 1 Busby St, Bethnal Green. At...

I'm having a lot of difficulty finding any record of Ben between 1886 and his death in 1915.

1867 he gets 6 months for larceny & receiving
1868 he marries Elizabeth Burles in Beauchamp Roding, Ongar, Essex
1869 son Benjamin Richard born, residence 6 John Street
...

Thanks Debs, sounds like they were a colourful family!

Debs, that is all very interesting - we will have to see what we can find out.

Re Ben Goodson, looking on Ancestry, there are only three such named individuals who I cannot confidently rule out.

One is Henry's brother, birth reg Q4 1846 Whitechapel, death reg Q3 1915 Whitechapel....

Hi Debs,

I will post more when I've had time to look at it in a bit more detail.

I am surprised to have any family link with the WMs, however tenuous, as my family, as far back as you care to go, come from Hampshire, Surrey and Dorset, with just a smidgen of Kent and Wiltshire....

I've just made an unexpected discovery.

In 1882 Henry Goodson was tried, along with Mary Kelly's subsequent landlord John McCarthy, for riot. In 1888, one of the lodgers at 29 Hanbury St worked for Goodson. And by far the most likely identifiaction for the Ben Goodson who co-habited with...

Morgan Davies

I can add a bit of clarification to the Morgan Davies entry, particularly surrounding his early years.

He was born in Whitechapel on 17th September 1853 (not 1854). His father John had moved to London from Wales to set up a dairy ('cow-keeping') business in...

Hi Nemo,

That's interesting - I assumed that part of the letter, as with the earlier part, was a reference to Bell Smith (an eccentric man living near Finsbury Square, dark with new teeth) but I see how it could be read otherwise.

The other aspects that don't come from...