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Hi
I was wondering if anyone could help me with a big family mystery. I started researching my family history mainly because of my Grandfather Ferrie. He died when I was 13 and I was extremely close to him, and still miss him loads now. He never spoke about his father, so I never knew much about him, which made me very curious. My Grandfather didn't speak about his father, because when he was twelve his father left his mother to go and be a travelling musician. My Grandfather never spoke to him ever again, as he felt this was extremely selfish and unfair to leave his mother bringing up two children by herself. So I am trying to find out what happened to his father.
I got in contact with my grandfather's niece recently, and she doesn't know what happened to his father either. So we are both interested to find out when and where he died. The only thing she knew was that he travelled in the circus for a while ,and that he had a pet tiger! (I thought that was quite interesting!).
I have found his birth details, which was a massive achievement as we didn't know where or when he was born! I have also found out his marriage details to my Grandfather's mother, another thing we didn't know, we didn't have a clue where and when they got married. But I can't for the life of me, find any records for his death. My Grandfather's cousin said that the last time his father was seen alive was in the 1960/70s he thinks where he was visiting a relative in Belfast, apparently he didn't look too well!
The details I have for him are as follows:
His name was Edward Francis Ferrie
Born 1906 in Dundee Scotland
He was the illegitimate son of Henry Ferrie and Janet/Jane Stewart Heron
He married a Elizabeth McGibbon Whiteside In Doncaster in October 1929
They lived in Belfast - My Grandfather's cousin reckons they lived at 83 Carlingford St., Cregagh Rd., Belfast.
They had two children
Sarah Elizabeth Ferrie 1931
Gerald Ferrie 1941 (My Grandfather)
I know he was living in Scotland in 1959 as he was the witness for one of his half sister's weddings, and he signed his father's death certificate.
My Grandfather's cousin reckons he was in Belfast between 1960-1970 (can't remember exactly what year he saw him) as he saw him with a relative then.
After that we don't know what happened to him. I am absolutely desperate to find his death record, as I would love to know what happened to him. I also would like to find his will, in case he more children which we don't know about.
I thought he must of died in Northern Ireland as I can't find any death records for him in Scotland, England or Wales. However I have now found out that there is no death record for a Edward Ferrie in Northern Ireland between 1950-2009.
That leaves Republic of Ireland or he is over 103 years old which I think is very unlikely! Or he went to America or somewhere else abroad, which I have searched on ancestry and none come up for that either!
Can someone give me some advice about what I should do now? How do I research Republic of Ireland's records?
I wrote a letter to the Belfast Telegraph and Dundee Telegraph, asking for them to post a letter in their newspapers from me, asking for any information, but neither of them have replied.
Any help would truly be appreciated!
I was wondering if anyone could help me with a big family mystery. I started researching my family history mainly because of my Grandfather Ferrie. He died when I was 13 and I was extremely close to him, and still miss him loads now. He never spoke about his father, so I never knew much about him, which made me very curious. My Grandfather didn't speak about his father, because when he was twelve his father left his mother to go and be a travelling musician. My Grandfather never spoke to him ever again, as he felt this was extremely selfish and unfair to leave his mother bringing up two children by herself. So I am trying to find out what happened to his father.
I got in contact with my grandfather's niece recently, and she doesn't know what happened to his father either. So we are both interested to find out when and where he died. The only thing she knew was that he travelled in the circus for a while ,and that he had a pet tiger! (I thought that was quite interesting!).
I have found his birth details, which was a massive achievement as we didn't know where or when he was born! I have also found out his marriage details to my Grandfather's mother, another thing we didn't know, we didn't have a clue where and when they got married. But I can't for the life of me, find any records for his death. My Grandfather's cousin said that the last time his father was seen alive was in the 1960/70s he thinks where he was visiting a relative in Belfast, apparently he didn't look too well!
The details I have for him are as follows:
His name was Edward Francis Ferrie
Born 1906 in Dundee Scotland
He was the illegitimate son of Henry Ferrie and Janet/Jane Stewart Heron
He married a Elizabeth McGibbon Whiteside In Doncaster in October 1929
They lived in Belfast - My Grandfather's cousin reckons they lived at 83 Carlingford St., Cregagh Rd., Belfast.
They had two children
Sarah Elizabeth Ferrie 1931
Gerald Ferrie 1941 (My Grandfather)
I know he was living in Scotland in 1959 as he was the witness for one of his half sister's weddings, and he signed his father's death certificate.
My Grandfather's cousin reckons he was in Belfast between 1960-1970 (can't remember exactly what year he saw him) as he saw him with a relative then.
After that we don't know what happened to him. I am absolutely desperate to find his death record, as I would love to know what happened to him. I also would like to find his will, in case he more children which we don't know about.
I thought he must of died in Northern Ireland as I can't find any death records for him in Scotland, England or Wales. However I have now found out that there is no death record for a Edward Ferrie in Northern Ireland between 1950-2009.
That leaves Republic of Ireland or he is over 103 years old which I think is very unlikely! Or he went to America or somewhere else abroad, which I have searched on ancestry and none come up for that either!
Can someone give me some advice about what I should do now? How do I research Republic of Ireland's records?
I wrote a letter to the Belfast Telegraph and Dundee Telegraph, asking for them to post a letter in their newspapers from me, asking for any information, but neither of them have replied.
Any help would truly be appreciated!
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