Hi,
I am trying to find what happened to my great grandfather.
I have posted about this on another forum without success, so do not hold out too much hope.
He was John George Hort born in Tenby Pembrokeshire in 1860 (I have the cert)
He was the great grandson of Josiah Hort Archbishop of Tuam a friend of Jonathon Swift.
I know that he was a merchant navy officer CC No 00109 who served on several ships including the Esmeralda as an apprentice in 1881, the Shannon in 1883 and the John Byng in 1886.
I know that he married my great grandmother Alice Louisa Frye in 1888 (I have the cert)
I know that after 2 months of marriage he signed up for the Winchester Rifles for 12 years. He lied about his age stating that he was 22 when he was 28 and also stated that he was unmarried. So it looks like he did a runner.
In August 1889 he bought himself out of the army for the sum of 18 shillings
2 days later my grandfather John George Beresford Hort was born.
The 1891 census shows my grandfather aged 1 living with his mother Alice Hort with her parents and sibblings in Radnor Street Chelsea - no mention of his father.
After this date I have no record of either parent until Alice dies in Fulham in 1927, on the death cert she is described as the widow of John Hort a Merch Navy Officer.
I have no records of John George Hort from 1889 when he bought himself out of the army.
On my grandfathers wedding cert of 1912 he is desribed as a merch navy mate deceased
( I suspect he may not have been)
I wonder if he returned to her or just disappeared. The odd thing is that neither John nor Alice show up on the 1901 or 1911 census or any other records. They may have gone abroad.
My grandfather aged 11 can be found on the 1901 census in Fulham visiting an Edwin P Carpenter with an Eva Nelson - Alice's widowed younger sister (that is another story - google Eva Frye Nelson Aveling Eleanor Marx)
I wonder he went back to sea and if there are any merchant navy records of John after 1889 or indeed any records of John or Alice Hort.
I don't hold out much hope, he was probably not a very nice man which explains why my grandfather never spoke of him but I would like to find out what happened - my mother always told me that he died falling from the mast of a ship but I suspect that was just a yarn.
If anyone could help I would be eternally grateful
Dave Beresford
I am trying to find what happened to my great grandfather.
I have posted about this on another forum without success, so do not hold out too much hope.
He was John George Hort born in Tenby Pembrokeshire in 1860 (I have the cert)
He was the great grandson of Josiah Hort Archbishop of Tuam a friend of Jonathon Swift.
I know that he was a merchant navy officer CC No 00109 who served on several ships including the Esmeralda as an apprentice in 1881, the Shannon in 1883 and the John Byng in 1886.
I know that he married my great grandmother Alice Louisa Frye in 1888 (I have the cert)
I know that after 2 months of marriage he signed up for the Winchester Rifles for 12 years. He lied about his age stating that he was 22 when he was 28 and also stated that he was unmarried. So it looks like he did a runner.
In August 1889 he bought himself out of the army for the sum of 18 shillings
2 days later my grandfather John George Beresford Hort was born.
The 1891 census shows my grandfather aged 1 living with his mother Alice Hort with her parents and sibblings in Radnor Street Chelsea - no mention of his father.
After this date I have no record of either parent until Alice dies in Fulham in 1927, on the death cert she is described as the widow of John Hort a Merch Navy Officer.
I have no records of John George Hort from 1889 when he bought himself out of the army.
On my grandfathers wedding cert of 1912 he is desribed as a merch navy mate deceased
( I suspect he may not have been)
I wonder if he returned to her or just disappeared. The odd thing is that neither John nor Alice show up on the 1901 or 1911 census or any other records. They may have gone abroad.
My grandfather aged 11 can be found on the 1901 census in Fulham visiting an Edwin P Carpenter with an Eva Nelson - Alice's widowed younger sister (that is another story - google Eva Frye Nelson Aveling Eleanor Marx)
I wonder he went back to sea and if there are any merchant navy records of John after 1889 or indeed any records of John or Alice Hort.
I don't hold out much hope, he was probably not a very nice man which explains why my grandfather never spoke of him but I would like to find out what happened - my mother always told me that he died falling from the mast of a ship but I suspect that was just a yarn.
If anyone could help I would be eternally grateful
Dave Beresford
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