Search for information on Grandfather Ancestry

[teasie]

I dont see a baptism for this child, but also: JOHNSTONE, EDWARD JOHN CHARLES mmn BARNHOUSE GRO Reference: 1884 J Quarter in BARTON REGIS Volume 06A Page 61

There is a newspaper report about an inquest into his death in the Western Daily Press 21 June 1886. Lived with his parents at 94 Hotwell Road & died following infantile convulsions. Surname reported as Johnson

[Janet in Yorkshire]

According to passenger lists, an Alfred Johnston (sic) sailed from Liverpool to Sydney on the "Everton Grange." He was a farmhand. The ship left Liverpool on 5 December 1908 and on the manifest, Alfred was recorded as of Scotch origin.

I am mindful of the fact that in later life Alfred claimed a lack of paperwork re his origins, which may have made it difficult for any descendants later carrying our research to be sure that they had tracked down the correct records.
I don't mean to be rude or doubting, but anyone finding this record could have been led to believe that Alfred's heritage was Scottish. But as yet, there seems to be nothing conclusive to link this passenger with the Bristol area or to a year of birth . Do any family members have any documentation to join up the dots of the facts you have so far? Do you have evidence that your man arrived in Sydney in 1908? This seems to have been the only Alfred Johnston to sail for Australia from England in 1908; do you have any records about your man's early time in Australia? e.g. where was he, what did he do for a living, did he serve in WW1 to have an army record?

[Clifo35L]

When Alfred Johnstone arrived in Australia he stayed in Sydney and was employed as a ship watchman and him and Florence were based in Croyden NSW and he stayed there after Florence passed and then remarried Mona Milbourn.
At the time of Alfred's death in 1979 he had been in Australia for 60 years.

[Anne in Carlisle]

Do you have his second marriage certificate? The information on there may be different to the first and provide some clues.
The 'number of years in Australia' on his death certificate would have been reported by someone else and may be approximate so you'd need to search at least plus or minus two years unless you have any other evidence about his arrival.
Anne

[Cliff inNZ]

Just looking in. Seems to be a lot of speculation. What is known? Hide-and-seek is an interesting game!

He claimed to be Alfred Johnstone who died 1979. He married Florence in 1926 and Mona in 1951.

Birth between 1891 and 1894 would make him 85 - 88 when he died . Does that match your memory?

That would make him between 14 and 17 in 1908 if that was him on the ship. The death cert suggests he arrived in 1919 but who said?

With that birth date he would have been about 32 on 1st marriage and 57 on second. What were the recorded dates?

It's hard to fix a few facts in these conditions but that what it's all about isn't it.

[Janet in Yorkshire]

In #15, you said Alfred left for Australia in December 1908 and this is the information I used when looking for him on passenger lists. However, in your last post, you said "At the time of Alfred's death in 1979 he had been in Australia for 60 years." That would suggest he'd arrived in 1919. Did you mean 1908, or was that a typo and should have been 1918??
I've just had another look at passenger records to Australia and all that comes up for 1918/1919 is A E Johnston - but that was a married lady, Mrs A E Johnston, sailing from London to Perth.
I can't access Australian arrivals, only UK departures - perhaps someone else can look??

I agree with what Anne said - information supplied at death is only as good as the current knowledge of the informant, unless they have documentation to show. The same thing can also apply to research done by family members - it may be that as Alfred claimed to have no paperwork about his origins, then any descendants trying to find out about him could have had difficulty finding the relevant online records. Online documentation keeps on increasing, but we must always be mindful that NOT all records are on line and should beware of choosing best fit from those that are available, assuming that they are the ONLY records that have ever existed.
Anne's suggestion of the certificate for the second marriage is a good one.

[Janet in Yorkshire]

Found a male A JohnstonE sailed in 1908 another (same name) who sailed in 1909 - no age or full forename given for either.