Tracing Family Branches

My husbands Great Aunt Kathleen Murray died on the 22nd of December 1919 off the Sultan Shoals, Malacca Straits on board the ship Ipoh with her cause of death being recorded as dyspnea following a badly ulcerated throat.  Kathleen was only ten years old and had been a border at the Penang Convent along with her three sisters Violet, Molly and Dolly, until she had fallen ill.  Her mother Helen had gone to Penang and was bringing Kathleen to their home in Singapore when tragedy struck.  Kathleen was buried in Singapore on the 23rd of December 1919. Death at Sea record for Kathleen Murray As I have previously posted (see here ) her death was reported in The Straits Times newspaper on the 23rd December 1919, which can be found here .  The Straits Times, 23 December 1919, Page 8 Untitled 'A sad occurrence took place on board the Ipoh on the voyage from Penang to Singapore, Miss Kathleen Murray, the second daughter, age 10, of  Mr. and Mrs. J.H. Murray of Singapo...

 Today’s snippet concerns Helen Murray nee Stillfried, my husbands paternal great grandmother.  In an advertisement found here in the Singapore Standard on the 11th June 1951 found at NewspaperSG, she gave notice that she was applying for naturalization. The advertisement was also published in the same newspaper on the 12th June 1951. NOTICE NATURALIZATION NOTICE is hereby given that Mrs. Helen Murray of 342 East Coast Road, is applying to the Governor for naturalization and that any person who knows any reason why naturalization should not be granted should send a written and signed statement of the facts to the Colonial Secretary, Singapore.  Mrs. Helen Murray 342 East Coast Rd. More posts mentioning Helen came be found here , here ,  here , here , here  and  here .

  Today's post concerns the engagement of my husband's paternal Grandparents William Allardyce Martin and Violet Helen Marguerite Murray in Singapore in July 1927. The engagement is announced between William Allardice, son of the late Mr. and Mrs. Martin, of Scotland, and Violet, daughter of Mr. and Mrs. James Harvey Murray, of Singapore. Source: NewspaperSG.  The Straits Times, 29 July 1927, Page 8.  Retrieved from  http://eresources.nlb.gov.sg/newspapers/Digitised/Article/straitstimes19270729-1.2.36.2

 Today's post involves my husband's Maternal Aunt, Maria Theresa Hunt, who is now deceased.  The article refers to her as Perri, which is either what she wanted her stage name to be or is a typo, as she was known by the name Terri to family and friends.  The article also has a lovely photograph of her and can be found here Transcription Singapore girl back from Britain: Stage-struck MISS PERRI HUNT (above) returned from Britain aboard the Canton yesterday and said she was stage-struck. Perri, a former pupil of Singapore's Good Shepherd Convent, wanted to know what her chances were of joining the Singapore Stage Club. She has been through a course of dramatics in Coventry, England, and has appeared in "quite a few amateur productions" with a fair amount of success. Miss Hunt, who has been away from Singapore for the last two years, was accompanied by her mother, Mrs. J.E. Hunt.  Her father is expected to join them in Singapore shortly.- Straits Times Picture. Sourc...

 Today's post involves my husbands paternal Grandparents and their wedding in Singapore on the 14th April 1928.  More posts involving this couple can be found here , here , here , here , here , here  and  here . SINGAPORE WEDDINGS Mr. W.A. Martin and Miss Violet Murray. On Saturday at 8 a.m.at the Cathedral of the Good Shepherd, a pretty wedding was solemnised between Miss Violet Helen Murray, eldest daughter of Mr. and Mrs. J.H. Murray, of Singapore, and Mr. William Allardice Martin, of the Prison Dept., Straits Settlements, only son of Mr. and Mrs. W.W. Martin, of Glasgow. The bride, who was given away by her father, looked charming in an Early Victorian frock of satin with the train was also of satin with a lover's knot of georgette and orange blossoms, and carried a bouquet of white lilies and clematis.  The bridesmaid was Miss Molly Murray, sister of the bride, who was becomingly gowned in blue satin charmeuse with hat to match.  The duties of the best...

I am having a genealogy long weekend and as I had been making new discoveries about my husbands paternal family line I decided to chase up to see if there was anything new in the Singapore Newspaper Archives (see here ) that would give me any new information about this branch of his family.  I wasn’t disappointed as new newspapers have been added that provided me with the death notice for James Harvey Murray, who is my husbands paternal Great Grandfather.  We now have more questions than ever of course (as is the nature of genealogy) but it is another vital piece of the puzzle and a very interesting find.  Why his death was advertised in this paper and by whom we do not know. Deaths at this time in Singapore were not a rare occurrence, so why was his the only one listed?  Was the fact that his wife was Eurasian with a Japanese mother influential? The request for Java papers to copy this makes sense in that his wife Helen Murray nee Stillfried Rathenitz, daughters Dor...

I am very excited to say that thanks to the University of Cambridge Digital Library (see here ) I have finally found some records pertaining to my husbands Grandfather William Allardyce Martin and his time as a civilian prisoner of war at Changi during World War Two.  William was a prison officer at Changi before the fall of Singapore and while he was captured, he did manage to get his wife and son safely out of Singapore with them ultimately living at Barrow in Furness in England for the duration of the war.  William survived the war and in 1945 arrived in England on the Tegelberg , the stay was not a long one as he returned to Singapore in mid 1946 on the Mauretania .  With his health ultimately compromised from his time as a prisoner of war he died at the Tan Tock Seng Hospital in Singapore in August 1949 and was buried at Bidadari Cemetery. Changi internment camp: nominal roll of internees, June, 1942 This record mentions that his wife was Eurasian and was p...

Today's death notice is for William Allardyce Martin who was my husbands grandfather. WILLIAM ALLARDYCE MARTIN Aged 47 years, formerly of The Prison's Dept. Singapore, passed away at Tan Tock Seng Hospital early this morning.  The cortege leaves the T.T.S.H. at 3:45pm to-day for a service at the Cathedral of the Good Shepherd at 4 p.m. and from thence Bidadari Cemetery. Source: The Singapore Free Press, 23 August 1949, Page 8. Retrieved from  http://eresources.nlb.gov.sg/newspapers

James Harvey Murray is my husbands Great Grandfather and prior to my research we only had the barest of details and a few family stories about him.  We had heard that he was smuggled out of Ireland with the assistance of Catholic priests after shooting someone.  We were also informed that he was a very large violent man who had done very well for himself in business (something to do with cinemas) after his arrival in Asia, and that he lived with his part Japanese wife and daughters in a large house in Singapore. At some stage his business interests supposedly suffered a down turn but the family remained comfortable. It was not known when he died but it was supposed to be some time before the Second World War. He is proving to be quite an interesting character to research.  Definitely a family black sheep and not the nicest person to have ever lived, but people come in all shapes, sizes and character types and I am not interested in judging them.  I still have a lot ...