Alfred John James (1846 - 1924)

Born Sep 1846 in Kidderminster, Worcestershire, England, United Kingdom

Ancestors

Husband of Emily (Palmer) James — married 20 Nov 1872 in New Zealand

Descendants

Died 9 Sep 1924 at about age 78 in Wairoa, Hawkes Bay, New Zealand

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Biography

Alfred was born in Kidderminster, Worcestershire, UK, in 1846. His birth was registered in the Oct-Dec quarter of 1846 (Vol 18 Page 380)^[1], and he was baptised on 1st October 1846 at St George's Church in Kidderminster^[2]. This is not a contradiction, as births could be registered some weeks after the event; it suggests that he was born in late August or September.

His parents were Edward and Mary James. On his baptism record they are listed as living at Coventry Street in Kidderminster; Edward was a butcher.

On the 1851 Census, Alfred is living with his parents and siblings at Mill Street in Kidderminster^[3].

Edward and Mary both passed away circa 1860, leaving Alfred and his siblings as orphans. While several of Alfred's siblings had moved in with their oldest brother George and his wife by the 1861 Census^[4], Alfred is not on this census – indeed, there are no further records of him in the UK; neither census, nor marriage, death or burial records. This is because Alfred had moved overseas.

He is recorded as having arrived in New Zealand at the age of 16^[5], which would put his arrival around 1863. As he must have left before the 1861 UK Census, this either suggests that he spent a few years elsewhere en route, or that he arrived around 1860-1 and claimed to be older than he truly was.

Alfred married Emily Palmer at St Michael's Church in Waimea West on 20 November 1872^[6][7]. Electoral registers and other sources put him in New Zealand for the rest of his life.

He died on 9 September 1924 in Hawke's Bay^[8], and is buried in Wairoa Cemetery, Plot #3829^[9]. In the adjoining plot the grave is marked Mrs Alfred James. Corbett-903 visited in Apr 2017, while there is a marker for Alfred, there is none for Emily.

This Alfred is easily confused with Alfred James, son of Thomas and Sarah James, who was born in the same year (indeed, the same quarter) in the same county of Worcestershire, but some fifteen miles away in the city of Worcester.

Research Notes

It was a bit of a puzzle to connect the Alfred in New Zealand to the Alfred in the UK, as in neither case do we have particularly complete information: the UK records naturally stop after 1851, and the NZ records are incomplete and contradictory.

On Alfred's death certificate, he is named as Alfred JAMES James and has an age of 87 years (in 1924), giving an approximate birth date of 1837. On all other records he is Alfred JOHN James.

On his marriage certificate, his age is given as 26 (in 1872), giving an approximate birth date of 1846. It is much more likely that the marriage certificate age is accurate than the death certificate age, as it would have been reported by Alfred himself (who would have known his own age), as opposed to the age at death, which is obviously not self-reported.

However, his obituary states that he was born in Worcestershire. Assuming that this is correct, we can look for every Alfred James born in Worcestershire in the 1830s and 1840s, and demonstrate that every one of them stayed in the UK beyond 1872 (the earliest date at which we know for sure Alfred was in New Zealand), with the exception of one – who also happens to be the only one where the UK records give a middle name of "John", and who was born in 1846, the date which we already thought was most likely.

This conclusion is further supported by private DNA research undertaken by Preece-829. Although the common ancestor is too far back to be accepted as a source by WikiTree, the large number of common DNA matches on both the UK and NZ sides, for whom the only common link is Alfred John James, strongly suggests that he is indeed the connection.

Sources

1. ↑ GRO Birth Index
2. ↑ FamilySearch - England Births and Christenings, 1538-1975 - Alfred John James
3. ↑ 1851 Census - HO107/2038/265/1
4. ↑ 1861 Census - RG9/1987/102/11 f.
5. ↑ Gisborne Times, 12 September 1924, Vol LXI, Issue 9808, Page 4
6. ↑ NZ BDM 1872/8636
7. ↑ Colonist, 26 November 1872, Vol XV, Issue 1584, Page 2
8. ↑ NZ BDM 1924/3120
9. ↑ Memorial: Find a Grave (has image)
   Find A Grave: Memorial #205710017 (accessed 11 August 2023)
   Memorial page for Alfred John James (1837-9 Sep 1924), citing Wairoa Cemetery, Wairoa, Wairoa District, Hawke's Bay, New Zealand (plot: Section B, Row 11); Maintained by Baby Stegosaurus (contributor 49885654).