Canadian Legacy

 

Canadian Citizenship Certificate for Nicholas Alan Pinhey, great-grandson of William Fox Pinhey 

( Nicholas Pinhey, Son of Edward Shellard Pinhey)

Thomas Shellard Pinhey

Thomas Knevitt Pinhey I, Thomas Shellard Pinhey, Edward Shellard Pinhey, and Daisy Laura Pinhey, 1920

Thomas Knevitt Pinhey and Daisy Laura Pinhey had three sons, Thomas Shellard Pinhey, Edward Shellard Pinhey, and William Shellard Pinhey.

Thomas Shellard Pinhey, born October 24, 1911, was the eldest son of Thomas Knevitt Pinhey  and  William Fox Pinhey's second grandson (Eric William Digby Stillwell was William's first grandson).

Thomas Shellard Pinhey in 1927

Thomas Shellard Pinhey died tragically in 1927 at the age of 15 years in Hollywood California.   TKP and Daisy had recently moved to Hollywood from Morton Grove Illinois and Thomas' death was a major shock for the family.   My father recalled his brother Thomas as follows:

"In late May or early June 1927 Tom was a member of a wall scaling team that won the Boy Scout contests and the next day he complained of a painful abdomen. We were moving into a duplex, 737 North Harper, and it was the last day of school. I came home (our new home) and Tom was in bed and mother was wringing her hands and waiting for the doctor. Tom was delirious and talking to me about our coming vacation in Balboa and Newport Beach. We both loved the ocean and the swimming and surfing. The ambulance came and took him away and mother and father went along. William and I stayed at the home of an associate of fathers, Ernie Levy. The next morning my father asked me to go for a walk with him. He then informed me that Tom had died on the operating table. The doctors didn’t really know the cause of death but thought it might have been a ruptured appendix (note: the cause was officially peritonitis due to a ruptured appendix). My mother took this very badly and in August she and William took off on the Rose Queen to visit her sister Iris in Salem, Oregon. It was a good thing to do, as she and father were both so on edge that their once happy marriage was in danger of disintegrating. We had a housekeeper and bachelored along for about 5 or 6 weeks.

Tom and I had made friends while living at La Perla Courts and joined the

Boy Scouts (Troop 57, Heinz best). We met on Hollywood Blvd. in the St. Thomas Episcopal Church and had a lot of fun. After meetings we often stole loquats and oranges from the small orchards then in existence on Hollywood Blvd. Our new friends were Clinton and Sheldon Ellsworth; their mother managed the La Perla Bungalow Courts, Gerard Cloutman (his sister, Barbara Kent, was Miss Hollywood of 1927 and a fairly well known actress), John Mallet who lived on Hayworth in an apartment with his aunt and uncle (he was an orphan) and Homer Boyle who lived on Fairfax south of Sunset Blvd. Somehow I was designated to fight with Homer, for some obscure reason. He was older than I was, but I was sturdy and made out all right.

Tom and I hitched rides on the P&E (Pacific Electric Railway) trains over Cahuenga Pass, jumped off at Universal City and walked through Lasky Ranch where the old Westerns were made and hiked clear across to Griffith Park where Tom distinguished himself by teasing the bears in their pens. We did another freight car hop down Santa Monica Blvd. to the Santa Monica Pier. Did you ever notice that between the pilings under the pier there are plank walkways? We discovered that if we walked these we could come up under the floors of the various fun houses and other entertainment places “for free”. We swam in the surf and I was amazed to find that the ocean was colder in California than in Vancouver, B.C. The Japanese current did not set in at Santa Monica like it did in B.C.

We also sneaked into Bernheimer’s Gardens in Hollywood. All in all we had a great time that ended rather abruptly with Tom’s death. I joined the YMCA on DeLongpre in Hollywood as I was very lonely without Tom and I became involved with swimming. I was a very good swimmer and had several friends at the “Y”. Graumann’s Chinese was almost completed, and the Egyptian was the classy movie theater at that time (1927 or ’28). Father and I went camping almost every weekend and found a wonderful place called Emerald Bay south of Laguna. It is now a millionaire-type resort but in those days we paid 50 cents and pitched our camp tent. There were the remains of many old movie sets there and when later we took William and mother there, we took pictures of father kneeling to my mother on the old set of “The Black Pirate” which starred Doug Fairbanks. It was a wonderful place to swim and fish and helped lighten the pain and loss of my brother. Mother never got over it however, and when in later years I lost my daughter, 18 year old Sheila, I understood her grief."

 The Pinhey Brothers 1927
William Shellard Pinhey age 5, Edward Shellard Pinhey, age 12, and Thomas Shellard Pinhey, age 15

Thomas age 14 and Edward age 11, and William age 4

Unfortunately, my father and grandmother never told me where my uncle Thomas was buried.  I searched through the records for several years, and while I was able to locate the state death index listing his death, I could not find an obituary or other record.  I resorted to contacting the main cemeteries in Los Angeles, but no record of Thomas turned up.  Finally, in 2019, I was able to access Thomas' death certificate (below) and I was able to determine that Thomas was interred at the Inglewood Park Cemetery in Inglewood California, literally the last cemetery I would have checked!  I am grateful to be able to locate my uncle's final resting place and that I am able to document and memorialize his life.

Thomas Shellard Pinhey, Certificate of Death, 1927

I was also able to locate a sympathy note from the Hollywood Boy Scout Troop to my grandparents and also a very touching letter from Fanny Maude Pinhey to my grandmother Daisy regarding Thomas' death.

Sympathy Note from Boy Scouts Troop 57

Letter from Fanny Maude Pinhey to Daisy Laura Pinhey 

(sent from the W.F. Pinhey Residence Dunoon Road, Lewisham, London)

Interestingly, the letter shows Fanny Maude's address as 22 Dunoon Road in 1927. Apparently William Fox and Fanny moved to 24 Dunoon Road  (next door) shortly after the letter was sent.

Last Known Photographs of William Fox Pinhey and Fanny Maude Pinhey

Note: these photographs were posted earlier.  I decided to re-post them as they are the last photos of William Fox and Fanny in my albums and I obtained a copy of William Fox Pinhey's probate notice, and this provided me with the address of William and Fanny's last residence in London.  I was able to verify that their residence is still standing (so it was worth a post)!

William Fox Pinhey passed away on January 20, 1929 at his home in Forest Hill,  Lewisham.  This is the last photograph of William in the photo albums.  It was taken a few years prior to his death.

As seen in the photograph below, the house at 24 Dunoon Road is still standing, surviving the bombing during World War II.  It's not terrible far from the Pinhey's old home in Lee.

24 Dunoon Road, Forest Hill, Lewisham, London, Middlesex, England (last home of William Fox and Fanny Maude)

Fanny Maude Pinhey passed away on August 5, 1936, seven years after William's death. I don't have her death notice, so I assume she passed away at Forest Hill.  The last photo of Fanny is shown below.  

Last Known Photograph of Fanny Maude Pinhey

Post Cards and Passenger List

Here is a card from William Fox Pinhey to his grandson, Eric William Digby Stillwell.  The image of the card was sent to me by William Fox Pinhey's great-granddaughter Judith Millidge.

The card was sent February 23, 1916, eleven months prior to William and Fanny leaving Canada to return to England.

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Here (below) we have an 1890 Penny Postcard sent by William to Fanny celebrating the fiftieth anniversary of the introduction of the Uniform Penny Postage. This was Britain's first commemorative postal stationery.  William included an interesting initialized code above his signature.  Any guess as to what it means? (image of card by Judith Millidge).

Judith Millidge also provided me a copy of the passenger log for the Southland showing William, Fanny, and Robert's return trip to England on January 20, 1917 (thank you Judith!).

One Mystery Solved - Edward Brittain Jones

Edward Brittain Jones, William Fox Pinhey, Fanny Maude Pinhey (née Knevitt), Fanny Sarah Stillwell (née Pinhey), Robert Knevitt Pinhey, Thomas Knevitt Pinhey, Clarence Stillwell (seated) - 1907

Edward Brittian Jones with Pinhey and Knevitt Families at Shernden Grange, Edenbridge

Daniela Jones, from Santiago Chile, solved the mystery of the identity gentleman of Japanese ancestry in the Pinhey family photos at their home in Shernden Grange. He was Edward Brittain Jones.   Daniela is the great-granddaughter of Edward and a distant cousin of mine.  She provided me with the following information on Edward's life:

"He was the son of Edmund Brittain Jones, who was the younger brother of Sarah Matilda Knevitt, mother of my great grandmother Fanny Maude Pinhey (née Knevitt).  

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Edmund traveled to Yokohama Japan, where he married Ishiwata Mayo or Miyo, they had an only son, Edward, but unfortunately Ishiwata died when he was only 1 year old. His father Edmund decided to send him to England to be raised by his sister (Fanny Maude Pinhey) and the Stillwell family."

Daniela also provided me with the following from a family history book published by her grandfather, Kenneth Jones:

"Edward, Lydia´s husband, was born in Yokohama, Japan, on February 1st 1889 and passed away on October 5th 1980 in Quilpué (Chile). His father Edmund Brittain Jones was born on August 1st, 1845 in Wrexham, his grandparents were Edmund William Jones and Eliza Hammond. His mother, Ishiwata Mayo or “Miyo”, a Japanese lady whose origins we know nothing about. His father, a real estate agent according to document), went to Yokohama where it seems he worked as a businessman and/or possibly as a Steamship Company agent. He married Ishiwata and Edward was born. She passed away one year later and Edmund sent his little boy to England to be raised by his family, to be more specific with some cousins whose surname was Stillwell. Edmund stayed in Japan for the rest of his life, where he died. We don´t know if he returned to see his son and we don't have any documents of a trip to England. From a practical point of view Edward was abandoned.

He wasn't inscribed at the British Consul in Yokohama as a British citizen. In 1910 he obtained citizenship and curiously his certificate was signed by Winston Churchill, Secretary of State. In the last few years of his life I asked him many times to tell me about what he knew about his Japanese ancestors, but he insisted that he knew nothing. It was surely true because his British family had done everything possible to hide this embarrassing episode of his history. If we travelled to the last few years of the 19th Century in Britain, for families with lineage a marriage to someone of the yellow race was almost worse than marriage with the black race. It was inconceivable. Still worse if from the union were born mongrel children. Because of this since Edward was young he received the pejorative nickname “Jappy Jones”, in other words a second class Brit, not of pure blood. We will from now on call him “Teddy” (a common nickname for Edward) as he was lovingly called by his friends and family.

We must recognize that the Stillwell family did everything possible to make Teddy into a perfect British country gentleman. He was educated at “Lord Weymouth Grammar School”, Warminster, close to Salisbury and Stonehenge. He told me with much pride that once a year the top cricket team (in which he played) was invited to play against the great house of Warminster team, the home of the Duke of Devonshire, and after had tea with the Duke´s family. Many years later I visited this palatial House which, like all grand British houses is open to tourists to reduce taxes. It is enormous with more than one hundred rooms, antique furniture and painting galleries making it a true museum. Today the large park has been converted into an open zoo without fences. One enters in their car and drives between families of lions, rhinoceroses, giraffes, etc. Very impressive! Obviously it is strictly prohibited to get out of the car. Living with the Stillwell family he learned to love the countryside, fishing and horses. One relative that filled him with pride was his cousin Jack Brittain Jones, Major of Black Watch, one of the most famous regiments in Britain, and assistant to Lord Willingdon Viceroy of India.

After finishing school he began working at Anglo South American Bank in London. A letter of recommendation from the Director of his school says the following:

“I have been asked to write in relation to Edward Jones who has been a student at this school for more than three years. As he has lived for ten quarters in the boarding school I manage, I have had the opportunity to know him well. I have always found him responsible and proper, although not brilliant in his studies but with versatility and a strong will, capable of completing any task. He has very good manners and is popular with the other students. I dare to think that it is very probable that he gives satisfaction and will be useful in any appropriate situation for his age and circumstances. August 3rd, 1906.”

After some years, the Bank offers him the possibility to work at the office in Valparaiso. In this way in 1911 he arrived to Chile a far and distant land from his loved England. He worked at the main office on Prat Street. Later the Bank changed its name to “London and South America Bank” and finally to “Bank of London”. Today the building is used by Santander Santiago Bank. Surely he came to Chile thinking in this country he wouldn't have to live under the stigma to be a half Japanese and that way was. Although some friends still called him “Jappy Jones” this was a friendly nickname.

The British community in Valparaíso wasn't so big, so when he arrived probably was introduced to everyone. Teddy when he was young was really handsome, and the Japanese features weren't notorious, with the beauty Lydia Swinglehurst they formed a very striking couple."

Many thanks to Daniela for providing the details on Edward's life. She also provided my with a copy of an indenture (loan document) from Edmund Brittain Jones to William Fox Pinhey, which will be the topic of a subsequent post.

Shernden Grange/Christmas Mill Cottage

Shernden Grange 1907

Christmas Mill Cottage 2016

I was able to track down the location of William Fox Pinhey's 1907 home in Edenbridge thanks to the electoral rolls provided to me by Sue Richardon (keeper of the Pinhey family trees).  Prior to receiving the information,  I hadn't been able to translate the handwriting on the 1906 postcard that identifies the Pinhey home.  Additionally, my grandmother's notes only referenced the photos of the home as being located in Edenbridge.  I thought the name might be "Sheridan Grange" or "Sherden Grange", but these names did not match any names or locations in Kent.  Fortunately, the electoral rolls provided me with the name "Shernden Grange", so I could start a fresh search.

My initial search turned up Shernden Lane in Kent, which was promising, however, Google Earth and Street View, provided no immediately identifiable structures that resembled the photos of the Pinhey house. So, my next step was to check the British Ordnance Survey Maps (6 inch O.S. maps).  These are analogous to the USGS quad maps used in the U.S.A. and my hope was that they would provide the level of detail and place names to identify the location of the home and if it still exists. Bingo!  I immediately found a reference to "Shernden Grange" on the 1909 Kent map.   My next step was to check the older (1870's-1890's) maps. Here's the location on the 1896 map:

Interestingly, the original name of Shernden Grange was "Christmas's Mill" per the 1870's map.  The map also indicates that it was a corn milling operation.  As "corn" could mean wheat or rye in the U.K., it's not clear what the mill was actually processing, however, an oast house (hops kiln) is located near the old property. 

 Per Kent history,  in 1327, the  Christmas Mill land was owned William de Sherndan and called the "Screedlands".  According to the records, the mill was owned by a William Christemasse (Christmas) from 1773 to 1794. William Christmas excavated the 4 acre lake south of the mill.  Christmas owned the nearby Haxted Mill on the River Eden and wanted his own water supply for the dry summers.   By 1838, the miller was John Bassett and the Bassett family owned the property through 1851.  By 1881 the property is owned by Catherine Russell and the mill building was converted into the dwelling now known as Christmas Mill Cottage.   Here's an old parcel map as shown in "An Index to Places in Edenbridge" by Lionel Cole.  The Pinhey's house is on the "Homestead" parcel:

The Shernden Grange name shows up on the maps through 1936, when the name reverts to "Christmas Mill" (see below):

Through time, additional buildings are added adjacent to the Christmas Mill parcel (boat house, Christmas Place in 1907).  The 1936 map gave me the location information I needed to precisely locate the house to determine if it still exists.   By using Google Earth, I was able to determine that the house still exists, now known as "Christmas Mill Cottage".  Here's a photo of the rear of the house as viewed from from Shernden Lane:

The house has been "remodeled" and updated since 1907 and the property looks very nice.  The former single story section of the house was replaced with a two story section (the division in the roof line can been seen in the photos).

Finding the Pinhey house answered several questions I had:  First and foremost, the actual location of the house.  Second, I remembered my father and grandmother talking about an attempt to locate the house (by my grandmother) and that she believed it was torn down and turned into a quarry.  The O.S. maps show an old quarry behind the small lake - perhaps this is what threw them off?  The small lake or pond looks like it was an impoundment for the old corn mill.  This also answered the question of where Thomas Knevitt Pinhey and Clarence Stillwell had been swimming in the photo of them at Shernden Grange.

Current valuation of Christmas Mill Cottage, $890,000 U.S.

Pinhey Homes, London SE13, Church Terrace and Brandram Road

The 1891 London Electoral Registers list William Fox Pinhey's residence as 14 Church Terrace, in the North Lee Polling District.  The Registers also show that he owned a house a 1 Brandram Road, just around the corner from the Church Terrace home.  From what I can tell, this is where the Pinheys lived prior to acquiring the Shernden Grange house in Blackheath around 1894. Interestingly, the Church Terrace house is adjacent to St. Margaret's Church where William Fox Pinhey, Fanny Maude, Madge and William Green Pinhey are buried.

Here are two screen shots of the Google Earth view showing the location of the homes and graves at St. Margaret's Church:

Here's the 14 Church Terrace Home today - the street view is somewhat blocked by trees, so I have included a screen shot of the neighboring home to indicate what the architecture of the terrace houses looks like.  We would call these "terraced homes" "duplexes", or attached homes, in the USA. From my readings, it appears that William Green Pinhey was the builder of terraced homes in the area and he may have built these (though this will require more research to verify) :

14 Church Terrace, London SE13 (above)

The homes next door to the Pinhey home on Church Terrace (above)

I have included a photo of the Brandram house owned by William Fox Pinhey (below):

Pinhey House at 1 Brandram Road

I contacted St. Margaret's Church regarding the Pinhey family graves. The rector at St. Margaret's Church was very helpful and provided me with directions for locating the Pinhey graves in the Churchyard.  Based on his directions and the photo I have of the marker, I was able to pinpoint the location of the graves on the north side of the church.  Here's a screen shot of the location (just outside of the north door adjacent to the Brandram vault):

The electoral rolls show William Fox Pinhey as the owner of the following properties and it appears we finally have the proper spelling of "Shernden Grange"  (my thanks to Sue Richardson for providing the information):

William Fox Pinhey Electoral Rolls etc. from “Find My Past”

                Abode                                               Qualifying houses

1884-5  1 Church Terrace, Lee

1887-8  1 Church Terrace                              4,7,8,14 &15 Church Terrace

1888  1 Church Terrace, Lee                         4,7,8,14,&15 Church Terrace

                                                                        Tenement

1889-90 1 Brandram Rd, Lee                                        “

1891-4  14 Church Terrace                                           “

1896-7  14 Church Terrace, Lee                    4,7,8,14 &15 Church Terrace

1898-1901  Clay Gate, Marden, Kent            Clay Gate, freehold house

1902  Millhouse, Marden, Kent

1903  38 Montem Rd Forest Hill SE London  - 1,2,4,14,15,&16 Church Terrace  

1904-6 38 Montem Rd, Lee                                1,2,4,14,15,16 Church Terrace

1907  Shernden Grange, Edenbridge               1,2,4,14,15,&16 Church Terrace

38 Montem Road, Forest Hill, SE London in 2016