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

More Cumberland House - 1915

My father had some memories of living at Cumberland House:

"My two aunts did get up by canoe a few times and in the spring a small paddle-wheel steamer made it up the Saskatchewan while the river was full. The mosquitoes and “no see-ums” were very bad. We lived off moose, fish, canned vegetables and whatever native berries were there. The lake had sturgeon in it and a Russian used to make caviar for my folks. I have a few memories of the North but very little. I can remember a few Cree phrases. Tom and I wore moccasins and deer or moose (hide) coats. It was a swampy country and extremely cold in the winter. Revillon did their best to keep us up there but Mother did not want to stay. We all returned to Prince Albert and then to Winnipeg."

 Thomas Knevitt Pinhey and Edward Shellard Pinhey at Cumberland House

 Daisy, Edward and Thomas Shellard Pinhey at Cumberland House

 Thomas Knevitt Pinhey in winter wear

 Getting the dog sled ready

 Daisy, Thomas and baby Edward

 Ready to get under way...

Cumberland House, 1915

Cumberland House flood, 1915 

 Boating, Cumberland House, 1915

 Edward (Ted) Shellard Pinhey, 1915

 Tommy, Ted and Agnes, Cumberland House, 1915

Tommy, Ted and Mrs. Sayce, Cumberland House, 1915

The Stillwell's Sons

My father's memoirs state that he had two cousins, Eric and John, who were the sons of Fanny Sarah and Clarence Stillwell.  My father describes Clarence Stillwell's business (  they were "gold lacemen, embroiderers & general military wear, specialities: gold lace, embroidery, Masonic clothing & jewellery").  He goes on to note that both Eric and John were killed serving in World War II.  The Stillwell's are described in their school honor roll as follows (Dulwich College):

MAJOR ERIC WILLIAM DIGBY STILLWELL 

117th Bn. The Queen's Royal Regiment.

Born May 24, 1911. He was the elder brother of J. D. Stillwell and on leaving school he spent about a year with Jaeger Ltd., and another with a firm of chartered accountants, to gain business experience and in 1930 he joined the family business of Edward Stillwell & Son, Ltd., of Barbican, E.C., eventually becoming a director.

He was the fifth successive generation in the family business. He was a liveryman (by servitude) of the Worshipful Company of Gold and Silver Wyre Drawers, with which his family had also been closely connected. In the Certificate" A " examination at School he was a Kittermaster prize winner and as soon as he was eighteen was commissioned to the 24th Battalion London Regiment, which later became the 7th (Southwark) Battalion The Queen's Royal Regiment. On mobilization he was captain, commanding" B " Company which he took to France in 1940. They did useful work in the retirement from Brussels and returned via Dunkirk. He was promoted major in I941 and proceeded in July 1942 with the 44th Division to the Middle East in command of the H.Q. Company. Shortly after arrival he became second-in-command and a few weeks before his death, in the absence of the C.O., he commanded the battalion in action. He fell in the opening stages of El Alamein, on October 24, 1942, along with the majority of the officers of his battalion, when the Infantry attacked the minefields in advance of the armour. He married, in 1940, Dorothy Joan, daughter of Edgar Millar, of Forest Hill and left no family.

LIEUTENANT JOHN DIGBY STILLWELL 

44th Bn. Royal Tank Regiment.

Born August 30, 1914. He was the younger brother of E. W. D. Stillwell and on

leaving Dulwich College went to Pawson & Leafs, Ltd., textile warehousemen, St. Paul's

Churchyard, for about eighteen months to gain general experience. He then joined Constable, Hart & Co., road works and general contractors, for a short time before going to George Wimpey & Co., Ltd., with whom he was engaged on various construction undertakings such as water-works, new aerodromes, etc., up to the outbreak of war.

He joined the O.A.F.C. on leaving School and the Westminster Dragoons about a year later, being a lance-corporal; he became a cadet in the same regiment on the outbreak of war, obtaining his commission in January 1940 in the Royal Tank Regiment, and being posted to the 44th Battalion (formerly the 6th Gloucesters T.A.).  He proceeded to the Middle East with them in May 1941 and took part in Auchinleck's Libya campaign and led the New Zealand Division to the relief of Tobruk, breaking through in a tank attack by night. He was wounded at El Duda and was evacuated from Tobruk, but H.M.S. Chakdina, in which he sailed, was sunk by enemy action and he is now presumed to have been lost at sea on December 5, 1941. He was the battalion signals officer and as such came in contact with all the squadrons of the regiment by whom he was much missed. He married, in March 1939, Janet, the youngest sister of J. D. East (O.A.), and had one son, born on the day that his father was reported missing.

A Poem and Some Detective Work

This post is out of sequence chronologically as it refers to events and photos from 1911-12 (prior to Thomas and Daisy moving to Cumberland House with Tommy).  As I was going through papers and photos, I found the following poem written by Thomas K. Pinhey in 1912:

To a Ten Dollar Bed Lounge

By

T. Knevitt Pinhey

1

Peace is here and ceased is strife

Happiness for child and wife

Husband too at Eighteenth Street

And they find it very sweet

For their Iris, dear, has flown

Left their happy little home

On the bed does Knevitt lie,

No more thro the night he’ll sigh

On that bony, creaking lounge,

On that hard, unyielding lounge.

2

In the morning he can clean

From his toes clear to his bean

He can slide into his bed

Covering up his greasy head

He can feel sure the clothes

Will be covering up his toes

When the cold dawn he shrinks

Loud he laughs as he oft thinks

Of that bony, creaking lounge.

3

Iris to P.A. will run

When with us we have the sun

On the porch then she shall sleep

The mosquitoes safe to keep;

She shall have a hammock wide

Lined with cotton wool inside,

But we’ll never ask her more

All night thro to twist and snore

On that bony creaking lounge

On that hard unyielding lounge.

Thomas' poem refers to "Eighteenth Street" and, with a little digging, I was able to find a 1911 photo of a house labeled "338 18th Street W" Prince Albert and photos labeled 1911 showing Thomas, Daisy and Tommy at the same house.  Also, I found a photo of Iris and what I suspect is the "Ten Dollar Bed Lounge" referred to in T.K.'s poem.  The house at 338 18th Street West shows up in the prior post about Waitville and I have corrected the captions accordingly.  Here are the photos - the poor quality of these photos and the photos of Cumberland House are due to the photos being developed at home by T.K. (and at the trading post):

Iris and the $10 Bed Lounge (this photo was labeled as "Iris")

Iris in a later photo (must be Winnipeg! It's cold!)

 Thomas Knevitt Pinhey at 338 18th Street W (1911)

Thomas and Daisy at 338 18th W (1911 - might be the earliest photo of Thomas and Daisy as a couple)

Thomas at Work - Thomas is in the center holding a hat - the man on the left is Elliot Fisher and the other man is W. Ireland (?) 

338 18th Street W (Daisy is in this photo)

Cumberland House

The Revillon Freres Trading Post, Cumberland House 1914

My father's memoirs recall how Thomas and Daisy moved to Cumberland House around 1913:

"My parents (Thomas Knevitt Pinhey and Daisy) moved to Prince Albert, Saskatchewan and my father made a living at various jobs. He worked part-time as a stagehand, sold flour for a milling company and did some accounting for Revillon Freres (Revillon Brothers), a French fur trading and luxury goods company whose headquarters were in Paris and also New York. They were in competition with the Hudson Bay Company. Revillon Freres sent him to Cumberland House, their central post, to audit and manage while the “factor” was on vacation (a factor, from Latin for ‘doer or maker’ is a mercantile fiduciary who receives and sells goods on commission). I forgot to mention that my brother, Thomas Shellard Pinhey was born in Prince Albert in November 1911.

Apparently my father’s audit revealed the fact that something was wrong in the management of the Revillon post at Cumberland House and he was offered the job as factor of the post. This involved trading with the Cree Indians, primarily for muskrat pelts. Flour, tea, tobacco, clothing and other necessities were traded for the furs. Father did well and after the first two years contract; he signed up for another two years.

     

I, Edward Shellard Pinhey, was born Sept 10, 1914 at Cumberland House. The main building was not complete and I was born in a sort of log cabin.  My parents had canoes posted down the river (Saskatchewan) to create relays to get mother to Le Pas, the closest place where a doctor was available, but I arrived early and the canoe men had a nice holiday while my mother was availing herself of the services of “old Nokom” the one midwife. Nokom was not a painless practitioner, but with my father as an assistant, brought “Little Musquasis” (little bear) into this world. I earned the name Musquasis by grunting a lot. A six ounce lead fishing weight was placed on my navel while mother was being attended to and I can thank my father and Nokom (grandmother) for my “shapely” navel. The relays of canoe men were recalled and all went well."

A note of interest - when Thomas K. Pinhey worked as a stagehand, he saw Charlie Chaplin perform as a member of the Karno comedy troupe in Canada around 1911.  My grandfather was not impressed with Charlie because, as he said, Charlie's idea of comedy was to eat soda crackers and then spray them out of his mouth (spit take?) onto another of the actors as part of a comedy routine.  T.K. considered this to be a bit uncouth.  Charlie, of course, went on to be a mega-star in silent films.

Canoe on the River near Cumberland House, 1914

The log house where Edward Shellard Pinhey was born (photo dated 1914)

Daisy Pinhey and  Edward S. Pinhey ("Musquasis" is 1 month old)

Sarah (helping Daisy), Daisy Pinhey and Edward 1914