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Can you compare signatures on any official documents?

A friend was able to prove that her James in Newcastle and one with the same occupation marrying later in Southampton were one and the same by matching his signatures.

Re the 1907 newspaper article - there is also one in 1916 for William Henry Button being charged for assault in Dartford. He was 31 and had sent a telegraph asking for his trial to be adjourned as he was held up in Archangel after what he thought was going to be a short voyage.

Eltham and District Times 7 July 1916

Perhaps this is the same person as the 1907 entry so wrong age for your man.

I agree that will be the 1907 man.
This will also probably be him - although there seem to have been at least two or three Button households in the area:


BRITISH CHAMPIONS. Keywood Goes_to.Ramsgate After Twenty Miles Trial

... cheer him as the first man in. Another excellent runner is W. H. Button, of Dartford, who a few days ago had a race with Keyword over fifteen miles of track for £2O a side. _ . . . . _ Button is twenty-two, . . . . . last November he won a road race ...
Published: Tuesday 18 May 1909
Newspaper: Evening News (London)
County: London, England


There are reports of his running races in various years.

DNA testing has been mentioned. This would only work in this case if a good variety of possible relatives are tested.

A year later, I am returning to this question. It seems trying to match the Kent and Sussex Williams is beating my head on a brick wall. The detailed timeline doesn't preclude them being the same person, but if they were, he must have had a very stressful time - worthy of a Brian Rix Whitehall farce.

I think the key may lie in what Edward James was doing between 1971 and 1901. It's always possible that he wanted to disappear. Three of his younger brothers went to Australia (though one, William Henry, returned after 9 years there during which his first wife died, and he had to rebuild his hotel after it burned down).

None of them changed their names, but perhaps Edward James did - which could make it impossible to find him. I have failed to find any death or marriage records in Australia or New Zealand for any permutation of his forenames between hus last England census entry in 1971 and the 1950s. If he was there, he wasn't using the Button surname.

Consistently in all of the Kent records, William did not use any middle name, and with 'boarder' James (not Edward James) in the census, both gave ages that were a couple of years in error. Furthermore, 'navvy' and 'bricklayer' never appear anywhere else in the extended family - most were artisans - bootmakers, tailors, etc. William Henry's brother Albert was a hotel owner/manager in Melbourne and later in Perth.

So I'm progressively more of the opinion that a single item of evidence - one rather dodgy census entry - is insufficient to support a complicated story of a double life.

I think all hinges now on one brick wall: what happened to Edward James after the 1971 census day? Perhaps the next step is to scour the army, merchant navy, and Royal Navy records for enlistments in the 1870s and 1880s. William Henry served in the army in the 1880s - this was completely unsuspected because his contract was entirely between the 1881 and 1891 census dates, just as his time in Australia was entirely between the 1891 and 1901 censuses.

:-S

I assume you mean 1871 where you've typed 1971? ;-) ;-)

Goodluck with your 'scouring' of the military records.

Indeed, 1871 !
I have just bought the digital image of James Edward's death record 1922 in Thanet. Definitely middle name Edward, and rank or profession given as night watchman. Address 43 Winstanley Crescent Ramsgate, informat Ethel Austen, daughter. This should be enough for me to trace back and find if he is the same person as the James Edward fisherman married to Charlotte. If not, then could well be ours. Next step 1921 census. Electoral registers. And find Ethel Austen! Of course night watchman could just be a retirement job for the fisherman.... we shall see. At least a little easier than tracing the military records. Not even sure where to start with those.

Conclusive proof. Ethel Louise Austen at 43 Winstanley Crescent in the 1921 census, wife of George Robert Austen was Ethel L. Spain who married George R. Austen in Thanet in Q4 1912. Ethel Spain was listed as the niece of James Button fisherman in the 1901 census. So the James Edward Button who died in 1922 WAS the fisherman, born Thanet 1853, NOT our James Edward Button born in Brighton in 1854.

One line of enquiry closed, but we are still no closer to finding out what happened to our James Edward.

And finally eliminating the Edward James Button who was a butcher - highly likely the butcher who arrived on the Potosi was the same Edward Button, butcher, who was victim of a robbery in Sydney in 1886 and the same butcher who died in 1889 at Mellum Creek, Queensland.

1886 robbery - Sydney Morning Herald 3 Dec 1886.

Australian Town and Country Journal (NSW : 1870 - 1907) Saturday 23 January 1897
Long Lost Relatives
The following persons, who left the United Kingdom for Australia, or were last hoard of in these colonies, are inquired for 'n "Lloyd's Weekly London Newspaper" of November 22, the editor of which has the addresses of the inquirers. Persons who discover their friends through this re- publication are requested to acknowledge the fact when writing to the editor of "Lloyd's."

Button (Edward James), of Hackney-road, London, came to Australia in October, 1882, in the Potosi ; was heard of at Sydney in 1886. Sisters ask.

Faversham and North East Kent News Saturday 10th July 1909

Desertion of Children

Frances Emily Norris was charged with running away and leaving her three children - Grace, William and Rose Button - whereby they became chargeable to the common fund of the Faversham Union on June 28th. She admitted it.

Mr M H Moss, the Master of the workhouse, stated that the three children who were illegitimate were admitted to the workhouse on 28th June owing to their desertion by the mother. The woman had four other children in the house, only three out of he seven were legitimate.

Prisoner stated she could get no work and being unable to pay her rent she had to get out of her house. She left some food for the children who were at school at the time, and wrote a note to the Super. She went away to Whitstable and had since been to Dargate where she had a promise of work and a cottage. Her belongings were at present at Whitstable.

After some deliberation the magistrates decided to allow the prisoner until next Monday to remove the three children in question from the Workhouse. In the meantime she would be able to start work and make some provision for them. The prisoner undertook to do this and was accordingly discharged.

***Rosa Jane Button born 09/04/1905 was admitted to Hernhill Church of England School on 19/07/09.
Grace Elizabeth admitted to school 30/08/09 *** (Edited born 1901) and William born 12/02/1903 were admitted 13/07/1909. they all had fathers name as William Button and their address as Dargate, Hernhill

****I know this post is about William Button but I have found a lot about Frances and I'm now intent on following her story as she seems to have had a terrible life :-(

Grace Elizabeth was born in 1901

A tree on Ancestry.................has the following

Edward James Button
Birth 1854 • Brighton, Sussex, England
Death 01 OCT 1950 • Newfoundland and Labrador, Canada

01 Oct 1950
Newfoundland and Labrador, Canada
Apoplexy, arterio sclerosis = a Mason

BUT...the death isn't the right man. The Ancestry tree 'owner' clearly didn't do any checking

Name Edward James Button
Gender Male
Marital Status Married
Age 87***************************************************
Birth Date abt 1863
Death Date 1 Oct 1950
Death Place 102 Barnes Road
Registration Date 1950
Series Number 2560

Erika, apologies Grace Elizabeth was born in 1901

BUTTON, GRACE ELIZABETH MMN WILSON
GRO Reference: 1901 D Quarter in DARTFORD Volume 02A Page 559

No problem ;-) ;-)

A conclusive answer on the William Button in Kent. He is NOT the same person. DNA tests on descendants in the Sussex and Kent families have proved this. There is another potential candidate, but as far as I know completely unrelated. This means that the James Button also at the same address in Dartford in 1901 is NOT our Edward James Button. However, there is a brother of the other candidate William Button, james george Button living with wife and family - in Dartford in 1901. It's not unknown for people to be recorded in two places at once in some of these censuses, as the forms were often completed days or weeks after the actual census date. It isn't any help locating our Edward James Button - but I have removed all of the Kent family from our tree. My suspicion is that he did emigrate, but not to Australia or New Zealand. The records for USA and South Africa in particular are much more difficult to search.