Allport torpedoed and KIA during WW1 - Genealogists' Forum

Norseman · #1 15-12-19, 20:13

Hi!
Trying to locate a man with the last name of Allport. He was of British origin. Married to Marthe Jonas, probably a Norwegian Citizen at the time, but of German origin. Married in Britain or in the Empire. His first name may have been Hunter, Bruce is also mentioned. He died at sea during the Great War, and she moved back to Norway.
Can anyone solve this mystery?
Trying to help the Family in Norway.

Regards
Svein

kiterunner · #2 15-12-19, 22:30

The only Allport I could find who died at sea during WW1 was a William Allport of the Oxfordshire & Buckinghamshire Light Infantry, service number 6475, but his widow was called Alice Edith. Would you be able to get any more information about your Mr Allport?

Merry · #3 17-12-19, 21:46

None of the other British Al*ports recorded as dying in WW1 had a forename anything like either Hunter or Bruce. No sign of a birth or marriage for anyone of that name or Marthe Jonas (or any other similar spelling), no children born in England or Wales with the right combination of surnames.

I've also not found anything having dropped certain pieces of information, so no Al*port to Marthe marriages, nor Al*port to Jonas, or (forname) Hunter to Marthe or to Jonas etc etc. Nothing in the newspapers on FMP either.

Do you have any further clues?!

Norseman · #4 18-12-19, 17:44

Thank you for Your effort!
Found his name on an old Envelope.
Walter. A.D Allport, Dominica B. West Indies civil engineer
Her name: Marta M. E. Allport, born Jonas
Everything you can find out about him is of great interest!
Regards
Svein Korsvold

kiterunner · #5 18-12-19, 18:08

Thanks for the extra info. Hopefully we will be able to find out something now.

Here they are on a passenger list leaving London on the 27th Aug 1908 bound for Dominica:
https://www.ancestry.co.uk/interacti...=successSource

Allport, Mr and Mrs W.A.D. travelling in first class, English.

Edit - actually this is likely to be Walter with his first wife, not with Marta / Marthe.

kiterunner · #6 18-12-19, 18:16

FamilySearch has the marriage of Walter Adolph Dennison Allport to Ida Maud Davis at Saint Andrew, Jamaica, 22 Jul 1896, and the birth of a daughter Dorothy Allport in 1907. I'm just going to view the images if I can and will (hopefully) post up links etc in a minute.

kiterunner · #7 18-12-19, 18:23

If you don't have a FamilySearch account you may need to make one to view the images, but if so, don't worry, it's free.

Here is a link to the marriage record:
https://www.familysearch.org/ark:/61...3A1%3AKP12-C5W
Image number 1279.
Walter is a bachelor, engineer, age 24, residence Kingston, Windward Road, father's name Walter Harrison Allport. Ida is a spinster, age 19, residence St Andrew, Gordon town, father Edward George Davis, deceased. Married at St Joseph's Church.

And this is Dorothy's birth registration (image number 424):
https://www.familysearch.org/ark:/61...423&cc=1538386
born 15 Apr 1907.

There is a family on the English censuses with father Denison Harrison Allport and children including a Dennison and a Walter, and I think the Walter in that family is probably the father of your Walter.

kiterunner · #8 18-12-19, 18:34

I found a family tree on Ancestry which led to this 1891 census entry for Walter:
https://www.ancestry.co.uk/interacti...32706791/facts

33 Brunswick Square, Camberwell, London
Susanna Allport Head Widow 75 Living on own means born Beds Medbury
and her family includes Walter Allport Grandson 17 Engineer Student born Jamaica, West Indies.

The family tree shows Walter's death as 6 Apr 1930 Dominica, West Indies, but doesn't have a source for that. It doesn't have any details of a second marriage.

kiterunner · #9 18-12-19, 18:43

It seems that in 1911 Walter Adolph Denison Allport and Thomas Joseph William Cramond Davenport applied for a patent for a machine for extracting essential oils from citrus fruits (this just came up from Googling various spellings of his name.)

kiterunner · #10 18-12-19, 18:52

FamilySearch has some digitised films of Civil Registration records and parish registers from Dominica, but you have to go to a Family History Centre (i.e. FamilySearch Centre) or affiliated library to view them and it doesn't look as though they have transcribed them for searching online yet. If you can get to a Family History Centre to view them, you should be able to check that date of death from the family tree and see if it is correct.