Maybe a last grasp at Peter Henry Harrison

[Margaret in Burton]

Originally Posted by Anstey Nomad

I've just been through his army record. So he enlisted in the KOYLIs in December 1903 at Castleford, which was then in the West Riding, and as part of that process he had a medical examination at Pontefract, during which he gave his place of birth as Ashby de la Zouch.

Also, although he joined a Yorkshire Regiment, he gave his home address as 139 Swadlincote Road, Woodville. I don't have FMP, but if PHH was living there in 1903, who was living there in 1901? Would an address search help at all?

Yours, over-invested and probably not being much help.

He wasn’t. Him and Lily didn’t didn’t get married until 1908 in Ashby de la Zouch and then they lived in Ashby de la Zouch. They moved to Woodville in 1913 to take over a pub, then he was called up as a reservist. Lily refused to take on the pub alone as she had three young children.

That army record is from 1913

I originally got the army record well before it was on Ancestry. The army told me it had been ‘weeded’ and didn’t contain a full record

I was told he was walking from Yorkshire to London after he was discharged from the army. Stopped in Ashby, met Lily and didn’t go any further.

[Margaret in Burton]

My late husbands cousin who has also submitted her DNA has read my message two days ago but not responded. I didn’t think she would. We’ve never really got on.

[Margaret in Burton]

I’ve had a reply



Hi Margaret, this is ( name withheld) , ( name withheld) daughter. I'm the one who set all this up for my mum. Ancestry gave suggestions for who my mums grandad was, based on birth certificates etc. if it's wrong, i'll sit down with my mum when I get time and go over it all I can see they all have Italian DNA, which yes, proves mums grandfather had Italian parents, can definitely see that in their colouring. Sad that their grandfather said he wasn't wanted. Thanks for information.


I have replied explaining my and others here’s research.

[Phoenix]

Lovely news, Marg. Perhaps this represents the tiniest chink in the wall?

[Anstey Nomad]

It's a slow afternoon here.

Now that Ancestry divides DNA results by parent, is it possible to look at the results the girls have on the Harrison side and see if any Italian names are coming up in the matches' trees in, say, the mid nineteenth century, to see if there is a pattern?

I think that's pretty much how Kite and I identified my putative great grandfather.

[Anstey Nomad]

Looking at Italian migration in the nineteenth century, there was more than you might think and there was a definite community of cutlers at West Bar in Sheffield which, if my memory serves me right, is the next stop on the train from Rotherham. There were also itinerant musicians and other trades.

We could potentially be looking for someone who was not here very long, or even not in Yorkshire very long, just long enough to father a child which was then either passed off as someone else's until his looks gave him away, or known as 'the Italian's child' and set apart because of this.

The DNA has to hold the key. It has to.

[Margaret in Burton]

My late husbands first cousin has 19% Italian. 18% Northern Italy and 1% southern so we are looking at northern Italy really. She knows nothing. Her daughter replied to me and she asked her mum who wasn’t even aware of him be
referred to as a little Italian or the fact he said he wasn’t wanted, which actually surprises me as the person who told me that he said he wasn’t wanted was her and OH’s mutual uncle who she spent a lot of time with especially in his final years.


No, not any matches with Italian names. All matches on OH’s side seem to be from his grandmother not grandfather.

[Margaret in Burton]

My thoughts are that assuming Peter Henry was an only child of that parentage then matches for my daughters will be looking for descendants of their 2x great grandparents or even 3 times. So am I right in thinking at least 3rd or 4th cousins?

[kiterunner]

Sounds about right, Marg.

[Margaret in Burton]

Originally Posted by kiterunner

Sounds about right, Marg.

Thanks Kate