Jump to content
Free downloads from TNA ×
The Great War (1914-1918) Forum

Remembered Today:

Info on Grandfather’s Photo


Lordyf15

Recommended Posts

Putting together the Japanese Company details, he appears to have arrived in Japan in Aug 1865 and left in 1877

 

" I was told that he was married to and English women but had ended up in Japan and remarried a Japanese women and had a son, my great grandfather Joseph Dowson, who bought his family to Hawaii in the early 1900s. Sadly, all inquiries into Japanese ancestry is non existent. "

 

He married Effie in Brussels in 1881. The marriage notice above does not suggest he was commissioned at that point. The marriage cert would tell you if he claimed to be a Batchelor at that point

 

I assume that the OP's great grandfather Joseph Dowson was born to Effie rather than an earlier Japanese marriage

Link to comment
Share on other sites

24 minutes ago, corisande said:

Putting together the Japanese Company details, he appears to have arrived in Japan in Aug 1865 and left in 1877

 

" I was told that he was married to and English women but had ended up in Japan and remarried a Japanese women and had a son, my great grandfather Joseph Dowson, who bought his family to Hawaii in the early 1900s. Sadly, all inquiries into Japanese ancestry is non existent. "

 

He married Effie in Brussels in 1881. The marriage notice above does not suggest he was commissioned at that point. The marriage cert would tell you if he claimed to be a Batchelor at that point

 

I assume that the OP's great grandfather Joseph Dowson was born to Effie rather than an earlier Japanese marriage


I don’t think so.  I believe the OP had the sequence the wrong way around and that a boy child (the OP’s forebear) was born to a Japanese woman and that Dowson later married Effie after leaving the child behind with its mother.

 

 I can’t recall whether Militia commissions were recorded in the London Gazette.

Edited by FROGSMILE
Link to comment
Share on other sites

 

7 minutes ago, FROGSMILE said:

I don’t think so.  I believe the OP had the sequence the wrong way around and that a boy child (the OP’s forebear) was born to a Japanese woman and that Dowson later married Effie after leaving the child behind with its mother.

 

Yes. I think you are correct. 1871 put it in the period he was in Japan, and before he married Effie

 

Name
Joseph Dowson
Gender
M
Birth Date
1871
Birth Place
Yokohama, Kanagawa, Japan
Death Date
5 Oct 1926
Death Place
Kaimuki, Honolulu County, Hawaii, United States of America
Cemetery
O'ahu Cemetery
Burial or Cremation Place
Honolulu, Honolulu County, Hawaii, United States of America
Has Bio?
Y
Spouse
Ume Dowson
Children
George Iso Joseph Dowson
URL
https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/113087834

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Link to comment
Share on other sites

There is an Obit of Joseph Dowson that may give more clues - I do not have a subscription to access it

 

https://search.ancestry.co.uk/cgi-bin/sse.dll?dbid=61843&h=561298862&indiv=try&o_vc=Record:OtherRecord&rhSource=60525

 

 

Edited by corisande
Link to comment
Share on other sites

Great work, corisande.  It’s amazing what’s been revealed by you and other forum detectives from a standing start.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

2 hours ago, FROGSMILE said:


That excerpt confirms he was 3rd Militia Battalion (later Special Reserve) as I had imagined.  It’s not Territorial, who were not formed until 1908.  There was however, also a 3rd Volunteer Battalion, but we now know he was definitely in the Militia battalion of the Welsh Regiment.  Thank you for posting it.  The fact that he reached the rank of Major indicates that he served with the militia for some years.  Before 1881 the unit was known as the Royal Glamorgan Light Infantry Militia. His commissioning date will indicate if he served that far back.

 

 

3AD08227-1D70-4A93-8101-5740CCC898D7.jpeg

2F4A4CA9-4DCB-4945-997E-529F81DFF359.jpeg

3E4D4C56-406A-46BF-A18A-906AF01032FC.jpeg

 

He is shown as a Captain in a newspaper report about the 3rd Batt. Welsh Regiment at their annual encampment in July of 1889.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

1 hour ago, sadbrewer said:

 

He is shown as a Captain in a newspaper report about the 3rd Batt. Welsh Regiment at their annual encampment in July of 1889.


Thank you.  I’m unsure how long it would’ve taken him to reach Captain, but as we know he did not return to Britain until the late 1870s, and married in 1881, it seems likely that he joined after his unit had become the Militia battalion of the newly formed Welsh Regiment in that year.  It would be nice to find a gazette listing confirming the date of his commission.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Yes, Ancestry gets the credit: there is indeed an existing tree, but for some reason I didn't find that until after a couple of hours building one! 

 

Once over the hurdle of what his name actually was, the rest was easy.

 

There is indeed a reference to his masonic affiliation in Yokohama, and there may be photos of him in some English newspaper published there, as it was the largest foreign settlement in Japan at the time, and of course a treaty port.  There might also be photos somewhere in masonic collections in England too.

 

The Yokohama Archives may have something relevant.  These citations in the Library of Congress will at least give you the names of likely papers; not sure if any can be consulted online. 

 

He also had a ranch in Montana at one point according to several of the passenger lists, so definitely not one to let the grass grow under his feet.

 

He would have had no trouble finding companionship in Japan after the lifesaving incident, though probably not before either.  

 

As for the "Territorials" matter, I knew it was before Haldane etc. but the word was used in the gazette from which the citation came, though not in the later style, and it was getting late so I didn't bother to go back and check the exact usage. ^_^

 

The funny thing is, I had nearly written him off as one of those many wanderers of the last century or two who had just created a new identity for himself in a remote spot where no one would guess at his real origins.

 

Incidentally, it is possible he and his English wife wintered in Santa Barbara and were living at Maple Bay, B.C. where she died. 

 

London Gazette Effie Dowson Estate.png

Edited by 2ndCMR
Link to comment
Share on other sites

I’ve found his story, so far as we know it, utterly fascinating and typical of British merchant venturers at that time.  What a pale comparison the present lot make. I’m sure his story would make quite an entertaining movie. I think that you, corisande, and the other contributors have done an utterly brilliant job unearthing the story of this undeservedly forgotten man.  Thank you for posting.

Edited by FROGSMILE
Link to comment
Share on other sites

Yes

 

I have enjoyed it too and thanks to all for contributions - perhaps I could suggest to OP that he puts it all together in a short life history and gives us a link to the document

 

As you know one little clue leads to other little clues, which lead to ..

 

I should get back to my own work, but keep finding more on him

 

Harts Army list gives promoted Captain 19 Jan 1889 in 3rd Welsh

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Cracking thread - great to see all the pieces coming together.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

23 minutes ago, corisande said:

Yes

 

I have enjoyed it too and thanks to all for contributions - perhaps I could suggest to OP that he puts it all together in a short life history and gives us a link to the document

 

As you know one little clue leads to other little clues, which lead to ..

 

I should get back to my own work, but keep finding more on him

 

Harts Army list gives promoted Captain 19 Jan 1889 in 3rd Welsh


That latter date gives a useful clue, in that it confirms that given the likely time spent as a subaltern (for OP: the two grades of Lieutenant) he is unlikely to have served before the formation of the Welsh Regiment in July 1881.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Interesting Says here he was born in British Columbia, Canada.

 

DOWSON, Philip Septimus [DAWSON] / P I - II / CAN / ENG /

- Philip S. Dowson was born in Duncan, BC, Canada, and came to Japan in August 1865. He was an engineer and became partner of internal_gruen.gifA. N. Shillingford, after internal_gruen.gifSamuel Rowell dissolved his partnership with Shillingford. They operated in 1866 under Shillingford & Dowson, Civil Engineers, Architects, Surveyors and Land Agents. The company existed only 3 months because Shillingford had received an interesting order in Kagoshima to build up a cotton factory.
In 1867, Philip Dowson became a partner of George Whitfield and they operated under internal_gruen.gifWhitfield & Dowson, Civil Engineers and Boiler Makers, Shipwrights, Architects, Surveyors and Land Agents, Yokohama # 69. As of 1873, they are also known as Yokohama Iron Works.
Dowson left the company and Japan in 1877. The name of the company was retained until 1879 and then changed to internal_gruen.gifWhitfield & Co.
He was married and his wife Ellen Effie Dowson died only a few years after him in 1932 in Santa Barbara, CA, USA.


DOWSON, R. [Ralph] / P II / CAN / TR /

- He was employed by internal_gruen.gifWhitfield & Dowson, Yokohama Iron Works, Engineers, etc., Yokohama # 69, in 1874 and 1875. After that, his traces are lost.
It is believed that he is a relative, maybe even a brother, of Philip S. Dowson. The collection of Kenneth Clark contains a letter addressed to a Ralph Dowson in Yokohama with an arriving cancel of June 10, 1893. However, it can not be concluded that it is R. Dowson because he is not re-listed in the Japan Directories.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Dug through some  boxes and found this photo of Phillip taken around the 1920s in Honolulu, Hawaii.  

 

My great great grandfather Phillip Septimus Dowson (now that I have his real name) is standing in the back/center.  His son Joseph Dowson (great grandfather is standing on the left in photo.  His son Charles Dowson on the right (my grandfather) with his wife/my grandmother sitting with my aunt and uncle.  My dad had yet to be born.  Joseph and Charles where both born in Japan with Japanese heritage and immigrated to Hawaii in the early 1900s.  Joseph was a Civil engineer for the pineapple plantations and Charles was a dentist.  Joseph bought his Japanese wife from Japan, but I don’t recall if he bought his mom who would have been the one Phillip had a rendezvous with.

 

This photo probably confirms Phillip on one of his visits from Santa Barbara, California. 

Hawaii shows no records of Phillip residing here.

 

I cannot tell you how much I appreciate all your help in tracking down his biography.  He has been a mystery for so long.  I have already shared this information with all family. We now realize it all stemmed from not having his proper name!  LOL

 

Aloha again,

Gaylord Dowson

Honolulu, Hawaii

123283B6-F481-441E-91D8-BE89EB73AC7E.jpeg

Link to comment
Share on other sites

It’s been a very interesting story.  Do you know what the family origins of your grandmother were? She has more of a European appearance.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

26 minutes ago, Milner said:

Interesting Says here he was born in British Columbia, Canada.

 

DOWSON, Philip Septimus [DAWSON] / P I - II / CAN / ENG /

- Philip S. Dowson was born in Duncan, BC, Canada, and came to Japan in August 1865. He was an engineer and became partner of internal_gruen.gifA. N. Shillingford, after internal_gruen.gifSamuel Rowell dissolved his partnership with Shillingford. They operated in 1866 under Shillingford & Dowson, Civil Engineers, Architects, Surveyors and Land Agents. The company existed only 3 months because Shillingford had received an interesting order in Kagoshima to build up a cotton factory.
In 1867, Philip Dowson became a partner of George Whitfield and they operated under internal_gruen.gifWhitfield & Dowson, Civil Engineers and Boiler Makers, Shipwrights, Architects, Surveyors and Land Agents, Yokohama # 69. As of 1873, they are also known as Yokohama Iron Works.
Dowson left the company and Japan in 1877. The name of the company was retained until 1879 and then changed to internal_gruen.gifWhitfield & Co.
He was married and his wife Ellen Effie Dowson died only a few years after him in 1932 in Santa Barbara, CA, USA.


DOWSON, R. [Ralph] / P II / CAN / TR /

- He was employed by internal_gruen.gifWhitfield & Dowson, Yokohama Iron Works, Engineers, etc., Yokohama # 69, in 1874 and 1875. After that, his traces are lost.
It is believed that he is a relative, maybe even a brother, of Philip S. Dowson. The collection of Kenneth Clark contains a letter addressed to a Ralph Dowson in Yokohama with an arriving cancel of June 10, 1893. However, it can not be concluded that it is R. Dowson because he is not re-listed in the Japan Directories.


It’s intriguing that you have found details suggesting that Effie died in the US, in so far as that earlier in the thread it was stated that she predeceased Phillip whilst in British Columbia, Canada (see post#33) and that he then returned to Britain and died subsequently.  I wonder which account is correct.  Effie was also said to have originated from BC, so I wonder if there was some ‘understanding’ between her family and his that he would return and marry her once he had ‘made his fortune’.  If so it would seem something straight out of the Charles Dickens playbook, although I note from a post earlier in the thread that she was the widow of an officer in a British-Indian Army Staff Corps.  Nevertheless, I wonder if their families were known to each other.

Edited by FROGSMILE
Link to comment
Share on other sites

My Grandmother’s maiden name was Margarite Evans.  Her mother was Native Hawaiian and her father, who was from Ohio, USA, was of English and Scottish descent.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

1 minute ago, Lordyf15 said:

My Grandmother’s maiden name was Margarite Evans.  Her mother was Native Hawaiian and her father, who was from Ohio, USA, was of English and Scottish descent.


Thank you, that’s interesting and part of an amazing bloodline.  What a great movie could be made from Phillip’s life history.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

By the way, I think that I have discovered the meaning of his French collar insignia.  On the medal index card Phillip is listed as a Dvr (Driver), which fits with his work in ambulances for the French Red Cross.  You will see below that the automobile officers of the ‘Motor Car Section’ wore an embroidered grenade on their collars with the letter A inside the circle of the ball.  I believe that is what we see in his photo and the enclosed photograph shows a very young American who volunteered to drive ambulances for the French just like your great-great-grandfather.

Also, see: https://www.worldwar1postcards.com/ambulance-car.php

 

3CEAF9DF-C87A-48D1-914D-802D6DAFD2FA.jpeg

34D0C2F3-BF53-472E-9DCD-042DB4CF6F39.jpeg

A27B6937-BCB4-4888-ADC9-47BEBF9E8816.jpeg

4D16EBC7-C515-412A-A91D-3159586E2F98.jpeg

13870C99-7067-487F-BDD3-ABB01EA057C1.jpeg

29C5D3AE-AA57-4568-A167-1C5DD94923A5.jpeg

Edited by FROGSMILE
Link to comment
Share on other sites

I believe he was gazetted Captain into 3rd Bn. The Welsh Regiment on 18 January 1889 rather than promoted from the rank of Lt. He does not appear in Army lists prior to 1889. The notification in the London Gazette is on page 331 in the first quarter of 1889 but, for some reason, the Gazette website will not display the necessary or any issues in this year and quarter. It was reported in the South Wales Daily News of 19 January 1889 and the wording, I believe, supports the above.

A further item in the Western Mail of 2 June 1890 reports that Capt. Dowson is to report to Wellington Barracks for a period of instruction with the Foot Guards. It is interesting to note that the newspaper uses the old regimental title of Royal Glamorgan Militia.

 

The National Library of Wales online newspaper archive has numerous reports of his commercial and social activities in Cardiff, including one of a serious injury he incurred whilst fox hunting. 

Dowson, Philip S., S. Wales Daily News 19.1.1889.JPG

Dowson, Philip S., Western Mail 2.6.1890.JPG

Link to comment
Share on other sites

9 hours ago, sadbrewer said:

The Brewery connection is Hancock's of Wiveliscombe...that purchased a brewery in Cardiff in the 1880's and became one of Wales largest brewers

Well well.

Hancock's of Cardiff were one of South Wales big 3 breweries until the 1960s.

Despite being taken over by Bass, the Castle Inn in my town still displays the distinctive Hancock's sign.

image.jpeg

 

Rugby Trivia Alert:

And four Hancock brothers played rugby for Cardiff in the 1880s. This was at the time when conventionally, there were only 3  three-quarter backs in a 15 man team. Cardiff's desire to play all the 4 brothers on one occasion resulted in Cardiff inventing the 4 three-quarters system, and led to the club being the foremost rugby club in the world for soe 80 years.

The 4 Three-Quarters system is still the system in use today throughout the civilized world.

New Zealand play two wings, a three quarter and a five-eigth.

 

 

Edited by Dai Bach y Sowldiwr
Link to comment
Share on other sites

26 minutes ago, HarryBrook said:

I believe he was gazetted Captain into 3rd Bn. The Welsh Regiment on 18 January 1889 rather than promoted from the rank of Lt. He does not appear in Army lists prior to 1889. The notification in the London Gazette is on page 331 in the first quarter of 1889 but, for some reason, the Gazette website will not display the necessary or any issues in this year and quarter. It was reported in the South Wales Daily News of 19 January 1889 and the wording, I believe, supports the above.

A further item in the Western Mail of 2 June 1890 reports that Capt. Dowson is to report to Wellington Barracks for a period of instruction with the Foot Guards. It is interesting to note that the newspaper uses the old regimental title of Royal Glamorgan Militia.

 

The National Library of Wales online newspaper archive has numerous reports of his commercial and social activities in Cardiff, including one of a serious injury he incurred whilst fox hunting. 

 


That’s very interesting, Harry.  I don’t know what the rules were regarding a new officer going straight to the rank of captain in the Militia, but militarily it makes no sense for a man with no prior experience to do so.  At that time captains commanded companies and he could expect to have several subalterns under command.  Clearly, if these subalterns had experience of one, or more years, and their commander had none it would be a recipe for considerable difficulty.  There’s more to this than meets the eye I feel.  Perhaps he had some service somewhere else beforehand.

Edited by FROGSMILE
Link to comment
Share on other sites

1 hour ago, Milner said:

Interesting Says here he was born in British Columbia, Canada.

 

DOWSON, Philip Septimus [DAWSON] / P I - II / CAN / ENG /

- Philip S. Dowson was born in Duncan, BC, Canada, and came to Japan in August 1865. He was an engineer and became partner of internal_gruen.gifA. N. Shillingford, after internal_gruen.gifSamuel Rowell dissolved his partnership with Shillingford. They operated in 1866 under Shillingford & Dowson, Civil Engineers, Architects, Surveyors and Land Agents. The company existed only 3 months because Shillingford had received an interesting order in Kagoshima to build up a cotton factory.
In 1867, Philip Dowson became a partner of George Whitfield and they operated under internal_gruen.gifWhitfield & Dowson, Civil Engineers and Boiler Makers, Shipwrights, Architects, Surveyors and Land Agents, Yokohama # 69. As of 1873, they are also known as Yokohama Iron Works.
Dowson left the company and Japan in 1877. The name of the company was retained until 1879 and then changed to internal_gruen.gifWhitfield & Co.
He was married and his wife Ellen Effie Dowson died only a few years after him in 1932 in Santa Barbara, CA, USA.


DOWSON, R. [Ralph] / P II / CAN / TR /

- He was employed by internal_gruen.gifWhitfield & Dowson, Yokohama Iron Works, Engineers, etc., Yokohama # 69, in 1874 and 1875. After that, his traces are lost.
It is believed that he is a relative, maybe even a brother, of Philip S. Dowson. The collection of Kenneth Clark contains a letter addressed to a Ralph Dowson in Yokohama with an arriving cancel of June 10, 1893. However, it can not be concluded that it is R. Dowson because he is not re-listed in the Japan Directories.

 

There was no Duncan, BC in 1865, much less 1845, so that source must be mistaken.  Likewise the attribution for his wife, who was born in Devon if I remember the Ancestry citations.

 

The area was extremely popular as a settling place for retired officers and officials from all over the Empire.   Hubert Gough, who I believe was Inspector of Overseas Forces or some such title before WWI, wrote somewhere that whenever he was asked where an officer might settle with his family in the Empire and live agreeably on his pension, said that he always recommended "Duncan's" (as it then was) or the adjoining areas on Vancouver Island.

 

Interesting Gaylord, how the family went back and forth over the racial divide of that time.  Your great grandfather might easily have ended up in the hands of the professional baby killers who constituted part of Japanese birth control at the time, had the relationship been merely a "rendezvous".  But I suspect your GGGF took an active interest even after he left Japan.  Considering his wealthy origins,and the fact that he was the last(?) of his siblings to die, it is slightly surprising that his estate was only about £1800.  Of course the Great Depression may have been a factor in that, but he may well have spent a good deal in supporting and educating his wife and son, and perhaps grandson.  Your GGGM would probably have registered their marriage in her family "koseki", so that your GGGF was legitimate in Japanese law, however ambiguous if not hostile, the attitude to such marriages and offspring was in Japan, then and later.

 

As for the ironworks, P.S. Dowson may have been the provider of the capital via his family rather than engineering expertise, but he might well have had training in that field also which we haven't discovered yet.

Edited by 2ndCMR
Link to comment
Share on other sites

If the marriage to his Japanese lady had a legal standing, surely he would have been committing bigamy under British law, even back then?

Edited by FROGSMILE
Link to comment
Share on other sites

His 1891 Census entry is interesting in that he lives at Crwys Farm at the junction of Crwys Road,and Whitchurch Road.

The area to the south of the farm  was built on shortly afterwards and converted to row upon row of terraced housing that housed the rapidly expanding city's steelworkers and dock workers. Very shortly, Cardiff would be the largest coal port in the world.

Of note are the other addresses on the same page; Wedal Farm and Allensbank Farm. These would also become built on, and Crwys Road, Wedal Road and Allensbank Road would become busy thoroughfares.

Maindy Barracks is situated at the southernmost end of Allensbank Road, at its junction with Whitchurch Road.

https://www.google.co.uk/maps/@51.4988305,-3.1846304,3a,60y,233.23h,85.15t/data=!3m6!1e1!3m4!1sQs4U5WAAEL_vtKInqaWGPw!2e0!7i16384!8i8192

And at that time, Crwys Farm was literally next door!

 

Crwys.jpg

Edited by Dai Bach y Sowldiwr
Link to comment
Share on other sites

Create an account or sign in to comment

You need to be a member in order to leave a comment

Create an account

Sign up for a new account in our community. It's easy!

Register a new account

Sign in

Already have an account? Sign in here.

Sign In Now
×
×
  • Create New...