2 aug 1859 – birth of ‘male’ Adamthwaite, son of John Allen Adamthwaite, railway clerk and Eliza (Saynor) b. at 9 Taymouth Terrace, Mile End, London (source Birth Certificate) This turns out to be Mark – and he was the fourth of five children born to John Allen Adamthwaite and Eliza (Saynor) between 1853 and 1860.

1861 UK census  Mark's given age was 19 months - (approx year of birth 1859/60) - he was living with his mother Eliza Adamthwaite (occupation 'Lady') and siblings Florence, Alexander, Thomas and Annie in Blackawton in Devon. No sign of his father but his mother is ‘married’ not widowed. The family were living in Bow Hamlet, next door to Shipleigh Court, which was the home of Alexander Ridgeway (according to the 1871 census his occupations were as follows: Public Notary, Magistrate, Captain of Militia, Official Regimental Army Agent, Editor of London Weekly paper, Landowner, farmer, India and Colonial Merchant) and his family, though they were ‘absent in London’ at the time of the 1861 census – interestingly, Alexander Ridgeway was also one of the Executors of John Allen Adamthwaite senior’s will. Did Eliza take her five children to Blackawton to seek financial help after John Allen Adamthwaite junior appears to have deserted her? Or was Eliza’s husband John Allen Adamthwaite away fighting, having been recruited to the Army by Alexander Ridgeway? And was Eliza’s son Alexander named for Alexander Ridgway? [the answer to this question appears to be 'yes' - as we have now discovered from his army discharge papers that his full name was John Alexander Ridgeway Adamthwaite]

1871 UK census  given age 10 years - (approx year of birth 1861) - living with mother Eliza and brother Thomas in Newington – still no sign of father but mother is still ‘married’ – but note the family have moved back to the Newington area, where his father was living with his new wife Annie in 1868.

1877 - Record from Surrey Quarter Sessions dated 4 jun 1877 - "Mark Adamthwaite convicted of Larceny after a previous conviction for Felony. Sentence - 12 calendar months of hard labour". Further research is required to discover the nature of his crime and if he served his sentence.

1881 UK census – we have not found Mark, but his mother Eliza (still described as ‘wife, married’ but no husband evident) and his sister Annie are living in Camberwell. Eliza is living on ‘income from dividends’

in 1884 Mark arrived in NY from Antwerp on SS Nederland, occ. Engraver age 24 (approx year of birth 1860). 

in 1887 Mark was married to Mary Glynn on 27 June at the Church of St Stephen in New York City - according to a later census entry, Mary (who was born in Ireland) first arrived in New York in 1884.

It looks as if the couple then returned to the UK where their first four children were born, before returning to NY where they had three more children –

1891 UK census living in Handsworth, Staffs:Mark Adamshwaste, 30, labourer, b. Brixton (approx year of birth 1861) Mary Adamshwaste, wife, 22, born Ireland Mary Adamshwaste, dau, 3, b. Kennington Kate Adamshwaste, dau, 2, b. Birmingham Elizabeth Adamshwaste, dau, 4m, b. Handsworth

1893 – birth of son Mark on 21 dec 1893 at 12 Eden Grove Islington. Father Mark Adamthwaite, ironmoulder, mother Mary Adamthwaite, formerly Glynn. (source Birth Certificate)

Although we have not managed to find details for a Mark Adamthwaite and his family’s arrival in New York – it would have been between son Mark’s birth in London in December 1893 and the birth of daughter Rosa in New York in December 1898 – the following family bears an uncanny resemblance to our Mark’s family!!

1894 arrival in New York on SS Maasdam, 27 August from RotterdamMark Glyn, 30, male, labourer, country of birth England , destination New York (approx year of birth 1864) Mary Glyn, 26, female, England to New York Mary Glyn, 6 Kate Glyn, 5 Mark Glyn, 9m

1900 census (USA) - living in Queens, NY with wife Mary and four children - all born in UK except youngest child. unfortunately his occupation is illegible and much of the detail is very hard to read. It looks as if the given ages do not always correspond with the given years of birth (someone couldn’t subtract, but don’t know if it was the enumerator or the informant!)(Mark) Adamthunite (his name and his wife’s were transcribed as Mary!), head, 35, b Jun 1864, mar 13 yrs, b. England Mary Adamthunite, wife, 32, b May 1878, mar 13 yrs mother of 4 children all living, b. Ireland Mary Adamthunite, dau, 6 b. 1894, b. England (her age looks very wrong – she should be 11and her entry comes before those for Kate and Mark) Kate Adamthunite, dau, 10, b1888, at school, b. England Mark Adamthunite, son, 7, b 1892, at school, b. England (transcribed as ‘Bark’) Rosa Adamthunite, dau, 1, b 1898, b New York

The page is very difficult to read, but it looks as if they have all lived in New York for 6 years

1905 Census of New York (taken on 1st June) - Mark Adamthwaite, age 44 (approx year of birth 1861) occupation 'nurse', born in England, lived in the USA 22 years, Alien,usual address Long Island, appeared as a Prisoner in the notorious Sing Sing Prison at Ossining, New York. We are still looking for a record of his conviction which hopefully explain what he was doing there!

1905 census of New York - I am still hunting for any sighting of Mark's wife Mary, their eldest daughter Mary Ann or their son Mark Junior, however I have found their three other children in this census:Kate was living in a conventRose and Thomas seem to be in some sort of orphanage

1906 - an intriguing little item appeared in the New Zealand 'Colonist' on 19 Jan 1906 amongst a round-up of news snippets from around the world. I have not managed to find the original article in the New York Press, so I don't know whether the actual event took place before or after the 1905 census entries above!

1910 census ( USA )   (approx year of birth 1861) - living in Rockland , New York - Mark Adamthwaite is an inmate at Hope Hall House, occ nurse. He is aged 49, married for 24 years and in US since 1883 – a US national. No sign of wife Mary or son Mark, but their daughter Rose Adamthwaite is aged 12 years and a pupil at the St Rose Industrial School. Their other daughter Kate Adamthwaite is a novice at the Convent Order of St Dominic in Babylon, Suffolk, NY – she is now aged 20.

There are also two Adamthwaites living at the Nazareth Trade School who could actually be son Mark and another brother, but why would they have different names?:Adam Adamthwaite, age 15, b 1895, helper in school, b.England, parents b. Ireland Theodore Adamthwaite, age 7, b.1903, pupil, born NY, parents born England

KNOWN CHILDREN OF MARK AND MARY ADAMTHWAITE:Mary Ann Adamthwaite, b. 1888 in Kennington (GRO ref 1888 dec qtr, St Saviour Southwark 1d, 125) Mary Ann married George Koenig (who later changed his name to King) - they had two children John and Madeleine.Kate Adamthwaite, b. 14 aug 1889 in Birmingham (GRO ref 1889 sep qtr Birmingham 6d 198) Kate became a nun at the age of 29 and was known as Sister Marion. She worked at the Rockville Center in New York, teaching kindergarten. She played the violin, mandolin and piano. Sister Marion died in Suffolk, New York on 29 sep 1983 at the age of 94Elizabeth Adamthwaite, b. 1891 in Handsworth (GRO ref 1891 mar qtr West Bromwich 6b 800) - we know that Elizabeth died in infancy, and she does not appear on the passenger list in 1894, but there is no record on the GRO death index.Mark Adamthwaite, b. 21 dec 1893 in Islington. He served in the army in WW1 and died on 21 aug 1957 and is buried at Long Island National Cemetery - he is not known to have married.Alice Adamthwaite, b. 27 may 1896 in New York - Alice died in infancyRose Adamthwaite, b. 11 jul 1898 in Queens, New York - we have been told that Rose died at the age of 21, but have not yet found details of her death.Thomas Michael Adamthwaite b. 29 jun 1901 in Queens, New York (was named Theodore in 1910 census). He also signed up in the army in WW1 - we have not found any further record of him after 1918. 

1912 Marriage number two: on 12 June in Westchester, New York, Mark Adamthwaite was married to Lucy Toghill POPPE, she was 45 - his given age was 41 years and his occupation nurse - (approx year of birth 1871) The record states it was his first marriage. His place of residence was Mount Vernon Hospital , Westchester NY. He was born in London , England . His parents were John and Lizzie (that would be John Allen Adamthwaite and Eliza Saynor) . Lucy was aged 45 years of 429 Denham Ave, NY , born London England. Father Thomas Toghill, second marriage, former husband: dead. Maiden name of mother Rebecca Gray, England. Witnesses Anna and Ella Johnson) [source marriage certificate] Note: I have found Lucy Toghill living with her parents Thomas and Rebecca in the 1861, 71, 81 and 91 census – she was actually born in 1861 in Sopwith, Wiltshire – not 1867 in London as stated on the marriage certificate. The Ellis Island website shows that Lucy arrived in New York on 23rd June 1894 on the SS Paris ex Southampton. Two of Lucy’s brothers also emigrated to the States: Frederick and George Toghill both arrived on the SS Teutonic from Southampton in 1908 – they were both bound for Cleveland, Ohio. And her nephew Herbert Rice arrived in 1905 on the New York, also from Southampton (information from Bob Lawrence)  A Lucy Poppe (born about 1865) appears in the 1900 and 1910 US censuses living in Westchester, New York, married to a C J Henry Poppe (b ~ 1841, possibly German)