Lost at sea... or was he?
Q I am seeking your help for a friend, Bill, who would like to discover what happened to his father James Kearney. I have copies of the two marriage certificates for his mother. Here are the details about James’s live that we have proved so far:
• James Kearney was born on (16 December 1897) Glasgow, son of James Kearney, barber/hairdresser (date of birth established by 1939 National Register).
• We have found him and his sister Elizabeth (b. 1899) on the 1901 and 1911 Census returns in Glasgow, living with two uncles and an aunt.
• James Kearney marries Elizabeth Eves on (9 July 1932) Liverpool Register Office.
• Family moved to Ellesmere Port from Liverpool c.1938.
• Petroleum Installation Driver for National Benzole, Ellesmere Port. Lived 11 Crossley Drive, Ellesmere Port. ARP Warden. (Details from the 1939 National Register).
• c.1942, James Kearney went to sea and never came back (according to his son).
• Seven years later, in 1949, Elizabeth Kearney (née Eves) marries Victor Bernard Osborne.
Notes: The second of Bill’s mother’s to marriage certificates states that both parties were divorced. Bill was unaware of any divorce, having been led to believe that his father had been lost at sea whilst serving in Merchant Navy and his home port had been Liverpool.
The marriage certificate also described Elizabeth Kearney (née Eves) as ‘formerly the wife of James Kearney
