Margaret Anne BOND [c.1878-1971]

Submitted by jill on Tue, 01/09/2018 - 21:08
Names
Given
Margaret Anne
Family
Bond
Sex
Female
Status
Deceased
Born
Date
(Day, Month, & Year are approximate.)
Birthplace (country)
Hong Kong
Died
Date

One of the earliest residents of Broadwood Road is given in the Rate Books as Miss Margaret Annie Bond, a neighbour of my grandfather, C.E. Warren. Her house was no. 8 and called "Beaumont". Other Broadwood Road house owners at the time were C.S. Gubbay and Ellis Kadoorie, so I imagine Miss Bond was quite well off.  I wonder if anyone knows of any record of this lady or whether any photos of her exist. 

Jill 

Tags

Connections: This person is ...
Child of
Charles BOND [c.1841-1891]
Anna Maria REED / BOND (née DIAZ) [c.1837-????]

Sibling of:

Photos that show this Person

Grave of Margaret Annie Bond.png
????

Comments

David - I've led everyone astray. The unmarried Miss Margaret Annie Bond, a Roman Catholic, was not the same as Mrs Margaret Anne Bond, buried in the Happy Valley cemetery, and I've corrected my original post. Miss Margaret Annie Bond lived to the even riper age of 92, than the married lady of the same name who was Protestant and the widow of John Madison Bond. I think I have now managed to unravel Margaret Annie Bond's complicated family story. More to follow.

Jill, I was surprised and shocked to read the latest Gwulo newsletter and see the name of Margaret Bond mentioned and your comments regarding the background history of her family.  Aunty Maggie, as I knew her, was my father's aunt but I was never fully aware of the connection to the Murray and Reed families. Your findings certainly answered a lot of my questions and I really appreciated the information you researched and provided.

My father and his six brothers grew up living with their parents, Amaro and Rita Reed, at 8 Broadwood Road.  Amaro, who was the Chief Accountant at the General Post Office, died in 1936.  I don't know if Aunty Maggie lived at this residence with the Reed family, but I do have a photocopy of an undated photo of the family and some relatives taken in front of the house prior to the war, and Aunty Maggie is in the photo.  When  the war broke out, I was told that my father Wilfred was chosen to remain behind to care for the women in the family, eventually escorting them to Macau to wait out the war.  Four of his brothers lost their lives in the war and two were incarcerated. Two of the brothers, Francis and Arthur, left behind widows and one child.  Francis had only been married for two months before he went to war and lost his life.

On returning to Hong Kong after the war, my parents ended up living at 244 Nathan Road along with my father's oldest brother Robert, his brother Arthur's widow and young daughter, my paternal grandmother and Aunty Maggie.  The house on Broadwood Road had been looted and left in shambles when the war was over.  I heard that the Japanese occupied the house as one of their posts during the war.  I have only seen a few small photos of the house entrance, porch and garden but have never seen an actual photo of the entire house.  

Aunty Maggie had a niece, Maria "Cissy" Gonella, who was married to Jan Huysman who worked for Banque Belge.  The couple lived in Tientsin for some years when he worked for the branch there.  When they returned to Hong Kong, Aunty Maggie went to live with them at their home in the mid-levels.  The couple eventually retired to Belgium and both passed away several years ago.

In visiting St. Michael's Cemetery, I did notice the grave of Patrick and Lucretia Murray, especially as the full name of Lucretia Mary Murray (nee Reed) was on it.  My father, who passed away in 1971, could not be buried in his parents' grave as his brother Robert died less than seven years prior.  Consequently, my father was buried in the grave belonging to Cissy's family, which was the Murray grave.  Lucretia Reed Murray was my father's aunt.

Jill, thank you again for the information you shared.

It is such a pleasure to have someone brought to life, who was just a name in the Rate Books. I hadn't come across anyone before your Aunt Maggie who had lived to such a great age in Hong Kong. It would be lovely to see the photo that you have of your Aunt Maggie in front of 8 Broadwood Road, even if it is bad quality. Our family house at no. 20 Broadwood Road was also taken over by Japanese troops and left as a shell. I'm sorry to hear that four of your father's brothers lost their lives in the war. I had hoped that Margaret Annie Bond had somehow found her way to Macau. Your father did a good thing.

I have seen the name Ugo Gunella in connection with your family. Perhaps he was the father of Maria. I saw your post come up just as I uploaded a post on Robert Reed, the father of Lucretia and Amaro, about whom I haven't found much information. I think that the life story of Maggie Bond's father, Charles Bond, would be fascinating. He sounds a larger than life character and very well liked. I wonder if any tales have come down to your family about him.

I should very much like to see any photos that you might have taken of Patrick and Lucretia Murray's grave. My grandfather, Charles Warren and my uncle Leslie Warren had a monumental masonry in connection with their building business, which supplied several of the graves in St Michael's - often commissioned by people they knew. I recall a large one devoted to the Rosarios. I don't know if they were the same Rosarios as Lucretia's grandparents.

Would you be able to upload details of Amaro Reed to Gwulo? It would help to complete the story of your family.

Thank you so much for letting me know about your relationship to Maggie Bond.

Grave of Margaret Annie Bond.png
Grave of Margaret Annie Bond.png, by jill

 

Jill, thanks so much for your response.  Interesting that you saw the name of Ugo Gunella connected to my family.  I wasn't sure of the correct spelling of that surname so am glad to get a correct version.  That could well be Maria's father or a relative.  How did his name come up?  The photos of the two graves were taken by a friend who was visiting Hong Kong.  His photos mainly focused on the portion of the graves with the Reed names instead of the entire graves which would have been helpful in identifying the names of Maria's family members that my father was buried with.  I regret that both my cousin Mary and I have no knowledge or stories about Aunty Maggie's father, Charles Bond, nor any information about the children of Leticia and Patrick Murray.

I would be glad to include the jpg photos of the graves if I can figure out how to upload them.  The same applies to the group family photocopy I have which is in pdf format.  I also have a photo of the Reed family taken on the lawn of their house when the sons were quite young.  If you can upload the photos I can send them to you in an email if that works.

It is interesting that your grandfather and uncle's building business provided some of the graves at the cemetery, including the large Rosario grave.  I left Hong Kong for Seattle at the end of 1974 and have not been back since 1996 when I last visited the cemetery.  I wish I had known about the Rosario grave to see if that is Anna Maria's family plot.

I will go through my notes and see what I can come up with regarding my grandfather Amaro.  I just spoke with my cousin Mary who lives in Toronto.  She and her mother Marie moved there when Mary was 14. Mary's father Arthur married Marie in 1938 and they lived at the Broadwood Road House, Mary being born a year later.  The other brothers were living at home as well, including Francis and his new bride Vera who were married in October 1941 (he died in December, so two months after they were wed).  My father was already married to my mother at that time and Mary remembered their frequent visits to the house.

  Mary said that Aunty Maggie and Maria were staying at the Italian convent during the war and did not think they went to Macau as I had thought.  Mary also informed me that she, her mother, our grandmother and my parents, along with other Portuguese/Macanese families, were staying in quonset huts prior to leaving for Macau.  She remembered there being a high wall and Japanese soldiers around. I am not aware of what became of Maria's parents as Maria and Aunty Maggie both ended up staying at our Nathan Road flat after the war, according to Mary.

Interestingly, Mary vaguely recalled hearing about a Jack Reed who left Scotland for China.  She didn't remember the name of the town in Scotland but said that Uncle Reggie (the youngest Reed brother) went there to to try and locate some of the relatives but was unsuccessful.  Reggie's son Stephen, Stephen's son Carl and grandson Jacob are the only males carrying on the family name.  They reside in Rhyl, Wales, and Mary stays in touch with Stephen.

 

 

No your spelling of Gonella is right and mine wrong! I was writing without my notes in front of me. Ugo Gonella was a son-in-law of Patrick, but I'm not sure which of the daughters he was married to. He is recorded as best man at Patrick and Louise Murray's wedding in 1919 and one of the chief mourners at Patrick H. Murray's funeral. He was also bequeathed the remaining part of I.L. 1551 by Patrick, who had inherited it from Lucretia. Incidentally Letitia (Letty) was one of Lucretia's daughters - the one who sadly died 6 weeks after Patrick. Another son-in-law was A.W. Grimmett. The names of the Murray daughters were Dorothy, May, Letitia and Evelyn. Carl Smith recorded five daughters when Patrick died. There is also a Flossie among the mourners, but I'm not sure if she is a daughter or not.

Re the photos, David Bellis will give you my email address if you email him. You could also maybe upload them to Gwulo. It took me some time to get the hang of this - transferring them to my computer, tagging them etc. but I'm now much quicker. The instructions are under "Images and photos" - Create - in the lefthand column above.

I think you now belong to the "Broadwood Road Family" There are several grandchildren and great-grandchildren of the original inhabitants dotted around the world, who have contributed to Gwulo. The Murrays would have certainly known the Walkers at no. 4. I think Nona Pio-Ulski (no. 22) has uploaded a cine film clip of driving down Broadwood Road, which would interest you, as well as her other photos. My uncle, Leslie Warren, left Hong Kong just before the invasion. Your family would have known ours, as Leslie and his wife lived in Broadwood Road from 1923.

It makes sense that Anna Maria and Maggie took refuge at the Italian Convent during the war. They may both have been educated there.

annpake has posted details about Robert Reed that she has found. It seems he is buried in the Happy Valley Cemetery after all. It would be nice to find out more about him. Interesting that your family thinks he came from Scotland. Maybe Carl Reed can remember something else about him.

Jill, thanks for the information on Ugo Gonella and his relationship to the Murrays.  If he is indeed Maria's father or relative that explains the connection.  If Aunty Maggie never married, I'm not sure how Maria is her niece unless by association.  They were very close and stayed together during the war and then at our Nathan Road flat.  I know I always thought of Maria as being my dad's cousin.

I do remember seeing photos and comments about Broadwood Road on the Gwulo website sometime back.  At that time I wondered if one of the houses in that photo could have been the one where my father and his family lived.  I just heard from my cousin Mary that her father Arthur Reed's birth certificate listed 167 Wanchai Road as their residence which confirms that the family lived there before moving to the #8 Broadwood Road house.

Re Robert Reed, I don't know if he came from Scotland or if an ancestor did.  I was told Reed is a Scottish name.  Incidentally, I tried to look up my grandfather Amaro John Reed's grave at St. Michael's Cemetery as I wanted to find out what year his oldest son Robert Cyril died as he was buried with them sometime in the mid sixties.   I know Amaro and his wife Rita are buried at that cemetery as I've visited their grave in the past.  I tried putting all three names and dates in my search but nothing came up!

In the da Silva family tree prepared by a relative I saw that my grandmother's name was listed as Maria Rita da Silva, but we always called her Avo Rita so I assume she went by that name.

I did email David to request your email address but have not heard back as yet.  If I cannot upload the pictures, I am hoping you can help me with this, if it is not too much of an imposition.  In the group photo taken in front of the house a Harry Gubby is also in it as he was a friend of the family.  Was he part of the family that also lived on Broadwood Road? I seem to recall the name mentioned in one of your comments.

Thanks again for your comments and input.

 

 

 

hi angie

Robert Cyril Reed 18th March 1903-4th October 1969. He was buried on the 7th October 1969 at St Michael's Catholic Cemetery, Happy Valley, Hong Kong, Section 5, Grave Number 8354A. The cemetery records are viewable on familysearch.org (free of charge)

You can also search for him in the Carl Smith collection and it mentions his death date and his obituary appeared in the South China Morning Post 6th October 1969.

 

"EX-TEACHER DIES

Mr. Robert Cyril Reed, a long-time resident, died on Saturday. He was 66.

Mr Reed was a teacher at the Moral Training School in Kowloon Tong.

He was a keen follower of hockey, cricket and lawn bowls.

Mr Reed was also a former prisoner of war in Shamshuipo Camp.

He is survived by his brothers, Willie and Reggie.

The fuenral arrangements will be announced shortly."

 

Source: South China Morning Post, page 6, 6th October 1969

 

If you or jill want to make a person page for Robert Cyril Reed (then you can edit as you see fit as he is family for you) on gwulo.com then we can add further information on him.

 

David, this is wonderful that you were able to locate the grave and also the obituary on my uncle.  I was using the cemetery's search tool which did not come up with any results. I will check out the familysearch.org link for future use as well as the Carl Smith Collections. Thanks so much for following up on this matter and for your help.  I have learned so much more about my father's family and relatives from all the comments posted.

Hi Angie - C.S. Gubbay owned no. 16 Broadwood Road from 1918 to July 1924, when the house was sold to Ho Kwong. The Gubbays would have certainly known your Aunty Maggie during that period and the Gubbays and your family probably remained friends. As far as I can see from Gubbay info online, Harry was one of the seven children of Ezekiel and Katie Gubbay He was born on 16 February 1911 and died in Nottingham, UK on 8 July 1989. Was C.S. the father of Ezekiel, or a brother?

I'm getting confused between the generations in your family. Lucretia Mary was your Aunty Maggie's half-sister. You are Amaro's granddaughter. Who is Maria? What was her full name and where does she fit in? Is she a daughter of Amaro's? That would make her a half-niece of Maggie's as Amaro was Maggie's half-brother.

I'm sure David will give you my email. Of course I can help with step by step uploading of pictures. David may have put simple instructions on the site in FAQs when he first introduced the feature. I have a feeling there must be a quicker way than my method.

Jill, thanks for the information regarding Harry Gubbay.  His age sounds about right if he was friends with the family. I will check with my cousin Mary to see if she has further information on his family and whether he actually lived at 16 Broadwood Road.

Regarding Maria Gonella, we always knew her by her nickname Cissy and that she was Aunty Maggie's niece.  Amaro Reed had no daughters, only the seven sons.  You had mentioned a Ugo Gonella and I don't know if he was Maria's father or relative. After the war she and Aunty Maggie lived with us at our flat, Maria just for a short time.  I don't know when she got married to Jan Huysman.  They lived in Tientsin for a few years where he held a position with the Belgian Bank.  After their return to Hong Kong Aunty Maggie went to live with them.  We moved to Suffolk Road in Kowloon Tong around the mid fifties, and by then Aunty Maggie was no longer living with us.

When my father died on March 20,1971, Maria arranged for him to be buried in her family grave.  I can't recall if her parents were buried there.  Aunty Maggie died on June 3, 1971, so would not have been buried in the same grave.  Maria's family grave was right next to the grave where Patrick and Lucretia were buried.  If I get further information on this I will let you know. I apologize for the confusion and wish I had a better recollection as far as names and dates.

 

A Carl Smith card says that Ugo Gonella married Grace Thereza Murray. I think Grace may be the missing fifth? Murray daughter. It would make sense if Maria Gonella was Ugo's and Grace's daughter. If Lucretia was Maggie's elder half-sister, that makes Grace a half-niece. Could Maria then be a half-great-niece? At least she would then be a blood relative of Maggie's. I have an equally complicated family of half-relatives. It's sometimes difficult to remember who belongs to which generation.

I actually wondered  if Maria could be the daughter of Ugo and the Murray daughter...certainly makes the most sense.  Maria was quite a bit older than Mary and I.  I am assuming her parents died when Maria was still young or at least in her teens, and Aunty Maggie was like a second mother to her. She, like Mary and I, had no siblings.  I'm glad you found this piece of information on a Carl Smith card.  Thanks again for your help - you have been a great source of information!

 I will work on pulling together whatever information I have about Amaro as you had asked.