William Frederick GARDNER (aka William GARDNER) [1862-1930]

Submitted by Admin on Thu, 11/22/2018 - 21:49
Names
Given
William Frederick
Family
Gardner
Alias / nickname
William GARDNER
Sex
Male
Status
Deceased
Born
Date
Birthplace (country)
Hong Kong
Died
Date
(Day & Month are approximate.)

His funeral was reported on page 7 of The Hong Kong Telegraph, 1930-09-08:

LATE MR. WILLIAM GARDNER.

REMAINS BURIED IN ROMAN CATHOLIC CEMETERY.

The funeral of the late Mr. William Gardner, who died at Shanghai recently, took place at the Roman Catholic Cemetery on Saturday, the remains having been brought down from the North for interment.

His Lordship the Bishop (Mgr. H. Valtorta) performed the last rites with the assistance of the Rev. Father G. M. Spada. The chief mourners were Mr. and Mrs. W. F. Gardner and Mr. and Mrs. J. Gardner, Sister John and Sister Rita, both of the French Convent, Miss Gardner, Mr. R. C. Silva, and grand-children.

Amongst those present were the Hon. Mr. J. P. Braga, Mr. A. F. B. Silva-Netto, Chev. J. M. Alves, Mr. V Soares, Mr. H. Figueiredo, Mr. F. M. Graca, and Mr. M. Botelho.

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Photos that show this Person

1890s
1890s
1916

Comments

In the "Gardner" family section of the 2nd edition of the Macanese Families by Dr. Jorge Forjaz, starting on page 629, the members of the Gardner family diifers from the listing in this page. Forjaz research list the family members as:

 

I    WILHELM GARDNER – born in Strasbourg, Germany, about 1827, died in Hong Kong 1 Feb 1875.

            Married Cecilia Libania de Jesus in Macau (?). Born 1840 in Macau, died in Hong Kong 16 Aug 1878.

            Children

            1(II)    William Frederick Gardner – born 30 Oct 1862 in Hong Kong, died in Hong Kong 26 Aug 1930.

                           Married Maria Conceição Osório in Hong Kong 18 Apr 1884.

            2(II)    Augusto Carlos Gardner – Born in Hong Kong (29 Jul) 1867, died 1889.

            3(II)    John Gardner – died in Hong Kong 24 Jan 1938

 

Where the William Gardner in this page is William Frederick Gardner. Wilhelm adopted the "Gardner" surname when he established himself in Macau.

We've got a couple of different versions - the two records at the time of his death (newspaper, and burial record) just show "William Gardner", so I guess that is how he was known in 1930. But the entry you quote from Dr Forjaz lists him as "William Frederick Gardner".

I've added both names to the title above, but it would be good to understand what happened. eg maybe he used William Frederick when younger then dropped the middle name when older? 

Have you seen any other sources or family records that use the "William Frederick" version?

David,

There are old newspapers that I found in the Hong Kong Public Library MMIS page concerning legal proceedings against William Frederick Gardner that may help you sort this variance.

During the period between Aug 28 and Nov 27, 1933, Williams had several court appearances that are documented in both the Hong Kong Daily Press and the China Mail. These articles reference a William Frederick Gardner employed by the Union Ince. Socty. of Canton, Ld. In the 1927 Jurors List there is a listing of:

Gardner, William Frederick                  Assistant                  Union Ince. Socty. of Canton, Ld.

The first appearance in the Jurors List of a Wiiliam Gardner is on the 1866 list as William Gardner, Innkeeper, Hamburg Tavern. This is the relative I have in my family tree listed as Wilhelm Gardner. He operated a hotel in Macau until it burned down on Aug 1869 (Hotel Oriental, Praya Grande). This name does not appear in any other Jurors List.

In the 1894 list there is a William Gardner listed and in the 1895 Jurors List the name appears as William Frederick Gardner. The name continues unchanged in the Jurors List until the 1909 list when another Wiiliam appears listed as Jr. The original William now drops the Frederick.

This seems to clarify the issue; however, it presents another puzzle. There is no record of a son of William Frederick Gardner named William Frederick Gardner, Jr. Could this be his son Guilherme Frederico Gardner?

Once again, the challenges of genalogy research. Hopefully someone can help us on this other hurdle.

Roy

That makes sense - he uses "William Frederick" until "William Frederick Jr." appears on the list, then switches to "William" to avoid confusion. I think the "William Frederick Jr." is the same person as "Guilherme Frederico", as we've seen other cases where his siblings have Portuguese given names but use Anglicised versions.

Back to William-1862, and his mentions in the Jurors Lists. The earliest list we have with him in is 1894:

c Gardner William Engineer Hongkong Rope Manfacturing Co     Caine Road  

The same entry appears in the lists for 1895, then in 1896 he moves to a new address:

c Gardner Wiliam Frederick Engineer Hongkong Rope Manufacturing Co., Ltd   4 Rednaxela Terrace  

Lists for 1897-1901 show the same entry, then in 1902 he moves again:

c Gardner William Frederick Engineer Hongkong Rope Manufacturing Co., Ltd       Villa Maria

Following years show the same entry, but expand the address to show that Villa Maria was at 11, Glenealy.

In 1909 he's joined by William Fredrick Jr.:

c Gardner William Engineer Hongkong Rope Manufacturing Co., Ltd   Villa Maria 11 Glenealy  
c Gardner, Jr. William Frederick Assistant Melchers & Co.   On premises      

Other Gardner family members appear in later lists, but William is there every year, with the same details until 1921 when his job title changes from Engineer to Assistant. That is the last year he is shown in the Jurors Lists.

In 1922 he'd have been aged 60, so he may well have retired at that point.