John Howell May died at 33 Caine Road in 1919 aged 83. The Rate Books also give him as the owner of the house during the first decade of the century when my great-grandfather, John Olson and his family were living there. He retired and returned to Hong Kong in 1911, the year that John Olson and his wife moved to 98a Wanchai Road, purchased by C.E. Warren & Co. the same date. John May joined the Chinese Imperial Customs in 1860 and subsequently became Harbour Master of Shanghai. May also bought nos. 21 and 35 Caine Road, although he seems to have sold these before he died, but he had properties in Queens Road and elsewhere, all listed in his probate file. He married Jen (Annie) Ahuo May who predeceased him in 1913. Their children were Herbert John May, Emmeline Maude Stapleton and Florence Cornell. May does not seem to be buried in the Protestant Cemetery.
Sex
Male
Status
Deceased
Comments
John Howell May 7 May 1837 - 5 December 1919
Birth 7 May 1837 [England Select Births and Baptisms]
Baptism 28 June 1837 St Paul's C of E Church Deptford Kent son of William May and Eliza. Father's occupation mariner.
Probate Calendar 24 September 1920
John Howell May died 5 December 1919 at 33 Caine Road Victoria Hong Probate to Henry Walter Walker master mariner and John Hennessey Seth Incorporated accountant
Find a Grave
John Howell May Hong Death Date 5 December 1919. Kong cemetery Happy Valley. Spouse Annie A May
John Howell May
Many thanks, annpake, for following up on John May. For a European to reach the great age of 83 in the Far East in those days was quite a feat. I don't know if he was anything more than a landlord to my great-grandfather, John Olson, or if they were acquainted. They were certainly contemporaries and both seamen. I didn't find May in Patricia Lim's data base of the Colonial Cemetery, but maybe I should look again if he was Protestant.