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Record #4408
Name :
: John Frederick SAWYER (1894 - )


Father
:
Mother
:
BMD and other details
Date of Birth
: 8 Sep 1894

Marriage (1)
:
Marriage (2)
:

Date of Death
:
Abode (1) : Place of BirthEngland
Abode (2) : Place of Death / Burial
Sailing Information
Date of Arrival
: 2 May 1903
Country
: Canada

Ship
: Bavarian

Placement Family
:
Homes / Agencys
Institution (GB)
:

Agency
: Unknown
Notes[POSSIBLE MATCH] In 1901, John Sawyer, 10 years of age, was shown as an inmate in Saint Josephs Home, Enfield, Edmonton, Middlesex, England. It shows his birthplace as London, England. (Source: 1901 Census of England; Class: RG13; Piece: 1275; Folio: 105; Page: 8.)

In 1903, John Sawyer, 11, arrived at Quebec, Canada, in a group of 25 children and young persons en route to Ottawa, Ontario, Canada.

His granddaughter, Jacqueline Hamilton Allen, shared:

"His father was John Frederick as was his grandfather. His mother was Alice (maiden name unknown). She later married in New York and became Alice Ware. It is possible that she was Alice Amelia, with a birth date of about 1876, place unknown. She may have been married to John Sawyer, but that isn't known. Family rumor says that my grandfather's father, John Sawyer was imprisoned in Britain.

I have found a John Sawyer buried at Abney Park Cemetery in Dec. of 1903. His residence at the time of his death is listed as Hanwell Asylum. The little I have stumbled upon on the web refers to Hanwell as a " Lunatic Asylum". Would like an address and more information to further my research to see if this is "my" John Sawyer. He was buried in a family plot with his parents who both died 8 years before.

It is possible that Alice stayed in touch with my grandfather before he was sent to Canada, because he ran away upon arrival in Canada to join his mother in New York. His stepfather mistreated him and he ran away again at age 11 or 12 we were told. He had two half-sisters: Alice Ware and Ruth Ware Notzel. The Ware family moved to North Vancouver, B.C. when Mr. Ware retired. My great-aunt Alice lived in Kelowna at the time of her death--perhaps the 1980's--and her sister Ruth lived in N. Vancouver until her death also in the 1980's.

We believe our great-grandmother Alice died in Vancouver, perhaps in 1950. Ruth may have been married to Clifford Charles Notzel. She died in 1944 in N. Vancouver. She had a daughter Stephanie.

John Frederick Sawyer changed his name to Jack Gerald Clark. We don't know when or why. We have only a faded birth certificate and have found WWI draft reg. showing him in Boise City, Idaho with a "relative in Leyton, B.C." We cannot find Leyton on a map of B.C.

Grandfather married Ellen Grant in Coos Bay, Oregon in 1923 or 1924. He lived much of his adult life in San Francisco. He became an accountant and worked for many logging companies in the northwest during the depression.

Just before his death in 1976 in Salem, Or, he told my mother that he had a terrible secret of which he was deeply ashamed...how sad that we never knew. So much about this kind man who had great difficulty with intimacy can be understood knowing about his painful childhood."

Alice Amelia Ware died July 1, 1950, age 74 in British Columbia, Canada.

On September 14, 1918, at Boise, Idaho, USA, Jack Gerald Clark registered for the US Draft. He declared that he was born September 8, 1898; that he resided in Boise, Idaho; that he was a Canadian citizen; that he was a bookeeper for Idaho Provision and Packing Co., of Boise, Idaho; that his nearest relative was Mrs. A. B. Cook, who resided in Leyton, PO [EDITORS NOTE: Probably actually Lytton (Lillooet area)], B.C., Canada. He was described as medium height; slender; gray eyes. He suffered with aukylosis of the left elbow; left arm practically useless.

Jack Gerald Clark / John Frederick Sawyer died in October, 1976 in Salem, Marion, Oregon. On his Social Security information, he stated his date of birth was September 8, 1900. 
ContributorsCreated : 2008-10-18 19:00:48 / From original database

Last Updated : 2008-10-18 19:31:31 /

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Surnames starting with:   A  B  C  D  E  F  G  H  I  J  K  L  M  N  O  P  Q  R  S  T  U  V  W  X  Y  Z  3 Entries        
IDNameDOBPlace of birthArrivals & ShipsDest.AgencyFamily links
27116 SAWYER, Alfred1918ENG, LND, Woolwich, Charlton Jul 1930 : Balranald AUS Fairbridge Homes  
8587 SAWYER, Henry1889ENG, SRY, Briston Oct 1900 : Tunisian CAN Barnardos  
4408 SAWYER, John Frederick1894ENG,     May 1903 : Bavarian CAN Unknown