My grandmother Maud was a Thomson. Her father, William Mitchel Thomson was career military, having joined the Royal Engineers at 14 years of age. There were eight children in the Hong Kong family. Five were girls and three boys. Only the last two. Lilian and Fred were born in Hong Kong. The rest were born in the UK; my grandmother, in Aberdeen, Scotland.

One of the sisters ( Catherine ) married Jimmy Doyle, a captain on the SS Nile. About 1919 she became ill with Diphtheria and it was decided that the climate in Hong Kong wasn’t good for her. As her husband was at sea most of the time, it didn’t matter much where they made a home so he offered her a choice between Australia, New Zealand, Canada or San Francisco. As two of her sisters had already moved to the Bay area of California, it was an easy choice. In 1920 she loaded her family aboard the SS Nile and set sail for America.

Later in life Jimmy Doyle wrote a short synopsis of the family as he remembered it. While it mostly dealt with the Doyle and Thomson clan, he made the following reference to my grandfather, Tobias Hunter. While it’s not all true to the letter, the ethnicity estimate appears to have been quite accurate, as per this excerpt!

After what seems like irrefutable evidence that my mysterious great grandmother was “Anne Hunter alias Kot Choy” there is one more little snippet of evidence that can’t be ignored. 

A photocopy of a typed “Carl Smith card” from way back, that while clearly typed, it was bit difficult to make sense of.

I recently found a copy of the original Carl Smith notes taken from the records book. What it tells is that the baptisms were all at St Peters, the Seamen’s Church. When viewed along with all the other entries, the context becomes quite clear. The name of his father and mother are quite clear. “William Leyland and Catherine Hunter” Could this be the “Catherine” my mother listed on her father’s death certificate?

Surnames are all underlined.

What is still a mystery is “why would James Hunter get baptized at this point in his life?” He was 37 years old, already married, and had a 12 year old daughter ( born in 1899 ) Of note is the fact that his wife and daughter were both of the Catholic faith and James’ baptism at St Peter’s would have also been a Catholic rite, but when he died in 1937, he was buried at the main Colonial Cemetery at Happy Valley, whereas his wife who predeceased him in 1933 was buried at St Michael’s Catholic Cemetery. Their daughter who passed away in 1944 was interred with her mother at St Michael’s.

The wedding took place at St Andrews Church on Nathan Road in Kowloon, April 14, 1909. I think the wedding photos were done at their home, 4 Humphrey’s Ave, Kowloon. Most of the women in the photo are sisters of the bride.

This photo is a match as far as the mat sheds, but the people are still a mystery. I believe the seated caucasian lady might be my grandmother Maud Wilhelmina Hunter but I’m not positive. Also I’d originally thought that maybe the man on the left was my grandfather Tobias Hunter but I’ve pretty much ruled that out. Allowing for gain or loss of weight, hairline changes etc I’ve made comparisons but finally it’s features like ear shape and pattern that rule him out. 

A colorized version of one of the children’s outings. My mother and her sister are far right and fourth from right. The setting is very similar. The mat sheds look a little different but I think it’s just that the photos were taken from different vantage points. I would guess this photo is a year or two earlier that the others; maybe 1915.

When I posted the “family photo with a clue” I wasn’t sure if the photo was from Hong Kong ( Kowloon ) or a year later after the family moved to Shanghai. I’m now a little more convinced that it was the former. In this photo my mother is sitting in the stern or the rowboat. She appears to be about the same age in both photos and the there’s two more clues. The first is she’s wearing the same hat in both pictures. The second is there’s the same dog! Add to this, the terrain and vegetation are in keeping with the Hong Kong/Kowloon area and not Shanghai. My guess is that the location of these pictures is in the Kings Park area of Kowloon about 1917. My mother used tell stories of her parents taking them and sometimes children from the Diocesan school on picnic outings when they were young and living in Kowloon.

This photo is of my grandfather Tobias Hunter, his wife Maud (seated) holding one of their two children ( Nora ) My mother ( Iris ) is standing between them. The location is based on much research and comparing photos and maps, so I’m making an educated guess of Kowloon, possibly “Kings Park” area or maybe further out. 

Another possibility is the Recreation Grounds across from the “Moreton Terrace” property as shown in the previous post. They have tennis rackets and there are lines on the grass that could mark off a court area.

 The Asian women in the photo are still unknown and will probably remain so but it’s worth noting that one is also seated alongside my grandmother, something I would take as a sign of respect, and maybe indicating her position as something other than help? One other item of note in the picture, is the “dog” It shows up again in another photo.

The mat-sheds are another important aspect. I have another photo that shows there were more than one so they were obviously quite permanent and must have been available as either rentals or maybe were owned by families? 

As more information became available I began to compare maps with land records and newspaper items and even real estate ads. I’ve also found a couple of old photos. The timespan is fairly long but the property is identifiable throughout. 

The Moreton Terrace property was situated on IL 1580 adjacent to the Kennedy Stables across from the Recreation Grounds at Causeway Bay.

On the map below I’ve indicated the location of the property in red.

Map of Moreton Terrace

Below is a photo that gives a fairly good view of the area and the location of Moreton Terrace ( marked in yellow ) can be seen quite clearly in relation to the recreation grounds. The picture is from 1920 so the buildings shown should accurately depict the property as it was under the Kot Choy ownership.

Lastly is an item from the South China Morning Post of 1938 that makes a reference to the Moreton Terrace property ( 1913 ). I use this clipping simply as an attestation to the validity of the property’s existence.

 

 

This is an early 1900s map of mid levels showing the properties held by Kot Choy in yellow. The family address of 11 Shelley Street which was occupied by Hunters until 1944, is not marked off as I believe it is located at I.L. 114 ( according to today’s street address )