Searching for history & graves of Kotewal / Larken family
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Cynthia Parker writes:
My mother and I are visiting Hong Kong from Australia ( for another 2 days). My mother was born in Hong Kong but knows very little about her forbears, she is now 80 years old and was at least hoping to find out the name of her paternal grand father. I am wondering if you can help me or point me in the best direction?
My mothers paternal grandmother was Dorcas Selina Kotewal (Kotwaj), Sir Robert Kotewal's youngest sister I believe. We do not know who she married or his surname as apparently, her husband died when my grandfather was 7 years old and my grandfather changed his name by deed poll but never told anyone his original name.
My Grandfather was Percy Larken married to Rose ( they used to live at 42 Hillwood Rd). Apparently my grandfather had an adoptive sister as well who we know nothing about either.
My Mother also had an older sister who died as a child, she was apparently buried near my mothers paternal grandmother. We were going to look at Pok Fu Lum cemetary. Is this as good a place to start as any?
Larken family
Hi Cynthia,
We have an inscription from a grave in the Hong Kong Cemetery in Happy Valley:
In loving memory
Roger T Larken
born 10th December 1876
died 19th July 1908
and
Dorcas Selina Larken
born 2nd December 1877
died 21st June 1970
erected by their son and daughter-in-law
Percy & Rose
and grandchildren
Donald and Mervyn
# 7383 CEW & Co. HK
(See http://gwulo.com/node/8740).
That shows your mother's paternal grandfather was Roger T Larken, and so that was the original surname of your grandfather, not one he took on later.
Your mother's sister is buried in the same cemetery, though in a different section:
of
JEANETTE LETTICE BRENDA
Beloved daughter
of
PERCY & ROSE LARKEN
Born 18th November 1932
Died 29th December 1940
Ever in our thoughts
#9969
Good luck with your search, and please let us know how you get on.
Regards, David
Finding graves in the Protestant Cemetery
David,
Would it be a good idea to have a map of the Protestant cemetery on Gwulo? It can be obtained from the office to the right of the main gate, I believe, but, as the cemetery is so huge and steep, it's good to do know where one is headed in advance to save time - even whether to go in from the Stubbs Road gate at the top. So Roger Larken's grave is in Section 16, Row 2, grave no. 14 counting from the beginning of the row. Jeanette's is in Section 12B, Row 3, no. 19.
Jill
Kotwaj and Kotewall pedigree charts
Cynthia
The Kotwaj and Kotewall [sic] 'pedigree charts' are nos. 24 & 25 in Peter Hall's book "In the Web" (2012), ISBN 978 1 906205 83 6. In fact Dorcas had three younger sisters, Winifred, Esther and May, all unmarried. You could perhaps contact Peter Hall through David, in case he can give you more information. Percy's and Rose's children are given as Jeannette, Margaret, Donald, Mervyn and Enid.
Jill
tree on Geni
I've put you on the tree at Geni.com. You may want to contact members in connected families to see if they have any information. I have added a placeholder profile for you, and if you want to join Geni, please send your email address via David and I will "invite" you join Geni.
http://www.geni.com/family-tree/index/6000000013493344254#60000000278348...
The Carl Smith collection at the PublicRecords Office in Kwun Tong has these entries for "Larken". You have to go in person to see the actual 3x5 card images. This is just the index.
http://www.grs.gov.hk/PRO/srch/english/sys_carlsmith.jsp?language=english
I found a family tree on ancestry.com for Thomas Lancaster Larken and his daughter Mary, but Thomas died 5 Feb 1870 in Foochow age 34, so does not seem to be directly related.
Larken family name
Henry Ching writes:
I wonder if the surname was perhaps adopted a generation earlier – i.e by Roger T. I have so far failed to find any information on Roger T.Larken, such as place of birth and parents’ names, suggesting that his father may not have been named Larken. The name Roger T.Larken seems to appear only on his gravestone.
Finding graves & "In the web"
Hi Jill, good points. The map of the cemetery is available at:
http://gwulo.com/node/7176
I haven't had any contact with Peter Hall, but his book is listed for sale at:
http://countyvise.tbpcontrol.co.uk/TBP.Direct/PurchaseProduct/OrderProdu...
Regards, David
Jean / Jeanette Larken
Annelise found a newspaper mention of Miss Jean Larken's death:
http://gwulo.com/node/20914
Kotewal/ Larken family
Dear All,
Thank you to everyone who responded to my recent request. My mother and I were overwhelmed by the response. Because of your kindness, Mum and I were able to visit the graves of her sister and grandparents on the morning before we flew out of Hong Kong.
In her 80 years ( 20 years in Hong Kong) mum had not known where her sister was buried or the name of her grandfather. She was full of emotion when she found her sister.Thank you so much.
I hope that Mum will have the opportunity to visit their graves in the future. But if not, please know a lifetime wish has been fulfiled, because of the Gwulo website and the people who make it.
Kind Regards
Cynthia
re: Kotewal/ Larken family
Dear Cynthia,
I'm very pleased to hear the visit worked out well for you and your mother. Thanks for letting us know how it turned out.
Regards, David