24th February 2010
The British Prime Minister has apologised for the U.K.'s role in sending more than 130,000 to the former colonies of Canada & Australia. Britain is the only country in the world with a sustained history of child migration. Only Britain has used child migration as a significant part of its child care strategy over a period of four centuries.
The reality of this policy was to remove children, some as young as three years old, from their homes, from their mothers and fathers, from all that was familiar to them, and to ship them thousands of miles away from their home country to institutions in distant lands within the Commonwealth. Many of these children were removed without their parents' knowledge or consent.

One such young man was Ernest Gronow born in Hendon, Middlesex in 1894. Ernest set sail on the 9th Sept 1909 from Liverpool on the SS Corsican, bound for Quebec. He arrived on the 17th September 1909, his final destination Ottawa, Ontario. He travelled along with 16 other young boys between the ages of 11-15 under the Catholic Emigration Association.

According to the Census taken on the 31st March 1901 Ernest Gronow was a inmate of the Guardians of the poor, of the Hendon Union Schools. [RG13/5336 folio 127. page 4] His birthplace is recorded as unknown. At the same time a Mary Gronow, probably his sister is also in the same institution. I don't know what happened to Ernest or what his life became in Canada, or even if he stayed in Canada, if anyone knows what became of him please get in touch. According to the 1911 Canadian Census a Ernest Gronow was living in Labelle Quebec.

A trip to Chester Record Office proved very interesting in regards to a very early ancestor. While looking at the Church warden accounts for St. Mary-on-the-Hill, Chester I came across the following entry for Easter 1562-1563 were payments are made for 'kneeling places' by one Richard Gronow.
This is a very good early reference to an Elizabethan Gronow, that I have found. More research is needed to establish the origins of this gentleman.

{The Parish of St.Mary-on-the-Hill, Chester, extends beyond the city boundaries, and includes the township of Gloverstone, which is wholly within the city, and those of Upton, Moston, Claverton and Marleston-cum-Lache in Broxton Hundred, and Little Mollington in Wirral Hundred.}

Charles Grunnow, Coach driver, Bromborough. Cheshire.

Birkenhead County Magistrates Court
Thursday Spetember 13th before Messrs S.Stitt & F. Thorneley

CRUELTY TO A HORSE.- Charles Grunnow, cab driver of Bromborough, was fined 15s., with costs for working a horse with open sores on it's back. The animal was also in a very weak condition.
(Liverpool Mercury, Friday September 14th 1888; Issue 12693)

Liverpool Court of Passage.
A sitting of this court commenced on Tuesday at St. George's Hall, Mr T. W. Baylis, Q.C. presiding.

Grunnow V. Forsyth.- In this case, which was of no public interest, Charles Grunnow, car proprietor, Bromborough, Cheshire, sought for the return of a mare, or it's value and damages for the detention against John Forsyth, described as a horse jobber, Dryden Street, Liverpool. The Jury, after a long hearing, found for the plaintiff, awarding him £23 as the value of the mare, and £7 as damages for the wrongful detention.
(Liverpool Mercury, ThursdayOctober 15th 1891: Issue 13658)


Liverpool Police Court
Thursday November 12th, before Mr W.J. Stewart.

Curious Charge of Forgery:
Charles Grunnow of Bromborough, Cheshire appeared in answer to a summons taken out by William Bailey, charging him with forgery. The charge arose out of the sale of a horse by Bailey, who is a horse dealer, to the defendant on August 17th last. It appears that on that date Grunnow purchased a bay gelding from the plaintiff for £18 and the sum of 6s on the spot. A receipt was given leaving a balance of £17 14s. Some time after Grunnow came back evidently dissatisfied with his purchase, and made some arrangements about a black mare. An action was brought by Bailey in the court of Passage for the £17 14s and the jury found for the defendant. The receipt was produced there, and it appeared to have been altered so as to make it seem as though it was in respect to the black mare and not to the geilding the figures £18 and the word "bay gelding" having been scratched out, and the words "Black mare" subsituted. The defendant explained in the Court of Passage that his daughter aged eleven, had written in the words.- Mr Stewart held that there was not a case for a jury, and dismissed the summons.
(Liverpool Mercury, Friday November 13th 1891; Issue 13683)

(The Court of Passage represents the civil jurisdiction of the medieval borough court. By the eighteenth century the “Court of Liverpool”, “Borough Court”, “Mayor’s Court” or “Court of Passage” had gradually confined itself, under the last name, to civil suits. The Court of Passage was abolished in 1971 by the Courts Act 1971.)

Congratulations to
Owen J. Gronow
on his recent promotion to
Leading Junior Cadet
with
T.S. BLACKCAP
Best wishes from all the family.

Congratulations to Nathan & Allison Goronwy
On the birth of their daughter
Olivia Helen Goronwy
on the 10th of September 2009
Forster, New South Wales Australia.

Take a look at the new social networking site for genealogists "GenealogyWise" at www.genealogywise.com
A group page has been added for Gronow & it's variants. A good looking site with plenty of stories & videos of a family history nature, I find it much easier than Facebook or Twitter.

Above shows a graph, for the Census years 1841-1911 giving a guide to the numbers of male and female occupants for England & Wales. The females seem to out number the males in most of the census, nothing changed there then.

A wealthy landowner has just completed the largest folly to be built in Britain for at least a century. The 65ft-tall structure on the 7,500-acre Rushmore Estate, Dorset, has been built in the style of an Indian mogul gateway, topped by five large copper domes.

It was originally designed to conceal five mobile telephone masts. When the phone company, O2, pulled out of the project, the estate’s owner, William Gronow-Davis, decided to go ahead and build it at his own expense. By definition a folly is a structure with no practical purpose usually built to enhance a view or create a feature in the landscape.

In the case of Mr Gronow-Davis’s folly it is a focal point at the end of a mile long avenue of trees. The vista can be seen from window of his drawing room.

Mr Gronow-Davis says it finishes off his garden and adds to the spectacular vista from his mansion. Mr Gronow-Davis chose an Indian theme for the folly because he was born on the sub-continent. He is a descendent of General Augustus Pitt Rivers who inherited the estate in the 19th century, He said: “It is unusual and looks so beautiful from my house.

“From my drawing room you look out onto the gardens along an avenue of trees and fountains and about a mile away is the folly. It is wonderful and just finishes the garden off.

The folly is made of concrete that has been rendered in lime and sections of the four pillars have been washed in red ochre lime. The base is made out of Turkish limestone and has the family’s crest coated on it along with the four points of the compass.

From The Times July 9, 2009 Simon de Bruxelles

In memory of
Aubrey George Gronow
born 29th January 1911
Seymour, Victoria Australia.
son of Samuel & Catherine Jane Gronow of Oakleigh, Victoria.
Royal Australian Air Force, Pilot Officer 418104.
Flying a Mitchell Liberator
No.45 Atlantic Transport Group
1943-1945 No.160 Squadron Bhopal, India.

Awards:
Burma Star,1939-1945 Star, Defence Medal.

Recently acquired certificates

Marriage:
John Gronow & Eliza Wright, 1869. Wesleyan Methodist Church Creswick. Victoria. Australia.

This is an important gateway ancestor for a lot of Australian Gronow's in Victoria. Thanks go to Judith Evans for her help on obtaining this information.

Reported on this Day in 1893.

District News, Cardiff.

DEATH FROM SCALDING, Mr E. B. Reece (coroner) held an inquest at the Town Hall, Cardiff on Friday evening, on the body of Annie Mary Gronow aged 3 years of 56 Letty Street, Cathays. The evidence showed that about six weeks ago the deceased was scalded by the upsetting of a bucket of boiling water, and the child died on Wednesday from injuries received. After the evidence of Dr. Shepard the jury returned a verdict of 'Accidental Death'.

(Western Mail (Cardiff, Wales), Saturday, June 17, 1893; Issue 7512)

All index entries for Wales from the 1911 Census have now been added to the English counties previously extracted. Approx 690 entries, including variants Gronnow & Goronwy. The vast majority of families have been grouped into their households. With the all important information from 1901-1912 I can at last sort out the remaining births for this period into their respective families. I expect this to take a month or so.

Congratulations to Brightsolid for their performance so far.
http://www.1911census.co.uk

Using the General Register Office indexes for the period 1984-2005 the graph above shows the percentage of ages of people who died in England & Wales. Click map to enlarge.

Using the General Register Office indexes for the period 1866-1920 the graph above shows the percentage of ages of people who died in England & Wales. Click map to enlarge.

Recently acquired certificates:
Births.
John Gronow Dec. Qtr. 1853 Bridgend Vol.11a page 304.
Marriages.
David Gronow Dec Qtr. 1863 Bridgend Vol.11a page 672.
Mary Gronnow Sept Qtr. 1870 Chester Vol.8a page 527.
Ann Gronnow June Qtr. 1888 Chester Vol.8a page 542.

Recently acquired certificates:
Births.
John Gronow Dec. Qtr. 1852 Bridgend Vol.11a page 301.
Marriages.
David Gronon June Qtr. 1857 Scarbro. Vol.9d page 465.
David Goronwy March Qtr. 1874 Merthyr T. Vol.11a page 692.

In rememberance:
Mathew "Aussie" Gronow.
September 21, 1929 - October 28, 2008

Aussie ""a true-blue military man"", suffered a stroke and has lost his battle
with Alzheimer's disease. He is predeceased by his daughter Gaye Tara
and is survived by his wife of 51 years Margaret ""Peggy"", daughter
Joye Andrea, granddaughter Amber Sage, twin brother John (Sue) and
many nieces and nephews. Matthew served with the Royal Australian
Regiment in the Korean War, RCAF (NATO) in Europe and with the
Canadian Armed Forces (UN Peacekeeping) in Cyprus and Egypt. Well
respected by his peers, Aussie was a member of the Royal Canadian
Legion serving as past President of Branch 37. He was proud to have
served as past President of the Canadian Korean Veteran's Association.
(First published in the Victoria Times-Colonist on 10/30/2008)

Recently acquired certificates:
Births.
Grenville James Gronow Dec. Qtr. 1902 Neath Vol.11a page 966
William Gronow March Qtr. 1905 Pontypridd Vol.11a page 734.
Marriages.
John Grennow March Qtr. 1873 Newport M. Vol.11a page 196.

I'm always on the look out for story's that involve our surname, growing up I was always being asked if I were German or Polish, because for some reason people always associated it with this variant rather than it's Welsh one. While searching the 1911 Census I came across a daughter whom I was previously not able to fit into a definite tree, looking forward I noticed that she appeared to marry twice. Upon investigation I came across this information which shows what extremes can happen especially in times of heightened security.
The names have been changed to protect the families from any embarrassment, and even the book does not name the Gronow concerned.
The following is taken from the book "In the Highest Degree Odious" by A.W.Brian Simpson.
"One case of error which is documentable received considerable publicity: it involved ********* who was British by birth and the Borough Surveyor of Guildford. He was detained on the 28th May as 'of hostile associations'; he was held in Brixton until 28th October spending up to twenty-three hours a day in solitary. The background was that 'his colleagues have informed against him and the local populace are demanding his internment.
"His wife is said to be of German extraction, and his intimate relations with a German girl have aroused the suspicions of the police" MI5 found that his wife was Welsh not German & that his association with aliens and visits to Germany were entirely innocent. Sadly his wife did indeed divorce him. In March 1941 he joined the RAF and became a Squadron Leader.

I remember a similar thing my father told me regarding his parents during WW1. The day after anti-German riots broke out in Birkenhead police tried to protect the first victim who had a butcher's shop at Watson Street but it was wrecked after police were overwhelmed by sheer numbers. Riots lasted for a couple of days and pubs were closed. Some luckless victims were not German related. Fried fish dealer Thomas Lincoln, of Price Street, had his shop smashed up by a mob made up mostly of women and young boys. They looted everything after someone said he had sold a fish to a German!

Monumental Inscriptions added for the following parishes. All entries fitted neatly into existing trees.

Bettws, St.David
Bridgend, Newcastle Hill Unitarian
Bridgend, Ruhamah Welsh Baptist
Bridgend, Tabernacle Congregational
Caerphilly, St. Martin
Church Village, Salem Welsh Baptist
Coity, St. Mary
Coychurch, St. Crallo
Gower (Old Walls) Ebenezer Calvinistic Methodist Chapel
Laleston, St. David
Llandeilo Talybont, St. Teilo on the Marsh
Llangynwyd, St.Cynwyd
Llanharan, Bethlehem Congregational
Nolton, Bridgend St. Mary
Pennard, St.Mary
Rhymney, St. David
St. Brides Minor, St. Bride
St.George-super-Ely, St. George
Treoes, Saran Chapel
Wenvoe, St. Mary.