Our own Dewhurst/McPherson Line

William Henry was both a London Police Constable and an Artist (listed as print colourer and illustrator in various census records). His father's name is listed as John (Occupation: Sawyer) on William Henry's Marriage Certificate. This line begins and ends in London, as far as we have been able to research it. Family stories say the line began in the Bavarian Alps, then went to Austria (surname d'Hurst or duHurst) as courtiers to the Von Hapsburg family. Supposedly, they went to France abt. 1770 in attendance to the court of Marie Louise Antoinette von Hapsburg (b. 1755) when she went to marry Louis XVIII, and became Queen of France. As the French Revolution began and the political climate became dangerous, our oral history says the family fled by hay-wagon to Normandy then by boat for Hull, Yorkshire, England about 1793, jewels sewn into the hems of their coats, when Marie suggested the people eat cake. We can't prove a word of it!  ...YET! And, any jewels are long gone....

Family of William Henry Dewhurst and Mary Pearson

[1] Supposedly there was a son, James who "was a Scotland Yard detective, spending most of his life in Algiers and Tangiers, in service to Her Majesty, Queen Victoria. He died in London. Did not marry." We have not found evidence of this man, however, he could be the reason our great grandfather used his middle name William as his call name by the time he married rather than the name James. I have been told it is not unusual to re-use the same first name for many children and to call them by a middle name. On the other hand, this James could also have been a brother to William Henry Dewhurst.... time will tell. In 1841, newlywed Mary shows up alone in the Kentish Town census; in 1851, William shows up with the children living on Ballard's Lane where William James was born the following February, but Mary is not there. We have not found the family in yet in 1861, however, in 1871, William shows up again alone with all the children, listed as married and living at 88 Paul Street, Shoreditch.

[2] Mary's father shows up as "Thomas, shoemaker" on the wedding certificate of William and Mary. Her birthdate was approximately 1817 based upon information found in the 1841 & 1871 censuses. One relative says there were 9-11 children in this family, but we have only found what we show. A further search for Mary in 1861 & 1871 finds her as a "pauper patient" in the Surrey County Lunatic Asylum in Wandsworth, London. She is listed as the wife of a police constable which provides the link we need. See notes on Mary Elizabeth below...

[3] Family history says Mary Elizabeth went by Elizabeth and worked her life as a matron at Guys Hospital in London. She never married. In 1871, she shows up working as a nurse/domestic servant for the family of George Bauer in Wandsworth (near where her mother was institutionalized); in 1881 she is listed as a domestic servant working for a Jones family in Streatham, Surrey (again near the Asylum); in 1891, she is listed as a "nurse domestic" in the employ of Joseph H. P. Staples, a General Practitioner in Paddington (is this a clue that Mary has died???).

[4] McDonald was said to be an English Teacher at a private school. The 1881 census does not show this couple. However, there is a Madeline McDonald, age 31, widow, born in Finchley, working as a servant for W. G. Guerrier in Islington. If this is our Madeline, it means McDonald died between their marriage in 1871 & the 1881 census.

[5] some family members say James William was born in Edinburgh, but he has a London birth certificate... still, it continues to sound like the family had some connection to Scotland.

Family of James William Dewhurst (aka William James McPherson) and Ellen Elizabeth Reeves

photo of James William and his youngest son, James Sidney; London

NAME	PIX	BIRTH	LOCATION	DEATH	LOCATION	MARRIAGE	LOCATION	SPOUSE
James William Dewhurst (aka William James McPherson)		February 02, 1852	Finchley, Middlesex, England	June 02, 1943	Oakland, Alameda, California	December 25, 1874	St. John the Baptist, Shoreditch, Middlesex, London,   England	Ellen Elizabeth Reeves
Nelle Maud Louise Dewhurst		February 01, 1876	Pentonville, Middlesex, England			December 26, 1896	St. Paul's Church, St. Pancras Parish, London, England	James  Eastman Hill
William Henry Dewhurst [1]		January 23, 1878	Islington, Middlesex, England	Betw. 1899-1902	Boer War, South Africa	~	~	~
Mabel Caroline Dewhurst		February 23, 1880	Islington, Middlesex, England	November 1, 1963	San Anselmo, California	1) December 1899 2) 1909	1) Islington, London, England 2) Long Island, New York City, NY	1) Richard Pomeroy 2) Ferdinand K. Butzman
Arthur Frederick Dewhurst		May 29, 1882	Islington, Middlesex, England	Betw. 1899-1902	Boer War, South Africa	~	~	~
Madeline E. Dewhurst		May 04, 1885	Islington, Middlesex, England	April 26, 1975	Baltimore, Maryland	After 1903	likely New York	Richard Brown
Edith Emily Dewhurst		November 12, 1887	Islington, Middlesex, England	September 15, 1888	Islington, Middlesex, England	~	~	~
Ethel Leah Dewhurst		November 12, 1887	Islington, Middlesex, England	died in factory fire 18 July 1908 buried February 25, 1908	Islington, Middlesex, England	~	~	~
James Sidney Dewhurst (aka Sidney James McPherson)		October 27, 1894	Islington, Middlesex, England	August 21, 1950	Crockett, Contra Costa County, California	July 07, 1917	St. Patrick's Church, San Francisco, California	Rose Lily Colsell

[1] Private 15877 W.H. Dewhurst; Royal Army Medical Corps. Awarded the Queen's South Africa Medal with bars "South Africa 1901" and "South Africa 1902." He served in Natal and we are looking for evidence of where he died.

Family of James Sidney Dewhurst (aka Sidney James McPherson) and Rose Lily Colsell

NAME	PIX	BIRTH	LOCATION	DEATH	LOCATION	MARRIAGE	LOCATION	SPOUSE
James Sidney Dewhurst (aka Sidney James McPherson)		October 27, 1894	Islington, Middlesex, England	August 21, 1950	Crockett, Contra Costa, California	July 07, 1917	St. Patrick's Church, San Francisco, California	Rose Lily Colsell
James Edward McPherson		30 July 1918	Woodland, Yolo County, California	3 November 1944	Mare Island, Solano, CA; buried Golden Gate National Cemetery; San Bruno, San Mateo County, California
Allan Arthur McPherson		2 March 1920	Lily Street next to Rose, San Francisco, San Francisco County, California	9 October 1991	Novato, Marin County, California; buried Paradise Cemetery, Paradise, Butte County, California	2 January 1945	Tampa, ?County, Florida	Wanda Ruth Harman
Wilbur Franklin McPherson		12 January 1922	Walnut Creek, Contra Costa County, California	9 February 2001	Los Gatos, Santa Clara County, California	24 January 1953	San Francisco, San Francisco County, California	living

1871 Censuses - Wm. Henry and family

Mary Pearson Dewhurst

Mary E.

Mary E. - 1891