In loving memory:
1925 - 2003.
1953 -1985.
1922 -2003.
The goal of this Website is to provide a history of the family started by James and Alice Martha Quinn, who were married in London in 1877. Their descendents are scattered around the world. This history follows mainly the Quinn line. James and Alice Martha had five children who survived to adulthood, but only one, Herbert Stanley Quinn, continued the male line; he married Ivy Shephard in 1922. Quite a lot is known about the Shephards and a Shephard family history is given here.
I was told by my father that James Quinn, my grandfather, was born in Ireland in 1854. But, there is no paper evidence to support this. British census returns of 1881, 1891 and 1901 state that he was born in London. Almost nothing is known about his childhood and early adulthood. Who were his parents? Did he have any siblings? We know only that his father was also a James, and a carpenter.
I believed at one time that Alice Martha was born in Scotland, but I have searched the Scottish Records Office and found no trace of her there. Birth certificates of two of Alice's siblings, James and Rosina, have been found; they were born in London; from their birth certificates we know that Alice's parents were named John and Eliza Menzies; the latter were married April 29th, 1844 in Paddington. John's father was James Menzies a coachmaker and Eliza's was William Absalom, a coachman. Alice's birth certificate has not been found, but the presumption is that she was born in London.
The Scottish Records Office has provided on-line, for a few years, its complete records of births, deaths, and marriages going back to the 16th century; it is a very easy and inexpensive service to use. The Irish General Register Office provides no such information on-line; and England's Public Records Office has only the 1901 census on-line. I have bought CDs giving English census information for 1881, 1871 and 1861; such census information can be very interesting. It was through the 1881 census that I found reference to James Charles Quinn, a son of James and Alice Martha, who died in childhood. I am optimistic that, when the English and Irish records offices eventually provide full evidence of births on-line, we will find where James and Alice were born and information about James' parents and siblings. Stanley Quinn