John arrived in China in the mid-1860s and settled at Hankow, where his eldest brother, William (a renowned "adventurer" in China), was operating a gunsmith shop at the time. John married Liao Chang Ku Lai (later known as Elizabeth), aged 27, daughter of "Liao Zui Ping, gentleman". Their "official" marriage before the British consular official at Hankow took place in 1874, but they had been married "Chinese-style" some years earlier.
The Consular Births Indexes at the FRC did not reveal any births with the surname Mesny in China between 1871 and 1915, but various facts provided by other researchers include:
John William Mesny died in 1912, aged 45, and had been a "salt watcher" at the Imperial Maritime Customs, Hankow. In 1903 he made some "Notes on [the Mesny] Pedigree", and a scanned image of the original notes can be seen on Jim Thompson's excellent website.
A "Miss S B Mesny" is listed in 1896 [working at] "E G Wilson, draper, hosier and general storekeeper, 22 Nanking Road, Shanghai". This would presumably have been her step-father's shop after her mother re-married. She was detained by the Japanese in the Lungwha prison camp during WW2 and released in 1945 - camp no. 20/37.
Ellen Jane Mesny, aged 20, married John Samuel Compton (the son of James Compton, deceased) a widower, HBM consular constable, Wenchow, at Shanghai on 17th October 1892.. Ellen's 1937 obituary referred to a "Mrs De Linde and Miss S.Mesny (sisters)"
Lily A Mesny died 1st July 1895, aged 18 (Hankow register). The newspapers referred to her as "Lydia Emilia, 4th daughter of the late John Mesny".
Clara Louise Mesny, fifth daughter of the late John Mesny, aged 22 died at Shanghai General Hospital, on 8th October 1900, after a long and painful illness.
Mary Ann Mesny married Arthur de Carle Sowerby (a renowned naturalist, born in the Shanxi province of China in 1885) on 2nd October 1909. They had a son who later (early 1950s) lived in Australia. She may also be the Miss M. Mesny who is listed as "Assistant, Girls' Dept., Hanbury School, Shanghai", from 1894. She died c.1914.
Hulda Maria Mesny was only two when her father died, and she was taken in by missionary families in Hankow (and probably never rejoined her mother, who had remarried). She married William Craig-Martin (a 22 year old teacher; son of Presbyterian minister Wm. Martin), on 7th July 1907 at Wuchang. They had two children - Hannah Marion (1908-2000), and Paul Ferrant (1910-1998), both born in China. "Craig" died in Tenerife in 1959, and Hulda died in Dublin - aged 101 - in 1983.
One of his daughters possibly moved to California where she worked as a nurse (although there could be some confusion here with one of his wife's daughters from her second marriage - Elizabeth Gertrude Wilson).
John died in April 1884, and his widow "Elizabeth" re-married soon after on 20th October 1884 to Edward Goulding Wilson.
Click here to view the "Mesny tree"
[My thanks to Gary Tiedemann, Frances Blackburn, Jim Thompson, and Keith Stevens for their help in compiling the above information]
Page last updated:
December 2006
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