NY NY - Alice Parsons: Heiress, Long Island, 1937

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Awesome info on Roy's dad, thanks for that! I hope there's a book soon, too, I would sure buy it!
 
The FBI participated in the investigation of Alice Parson's disappearance. I wonder if their files for Alice, Anna and William would be available by now? Does anyone know how to get these?
 
I mentioned Alice's case in an article I wrote today. I really do hope the book about her case will be published one day soon. There is very little out there, apart from original news articles and the thread here. It's just crying out for a well-researched book, in my opinion.

The other case I mention in my article happened 10 years earlier than Alice's disappearance, but still gets attention (and he was found). I just don't understand it.

http://bobharrodmissing.com/unique-cases-2.html
 
Pink Panther said:
The FBI participated in the investigation of Alice Parson's disappearance. I wonder if their files for Alice, Anna and William would be available by now? Does anyone know how to get these?
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FOIA. Actually, getting those docs might be really a good idea. Sometimes you can even glean information from what's redacted and what is not, lol.
 
zwiebel said:
I mentioned Alice's case in an article I wrote today. I really do hope the book about her case will be published one day soon. There is very little out there, apart from original news articles and the thread here. It's just crying out for a well-researched book, in my opinion.

The other case I mention in my article happened 10 years earlier than Alice's disappearance, but still gets attention (and he was found). I just don't understand it.

http://bobharrodmissing.com/unique-cases-2.html
Click to expand...

It really is surprising that there is not more info, I agree. Thanks for the article! Every bit helps keep a case alive.
 
what if william was roy's father from his trip to england in '25? what if alice knew it and that is why she allowed the name change and adoption. or maybe she was manipulated into the name change and adoption and only later found letters or some such informing her of the truth. what an interesting story!! i have read through this entire thread in one day and now i have to go to work with long ago on my mind.
 
nanny2five said:
what if william was roy's father from his trip to england in '25? what if alice knew it and that is why she allowed the name change and adoption. or maybe she was manipulated into the name change and adoption and only later found letters or some such informing her of the truth. what an interesting story!! i have read through this entire thread in one day and now i have to go to work with long ago on my mind.
Click to expand...

I'm assuming that if Roy's father was Hans Raj Soni, he would look mixed race or biracial. As far as I know, William was Caucasian and so I would assume it would be easy to rule out William as Roy's father just by looking at him.
 
Pink Panther said:
According to the 1940's census, Roy was already an American Citizen:

1940 United States Federal Census

Name: Roy Parsons
Age: 13
Estimated Birth Year: abt 1927
Gender: Male
Race: White
Birthplace: England
Marital Status: Single
Relation to Head of House: Son
Home in 1940: Monterey, Monterey, California
View Map
Street: Mesa Road
Inferred Residence in 1935: Long Island, Suffolk, New York
Residence in 1935: Long Island, Suffolk, New York
Resident on farm in 1935: No
Citizenship: American Citizen Born Abroad
Sheet Number: 8B
Attended School or College: Yes
Highest Grade Completed: Elementary school, 7th grade
Neighbors: View others on page

Household Members:
Name Age
William Parsons 51
Anne Parsons 39
Roy Parsons 13
Click to expand...

is there a for sure pic of roy on this thread? i have seen a lot of pics but none that are him. it is interesting that in the 1940 census he is listed as "american citizen born abroad". that would seem to imply that at least one of his bio parents was american. just sayin' :)
 
Well, he was adopted by the Parsons if I remember correctly (please correct me if I'm wrong), so I assume then he'd be a naturalised American citizen.



I think Anna wouldn't be stupid enough to claim her son was the son of an Indian if he didn't look biracial, but it's a good point - there must be photos of Roy out there.



FWIW, he also seemed proud of his Indian ancestry ( I believe his son had an Indian name) so he thought he was half Indian at least. :)
 
Did the book someone in this thread said she was writing ever get published?

Thanks.
 
chibiaeris said:
I'm assuming that if Roy's father was Hans Raj Soni, he would look mixed race or biracial. As far as I know, William was Caucasian and so I would assume it would be easy to rule out William as Roy's father just by looking at him.
Click to expand...

Just came across this utterly fascinating, and incredibly well researched!, case.

Anglo-Indian can mean many things. The actor Ben Kingsley (birth name Krishna Bahnji) is Anglo-Indian. I'm pretty sure if one did not know that, one would automatically assume he is an upper-middle-class (white) Englishman even though he is best known for portraying Gandhi.

Hans Raj Soni (without seeing a photo of him)- his name, Hans, indicates that he was *at least* bi-racial, and depending on his caste and which part of India he was from, his son with Anna very well could have *passed* as white.

*I hate having to type passed.

For further info, see UK comic Alistair McGowan on the BBC "Who Do You Think You Are?". He was utterly surprised to find out his father was Anglo-Indian.

http://www.bbc.co.uk/whodoyouthinkyouare/past-stories/alistair-mcgowan.shtml
 
I believe it was Marilynilpa who was going to write the book. I often think of this case and when I do I wonder how she is doing with the write-up. Looks like there's been no movement yet. :(

Ragamuffin said:
Just came across this utterly fascinating, and incredibly well researched!, case.

Anglo-Indian can mean many things. The actor Ben Kingsley (birth name Krishna Bahnji) is Anglo-Indian. I'm pretty sure if one did not know that, one would automatically assume he is an upper-middle-class (white) Englishman even though he is best known for portraying Gandhi.

Hans Raj Soni (without seeing a photo of him)- his name, Hans, indicates that he was *at least* bi-racial, and depending on his caste and which part of India he was from, his son with Anna very well could have *passed* as white.

*I hate having to type passed.

For further info, see UK comic Alistair McGowan on the BBC "Who Do You Think You Are?". He was utterly surprised to find out his father was Anglo-Indian.

http://www.bbc.co.uk/whodoyouthinkyouare/past-stories/alistair-mcgowan.shtml
Click to expand...

Ragamuffin, you make a very good point. I myself am biracial (half-English and Chinese), and most people think I am Caucasian. So I'm sure you're right, and assumptions shouldn't be made about Roy's appearance.

As for the question of Hans Raj Soni - as I posted before, I did some research into his background, and I am almost certain he is full-blood Indian. Actually, the 'Hans' bit of his name is deceptive - from what I can tell 'Hansraj' is an Indian name (just Google it), and for some reason (probably because he was studying in a European country), he decided to separate out his name to 'Hans Raj', so his European classmates would find it easier to just call him the familiar-sounding 'Hans'. Of course, this is all assumption on my part, but IMHO it makes sense.

I posted this earlier, but I'll post it again so people don't have to go searching - here are the details of Hans Raj Soni's background, taken from the Lincoln's Inn admissions register in London (transcribed here: http://hosted.law.wisc.edu/wordpress/sharafi/files/2010/07/Lincolns-Inn-6.0.pdf)

Hans Raj Soni M.A. of Edinburgh University and of London
Univeristy and of Wachhowala, Lahore, India (25) s. of Rai Sahib
Ramditta Soni of Lahore, afsd.
Click to expand...

He was born in Lahore, son of Rai Sahib Ramditta Soni. I'd say it would be very unusual if he had a white mother, although I suppose it's not out of the realms of possibility.

All this does make me wonder though, how on earth he and Anna hooked up. I suppose things were rather footloose and fancy free in 1920's London! :angel:
 
chibiaeris said:
I believe it was Marilynilpa who was going to write the book. I often think of this case and when I do I wonder how she is doing with the write-up. Looks like there's been no movement yet. :(



Ragamuffin, you make a very good point. I myself am biracial (half-English and Chinese), and most people think I am Caucasian. So I'm sure you're right, and assumptions shouldn't be made about Roy's appearance.

As for the question of Hans Raj Soni - as I posted before, I did some research into his background, and I am almost certain he is full-blood Indian. Actually, the 'Hans' bit of his name is deceptive - from what I can tell 'Hansraj' is an Indian name (just Google it), and for some reason (probably because he was studying in a European country), he decided to separate out his name to 'Hans Raj', so his European classmates would find it easier to just call him the familiar-sounding 'Hans'. Of course, this is all assumption on my part, but IMHO it makes sense.

I posted this earlier, but I'll post it again so people don't have to go searching - here are the details of Hans Raj Soni's background, taken from the Lincoln's Inn admissions register in London (transcribed here: http://hosted.law.wisc.edu/wordpress/sharafi/files/2010/07/Lincolns-Inn-6.0.pdf)



He was born in Lahore, son of Rai Sahib Ramditta Soni. I'd say it would be very unusual if he had a white mother, although I suppose it's not out of the realms of possibility.

All this does make me wonder though, how on earth he and Anna hooked up. I suppose things were rather footloose and fancy free in 1920's London! :angel:
Click to expand...

Interracial sexual/romantic relationships between, usually men, from the Empire who were studying in the UK and native British white women were far from uncommon in those days.
 
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