Australia Australia - Tamam Shud Case - Male, Dec 1948

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I simply cannot find a link as to why Jessie Ellen Harkness is buried in a jewish part of the cemetery. Everything else about her leads to Anglican or Presybtarian roots. The only possible connection I've heard is that she was the lover of a jewish doctor for many years…

Does anyone have any information that could be helpful on this?

ETA - Google the subject and most certainly, you will find that JEstyn is Jessie (Jo, Jessica) Ellen Harkness Thomson.
 
B Deveson said:
Hi Makara,
Charles Mikkelsen, passenger, is reported killed in the following;
See: http://www.warsailors.com/raidervictims/atlantis.html

I have also confirmed the details with one of Charles' relatives in Norway. All of the details match with the Charles Mikkelsen who disembarked from Tancred at Port Adelaide 9th January 1932. His mother was given a small sum to compensate her for Charles' death.
Click to expand...

I've seen your research elsewhere and I'm in awe. I have been searching along many similar lines and I have a ton of questions/would love to communicate. I don't post elsewhere (it scares me)…Can we share "family tree" info?
 
I haven't managed to confirm but is it true that Derek A and Jessie's grand-daughter have been an item and have produced a child??? Giselle?
 
I just read through this thread... but I'm tired and I forgot most of what I wanted to reply to.

I don't believe the S-looking thing in the note is a 7. I was taught to write 7's using the stroke in the middle, I'd never draw a 7 like that (or anyone I know for that matter), not with the top stroke leaning to the right. My teacher would have killed me :floorlaugh: Of course handwriting changes over time but most people who variate on that either place the middle stroke weirdly or don't put it on there at all. My first thought when seeing that letter was a lowercase "f". It could also be some kind of marking. For instance, if each letter stands for a word it could indicate punctuation or a minor word (like and, but, etc.) that would be easier to indicate with a sign of some sort.

I don't think the code is necessarily breakable. It could be using a one-time pad for example. It's impossible or at least very difficult to crack if that's the case.

Is there any reason to suspect Jessica Thompson was a soviet spy? IMO just knowing Russian doesn't prove much. A previous post says she taught English to immigrants, including Russians. IMO she could have picked it up from them or even have been taught Russian as part of her training for that job.

OTOH, maybe during that job she was recruited as a spy.

If she was a spy then IMO a lot of things make more sense. Even if she didn't kill this man, they may have known about each other being spies (she could have been his contact in the area). Then when she saw his bust, she was afraid that she would get caught too or was afraid that she'd be next. Or, she just knew him and liked him, at least as a friend or acquaintance, and felt shocked that he was found dead.

The fact that weapons research was being conducted in the area speaks volumes IMO.

Having someone else's name in his personal items could be part of his cover (if he was a spy).

Maybe they were bought second-hand or gifted to him... this fits with the idea that maybe if he wasn't a spy, that he could be poor and travelling to meet someone such as a relative.

Another thought, if there's a ballet connection. I don't think that by the time of his death he was still a dancer. Maybe he received ballet training in his youth before quitting or maybe he was still in the ballet world but no longer dancing on stage. He could be a choreographer or doing backstage work in some capacity. IMO, if he belonged to that British company that has been mentioned, this would also make sense. That company was in Melbourne at the time but they still had another stop left in their tour if I understand correctly. They wouldn't just let a dancer or understudy go halfway through the tour. The art supplies made me think of sets - painting and making them.

I've read here that some ballet links were investigated. Which companies were looked into? He could have been a part of a minor one that didn't make many waves. Another thought - maybe he wasn't part of a ballet company but another artistic group, like a theatre one.

:twocents:
 
Well, whoever Jessie really was, (and she seems to have changed her name quite frequently), it's a shame that she didn't come to fully understand the "legacy" she was leaving behind for her children and grand-children. Her "involvement" or otherwise in the case could have been cleared by her but instead, those left behind are unfortunately, left to pick up the pieces.

Sad.

moo
 
Thomas Lawrence Keane's army record is now digitized. It's shocking to me that no one has seen that his signature (on his army documents) - particularly the way he wrote his "T" is virtually identical to the "T" Keane found on the SM's collar! They're identical! I don't think that SM = TK but I do think he had his clothing. I also think that SM is somehow connected to Broken Hill. There were other clothes in a suitcase found on the beach the same night that SM died and a youth from Broken Hill admitted that he had brought them there. Coincidence? Not much imo. It's all available online through TROVE.

One example here:

http://trove.nla.gov.au/ndp/del/art...="Somerton Man"&searchLimits=l-format=Article

Another here:

http://trove.nla.gov.au/ndp/del/art...="Somerton Man"&searchLimits=l-format=Article
 
B Deveson said:
Hi Makara,
Charles Mikkelsen, passenger, is reported killed in the following;
See: http://www.warsailors.com/raidervictims/atlantis.html

I have also confirmed the details with one of Charles' relatives in Norway. All of the details match with the Charles Mikkelsen who disembarked from Tancred at Port Adelaide 9th January 1932. His mother was given a small sum to compensate her for Charles' death.
Click to expand...

B Deveson - How is it possible that there are NO birth records for any of Thomas Harkness Sr"s children??? WT Hay? I've searched high and low an have found NOTHING! Were they registered under a different last name?
 
Pink Panther said:
Have a look at T. Keane's signature here (bottom right):

http://recordsearch.naa.gov.au/scripts/Imagine.asp?B=4637820&I=1&SE=1

And now look at what was found in the SM's suitcase:

http://www.smh.com.au/national/riddle-on-the-sands-20121119-29kwz.html

Do you see the picture with the shirt collar, scissors and knife?

What do you think?

Aren't the "t"'s identical???

moo
Click to expand...

Hi Pink Panther, yes I agree that the "t" does look very similar but after reading T. L. Keane's service record it seems that one of his distinguishing marks was an old gunshot wound on the inside thigh of his right leg, received on 19 April 1918. No such scar was found on Somerton Man's leg. T. L. Keane also had a mole on his left cheekbone. Keane was discharged as medically unfit due to high blood pressure on 22 February 1944 and on the last page of his record it states "DEATH DUE TO WAR SERVICE".

I searched for a Queensland death record for Thomas Lawrence Keane between 1943 and 1984 and there is one that stands out.

Year of Death: 1949

Index No: B21184

Name: Thomas Torance Keane

Father: Francis Charles

Mother: Isabella Beaumont

This Thomas Keane is registered as Thomas Torance. Keane. It is not unusual for birth, death and marriage indexes to sometimes record an incorrect name. After 20 years as a genealogist I've found this is par for the course.

Funeral notice for Thomas Lawrence Keane. You'll note that his address was 110 Terrace St. New Farm, Qld., the same address he gave on his service record. He also listed his sister A. TOTEN as his next of kin. Ada Keane married Francis Charles Toten in Qld. in 1915 and they are mentioned in the funeral notice below.

The Courier-Mail (Brisbane, Qld. : 1933 - 1954
Saturday 26 March 1949. Page 12.​

FUNERAL NOTICES KEANE.—The Relatives & Friends of Mr. & Mrs. F. C. Toten, Mr. & Mrs. L. Fuller (Argents Hill), Miss Dorothy Toten, Mr. & Mrs. A. Dixon, Mr. & Mrs. J. Lohfin, & Mr. E. Toten, are invited to attend the funeral of her beloved Brother, his Brother-in-law, & their Uncle, Thomas Lawrence Keane, of 110 Terrace St., New Farm, late 15th & 57th Bns., 1st A.I.F., to move from Alex. Gow's Funeral Chapel, Petrie Bight, This (Saturday) Morning, at 11 o'clock, for the Crematorium, Mt. Thompson. Service 10.45 a.m. ALEX. GOW, Funeral Director.

KEANE.—New Farm Sub-branch, R.S.S.A.I.L.A.—The Officers and Members are invited to attend the Funeral of their late Member, Mr. T. L. Keane, to move from Alex. Gow's Funeral Chapel, as per family notice. A. L Beeston, Secretary.

BBM.

http://trove.nla.gov.au/ndp/del/search?adv=y

ETA: Thomas Lawrence Keane's WW1 record has also been digitised. It seems he also suffered a face wound when he was shot in 1918.

http://recordsearch.naa.gov.au/scripts/Imagine.asp?B=7368595

I think that we can safely put to rest any notion that Thomas Lawrence Keane was Somerton Man.

Pink Panther said:
B Deveson - How is it possible that there are NO birth records for any of Thomas Harkness Sr"s children??? WT Hay? I've searched high and low an have found NOTHING! Were they registered under a different last name?
Click to expand...

I'm not B. Deveson but I can answer this. Most birth records in Australia have a privacy limitation, which vary from state to state. In NSW we are able to access birth records up to 1913, so there is basically a 100 year embargo on birth records. However there are other ways to calculate a date of birth. There is only a 50 year privacy limitation on marriages in NSW. A marriage record will (in most cases) state the ages of both parties. There is only a 30 year privacy limitation on death records in NSW and once again the age of the deceased is almost always listed. This information is obviously reliant on the informant on the death certificate and how well they knew the deceased. And then there is Trove and the National Archives. Both wonderful resources to help fill in the blanks of genealogical research.

Jessica Harkness' parents were Thomas Lawson Harkness and Ellen Lee. They married in Western Australia in 1916. They had at least five children.

Thomas Jnr. b. 1917 Victoria Australia.

Edmund. b. 1919. Victoria Australia.

Jessica. b. 1921. Marrickville, Sydney NSW Australia.

Jean. b. 1923 NSW Australia.

Ellen. b. 1928 NSW Australia.

There is a five year gap between Jean and Ellen so there may have been another child born within this time frame that I'm yet to discover.
 
Hi Makara - I don't believe that SM was Thomas Keane but I do think it's quite possible that he had his clothing!

Regarding the "Torance" instead of Lawrence. The "Torance" seems to be on "ancestry" and may be a transcription error. (I've read that this is the case on another site.) I think Thomas Torance Keane and Thomas Francis Keane are one and the same and other family tree connections confirm that. The death certificate for Thomas Torance Keene lists the same parents as Thomas Lawrence Keane's war records. One and the same.

Regarding the complete lack of records on the Harkness side; I still find it strange as there are others I have researched in their extended families of the same generation and they can be found.

moo
 
You may be right in thinking that SM had Thomas Keane's clothing. Then again, the suitcase may have been 'planted' at the railway station. No lodgment ticket for the suitcase was ever found on SM. It has never been proven beyond doubt that the suitcase and contents belonged to SM. It has always been an assumption on the part of investigators because certain things fitted. The orange thread for example. Similar to stitching found on the clothes SM was wearing. And the trousers in the suitcase were the same size as the pair SM was wearing when his body was found. So all the stuff in that suitcase must have been SM's, right?

The name Torance (instead of Lawrence) may well be showing up on Ancestry but Ancestry has purchased the right to access those records from the original state's birth, death and marriage records. The death information I posted earlier was accessed directly from the Qld. BD&M site. https://www.bdm.qld.gov.au/IndexSearch/queryEntry.m?type=deaths

So who is Thomas Francis Keane?

I wouldn't put complete faith in what you may read on family tree sites. Sometimes people get it terribly wrong or just try to fit a square peg into a round hole. Everything needs to be confirmed by documentation or cross-referencing with other known facts, not just guesswork. Quite often people will just copy what is in another person's family tree on Ancestry without doing any of their own research.

Yes, Thomas Torence Keane and Thomas Lawrence Keane are the same person as I mentioned in my earlier post up thread.

I'm not understanding what you mean about the complete lack of records on the Harkness side. There are many records available for them. Can you elaborate further on what you mean or what you are looking for in particular?


Pink Panther said:
Hi Makara - I don't believe that SM was Thomas Keane but I do think it's quite possible that he had his clothing!

Regarding the "Torance" instead of Lawrence. The "Torance" seems to be on "ancestry" and may be a transcription error. (I've read that this is the case on another site.) I think Thomas Torance Keane and Thomas Francis Keane are one and the same and other family tree connections confirm that. The death certificate for Thomas Torance Keene lists the same parents as Thomas Lawrence Keane's war records. One and the same.

Regarding the complete lack of records on the Harkness side; I still find it strange as there are others I have researched in their extended families of the same generation and they can be found.

moo
Click to expand...
 
Makara said:
You may be right in thinking that SM had Thomas Keane's clothing. Then again, the suitcase may have been 'planted' at the railway station. No lodgment ticket for the suitcase was ever found on SM. It has never been proven beyond doubt that the suitcase and contents belonged to SM. It has always been an assumption on the part of investigators because certain things fitted. The orange thread for example. Similar to stitching found on the clothes SM was wearing. And the trousers in the suitcase were the same size as the pair SM was wearing when his body was found. So all the stuff in that suitcase must have been SM's, right?

The name Torance (instead of Lawrence) may well be showing up on Ancestry but Ancestry has purchased the right to access those records from the original state's birth, death and marriage records. The death information I posted earlier was accessed directly from the Qld. BD&M site. https://www.bdm.qld.gov.au/IndexSearch/queryEntry.m?type=deaths

So who is Thomas Francis Keane?

I wouldn't put complete faith in what you may read on family tree sites. Sometimes people get it terribly wrong or just try to fit a square peg into a round hole. Everything needs to be confirmed by documentation or cross-referencing with other known facts, not just guesswork. Quite often people will just copy what is in another person's family tree on Ancestry without doing any of their own research.

Yes, Thomas Torence Keane and Thomas Lawrence Keane are the same person as I mentioned in my earlier post up thread.

I'm not understanding what you mean about the complete lack of records on the Harkness side. There are many records available for them. Can you elaborate further on what you mean or what you are looking for in particular?
Click to expand...

I have done extensive research and have much of the information you post here. I use ancestry as well as other sources. Nonetheless, I have not been able to find any birth or marriage records for Jessie or her siblings. I've found the information elsewhere but not through the ancestry site which is strange as I have not had much trouble with other parts of the family tree.
 
Ooops. Sorry about the "Thomas Francis Keane". I meant "Thomas Lawrence Keane". I didn't mean to confuse things more than they are.
 
Pakies was a haunt for the left wing intellectuals and bohemians of Sydney in the 1930s and 1940s. Jestyn's (Jessie Ellen Harkness) pen and ink self portrait (see page 23 of Gerry Feltus' book "The unknown man") shows that she affected the bohemian look. Her gamine hair style would have been quite rare at the time, and would have marked her out as being some sort of eccentric. I haven't got around to checking, but I expect that Jessie's name appears in the Guest book. It might be informative to find out whom she accompanied.
 
I am fairly sure that the material was removed from the Ancestry site, possibly by threat of legal action? A couple of years ago one could access some information concerning Jessie's relations, but not now. It seems that several of Jessie's relatives were using Ancestry, but the records are all marked private now.
 
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