NORMAN ALBERT
Norman Albert Lees was the eldest child of Robert James Lees and Sarah Lees.
He was born in 1873 in Birmingham (Warwickshire, England), and married Anna Casey. They had three children,
Roland, Ethel and Robert James.
Roland married Helen Guilfoyle and had two children, Bernadette
Jacqueline, now living in Daytona Beach, Florida, and Roland jnr now
living in Ocala, Florida. Bernadette and Roland both have children.
Bernadette also has grandchildren.
Ethel never married, and died some years ago.
Robert married Rose Veronica McGloin and had two children, Veronica born
17 May 1918 and Robert James (jnr) born 9 July 1920 who died 11 March
1930. Robert (snr) died 14 December 1948. Rose died 12 June 1971.
Veronica married Frank Thomas Keogh in Brooklyn, New York on 4 October
1941. His family came from Chicago. They were divorced 2 February 1972.
They had four children:
Francis Thomas Keogh jnr (Tom) born 6 July 1944 now living in Bourne,
Massachusetts.
Robert Lees Keogh born 2 January 1947 now living on the island of Guam.
Kenneth Paul Keogh born 22 September 1949 now living in Howell, New
Jersey.
Kathleen Mary Keogh Hayden born 27 November 1951 now living in
Albuquerque, New Mexico.
Veronica also has seven grandchildren.
Veronica says she was told very little about her family when she was a
child. She never met her grandfather (Norman) but remembers her
grandmother Anna, whom she knew as `Grandma Rolly’. She lived with
Veronica’s Uncle Rolly (Roland) who died when Veronica was six (in 1924
or 1925). It is her understanding that Norman moved to Australia.
In the Leicestershire Record Office is a letter from Norman to his
brother Ernest, dated 16 April 1891, inviting him to join him in America
to work. There is also a scrapbook of cuttings from American newspapers
concerning Norman campaigning to stop `malpractice and ill treatment of
inmates in Matteawan State Hospital’ where he had been confined in March
1910 after allegedly setting fire to his house in Brooklyn, New York. He
had been released by February 1911, and achieved considerable success in
improving conditions for prisoners.
Addresses for Norman and Anne at this time (from cuttings scrapbook):
Holland House, Fishkill-on-the-Hudson, New York.
131 Doughlass Street, Brooklyn (20 February 1911)
248 Seventh Avenue, Brooklyn.
Norman was living with or close to his brother Lionel in Chicago in 1897
according to a letter to Lionel in their father's hand, dated 10 July 1897.
Norman attended his mother’s funeral in Ilfracombe, England in February
1912. He rode in the second carriage behind the hearse with his sister
Pearl, his brother Ernest, and Ernest’s wife. However, he did not attend
his father’s funeral in 1931. On that occasion, a wreath was sent from
"Douglas, Norman, Muriel, May and Wally, sons and daughter, Australia".
ERNEST HERBERT/HAROLD
Born 12 September 1875, Lancashire. Married Jane (?)
FRANK
Born 12 January 1877. Presumably died in childhood 1881 as Frank is not
referred to in `The Heretic' and is not recorded in the 1891 census.
MARMADUKE
? (Was Marmaduke, Frank’s second name?)
LIONEL HERBERT
Born 15 December 1877, Lancashire.
Living in Chicago in 1897.
Died 26 November 1953.
Lionel married Jessie Pearl Thorne (27 September 1877 - 1965) and had three
children: Jessie Elma (26 September 1900 - 23 February 1992) who married
Carl Carlson (4 June 1892 - 5 January 1955), Edith Louise (19 April 1902
- May 1903) and Herbert Wendell (15 December 1920 - 25 December 1995).
The
Marriage Register for Halestown (West Penrith) has the following entry:
26
December 1899 by licence:
Lionel
Herbert Lees, 22, bachelor, Grocer of Caerlym (Talland Road). Father:
Robert James Lees, author.
Jessie
Pearl Thorne, 22, spinster of Caerlym (Talland Road). Father: Cain
Pearl, gentleman.
Witnesses:
Janie Miller. (?) Lees.
Lionel
secondly married Laura. He settled in America. Known as Bertie.
BERNARD VICTOR
Born 1 December 1978, Surrey, Kent.
EVELYN AMY FLORENCE
Eva was born on 14 November 1879 in Surrey, Kent and died in 1968, Leicester, England. A
committed spiritualist, Eva did not marry, and remained extremely loyal
to her father for his entire life. After her mother's death in 1912, Eva
acted as nurse, secretary and companion to her father. After his death,
Eva ensured the continued publication of Lees' works, and arranged for
the setting-up of a Trust to extend this work after her own death. The
Trust operated until the early 1970's.
AYLMER GORDON
Aylmer was born on 14 January 1881 in Forest Hill, Kent. He died on 21 December 1922 of
pneumonia after, allegedly jumping off London bridge in a suicide attempt.
He was known as
‘Ali’. He had two daughters, Joan and Edna. Edna married, and had one
son, Andrew Lalonde. Joan (born 16 September 1915, died 14 September
2002) married firstly William James Vernham, and had one son,
Christopher Vernham, born 8 August 1946. Joan married secondly Robert
Warneke (see below under Douglas Percival Lees).
DOUGLASS PERCIVAL
Douglass was born on 3 March 1882. He sttled in Australia (Adelaide, October 1911)
and died there on 26 December 1963 (Adelaide, South Australia). His daughter Eleanor
(1920-1970) married Robert Warneke and had three daughters: Christine
Frances (who married James and has one son) living in Stirling in 2002,
Judith Rosalind (who has three sons and one grandson) and Sara Mary,aka
novelist Sara Douglass, and one son, Robert Paul (who has two sons).
(Robert Warneke lately married Joan, daughter of Aylmer Gordon Lees.)
CLAUDIUS PENTWAR
Claude was born in 1884 and died on 23 October 1965. He married Emmie or Ettie
and lived in
Leicester from at least 1931 until 1965. A professional photographer by
trade who
worked in Ilfracombe as `Philips & Lees’, and in Leicester for `Fisher
and Potter’. Kelly's Directory for Leicester (1957) describes him as
Director of Fisher & Potter (photographers). His address is 103
Greenhill Road, Leicester; Fisher & Potter's trading address is given as
19 High Street. Claude also practised as a spiritual healer.
PEARL CLEMENSA EUNICA
Pearl was born on 11 March 1886 in Acton, Middlesex and died in 1962 at Ryhall, near Oakham, Rutland, England. Pearl was married four times:
Firstly, to Herbert Webster in 1912, with whom she had two sons, Stuart who died
aged ten years, and Garth who died in 1944 during his wartime service in
the RAF. Garth lived for some time with Douglass in Australia.
Secondly, to Alfred Benjamin Vokes, with whom she had four daughters:
Marian (born 23 November 1918), Amy who died of a stroke aged
seventeen years, Helga and (Muriel) Kathleen (born 5 May 1922, died 15
October 2001).
Helga
was born 19 August 1920 and is now living in Johannesburg, South Africa,
and had three daughters.
From her first marriage to Stefan Wasserberger, Elizabeth
(5/02/51) married Bruce Robert Harvey and they have three children,
Graham (31/03/76), Ian (24/02/79) and Janine (24/06/80). Michele
(30/10/53) married Ernst Josef Stummer and had two children, Jenna
(11/05/87) and Neil (14/11/90). From
her second marriage to
Oresto Ugo Roberto (Pierre) Petrucci, Julie (7/06/65) married Johan
Dafel and had two children, Alex (23/10/96) and Luke (26/10/99).
Marian had four children – Susan Pearl born 11 September 1945,
Jane
Marian born 7 July 1948, Andrew Garth Vokes born 7 January 1953, and
Paul Joseph George born 25 January 1962.
Susan
married Michael Crawford Harland (May 1970) and have no children.
Jane married Christopher Moon (August 1969) and have two children,
Benjamin Paul (born 12 July 1974) and Chloe Jane (born 7 April 1977).
Andrew (known as Garth) married Katherine (1978) and have two children,
Samuel (born 3 September 1983) and Luke (born 12 February 1985).
Kathleen married Gordon Kenneth Vokes. They had two children,
Christine Margaret (born 8 March 1954) and Nigel (born 19 April 1950).
Christine married Julian van Geersdaele and had two children, Laura
Katherine (born 12 March 1986) and Alice Sophie (born 23 April 1990).
Thirdly,
Pearl married James Johnson (with whom Pearl lived in Narborough Road,
Leicester.)
Fourthly, Pearl married Harold Cunnington (with whom she lived at Essendine, Rutland).
Pearl was Harold’s second wife.
VIOLA VALDRONA IRENE
Viola was born on 8 May 1887. She married Edward Headley. They had two children
and lived in
Bournemouth, England. Edward is said to have been a director of
Leicester City Football Club.
MARMION HALDANE
Marmion was born on 28 September 1892 and died in infancy aged seven months.
IOLANTHE CORONA HYPATIA
or Hyptia Hiantha Cornoa. Born 12 February 1893. Died at eight months.
WALLACE CARRELL (CAEREL)
Wallace was born on 2 November 1894 at Peckham Rye, South London.
MURIEL AMETHYST ATHENE
Muriel was born on 14 April 1897 at St Ives, Cornwall, the sixteenth and
last child of Robert James and Sarah Lees. She died on 15 March 1973 in Cairns, North Queensland, Australia.
Her daughter Barbara believes that Muriel was NOT a daughter of Robert
and Sarah, but was adopted at the request or insistence of Queen
Victoria. Barbara believes that Muriel was the illegitimate child of a
grand-daughter of one of the Queen's ladies-in-waiting. She further
claims that Lees was given a Pension from the Queen's Privy Purse in
order to maintain and care for the child.
Muriel married Walter Edwin Betts (1898-1981) on 14 April 1923 in Rochester,
Kent and had two children, Barbara Gladys (born 1926) and Derek Charles
(born 1928).
Barbara married Douglas Wiseman Holdsworth (1914-1989). Derek married
firstly Florence Plane (born 1930) and had two children, Diana Rosalie
(born 1949) and Joylene Sandra (born 1950).
Diana married Terence John Hills (born 1947) and have three children,
Kelly (born 1972), David (born 1974) and Brett (born 1975).
Joylene married Jeffrey Hocking and have two children, Jamie (born 1975)
and Nicole (born 1976).
Derek married secondly Elizabeth Mitchell (born 1935) and had one son,
Roger (born 1970). |