What happened to the mother and sister of James Foley?

(This family makes up the third generation of the report on ‘The Foley Family’.)

James’ family was living in Newcastle upon Tyne when his father died in December of 1892. Shortly thereafter his mother told him he was old enough to be on his own and she disappeared along with James’ sister, Sarah. His mother was Sarah (Rodgers) Foley and she was 34 years old. Her daughter, Sarah, was 11. James was taken in by the Barnardo Homes and emigrated to Canada in 1895. There is evidence that he was in communication with his sister many years later. Family artifacts include a photograph of two children around 8 years old which is reported to be a picture of his niece and nephew, James and Aggie McKenna. There is also a postcard received after his marriage to Vyceniae to “Aunt and Uncle” from Aggie. The handwritten message is obviously that of a child and she mentions a brother. The picture on the postcard is of Newcastle.

The family was found in the 1911 census living in Byker, Newcastle upon Tyne. Andrew and Sarah are reported to have been married for 5 years. Daughter Agnes is 4 years old and James is 6 months old. I have recently located a record of Sarah’s death which took place in November of 1919.

I have no idea how James and his sister found each other. It may be that Sarah learned of her brother’s whereabouts from some other family member or that she was told of her brother’s connection with the Barnardo Homes and was able to locate him with their help. I have contacted Barnardo’s and found that they do not have any record of this.

I would like to know where James’ mother and his sister were between 1892 and 1911. I searched for them in the 1901 census without success, and I have not found any record of his mother’s death or remarriage nor was I able to locate her in the 1911 census.

It would be wonderful to hear from a descendent of James or Aggie.

My email address is: durlene@mts.net

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