Research carried out by N Cain: March 2021
This research has proven some facts and pointed out errors in the Belize Jex family history previously published here. The facts ascertained are as follows:
Hugh Lothian Sharp married Ella Octavia Jex (3652) on December 18th 1895. Note middle name Lothian not Latham as previously noted. Verified by Belize marriage records and ship manifests. Their son was Ernest Hugh Lothian Sharp.
When Ella Octavia Jex married Thomas Bowman in 1884, she was under the age
of consent (age 21). On the marriage record, it stated "Agnes Jex, mother of
Ella Octavia Jex consented." Her eldest brother, William Jex (1464 ), born
in 1846 in Belize, and died in 1896 in New York, had his mother recorded as
"Agnes Gell" when he married in New York in 1873. If William, the eldest
child, and Ella the youngest child, both had a mother with a first name of
Agnes, it would make sense that all other children born between William and
Ella would also have a mother with a first name of Agnes. As to Agnes' last
name, Gell, perhaps it was spelled that way or perhaps it was Gill, which is
very prevalent in British Honduras. Either way, I would confidently say that
it was not Ada Fowler.
To correct facts stated In THE STORY OF THE BELIZE JEX LINE, it starts with "1830s Josiah
and Daniel Jex sons of a Norfolk Miller travel to Belize to make their
fortune". But Josiah would have been a baby if the preceding BELIZE JEX
ANCESTRY was accurate. Also the line 1843 William Jex, Josiah and Daniel’s
brother travels to join them in Belize, is not correct. My research revealed
William Jex, John Jex, and Daniel Jex (in that order) where listed in the
1839 Census of British Honduras. They were staying in a household/farm (#103
on the census) with 6 other men. They were not found in the 1835 Census.
Ships manifest for those 3 men found numerous travel going to or from
Belize. Josiah was not one of them. The movements of the 3
brothers in SHIPS PASSAGES FOR JEX PEOPLE OF BELIZE.
Here is the direct link to the 1839 census page mentioned above (free
registration to site required)
https://www.familysearch.org/ark:/61903/3:1:3Q9M-CSMR-M7WP?i=419&cat=628070
and to Ella's first marriage to Thomas Bowman
https://www.familysearch.org/ark:/61903/3:1:3Q9M-CSM5-2HL2