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Tom's Great Grandfather. John Robertson appears to have been an adventurous man. He was born 1838 in London, England. In 1860 he was appointed Assistant Engineer in the Royal Navy. One letter of recommendation written in 1889 indicates he was manager of Foundry in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil for two years then Manaharn (location and spelling unsure) for four years and 17 years in Piauhy, Brazil. John was fluent in both English and Portuguese, which is the national language in Brazil - he was employed as an interpreter. According to family lore he was married first to a woman in Brazil, South America and had two children, William and Isabella. In 1883, when he was 45 and living in Lisbon, Portugal, he married 21 year old Arthuretta Faulconer who was born in Sussex, England. Etta first dated John's oldest son, William. An 1887 letter indicates he worked in Almodavar, Portugal from 1883-1887. He worked as an engineer on the Manchester Ship Canal. An 1891 contract of John's is for a three and a half year job in Mexico and he is referred to Captain John Robertson a mechanical engineer. His employer is S. Pearson and Son Contractors of Westminster - he was living in London at the time. According to his wife, Etta's Bible, he died January 1895 (location not recorded but possibly he had returned to London). Thank you for the photo, June!
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