American great grandchildren of Sunderland choirboy who wrote letter to be remembered found

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The grandchildren of a Victorian orphan who did not want to be forgotten have spoken to Tyne Tees after it was discovered he was a US war hero.

A month after a letter written by an orphan choirboy was found hidden behind a pew in Sunderland, his descendants have been found in America; thanks to the help of North East genealogists.

The note written in 1897 by 13 year old William Elliot, was found by workmen who were carrying out renovations at Sunderland's former Holy Trinity Church, and asked for William not to be forgotten.

The Victorian note has now completed the family tree of relatives in America who had struggled to find more out about William.

Eric and Erin Barnett live near LA, and Erin said it has been "incredible" to learn about more about the great grandad her grandma told her stories about.

"When I came to fill in the [family] tree and I couldn't find any information out it was very frustrating"

Eric added: "It's been great to watch Erin be so happy about being able to complete the [family] tree, because she's been so invested in it for such a long time."

The letter, which was written as William's time in Sunderland Orphanage Asylum was coming to an end, made headlines around the world and sparked interest from researchers on both side of the Atlantic.

The note written in 1897 said:

“Dear friend whoever finds this paper think of William Elliott, who had two months, two weeks and four days on 11 of August 1897.

“Whoever you are that finds this paper, don’t tear it up or throw it away, keep it in remembrance of me, W. Elliott. I was the leading boy of this choir. I love you if you love me.”

Born in Sunderland on 29 October 1883 to parents Thomas Duncan Elliot and Sarah Ann, William ended up in the orphanage aged eight, where he lived for six years.

It was after his dad, a chief officer in the Mercantile Marine who was who was sailing on the Skyros merchant vessel, drowned in a storm.

Tracey Mienie is the centre manager at Seventeen Nineteen, which now operates the former Holy Trinity Church as an event space, and has been researching William's story since the letter was found in March. She says the response to his story has been "overwhelming."

She said: “Ever since we found William’s letter, we have wondered what became of him,

“And now, thanks to the work of people who were as touched by his story as we were, we know he went on to lead a full, rich life, serving his country and much loved by his family.”

Research found that by 1901 William was working as a clerk in a solicitor's office in the city, but shortly after emigrated to New York when he was nineteen where he joined the US Navy.

While Nineteen Seventeen where able to find out about the majority of William's life in Sunderland, the trail went cold after his emigration.

This is where North East Genealogist, Sharon Vincent came in. She is interested in local history and helped find out more about his life in America.

Sharon said "It's a lot of detective work, I think all of us Genealogists and family historians are Miss Marples and Hercules Poirot underneath, and we do like a mystery."

"It's quite a tantalising story what happened to him, what happened after he left the orphanage."

Once in America, William served in both the First and Second world wars during his 42 year career where as a supply officer he reached the rank of commander.

Her investigations also showed that William had been married three times and had two children.

He died aged 84 in a San Diego care home in 1968, and was buried at Arlington National Cemetery in Washington DC; a place recognised as his adopted country’s most hallowed ground.

When talking to Tyne Tees about how it feels to have cracked the mystery Sharon said: "It's an amazing feeling, it's fantastic to be able to find out from just this scribbled note from a scared little boy... and to find out he's gone on to bigger and better things is just absolutely phenomenal."