Success Stories

The Story of "Irish Jimmy"

 

I was born in my grandparents house in 1954 where my mother and father lived along with my grandparents who were my fathers parents, this was until the age of 3 when mom and dad were allocated a council house which we moved into with my elder brother in 1957, my father was never a well man and was constantly in hospital and my mother was expecting and gave birth to my younger brother, she alone could not cope with 3 boys on her own so my elder brother and I were “Farmed Out” to our grandparents.  I was brought up by my fathers parents John (Jack) and Marion Bergin who brought me into this world where a special bond of love between them existed within the household.

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I could not wish for better grandparents who looked after me and did what they could for me as a child and my adolescent years, It was a bond that was actually stronger than the bond with my parents although I still loved my parents, as I was growing up I used to question why the family name was Bergin, my father being John Patrick Bergin, my grandfather being John Patrick Bergin and I was told that my great grandfather was John Patrick Bergin but my great grand mother was Nanny Clewley, it was strange that I was not told the truth but I believe that they did not know the truth themselves or did and wanted to protect me, what was also intriguing was that my grandparents birthdays were on the same day which I thought was very coincidental but nothing was said to explain why which I always wondered and came up with my own version in later years which was actually partly right but the best was to come.

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During January 2023 I had a Facebook message from Kristy Bergin in Australia confirming family details.  She then supplied me with a lot of information about my family history including why my grandparents had the same birthday, it transpired that my grandfather joined the army in Colchester where he eventually met my grand mother who was a Scot, but to join the army my grandfather lied about his age as he did not know his age, so when they got married my grandfather needed a birth certificate and he took my grandmothers birthday as his date of birth which I believe was a token of true love and along came the birth of my father in Colchester, this is where the family history was correct and what I had assumed.

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The documents Kristy supplied me with was the history of my great grandfather who I was originally told was John Patrick Bergin, this is where “Irish Jimmy” (James Patrick Bergin) came into the equation, I thought that my family was diminishing but Kristy informed me that she was my second cousin along with 21 other second cousins in Ireland and Australia and apparently America is on the horizon.

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Irish “Jimmy” my great grandfather was orphaned in Ireland and ended up with the infamous “Christian Brothers” which I have great sympathy for, but he left there with a trade of being a Tailor which was a great achievement. He left Ireland and came to Birmingham and met my great grandmother and married he and who he got pregnant and hence came my great grandfather John Patrick Bergin, he then left my great grandmother and went to Australia and remarried there even though he never got divorced from my great grandmother who went on to marry Alfred Clewley hence nanny Clewley, “Irish Jimmy” must have had the time of his life with the ladies as it seems he was a love, marry and leave them man and probably a book could written of his life to his demise at the age of 43 when whilst using a sewing machine he sewed through his finger and died of blood poisoning, none of this would have been known without Kristy’s exceptional skills in tracing family history and I am sure that “Irish Jimmys” life in Australia will be of great interest.

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Thank you Kristy

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David, Birmingham, England