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Hi to you John Davies and any other Othens.
I am John Anthony Othen son of Clifford Warne Othen of South Wales and brother of David Alan Othen of Halifax, Nova Scotia. I have been meaning to get the family history into some sort of order before my parents die and perhaps we could collaborate.
My father with whom I have just had a brief conversation is quite ill and remembers less and less but my mother will undoubtedly fill in some of the gaps when she gets back from shopping!
Here are a few snippets to get us going...
The Charles junior you refer to was my Grandfather and was indeed a bike shop owner in Grangetown in Cardiff and of course I remember him well - there are some pictures of him on our web site in a gallery of photos that my brother and I prepared for our parents Diamond wedding anniversary last Easter. http://www.linearhouse.co.uk/family/diamondweb.htm
His Father was Cornelius Othen – you have called him Charles W Othen - (the W being for Warne – a family name that appears elsewhere and in my father) and did indeed work as an engineer for a company that might have been taken over by GWR but not on the railways. The company owned various other transport interests including those involved in shipping and the docks. He was actually an engineer in charge of the Pilot boats operating out of Cardiff and Penarth docks and he maintained the engines. There are stirring stories of near fatal accidents when boilers nearly blew up and he saved the day by crawling over hot engines to release the steam pressure valve etc. When on the docks he would have worked ultimately for the Marquis of Bute who would then have owned the docks.
Cornelius Othen certainly had many children one of whom my parents knew as Auntie Sissy who went to New Brunswick and married a chap whom worked on the Canadian Pacific Railways (presumably your gradfather). My parents didn’t recognize the name Florence as they only knew her as Sissy and certainly didn’t know her as a violinist. Another child was Elsie a Maths Teacher (we would not have elevated her to a professor!) who married a History Teacher called Fred. My Auntie Beattie – who also lived in Grangetown – Cardiff married Will Parfitt and I remember her well. My parents don’t recall there being a child who died young but there was another sister who married Acton Bradbury and lived in Taunton or Wellington and they are trying hard to remember her name. Possibly there is some confusion that needs to be unraveled.
I’ll keep digging away but maybe you could email me the photo you referred to?
Kind regards
Tony Othen
PS there was a Charles Othen who survived the Titanic and came from Southampton near which we think our Othen originated – little place called Bottley.
www.encyclopedia-titanica.org/bio/c/e/othen_c.shtml
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