GRANT James Noel Abdel Kerim		Born: 1848-12-25	Died: 1888-10-10
Father: GRANT Charles Henry		Mother: RICHARDSON Emma Catherine
Children: GRANT Mohamed Abdel Kerim
Siblings: GRANT Charles William, GRANT William Henry, GRANT Theophile, GRANT Gustave Emmanuel, GRANT Richard Frederic, GRANT Robert Lister, GRANT Marguerite Sophie, GRANT Ann Frances "Fanny", GRANT Laura Jane, GRANT Emma, GRANT Louisa Henrietta

 

 

James Noel (Abdel Kerim) GRANT (son of Charles Henry GRANT and Emma Catherine RICHARDSON) was born on 25 December 1848 in Marseilles, Bouches-du-Rhone, Provence-Alpes-Cote d’Azur, France.

James Noel’s Death Certificate (kindly translated by Isabelle Haynes, 30 Oct, 2017) reads:

In the year 1888, on October the 10 th at 11 3/4 am

Death Certificate of James Grant who died  this morning at 7 am at the Conception Hospital , aged 45, Engineer, Single, born in Marseilles and living there : Boulevard Gazzino 44, son of the late Charles Grant and of Catherine Anne Richardson

Declaration made by Eugene Roher and Denis Mayon both aged 63 , both employees, living in the same hospital

Certificate made by Celestin Dessaud, help to the Mayor

It would appear the age which appears on his Death Certificate was made in error as his birth certificate clearly advises his date of birth being 25 December 1848, making him only 39 at the time of his death. The other anomaly is the record states his marital status as unmarried.

Auguste BOUCHERIE records in his notebook sent to WH GRANT in 1907 that James married a woman by the name of “Zala” in 1875. Boucherie’s note book makes record of 4 offspring to this union – Zara, (female) born 1876, Zarifina (female) born 1881, James (male) born 1883 and Kabla (male) born 1 April 1888, the year of James death (10 October 1888).

The Richardson family have similar records that differ slightly, recording James’ first wife as Lella Aicha bint SID I’ARBI. The Richardson’s document records 3 children – Zara (Female) born 1876, Halima (female) born 1881 and James born 1888. Source: Genealogy of Familie Folsch held by Jean Pierre Richardson (great-great grandson of Francois Charles Green Richardson).

The Richardson records also makes reference to James Noel (Abdel Kerim) Grant’s second wife name, Rahma Bint AHMED.

Mohamed Hamed Mohamed Abdel Kerim GRANT, great-grandson of James Noel (Abdel Kerim) advised his great-grandmother (James Noel’s second wife) was Rahma Bint AHMED. This information has been confirmed independently by the daughter of Sana Abdel Kader Mohamed Abdel Kerim GRANT, the great-granddaughter of James Noel (Abdel Kerim). James Noel (Abdel Kerim) GRANT and Rahma Bint AHMED are their common ancestors.

James Noel Abdel Kerim GRANT married Rahma Bint AHMED before the Islamic tribunal of Port Said, Egypt in 1887. James and Rahma had one child, Mahamed Abdel Kerim James GRANT born in 1889. The year of his birth is advised on his passport (photo below).

The daughter of Sana Abdel Kader Mohamed Abdel Kerim GRANT has provided official documentation which advises the correct names and birth dates of Mohamed Abdel Kerim GRANT’s children. Source: Sana Abdel Kader Mohamed Abdel Kerim GRANT

Additional Research:

Natural History Museum source Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew (England). Archives: Directors’; Correspondence Vol. 179/538 and Vol. 179/522 as follows:

Abdel Kerim Grant was a Scottish convert to Islam in Morocco. Married to a North African woman, he settled in Rabat, where he managed a corn-grinding plant for the Saltan Malai Hassan. In 1877 – 1878 Grant traveled with a Captain Robertson to the metal mining region near the mouth of the River Sous, where he made collections of plants and other natural history specimens on behalf of the Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew. 

The Royal Botanic Gardens record Abdel Kerim Grant (James Noel) as being a plant collector between 1887 – 1888.