Talk:Edmund O'Toole

Dates of birth and death

It is believed that he might have been born at Grahamstown in South Africa. Some books say that he died and was buried in Salisbury, Rhodesia but there are also some suggestions that he might have been alive in 1900.

"after the Zulu War he joined the Native Levies where the rose to the rank of Captain and took part in the Basuto War. From then on he has just disappeared. "

"A Scantling of Time - The Story of Salisbury, Rhodesia (1890 to 1900) by G.H.Tanser published in 1965 mentions Edmund O'Toole

Page 52/53 St.Patrick's Day 17th March 1891 - Irish members of the Police and Pioneers, Irishmen of the Column including Paddy O'Toole who had won the Victoria Cross at Ulundi.

Page 254 - mentions Toole's Farm Son of Patrick O'Toole a Gamekeeper at Irish Avondale

Page 255 " Darter's statement in "Pioneers of Mashonaland" that he (Edmund/Paddy) died in 1891 is incorrect."

"Black and White Budget article Page 564/565 dated 4th August 1900. In the list of VC's in the fighting line No. 8 is listed as Sergeant E. O'Toole, Frontier Light Horse, Zulu Land July 1879. In the first part of the article it says that Lieutenant Scoot and O'Toole - Lord William Beresford fellow V.C at Ulundi - although included are not officially known as being at present under arms. Both, however, are residents of the "Cape". Page 564" --jmb (talk) 11:39, 22 May 2008 (UTC)

Infobox

Place of birth Grahamstown, Cape Colony

Place of death Salisbury, Southern Rhodesia

All the evidence points to him being born in Ireland and being alive after his supposed burial in Salisbury in 1891 so this is best left blank until some solid evidence appears about his birth and death. --jmb (talk) 11:29, 9 July 2009 (UTC)

All evidence? Kernel Saunters (talk) 11:43, 9 July 2009 (UTC)

A lot of work has been done to find any evidence of his birth in Grahamstown but there is none. A magazine article is about him is being prepared for publication which has found references to him and his family which suggest he was born in Ireland. It is a typical of example of someone putting something in a book without any primary evidence then that being quoted in other books so it must be true because it is in lots of books.

Similarly someone wrote that he was buried in Salisbury without any evidence of this but again there are a number of references to him after this date including some suggestions that he left Africa. --jmb (talk) 15:17, 9 July 2009 (UTC)

So there is no published work that states he was born in Ireland but there are some that states he was born in Grahamstown? Kernel Saunters (talk) 15:54, 9 July 2009 (UTC)

I would have thought church records are more reliable than someone just quoting books that just quote other books without going back to Primary Sources.

Church Records

St Andrew's Church, Westland Row, Dublin 2, Ireland

Baptism of Edmond Joseph Toole

Son of Charles Lawrence Toole and Mary Helena Burke on 23rd July 1848.

Denomination: Roman Catholic

Godparents: Jeremiah Edmond Scully and Emily Burke.

It is in the references quoted for the article. jmb (talk)