Jess Welsby - The Daddy of all Mysteries: The True Story of my Parents Secret Love and the Search for a Father who I Never Knew

The true story of my parents secret love and the search for a father I never knew.

Published by M. McMullin

First Edition, January 2015.

Copyright Jess Welsby, 2014

The morals rights of the author have been asserted.

All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, distributed or transited in any form or by any means (including photocopying, recording or other electronic or mechanical methods) without the prior written permission of the author, except in the case of brief quotations embodied in critical reviews and certain non-commercial uses permitted by copyright law.

Typeset: Jess Welsby

Cover Design: Jess Welsby

(Jess Welsby is the pen name of Monica McMullin)

Printed in the United Kingdom by Birkenhead Press

Published by M. McMullin

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ISBN 978-0-9931778-1-1

Although my birth was registered as Monica Welsby, my familys nickname for me was Jess. I used the pen name of Jess Welsby to write this book in honour of my family. If life had been different for my parents, my name would have been registered as Monica Freeman. In 1980 I married Brian and became Monica McMullin. So thats me; who I was, and who I am now. The story within takes care of the rest.

The Daddy of all Mysteries is my first attempt at writing. How this book came to be written is explained within the Acknowledgements. The Preface and Introduction will help you to get to grips with the entire story and research. All areas of a book that I usually skip. In this true story, they need to be read.

Researching, writing and the minefield of self-publishing have been a massive learning curve for me. I have included all my stupid mistakes and wrong assumptions. If I can do this so can you.

The other reason I agreed to reveal such a personal story about my parents and their families, is best explained in the last few words on this page.

Proper writers; those who actually earn a good living from their work, often talk about finding your voice. Well, I write in the same way as I speak... simply and plainly. My voice, I have given to my mum.

The motivation for the authors search to find out more about the father she never knew was simple. It was not driven by where he was from or what he did for a living; it was to find out if he loved her mum. This book is more than a roadmap for anyone wanting to trace their roots. Its a warm, heartfelt account of a normal family, if there is such a thing, filled with wonderful characters and set against the backdrop of a Liverpool I remember from my childhood. I would highly recommend it.Victor McGuire - Actor.

Although this story could have turned into a bitter and depressing record of religious and moral ignorance, at no time was it a morbid read, with laugh out loud moments far outweighing the sad situation this family found themselves in. Jess is a natural storyteller whose warmth and humour oozes out of every page, her writing is simple and not forced and it was an unexpected delight that will stay with me and anyone else who has the privilege to read this story.Angela Billing - Committee Member of Irish Centre, Liverpool.

This is a gripping real life story, written in an engaging, affectionate and humorous style, which uncovers a family history spanning almost 150 years and covering several continents. It shines a light on dark episodes of racial and religious intolerance and political and social history. I did not want to put the book down. The tenacity and scope of the authors detective work provides a textbook for aspiring genealogical researchers but more than that, it makes a strong case for banishing the bigotry, racial, moral and religious prejudices, which have caused so much fear, unhappiness and alienation within families in the past and remain a constant threat with todays increasing patterns of migration.Shirley McDermott - Retired teacher.

It is the Jewish heritage which emerges as a focus for Jess Welsbys search. This is the community Brian Epstein was a part of and which has an intriguing cultural link to the Dublin of James Joyce. You will be bowled along by the infectious, sensitive and emotional detective work as well as the considerable charm and insight which holds this inspirational narrative together.Owen Hagen - Writer and avid reader.

The narrative unfolds at a delightful pace. While there is catastrophe, sadness and sorrow, there is great warmth conveyed in the words and feelings of the author. This book abounds with episodes that will bring a smile to the readers face. Her relationship with her mother is beautifully described and in such an honest way. I hope I have conveyed the great pleasure I got from reading this book. I found it very hard to put the book down.Joe England - Member of Irish Centres book club.

Although I went to a Catholic school, I would sag off whenever I got half a chance, especially if religion was on the agenda. Its a subject that Ive never had much interest in, and yet religion plays a big part in this book.

I spent much of my primary school years daydreaming my way through the weekly mundane routines of Saturday afternoon confession, followed by Sunday morning holy communion, which was monitored by my teachers first thing on Monday. My mum and nan had great faith in God, with hardly a sentence passing their lips without the mention of His holy name, but they couldnt have cared less about going to Mass, and left me to decide for myself.

Religion wasnt a subject that my mum talked about, while my nan saw prayer as a private conversation with God, rather than communal. Using her caustic humour to skit what she called, the fashion parade of church-goers who would sit jangling in the back pew before the body of Christ had barely the chance to pass through their system. Nevertheless, a set of rosary beads could be found in her pocket, accompanied by her hanky and snuffbox.

Conflicting information that made no sense to me and the lack of interest shown at home for any form of communal worship, eventually brought me to the conclusion that, if there was a God, surely its not necessary to go through any third party to speak to him.

If you must put me into a pigeonhole, then the closest match should bear the heading humanist, but please leave the lid of the box open.

I owe a massive debt of gratitude to dead people. I didnt understand my late mum Katie; now I do, and everything fits into place. This book is for you, mum. Thanks for not parting with me. Heartfelt thanks to my late Uncle John for making me stand on my own two feet and to listen to what people dont say. My attitude to life I owe to my late nan, Annie Welsby who used her caustic humour to get herself through bad times. I can hear her now Theres always sumone else in life whos worse off than yerself. I would also like to thank, my late cousin, Mary, for her loyalty to my mum and her Sunday roasts. My late Auntie Annie for her guts, polish and rhubarb pie. My late Uncle Tommy for that plastic globe, which gave me my travelling bug and my late Aunt Maggie for her keen eye for design. May they all rest peacefully and, if there is an afterlife, fingers crossed that it has a well-stocked library.