This site is a repository for much of the material that I have assembled as part of my ongoing research into the story of The Silver Bowl. Its focus is primarily on the families of Northern Ireland, but not exclusively. It follows these people - JACKSONs & OLIVERs & you-name-it - to Hong Kong, Canada, USA, Australia, South Africa and many other places. I simply follow the story wherever it goes.

• For other stories and links to what I find to be exciting, check out my Blog at: http://sharonoddiebrown.blogspot.com/
• I can neither update nor delete my old pages at: Rootsweb family tree. They are not to be relied on. Better to look at the links under Family Tree.
• Although my sources are getting increasingly accurate, there will still be errors and omissions. I appreciate being given the opportunity to correct my errors (even if they are only typos) and add to my sources - if you can spare the time please Contact me.
• Check NEW as I continually add new material. Also, I try to indicate the most recent date that a post has been updated (Not that I am perfect on this score).

As for my version of who I think I am, see: my brief autobiography.
Sharon Oddie Brown (EMAIL link)

WHY THIS STORY?: As a child, I had always looked up to The Silver Bowl. Literally. All that I knew of its origins was that it had been given by the Emperor of Japan to one of our family members whose first name was "David". I had also been told that its particular chrysanthemum design could only be used by the Emperor. One of my jobs was to keep The Bowl polished and to wash out the syrupy stains which resulted from its use as a fruit bowl. Our fruit, such as it was, usually wasn't so fresh to begin with.

During the 1950s The Bowl travelled from British Columbia, to Manitoba and then on to North Bay, Ontario. From there, it travelled to Longueuil and St. Bruno, Quebec, always tracing the path of my father's career in the RCAF. Later, when our family moved overseas for a five year posting in France, it went into storage - along with two unemptied garbage cans and one teapot which had two sodden bags of Orange Pekoe left inside for the duration.

Such was our life.

In tracing the story of The Bowl, I have discovered that the early history of the Hongkong Shanghai Bank was an integral part of our family history. In fact, without the contributions of our ancestors, the bank would probably have failed. Dozens of its staff in the mid to late 1800s at senior levels came from the families of small town Northern Irish bankers, linen merchants and "gentleman farmers".

The story of these families, beginning with The First Jacksons to come over with Oliver Cromwell, is also the story of my ancestors - glories, warts and all. The pages on this web site tell the stories of their lives, stories which I am still in the process of unearthing.

FINAL NOTE: This site was started on May 26, 2003 and it continues to be a work in progress. My purpose is to publish The Silver Bowl: The Surprisingly Irish Roots of HSBC. Please respect copyright. If you want to use some material, and there is lots that I will be happy to share, please contact me through the Contact hyperlink included in the line of links included above. Thank you!