Julie Goucher ~ Anglers Rest

D is for…… .Dawson & Dubbo
Sometime ago, the wife of a relative asked me to look “ into the family, they (children and grandchildren) might want to know when I have gone”  Over the next almost 20 years I did little bits of research as the data and opportunity presented itself. The individual in question allowed me to borrow a book about part of her family that had been published and gave me a few notes. 
Then in 2000 that individual came to England. During that visit we talked about what she knew, what she had heard and formed a vague tree from those limited details. 
After the individual returned to Australia I did little bits of research, but in recent months, in preparation for my visit, I have pulled out the data once again. After all, I plan to spend some time researching my own lines, and in my experience,opportunities and research can present themselves at the strangest time and locations. Leave no stone unturned!
I actually know very little of the Dawson’s. The individual believed that Robert Dawson was a convict from Ireland. I think the timing is a little off, and we need to go a generation back if that is the case. That said, I located by email a descendant of the family who has shared their research with me. I am in the process of transcribing it in to a tree so that I can retrace steps and data and I plan to share whatever I find as I explore this further.
Now I am sure the non genealogical readers will be wondering why bother with someone’s family who is not mine. The lady in question was married to my Mother’s first cousin. When I arrived in Australia having trampled around Canada, Honolulu and Fiji I was immediately accepted and welcomed. I was the first member of her husband’s family to make contact since the Second World War. That acceptance and love I can not explain, except to say this little story. I had been away from their home in New South Wales and this lady was eager to take me into town to show me something. We waited for the bus and a lady who knew my relative said, “I thought I had met all your children”, the response was “ah, this is my plus one” 
Dubbo is a town in New South Wales, who initially belonged to the Tubbagah People of the Wiradjuri Nation. It was recorded as a Village in 1849, a Town in 1872 and a City in 1966. It has an interesting history and on my visit to Australia in 1996 I visited Dubbo with my husband and my Cousin and her husband. We stayed over at a local Motel and one of the places we visited was the Gaol.  Dubbo Gaol was opened initially as a courthouse lock up in 1847. It became an official Gaol in 1859 and remained so until 1966 when it was closed and due for demolition. It was though saved and is now preserved as a museum. At the time I visited, I was completely unaware of a convict connection, but even so, life inside this Gaol would have been hard for its occupants, I do not believe it would have compared to life as a transported convict. 
That said, we had a lovely day there, took lots of photos and created some happy memories. The day we visited it was hot – it was 40 degrees centigrade and it was a pleasure to explore the insides of the Gaol. 
The link for the A-Z Challenge 2011 post is HERE

C is for…… Convicts.
A theme focusing on Australia could hardly not post about convicts, but I almost wrote my post in a general sense, then as luck would have it I found one! How exciting is that?
Robert Turpin was the brother of the individual I was most interested in, as Sarah married into my Ellis family, but more about that later. I hate loose ends, so set about gathering my material on the siblings of Sarah. 
Robert Turpin was born in 1814 in Long Acre London, the son of Henry Turpin and his wife, Wilhelmina Hollingway. Henry was recorded at the baptisms of his children as being a weaver and then later a lace weaver. This concurred with material already discovered about Robert’s sister Sarah. I set about locating Sarah’s siblings in the various Census for England and obviously because surnames do not change, males are easier to locate. As I searched for Robert I could not locate him in the 1841 Census, which is typically the oldest Census available, nor could I locate a death. So the chances were he had migrated. 
A search on Ancestry revealed that a Robert Turpin, aged 18 years was recorded in the Hulk Prison Records as a resident on the Ship HMS Leviathan berthed at Portsmouth.  I then turned to the Old Bailey records. Here the site gave me the details of the trial of Robert Turpin.

Courtesy of The Old Bailey website

The document concurs that Robert was of Long Acre and had a connection to the lace making industry, and was of an age consistent with “my” Robert. Further research shows that Robert Turpin sailed, along with 230 other prisoners on the Captain Cook from England on 2nd May 1833 and arrived in New South Wales on 26th August 1833. 
So far, the time line for Robert reads as this:

• 24th July 1814 – birth to Henry & Wilhelmina Turpin of Long Acre at St Martin’s in the Fields London.
• 3rd Jan 1833 – Convicted at the Old Bailey London.
• 25th Jan 1833 – Transferred from Newgate to Portsmouth, where he was held on the HMS Levinthan, a Prison Hulk and was one of 600 prisoners.
• 2nd May 1833 – Voyage commences and Robert is recorded as being on the ship Captain Cook (2)
• 26th Aug 1833 – Ship Captain Cook (2) arrives at Sydney.

The link for the A-Z Challenge 2011 post is HERE

B is for……Bellasis & Butcher
These are two of my genealogical surnames that have links to Australia.
The Bellasis stands for George Bridges Bellasis and his wife Ester, nee King. They have been well documented on this blog previously, but without a doubt, they were fairly early transportees to Australia, with a difference. 
Their story goes back to the values and understandings of the late 18th Century. George Bridges Bellasis married the eldest daughter of a family of 9 children, of which only one was a boy. So at this point think Pride and Prejudice! In turn, the majority of Esther’s sisters would find their way to India, where Esther and her husband lived, as George was in the Honourable East India Company. One of the sisters was offered and accepted a proposal of marriage, which would effectively mean job done! except than in the morning the offer was retracted and that in terms of the time meant a slur to honour. A dual ensused and a man died as a result. George Bridges Bellasis was sentenced and transported to Botany Bay for 14 years. Esther accompanied him. 
The story does not end in chains and rages and never to be seen again. George received a pardon and remained in the Colony for about 2 years. He is mentioned in early Freemason papers and eventually returned to India via a visit to England to see his family and for his wife to pass away. George later returned to India and married on of Esther’s sister’s who had been widowed.

A discovery of this wonderful drawing in the Mitchell Library, at the State Library of New South Wales is a true treasure. 
This was painted by Esther in around 1802. As far as research shows it is the only piece that was either left in Australia or that has survived. What it means to me, is that Esther was a women of resilience. It is well known that she was of weak stature and often ill and one that claimed her at the time, but through what has to have been a stressful time she still found time to loose herself in this painting and I am so glad she did.
It was by pure chance that I established an ancestor by the name of John Hunt Butcher had migrated to Australia – Richmond Tasmania in 1821. Initially, I knew little of his time in Australia or what prompted him to travel such a distance. John had inherited an estate in the rural village in Hascombe called Park Hatch. In 1814 he sold the estate and 7 years later set sail with his family to Tasmania. 
Once in Australia he added to his family and made a name for himself. He was a Magistrate and as readers of this blog will see in later posts this week he seemed to think well outside of the box! with great influence I am sure from his brother in law, the well known William John Burchell. This line of research was discovered through another researcher who mentioned something to me, which made me look again at the original data that I had from John’s time in England. 
John died in Tasmania in 1839 aged just 58 years. His wife lived another 33 years in the Colony. From research I can see that Sarah had planned to return to England to live, for whatever reason she did not return to England to live, but did return to visit and there are various mentions of the complexities of wills and property in the Surrey Records Office.
The link for the A-Z Challenge 2011 post is HERE

A is for……Australia

Map Courtesy of Lonely Planet

One of the most inspiring Countries that I have ever visited. 
I am of course biased, as I lived in this beautiful Country for a year about 20 years ago, but I have some really special memories of that time, the places I went to, the people I met and my family who looked after me, introduced me to their friends and allowed me to sleep and use the washing machine and plan my next steps. I have visited since then, each trip special in its own way.
Over the course of the coming weeks I shall use the A-Z Challenge to explore my links to this wonderful Country.
The link for the A-Z Challenge 2011 post is HERE