Sunday 14 December 2014

John and Mary Freestone, born about 1750

John and Mary Freestone were born about the year 1750, in locations unknown. Nothing is known of:
·      parents, their names and activities
·      their socio-economic, employment and religious backgrounds
·      any siblings, and so on.

John and Mary married at some point and they ended up in Leicester. This is a large industrial city, south of Nottingham in the East Midlands of England. The city lies on the River Soar and at the edge of the National Forest.

John and Mary Freestone have been identified (through British IGI records) as having baptised six children in the parish of St Mary's Leicester. So it is most likely the couple were resident in Leicester from 1775 to 1795 at the very least. The names of their children and the years of births were:
  • Ann, 23 April 1775;
  • Sarah, 15 July 1777, died 12 March 1780;
  • Mary, 30 May 1779, died 6 June 1779;
  • Sarah, 8 October 1780;
  • James, 6 November 1782;
  • Elizabeth, 27 October 1784; and
  • Thomas Illif, 30 January 1792, died 17 May 1795.

Other details are not yet known, including
·      the dates and locations of the deaths of John and Mary
·      the life experiences of Ann, Sarah and Elizabeth, such as marriage and progeny; and
·      the dates and locations of the deaths of these daughters.


[Relationship to SNR = Great-great-great-great-great-great grandparents]

Saturday 29 November 2014

Martha Wakefield (1712-1793) and George Cadman (1713/14-1772)

On 7 Nov 1736 George married Martha Wakefield in Cheswardine, Shropshire, England. Cheswardine is a rural village and civil parish in north east Shropshire, England. The village lies close to the border with Staffordshire, between Manchester and Birmingham, but off the main highway.

It is difficult to know exactly who George was: there are a number of George Cadman’s born between 1705 and 1718. Given that George lived most of his life in Adderley, it is possible that he was the son of Johannes and Jan(a)e (nee Pase) Cadman who was baptised ‘Georgius’ on 17 January 1713/4. Johannes and Jane had married in Adderley on 9 June 1703 and Johannes Cadman was buried on 2 May 1740: around the time that Martha and George went to Adderley.

Martha Wakefield is almost certainly the daughter of Sarah (nee Beale) and Richard who was baptised on 24 February 1712 in Wrenbury, Cheshire, England. Wrenbury is 30 km north of Cheswardine. Martha didn’t get to know her father as he died when she was four months old.

Martha and George had at least nine children. The eldest, George, was baptised at Cheswardine, at the Church where Martha and George married.  Eight other children were baptised in St Peters, Adderley, Shropshire. The children were:
  • George, baptised on 23 April 1738 at Cheswardine
  • Richard, baptised on 13 March 1741
  • Stephen, baptised on 16 March 1744
  • Hannah, baptised 13 February 1746
  • Thomas, baptised on 30 May 1748
  • James, baptised on 10 January 1751
  • Sarah, baptised on 24 June 1753
  • William, baptised on 12 February 1757
  • Elizabeth, baptised on 27 April 1760; buried on 24 August 1760.


Adderley is at the midway point between Wrenbury and Cheswardine. It is another small Shropshire town! It was known as Eldredelei in the Domesday Book. The township lies on the Ducker brook, a tributary of the Weaver river. The Parish Church of St Peters was completely rebuilt in 1801. One feature of the earlier church that survived is the north transept, which contains an extremely attractive 17th century carved screen.

John was the first known grandchild of Martha and George. He was baptised at Adderley on 5 July 1764. It may not have been a particularly pleasing event, as Hannah, his mother, was 18 and unmarried. Sadly John was buried on 29 September 1767.  Hannah married George Boucher, on 4 January 1768 by licence. Over time most of Martha and George’s children moved away from Adderley.

George Cadman was buried on 17 May 1772 in Adderley, aged about 59, and Martha was buried on 16 January 1793, aged 80.


Relationship to SNR = Great-great-great-great-great-great-great grandparents.

Monday 24 November 2014

Elizabeth Cook (1703) and George Heard (1687 - 1778)

George Heard was born in June 1687 in Beaford, Devon, England. He was the third child and first son of Alice (nee Malles) and George Heard.

Elizabeth Cook was born in December 1704 in Beaford, Devon. She was the daughter of Margaret and Francis Cook.

On 3 July 1720 when George was 33 and Elizabeth was 16, they married in Beaford Parish Church.

Their first child was baptised nine months later: a daughter Elizabeth. Their second child was born the following year: a son Thomas who was also baptised in Beaford on 5 January 1722/3. A third child, daughter Hannah, was baptised in Beaford on 23 March 1725/6. There are no further children baptised in Beaford to the couple. It is possible they moved away at some stage.

George Heard must have been in Beaford at the time of his death, as it is believed he was buried on the Church grounds on 15 January 1778 (11 days before the first fleet arrived in Australia).  


It is not known when Elizabeth died.

Sunday 23 November 2014

Margaret Marshal (born 1701) and Arthur Knott (died 1750/1)

Margaret Marshall was born in 1701 in Beaford, Devon, England.  Her parents were John and Hester who baptised six children at the Beaford Parish Church between 1694 and 1710.

The surname Marshall comes from the Old High German words ‘marah’ meaning horse plus ‘scalc’ meaning servant: the person who looked after the horses, a farrier, groom or horse doctor. Marshall is a fairly common surname in the United Kingdom, particularly in north England and Scotland.  

Nothing more is known about Margaret’s childhood. Two of her brothers married and lived in Beaford. The fate of her parents and most of her siblings is not known.

On 22 Dec 1723 Margaret married Arthur Knott in Beaford, Devon, England. Arthur does not appear to have been born in Beaford.  The couple baptised seven daughters in the Parish Church:
  • Hester, on 4 November 1724;
  • Judith, on 20 April 1729. It is not known if the couple just had a large ‘gap’ between children or if they moved to another village for a period;
  • Margaret, on 17 July 1732. This Margaret died soon after her younger sister’s birth and was buried on 6 March 1734(35);
  • Rebecca, on 30 January 1734(35);
  • Margaret, on 9 October 1736;
  • Mary, on 26 December 1738;
  • Margaret, on 18 August 1741 (the third child to be named Margaret). This must have been an odd sort of baptism service, as on the same day, Margaret and Arthur also buried their five year old daughter Margaret.

Their first grandchild, a son named Arthur, was born in February 1749 when Margaret was 48.

Arthur Knott died in February 1750/51 and he was buried in Beaford.  It is not known when Margaret died.


Jane Baker / Carne (1822 - 1907)

Jane Carne, with her husband and four young children departed Plymouth, England on 14 October 1854 along with 201 other people on the Medway bound for Port Philip, Australia.  It is possible that Jane had never left Plymouth before boarding the Medway. The young couple had presumably decided that the new Colony offered more opportunities than remaining in England. I wonder if Jane ever regretted this decision, thinking she might have avoided certain heartaches if they had stayed in Devon, England. Then again, life for a woman in the 19th Century was expected to be difficult, and despite a number of tragic events, Jane lived a long and full life with many wonderful occasions to celebrate.

Jane was born on 18 May 1822 in Stoke Damerel, Devon, now an inner suburb of Plymouth. She was the daughter of Mary (nee Hundrey) and William Baker, a bricklayer. Jane was baptised on 18 June 1826 at the Independent Mount Zion Church in Devonport, along with two younger siblings. This area was relatively affluent at the time and the Baker family lived at 30 Queen Street, about 250 metres from the coastline. Jane’s father died before the 1841 Census: but it is difficult to determine exactly when (William Baker is a very common name).

On 20 April 1845 Jane married William John Carne at East Stonehouse Parish Church, very close to Stoke Damerel. William was a mason and he also came from a relatively well off family.

Jane and William had nine children together. The first five were born when they lived in Stoke Damerel:
Mary Jane, born at the end of 1845
Henry, born 1848
Ellen, born in 1850 and died on 26 July 1852
William Henry, born in May 1852
Ellen, named after her older sister and born at 4:00 am on 13 May 1854. Ellen was only five months old when the family migrated to Australia.

The family arrived in Melbourne in January 1855 and lived in Bedford Street, Collingwood. A further four children were born:
James Baker, born in 1857
Alfred Harris, born in 1859
Caroline, born in 1861, and died on 29 November 1862
Fanny Elizabeth, born in July 1863, when Jane was 41.

Jane’s younger brother also migrated to Australia with his wife.  He was a carpenter, but became a teacher in Wyndham. William’s brother, John, his wife, Mary and their children lived in the same street in Collingwood as Jane and William.  The two families had also lived in the same address in Granby Street. 

Tragedy hit both Carne families on Christmas Day in 1865.  Some of the children decided to go Merri Creek for an afternoon swim. It wasn’t a particularly hot day, but it was a public holiday and the weather was sunny and fine. William dived from the bank head first and came up on his back. His cousin Samuel immediately saw this and called out an alarm before jumping in fully clothed in order to assist his cousin.  He grabbed hold of him, but wasn’t able to swim.  Henry saw that Samuel was struggling and so he rushed in to help him.  Meanwhile Samuel’s brother, George, managed to find a police officer who came to the waterhole to help, but they were too late and all three boys had drowned. The inquest noted that none of the boys could swim. As a result of the accident it was recommended that notice boards should be put up advising the varying depth of the waterholes and that safety equipment should be kept at the Northcote Police Station. It must have been devastating to lose two sons and their cousin in such a way.

In 1875 Jane and William became grandparents with the birth of Ellen Jane (daughter of Ellen). Ellen, James and Alfred all had a number of children (the brothers married two sisters). Alfred was a Methodist Minister and went to Samoa as a missionary. Mary married, but did not have any children.

Jane’s youngest daughter Fanny Elizabeth died on 23 June 1884 when she was just 20 years 11 months.

Then, after 48 years of marriage, William John died on Saturday 25 November 1893, when the couple was living in Prospect Grove, Northcote.
Jane in about 1890

Jane would also have been concerned about the death in 1989 of Alfred’s wife, Mary, who had moved to South Australia upon their return to Australia.  The couple had six children. Alfred married a young widow in 1900 and they had a further four children.

Jane’s first great grandchild was born in 1900 when she was 78.  Someone wisely suggested that a studio photo be taken of the four generations: Jane, Ellen, Ellen Jane and baby Albert Clifford Green.

Jane’s son James Baker died suddenly on 13 September 1904 when he was 47 years old.  He was visiting his son in Euroa at the time of his death, but was living in Williamstown and working for the Department of Ports and Harbours.  He had four children. James was buried in Melbourne General Cemetery in a gravesite that also mentioned Jane’s two children who had died as infants: Ellen in 1852 and Caroline in 1862.

Sadly some of Jane’s grandchildren died in the latter part of Jane’s life, including the young mother Ellen Jane.

Jane Carne was 85 when she died on 21 June 1907 in her daughter’s home at 166 McKean Street, Fitzroy North. Her husband and six of her children had pre-deceased her; but she was survived by three children, 12 grandchildren and two great-grandchildren. The notice in The Argus on Saturday 22 June read:

CARNE - On the 21st June, at the residence of her daughter, Mrs A. Joyce, 166 McKean-street, North Fitzroy, Jane, relict of the late William John Carne, of Collingwood, aged 85 years. No flowers by request. At rest.

She was buried at Melbourne General Cemetery the following day and was the last person to use the family plot. In September 2014 I visited the Carne family graves in Melbourne General Cemetery.  It is a reminder of the sad events that took place in Jane’s life.  The main gravesite is in the independent section of the Cemetery and is a double sized plot (long and thin) with a black stone obelisk and writing on seven white stone slabs: five around the four sides of the obelisk and two horizontal. It is not known which slab was the first to be used, and of the seven slabs, only two are legible.  The details are:
1.       Large, high slab at the front of the grave with only the name legible: William Henry Carne / age 13 yrs 7 mths.
2.       Smaller slab directly underneath slab 1, all details able to be read, but only just: In loving remembrance of Fanny Elizabeth Carne. Who departed this life in Hope of eternal life / through the merits of her dear redeemer / June 23rd 1884 aged 20 years & 11 months. / She hath escaped all danger now/ Her pain and sighing all are fled / The crown of joy is on her brow / Eternal glories o'er her shed / In robes of white, a queen, a bride / She standeth at her Sovereign's side [Taken almost verbatim from verse two of the hymn “Now rests her soul in Jesu’s arms” by Johann Ludwig Conrad Allendorf (1725); Translator: Catherine Winkworth (1855)]
3.       Horizontal slab on the same side as 1 and 2, all words able to be read, but there is significant wearing and in time the words will fade: In Affectionate Remembrance of / William John Carne / who fell asleep in Jesus / November 25th 1893 / Age 71 years / There remaineth therefore a rest / to the people of God [Taken from Hebrew 4:9, King James Bible]
4.       Large, high slab, in line with slab 1 and on the left side, only name is legible: Samuel Carne / age 17 yrs 2 mths.
5.       Large, high slab in line with slab 1, and on the right side, only name is legible:  and Henry Carne / 13 yrs
6.       Large, high slab in line and directly behind slab 1, totally illegible: Sacred to the memory of Henry & William Henry Carne / beloved sons of William John and Jane Carne / also Samuel Carne 1865 / their cousin.
7.       Horizontal slab on the same side as slab 6, totally illegible: In memory of Jane / beloved wife of W.J.Carne / died 21 Jun 1907, 85 years.
Carne Memorial at Melbourne General Cemetery

A second grave is located in Methodist Section A, which says:
CARNE
In memory of the children of William and Jane CARNE
Ellen, died 28 Jul 1852 at Devonport, Devon, England
age 2 years
also Caroline, died 29 Nov 1862 at Collingwood
age 13 months
also J.B. Carne
husband of Catherine Carne

died 19 Sep 1904, age 47