Arthur Folland - 1749 to 1830

It’s hard to imagine spending your entire life in one small village in the middle of Devon.  But it was also very common – at least it was in the 17^th and 18 Centuries.  Arthur Folland is one such person.  He was born in early 1749 and was baptised on 15 February 1749 at Beaford Parish Church, Devon.  His parents were Hester (nee Knott) and Henry Folland; Arthur was their first child, born nine months after his parents wedding, which also took place in Beaford.  Ten more children were born to the couple over the next twenty years.  

On 9 April 1777 Arthur married Elizabeth Fry in Merton, Devon.  I suspect that Elizabeth was from Merton.  When Sarah, the couple’s first child was born in late 1778, the family was living in Beaford.  Sarah was baptised on 6 December 1778 at Beaford Parish Church.  (Sarah later married John Ashplant, and their youngest child, Maria, married John Milton, who was widowed and then married Jane Heard who was Maria's cousin, but that's all in Jane's story and just included here to show how close knit these families from small villages could be).   Arthur and Elizabeth had six known children, all baptised in Beaford.  One, a son also named Arthur died when he was five years old.

Arthur lived until June 1830 and was buried at the Beaford Parish Church on 3 June 1830.  He was 81 – relatively old for the time!

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

Tabitha Dunn / Kimberley

I can’t help but be attracted to the interesting women in my family tree.  And probably the women who are most “interesting” are those that have things happen to them; migration, murder and other bits of mayhem!  Tabitha is not such a woman, but she still has significant appeal.  Her name hints at excitement for one thing!  And it is relatively easy to find (there aren’t many Tabithas - at least compared to Jane or Mary!). 

Tabitha lived her life within a six kilometre radius around the town of Kingswinford, in the West Midlands of England, historically in the rural district of Staffordshire.  It was a very typical life for the time!  What I like about her, as I write in 2014, is that she was in all currently published English Census from 1841 to 1911, which gives a great ‘structure’ to her long life!

Tabitha Dunn was born in about 1822 at Stourbridge and she was baptised in the Old Swinford Parish Church.  She had at least three older sister and her parents were James and Sarah Dunn.  It is possible that there were other children older than these girls - I think there was a son.  At least a further five children (two more girls and three sons) were born to the couple.  In the 1941 Census Tabitha is living with her mother, father, and these eight siblings!  

On Christmas Day 1843, when Tabitha was 21, she married John Kimberley at the Parish Church, Old Swinford.

They had seven children – and we know that for sure because it was included (in error!) on her 1911 census document (thanks Tabitha!).  The children were:

•       Ebenezer – born abt 1845
•       Charles – 1846
•       John Henry – 1848
•       Josiah – 1850
•       Elizabeth – abt 1853
•       Emma – 1854
•       Joshua – 1856

In the 1851 Census the family lived at High Street, Kingswinford.  In 1861 Tabitha John and their seven children lived at Broad Street, where they were to remain for some time.  They are still at the house in Broad Street in 1871.  By this stage Ebenezer had married, been bankrupted and then died!  But the other six children are in the household.  John Kimberley is working as a peddler, and it is possible that they may have already started a small shop at their home.

John Kimberley died on 17 June 1880.  His probate shows that he had less than 100 pounds.  That was OK, because Tabitha, who had grown up with a green grocer for a father, operated a grocery store in their Broad Street house.

Tabitha was operating the Grocer’s shop in the 1891 Census – at the age of 70!  She was on her own but at least two of her children lived nearby with their families. By 1901 she had retired and the store was run by John and Sarah Bradley (it is possible that they were related to the family in some way).  Tabitha was living with them at the Grocer’s shop.  At the 1911 census Tabitha was living with her son Charles and his second wife, Elizabeth – they had only been married for a year.  Tabitha’s age is suddenly listed as 92!  In this form she (or perhaps Charles) included the information that she had seven children of which three are still living.  As mentioned above, Ebenezer had died.  We know Charles was still alive – he died in 1925.  John Henry was also alive; he had immigrated to Australia in 1874 with his wife.  Josiah had also immigrated to Australia, but he died in Cowra, Australia in 1887.  Elizabeth was also alive: she had married George Meanley in 1875 and she lived in Kingswinford.  Details of the lives and early deaths of Emma and Joshua are not known…

Tabitha Kimberley died in 1912 in Kingswinford.

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

Margaret McCutcheon / Woolley

Margaret was born in about 1847 at Green Park, Tipperary.  And because it was Ireland, records are not readily available giving more information about who Margaret’s parents were – or indeed, confirming Margaret’s surname!  I am reasonably confident it is McCutcheon, given the variations attempted in a number of different certificates!  An e-book titled What’s in a Name? Mc Cutcheons from Donaghadee by Robert S. McCutcheon, states that the name is frequently misspelt because the exact pronunciation of the name from Gaelic into English is very difficult.  It’s a little like “MacOcean”!  All of the various attempts at Margaret’s name can be made to sound like McCutcheon (the include Cushion and Cusson).

A quick internet search reveals: there were definitely McCutcheons in Tipperary around that time; some came to Australia; and names such as Margaret; Thomas; and James were prevalent!  The Book of Irish Families, Great and Small, by Michael C. O’Laughlin states that the surname McCutcheon:

“Appears in the Hearth Money rolls of 1663 ... Milesian families gives the family name as one of the Eogonacht Tribe, settled in Tipperary and Armagh.”

So I don’t know anything about Margaret’s family; her early life; or when she moved from Ireland to Australia.  It’s all conjecture! 

At some stage, Margaret came to Australia and met Nathaniel Woolley.  Even in Australia and, later, New Zealand, Margaret has not made it easy to trace the happenings in her life!  I am reasonably confident that Margaret did not marry Nathaniel Woolley.  When they lived in New Zealand, Nathaniel wrote that they married in Sydney.  But when they lived in Sydney, he wrote they married in Lithgow or Dunedin, New Zealand.  I know that some men are forgetful, but that is really pushing it!!  A marriage certificate was largely irrelevant.  Margaret and Nathaniel were together for many years, and Margaret was known as Mrs Woolley! 

Margaret and Nathaniel had a large family.  I have undertaken many searches using numerous criteria and I cannot find an official birth registration for most of Margaret and Nathaniel’s 11 children!  This is unusual!  The eleven children in their family were born within a sixteen year period.  I do believe it is likely that Margaret was the mother and Nathaniel was the father.  They wouldn’t have had have much time between each birth in which to find a new partner!  Again, it is largely irrelevant.  Mr and Mrs Nathaniel Woolley were known to have 11 children!

Margaret and Nathaniel’s children were:

·      Mary, born about 1870, either Lithgow or Sydney.  Nathaniel was in a Lithgow directory at that time but her children wrote Balmain on her death certificate;

·      Elizabeth, born about 1872, probably Lithgow;

·      Thomas, born about 1873 in Lithgow or Sydney probably;

·      Selina Lithgow, born about 1874, somewhere;

·      Henry Sydney, born about 1876, his brother wrote New Zealand (NZ) on his death certificate;

·      Margaret Dale, born 1877, Seacliff, NZ (birth registered);

·      James Nathaniel, born 1878, Seacliff, NZ (birth registered);

·      Robert John, born 1880, Seacliff, NZ (birth registered);

·      Richard, born about 1882, somewhere, probably NZ;

·      Gertrude, born about 1885, somewhere, she wrote NZ at her marriage; and

·      Charles William, born 1886, NZ (birth registered).

It would appear they moved from Lithgow to Seacliff, a small town near Dunedin, NZ in about 1875.  They probably lived in Seacliff for 14 years.  In 2004 we went to Seacliff to see what it was like.  There is not all that much to see!  It’s an extremely small village – collection of houses really – perched on the edge of a cliff overlooking the ocean.  So you can see the water, but it takes about an hour to get to a place you can swim!  

A street through Seacliff in 2004

At the time the Woolley family lived there, a large psychiatric hospital was being built, and it seems likely Nathaniel was there for the building of the hospital. 

According to immigration records, on 2 September 1889 Nathaniel Woolley, his wife, Margaret, and their eleven children travelled from Dunedin, New Zealand to Sydney, Australia on the Hauroto. 

In Sydney, the family settled at 131 Denison Street, Camperdown, Sydney.  Margaret died on 15 October 1892.  She was 45 years old.  Her death certificate states that she died from Hepatitis and Gall Stones (her Doctor had seen her the day before her death).  She was buried at Rookwood Cemetery, but the headstone is missing.

When Margaret’s daughter, Mary, had her third child, she named her Margaret.  I find it very sad that Margaret didn’t know she had been named after her grandmother.

All of Margaret’s children were alive at the time of her death.  Only four of Margaret’s children had any children of their own.

Relationship to SNR = Great-great-great-grandmother

  

Thomas Hollebone - born 1749 - died 1794

This Thomas Hollebone is the reason that I like family history.  Discovering him made me interested in discovering as much about my genealogy as I could.  Maybe something else would have later grabbed my interest, but it all started with this Thomas.

In 1991 I spent a year overseas, predominantly living in London.  Mum, Dad and my sister Ruth came over to England for a holiday.  On Monday 5 August we had drived to Battle (as in of Hasings) to soak up the history.  Dad was also very keen to visit the area because his family had lived in the region before migrating to Australia.  Two well known towns in the area are Eastborne, a lovely little sea-side village, and Lewis, an old market town.  Between the two is West Firle.  Firle itself is just a T-intersection! West Firle is little more than a shop, a few houses and the Church.  Dad tried to get us to wander around the graveyard beside the church looking for family ancestors.  Mum, Ruth and I were much more interested in the beautiful church!  But eventually Dad’s enthusiasm enticed us to go and assist.  And our efforts were rewarded when we discovered a number of relevant graves including one for Thomas Hollebone – a direct ancestor.

Thomas was born in 1749 and baptised at Southover, Lewes, Sussex on 9 April 1749.    His parents were Richard and Elizabeth Hollebone.  He had at least two sisters; Phoebe and Delphia.

On 9 July 1776 he married Elizabeth Bollard at Seaford, a fishing village to the west of Eastborne.   Elizabeth had been baptised at Seaford in 1751.  Their first child, Charles was also baptised at Seaford in 1778.  The family relocated to West Firle where Thomas worked as a blacksmith.  Thomas and Elizabeth’s children: Rueben, 1779; Richard 1783; Flora Ellis, 1786; and Thomas, 1787, were baptised in the Parish Church. 

Thomas did not live a particularly long life.  He died when he was 45 and was buried in the Churchyard of the West Firle Parish Church on 15 January 1794.  His tombstone reads: “To the Memory of Thomas Hollebone; 1784; Aged 48 years” (Even though his age is only 45!). The rest of the writing can’t be deciphered…

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