The Hampshire Family Historian | Vol.49 No.1 | June 2022

Hampshire Family Historian The

Volume 49 No.1 June 2022

Journal of the Hampshire Genealogical Society

Mary Watson and her memorial in Cooktown – See page 10

Also inside this Issue Highway Robbery • Britons Dying Overseas • Last cruise of the Royal Navy Under Sail

PLUS: Around the groups • Members’ Surname Interest • Research Room

Hampshire Genealogical Society HGS OFFICE , Hampshire Genealogical Society, Hampshire Record Office, Sussex Street, Winchester. SO23 8TH Office only open Tuesday and Thursday 10am to 4pm Registered Charity 284744

Telephone: 07769 405195 Email: society@hgs-online.org.uk Website: http://www.hgs-familyhistory.com

PRESIDENT Dr Nick Barratt

PROJECTS Position vacant

CHAIRMAN Paul Pinhorne 84 Fontmell Road, Broadstone,

BOOKSTALL Position vacant Email: bookstall@hgs-online.org.uk

Dorset BH18 8NP Tel: 01202 383736 Email: chairman@hgs-online.org.uk SECRETARY Gwen Newland 3 Wickham Close, Tadley, Hants RG26 4JT Tel: 0118 9810693 Email: secretary@hgs-online.org.uk TREASURER Ann-Marie Shearer at address at top of page Email: treasurer@hgs-online.org.uk

RESEARCH CENTRE MANAGER Chris Pavey Email: researchmanager@hgs-online.org.uk

MEMBERS’ INTERESTS Keith Turner Email: membersinterests@hgs-online.org.uk

EXECUTIVE COMMITTEE AND TRUSTEES: John Bowman Margaret Bowman Elaine Boyes

Paul Pinhorne Fiona Ranger Ann-Marie Shearer Keith Turner Angela Winteridge Tony Sinclair (co-opted)

Phil Brown Kay Lovell Gwen Newland Chris Pavey

MEMBERSHIP SECRETARY Margaret Bowman 11 Elbe Way, Andover SP10 4LD Tel: 01264 351361 Email: membership@hgs-online.org.uk

GROUP ORGANISERS – See Group Reports Pages

SUBSCRIPTION RATES: ALL MEMBERS £15

EDITOR Stephen Pomeroy at address at top of page Email: editor@hgs-online.org.uk

This journal is designed and laid out by Grey Cell Studios Southampton Telephone 023 8023 5780 Email: info@greycellstudios.co.uk

Hampshire Family Historian The Histo

Contents

Editorial

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by Stephen Pomeroy Chairman’s Report

June 2022

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Research Centre Report

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Vol 49 No.1 • ISSN 0306-6843

HGS News – Farewell 6 Charles Bramble and Highway Robbery 7 by Gracie Bungey Britons Dying Overseas 10 by Margaret Bowman The last cruise of the Royal Navy’s 16 Squadron under sail in 1898 by James Dewey Members’ Surname Interest 18

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Deadline Material for possible inclusion in the September 2022 Family Historian should be received strictly by July 23rd, 2022. All contributions are, however, appreciated as early as possible. The deadline applies to regular features only. Disclaimer The Hampshire Family Historian is the official publication of the Hampshire Genealogical Society. Material is copyright of the Society and may not be reproduced without written permission. The Hampshire Genealogical Society does not accept responsibility for personal views expressed in this publication, or in any articles. Submission of material The editor welcomes articles, feedback, letters or searchers requests for the journal. Text should be typed in black, with illustrations if appropriate. Send to the HGS Office at the address on the inside front cover marked for the attention of the editor. Please enclose a SAE for return of any photos or other items. Items can also be sent by e-mail to editor@hgs-online.org.uk as Word documents. In this case please send any photos or illustrations as separate image files rather than embedded in the document. You can have them in the document to indicate where they should appear or use placeholders. Images degrade when they are imported and resized when embedded. HGS reserves the right to reproduce submissions in publicity materials and on the society website. Please ALWAYS include a telephone contact — and if a member your membership number. To comply with data protection requirements please state what contact details you want printed in the journal or website, e.g telephone number and/or e-mail and/or address.

Page 10

Surnames Featured in this Issue

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Local Group Programmes

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Membership

IBC

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Editorial

Message from the editor Thanks to those who have responded to our appeals for articles, some are in this journal and fortunately there are a few in hand for future journals. I would still appreciate more to keep a stock of articles in hand. Jim Dewey is a regular contributor and has sent in an article about the last days of sail in the Royal Navy which, although it does not feature genealogy as such, may help others who have naval ancestors in the period of changeover from sail to steam. Grace Bungay’s article about her Bramble ancestors is a rather sad tale of the misfortunes of that branch of the family. The article mentions the Drover and Bailey families which was of interest to me as editor, as I am related to the Drover and Bailey families, see the Vol46 No4, March 2020, a branch that fared somewhat better.

Margaret Bowman has complied an article from the Britains Dying

Overseas that some members maybe assisting with. The article is about a

families’ life in Cornwall then emigrating to Australia and their life in Queensland. Stephen Pomeroy Editor

Have your Query published in the journal Please email it to: searchers@hgs-online.org.uk

Are you looking for that elusive family history book? Or one on local history? Perhaps we can help – contact Elaine at bookstall@hgs-online.org.uk

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Chairman’s Report

Message from the Chairman

At the first meeting in January 1974 Michael Walcot’s advice was: ‘Get as much information from older relatives; never believe implicitly in printed or old pedigrees; always prepare fully before visiting record offices; and, finally, never think you have finished!’ Here we are, nearly 50 years later, and, despite all the advanced technology and know-how, we would do well to still remember this advice. Now having reached the middle of 2022, I hope you all are starting to get back to normal. In Hampshire many of the groups are started to hold physical meetings again. Some groups have experimented with hybrid meetings, which have allowed members outside of Hampshire to join. Conversely, many groups have found physical attendance has dropped off, with previous attendees joining via Zoom. I hope this is just a blip and that members will feel confident to return. Local groups have to be sustainable. However, if necessary, we may have to close or merge groups. Zoom is a useful tool that can be used during the dark and cold evenings when our older members are reluctant to venture out, but is no substitute for face to face meetings. Our newly formed National Group however has been successful and has a very large attendance over Zoom. Later this month we will hold our 2022 AGM and Conference Day. We have three excellent speakers, so if you haven’t already purchased

your ticket, please do it quickly as it is a bargain at £15 including lunch. In the past I have been encouraging our post holders to

produce Job Descriptions and Role Procedures as part of our Succession

Planning. Over the past few months several post holders had to resign their role or reduce their involvement due to ill-health. Elaine Boyes after several enthusiastic years has had to resign as Bookstall Manager and Trustee due to ill-health. Elaine brought both ‘bounce’ and ‘youth’ to the society. She will be hard to replace. It is a shame this has coincided with the commencement of several events the HGS would attend following lockdown. Attending these events not only shows what the HGS is, but has always been a source for increased membership. If you think you would like to do this role which means holding the stock and conveying it to the event, please contact me or one of the committee. We have a ‘Dream Team’ of volunteers that assist at the events. We are still looking for a Minute Secretary to

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Chairman’s Report/Research Centre Report

attend 6 Executive and 3 Development Forum meetings per year if you are available. Since our last edition of the Historian we have lost several members who have passed away. John Heighes, Group Organiser at the Christchurch and New Milton for many years passed away at the age of 93. To still be doing so at that age is commendable. This group is suspended until we can find volunteers to run it. We also lost Dennis Pearce who was very

much involved within the HGS in the early days. Remember if there is anything you can do within the groups or as a volunteer carrying out transcribing or even just writing articles for the Historian, please come forward. Well enjoy the rest of the June Historian and ‘Good Hunting’ Paul Pinhorne Chairman

Research Centre Report The Research Centre has been pleased to welcome many visitors to our Research Desk since we have been here at HRO. As well as local visitors, we have also had visitors from Australia, Canada, Scotland and Wales, all of whom we have been pleased to help with their queries. Research queries also come in via our website, post and phone and volunteers are kept very busy indeed answering them. Our work on various indexes also continues and we have added some Quarter Session and Removal and Settlement records to our website. We also continue to work to bring our Catalogue up-to-date, and have nearly completed updating our Unwanted certificates index, also due to be placed on the website. Another task is working on the Britain’s Dying Overseas Index. Although some of these records are already on our website,

we are preparing many thousands more. The original record cards are being digitised, and a searchable index will be prepared for the website. Another small group of members will shortly begin working in conjunction with HRO to prepare an HGS display for the foyer of HRO. Although it is not due to be displayed until early 2023, preparations have already begun. We would like to thank the teams of volunteers who are working so hard to make all this information available to HGS members. We will always welcome new volunteers to come and join us, whether they would like to work on the research desk, answer queries or work on transcriptions either remotely from home or here in the office – you will be made welcome. Chris Pavey HGS Research Centre Manager

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HGS News

From Pandemic to Pandemonium!

At the April meeting of the Fleet & Farnborough Group, after three years in the role (two years longer than expected!), Graham Mist was finally able to step down as our group organiser. Little did he know when he embarked on the role in 2019 what lay ahead. The arrival of the worst pandemic since 1918 meant he took the decision to stay on and steer us through choppy waters despite his own personal traumas, and the amount raised for his presentation gift is a mark of how high the group esteem him. It was following our ABM and before our member’s talks that David, our previous organiser, presented him with his favourite tipple, followed by a wooden case of special watercolour paints (Graham has many talents!), and a year’s subscription to the British Newspaper Archive. We hope the latter will lead him to create many new talks while we look forward to seeing the results of the former (the paints – not the tipple!). Fortunately, he will not be going far. He will still be helping out and will remain an active

member of the group though he may find his expertise being required for many months to come, perhaps more than he would like! Now that he has finally been able to step down as Captain of ‘HMS Pandemic’ it will be up to Nick and myself to steer ‘HMS Pandemonium!’. Was it just a co-incidence that our April meeting was also the 110th anniversary of when the Titanic struck an iceberg? Get your life jackets at the ready and re-arrange those deck chairs, is that an iceberg I see ahead? On a sadder note, we have had to say goodbye to Geoff Key who passed away at the end of last year. A stalwart of our group, he was instrumental in setting up Zoom for us and in co-ordinating the Zoom meetings. He also helped with a newsletter to keep members informed during the pandemic. His last talk given over Zoom was a fascinating story of his family and the Cornish diaspora, and his wisdom and re-assuring presence are still very much missed by us all. Carol Gomm

A Heartfelt Plea From Membership

Maybe you have not heard from me! Has your e-mail bounced? I experienced a high number of ‘bounces’ in March so if you have changed your e mail/postal address please let me know. Many thanks. Margaret Membership Secretary

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HGS News

Obituaries

John Heighes was an enthusiastic and long running Group Organiser and was the backbone of the Christchurch and New Milton Group for many years. Dennis Pearce was a very long serving member of HGS, joining the society in its early years. Working initially with George Wakelin, a founder member of the society and its first elected Chairman, between them they started the index that now consists of nearly 80,000 index cards and is known as our Britain’s Dying Overseas index. It subsequently became Dennis’s task for all the years of his

membership. The handwritten index cards, researched and completed in the days before computers, were still continued in the same way up to a few years ago. HGS is more than grateful to Dennis for his dedicated research and work in producing such a valuable source of information. This is now being digitised to be made fully available and will continue to be of immense benefit to HGS members both now and in the future. In recognition of Dennis’s work the index is to be named the Wakelin-Pearce index.

FAREWELL Rod Clayburn

With the deepest regret we wish to inform readers of the death of the following HGS members:-

Fareham

Member #6469 Member #5732 Member #7297 Member #9551

John Heighes

Highcliffe, Dorset Bexley Heath, Kent

Mrs Angela Merritt Mrs Jean Timns

Waterlooville

Eric Ward

Ledbury, Hertfordshire Member #10330

Jim Wingham

Saltburn, Yorkshire

Member #10979

We will be open at our new office on Tuesdays and Thursdays only. from 10am to 4pm. HGS Research Centre

Membership Renewal If your subscription is due for renewal please see the inside of the back cover.

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Member’s article

Charles Bramble and Highway Robbery Charles BRAMBLE, my 3 x great uncle, was just a name on my family tree until recently. For years the only information I had about him was his baptism at Crawley, near Winchester on 14 August 1799, May of that year matters came to a head when he put into place a plan which he hoped would give him easy money – he decided to commit a robbery. But were his actions premeditated or did he just act on the spur of the moment? What is not in dispute is that on 12 May he robbed a woman for cash on the road from Winchester to Hursley. There were reports of

eldest of 12 children born to Charles and Mary Bramble (nee FIFIELD) and that he had died in 1857. As so often happens to me, while I was looking up information for someone else’s family tree I stumbled across information about Charles. I have managed to piece together his life story and sad to say he didn’t amount to much, ending up dying in the Workhouse as a pauper. Charles married Rose Hannah DROVER on 7 April 1828 at St Maurice Church, Winchester. She is referred to in various documents as Rose, Rosanna, Rose Hannah, Roxanna and Anna. Her family were from Itchen Abbas and she was baptised as Rose Drover there on 22 Feb 1801, one of around 12 children born to Thomas and Ruth Drover nee Etherington. Charles and Rosanna’s first child was a son, Charles, baptised at St Maurice on 24 May 1829. The family then moved to the parish of St John, Winchester where there is an entry on 12 Dec 1830 for the burial of Charles Bramble age 1. The family remained living in the parish of St John and a daughter Harriet was baptised there on 20 Feb 1831 followed by another daughter, Elizabeth, on 17 Feb 1833. A third daughter, Martha, was baptised on 19 Sep 1836 and buried on 7 October the same year. Charles was described as a labourer throughout, meaning he would have had to take what work he could manage to get. By 1838 with a wife and 2 children to support, things began to get tough for Charles and in

the robbery in 3 newspapers under the sensational heading of “Highway Robbery” plus an entry in the UK Prison Commission Records of Calendar of Trials, Winchester Gaol. A Warrant was issued dated 17 May 1838 for Charles Bramble charged with committing highway robbery on 12 May in the parish of Hursley, and he was arrested and taken into custody to await trial at the Summer Assizes. This is the account I have pieced together from details of the newspaper reports and trial which took place at Winchester Assizes on 12 July 1838: Charles Bramble, aged 39, was charged with assaulting Mary Geary, a Negro woman in the employ of a farmer from Ashley, and stole from her person 2 half-crowns and other money, her property, the produce of her eggs and butter. Mary Geary stated that on her returning home from Winchester Market on the evening in question, when she got to Pit Down she saw the prisoner standing in the road with a large bludgeon in his hand. He came up to her and demanded her money. She told him she had not any, he said he knew she had and if she did not pull it out of her pocket he would do it for her. She then took out of her pocket about nine shillings which she gave him. He said she had more and she being afraid of his weapon, gave him 3 half-pence more. She afterwards described the man to the police. Browning,

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Member’s article

police constable, apprehended the prisoner from the description given by the victim and she immediately identified him. Justice Coltman having summed up, the jury found the prisoner guilty of robbery, he at the time being armed with an offensive weapon. He was sentenced to be transported for 10 years. On 30 July 1838 he was taken from Winchester Gaol to the prison hulk York moored at Portsmouth Harbour to await transportation. Luckily for Charles his sentence was commuted to remaining on the York for the rest of his sentence where he was described on most of the quarterly musters as of good behaviour. Probably due to this, he was granted a free pardon on 2 Feb 1844 and he returned to Winchester. In the meantime, his wife Rosanna must have been devastated at being left destitute to bring up their two daughters. One of her sisters, Sophia Bailey, lived nearby and almost certainly helped out. Sophia was married to Nathaniel Bailey, a schoolmaster and sadly I found a burial record at St Johns church on 26 Jul 1840 for Rosanna Bramble aged 39. She died at home of consumption (TB) with Sophia, in attendance. The two little girls, Harriet and Elizabeth, were then taken into the Workhouse where they were still residing on the 1841 census, aged 10 and 8. Harriet struggled to survive and is recorded in the Workhouse Admissions Register in 1843. She was in the local newspaper in January 1845 up before the magistrates in the Borough Court – “Maria Hall, Harriet Bramble and James Zillwood, inmates of the Winchester Union, were charged with absconding from the Workhouse and carrying away clothing, the property of the Guardians – Hall and Bramble

1 month each, Zillwood 21 days.” On 9 October 1847 Charles, Harriet (described as a prostitute), and Elizabeth were all three admitted to the Workhouse. Harriet was buried in West Hill Cemetery aged 18, abode Workhouse, on 8 Aug 1849, cause of death is given as consumption. Elizabeth fared slightly better in that she found employment locally. On the 1851 census she is a servant, aged 19, lodging with William Newsam and family, a Licenced Victualler and Lodging house Keeper in St Johns Street, Winchester. In 1861 she is living in New Alresford as a housekeeper to William Freeman, 53, a wheelwright. But in 1871 William Freeman is living on his own and I was sad to discover that Elizabeth had died in the Union Workhouse, New Alresford in June 1868 aged 35. Again the cause of death is consumption. Meanwhile, Charles was struggling to survive after his release in February 1844. He went back to the parish of his birth, Crawley, which probably put the wind up the inhabitants who would have known of his imprisonment as I found a document: “Division of Winchester in the County of Southampton, To Wit: We the Rev Robert Wright, Sir Samuel Raymond Jarvis and William Crawley Yonge, three of the Justices of our Lady the Queen, assigned to keep the peace in the said Division and County and also to hear and determine divers Felonies, Trespasses and other misdemeanors in the said Division and County committed. To the Constable of the Parish of Crawley in the said Division and County, and to the Keeper of the County Bridewell, Winchester in and for the said County –

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Member’s article

These are to command you the said Constable in her Majesty’s name forthwith to convey and deliver into the custody of the said Keeper of the said County Bridewell the body of Charles Bramble he being convicted before us upon the Oath of Henry Weston of the said Parish of Crawley in the said County Laborer with having on the twenty-third day of November 1844 at the Parish of Crawley aforesaid committed a Trespass by entering and being in the day time upon Land in the occupation of Jacob Hinxman Courtney in search or pursuit of Game contrary to the Form of the establishment. Case made and proved. And you, the said Keeper, are hereby required to receive the said Charles Bramble into your custody in the said County Bridewell and him there safely to keep for the space of 2 calendar months unless he shall sooner pay the sum of £2. 7s. 6d. the penalty and costs incurred by his said offence or until he shall thence be delivered by due course of Law. Herein fail not. Given under our Hands and Seals this thirtieth day of November in the year of our Lord 1844 Robert Wright £2 S R Jarvis £2 W C Yonge £2” But written in pencil on the document referring to the trespass, it says “this is not an offence” and by the penalty of £2. 7s. 6d “this is illegal, by the Act they cannot exceed £2”. I wonder who it was that looked into his case for him. The Overseers of Crawley were probably nervous at having him back in the parish and were just keen to see him gone off their patch. Then I found another document entitled “Free Pardon”.

“V R whereas Charles Bramble was on the 27 day of December last committed to the House of Correction for the County of Hants for 4 months for non-payment of two penalties imposed upon him for an offence against the Game Laws we in consideration are graciously pleased to extend our Grace and Mercy unto him and to Grant him our Free Pardon for his said offences dated 18 Mar 1845 By H M Command J R G Graham” So this time he had been incarcerated for three and a half months. Not very much is known about Charles after 1845. He was admitted and discharged several times to the Workhouse in the following few years. There is no entry for him on the 1851 census, he’s certainly not in the Winchester Workhouse. I believe he was living rough by this time, probably existing on labouring jobs and moving from place to place. Searching the British Newspaper Library papers I have not found any evidence of him committing further felonies. He died in June 1857 in the Winchester Union Workhouse. Cause of death is “general disease”. I think he did well to survive until his late 50’s. Poor Charles, I can’t help feeling just a bit sorry for him. A get-rich-quick scheme that went wrong, leaving the prison hulk after several years of imprisonment to find that his wife had died and not being welcomed back

into his native village of Crawley. Gracie Bungey (Member #1738) Tel No: 01962 883249 email: bungey97@btinternet.com

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Member’s article

This is one of these stories. Thomas OXNAM and his wife Mary nee PHILLIPS left Cornwall with their family between 1873 and 1879. Thomas had been baptised in East Newlyn in 1835, the son of James and Mary OXNAM. James was a farmer and in 1851 had 21 acres at Nanhellen near Newlyn. Mary PHILLIPS was born on May 10th 1840 in the parish of Saint Agnes the daughter of William and Mary PHILLIPS nee SPARGO . William stated that he was an innkeeper when he registered the birth. On January 11th 1860 Thomas applied for a licence to marry Mary who was then 20 years of age. The consent of her guardian Hugh PHILLIPS was obtained as her father was dead. On January 17th 1860 Mary Phillips gave birth to a daughter, Mary, at Fiddlers Green, Newlyn. As can be seen on the birth certificate Thomas Oxnam owned to being the father when he registered the birth on January 19th and gave his occupation as a butcher. Thomas and Mary married on March 14th 1860 in East Newlyn. In the 1861 census Thomas and Mary can be found in Church Town, Newlyn, the surname transcribed as OXMAN . By that time they had two daughters, Mary age 1 and Susan age 2 months who were baptised together on May 5th that year. Thomas was a farmer and butcher. During the next 10 years the family increased with the births of James, William Phillips (given his mother’s maiden name), Edward, Caroline and Alfred. The census of 1871 shows Thomas was now farming 20 acres and employed 2 men. He had added the fact that Britons Dying Overseas

not only was he a farmer and butcher but an innkeeper as well and they were living at a leasehold property known as Nanhellan Meadows in the hamlet of Mitchell in the parish of Newlyn. The four eldest children were said to be scholars. Thomas and Mary also employed Jane GLENVILLE age 30 as a housemaid and Bessie GLENVILLE age 12 as a nursemaid. On April 30th 1872 Thomas was sole executor of his father’s will. Mary gave birth to a daughter, Hetta, in 1873 who died in the spring of 1874. In 1875 a son, Sydney, was born. Early in 1877 Thomas was being pursued by his creditors. On Friday February 16th there was an advertisement in the Royal Cornwall Gazette for an auction for the sale of the lease of Nanhellon Meadows where Thomas was farming stating that he would be quitting the premises by Lady Day which is March 25th. It seems that the family were still living at Nanhellon past Lady Day as all their furniture and other chattels were not destined to go under the hammer until April 27th. AUSTRALIA BOUND . Thomas, Mary and their seven children arrived in Maryborough on July 29th 1877 aboard the City of Agra . Mary gave birth to two more children, one in November 1877 and the other in December 1880, both named Hetta, and both dying within six months of their birth, Assistant immigration agents in Maryborough were responsible for providing information and services to immigrants in the area, for example relating to accommodation and rations at immigration depots. Importantly, they helped arrange employment opportunities for immigrants. Assistant

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Member’s article

– Stories of travel and adventure leading into the unknown

immigration agents also publicised the arrival of ships in the local press, and processed ships’ passenger lists and other records as well as statistical information for the government. Newspaper reports say that the family went to Maryborough where their daughter Mary opened a private school and after that she took an engagement to teach the children of Mr C. BOUEL in Cooktown. The next sighting of a member of the family in Cooktown in Queensland was when Mary Beatrice Phillips OXNAM , at the age of 21, married Robert WATSON on May 30th 1880. Robert was the son of Robert WATSON and Elizabeth nee FERRIER , and research shows that this family may have come from Aberdeen, Scotland. If the dates given are correct then Robert was born in 1836 and therefore a great deal older than Mary. Robert jnr. was in partnership with a man named Captain FULLER and they had set up as beche de mer fisherman in about 1879 on Lizard Island at the northern end of the Great Barrier Reef, some 58 miles north of Cooktown and 12 miles from the mainland. Beche de mer is another name for the sea cucumber which were prolific on the reef and much esteemed by the Chinese when they were boiled and smoked. In the 1880’s they contributed between £20,000 and £25,000 to the economy of Queensland. Lizard Island is a high, rocky island about 2½ miles long north to south and 2 miles wide. In 1770 James COOK climbed to the top of the island to see whether there was a channel in the reef that would take him to the mainland in order to repair Endeavour . It is still of considerable value for ships picking up the Great

Mary Watson portrait © Queensland Museum

Map – Cairns to Lizard

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Member’s article

Barrier Reef opening here and it gets its name from H.M.S. Lizard and was for some time the rendezvous for ships surveying the Coral Sea. There are reports relating to this story to be found on Trove, the digitised Australian Newspaper site, from which extracts will be taken before Mary’s diary tells of the later events. Mary gave birth to their son Thomas Ferrier on June 3rd 1881 and by September Robert had left his wife and son on Lizard Island in the company of two Chinese, Ah Leong and Ah Sam, while he and his partner headed for Knights Island, a further 200 miles north to set up another processing station for beche de mer. It was reported that Mary had the company of a younger sister for a while but she left the island and went back to her parents in Rockhampton. The situation at the time between the native Aborigines and the colonisers was tense and it was reported that either Lizard Island was sacred ground or that they went to collect the sea cucumber and oil from the glands of lizards that lived on the island as medicinal cures for some ailment but do not seem to have ever lived there, but whatever the reason, they saw the non-native people on their island as trespassers. It also needs circumspection when reading the reports especially those that happened just after the event where news was being contradicted and by those that were taken up in the 1930’s and 1940’s when there were none left with first-hand knowledge of what happened to those on the island. The first indication that something may have happened on Lizard Island was when Captain

FRIER sailed into Cooktown on October 19th 1881 and reported as having seen bush fires when he passed the island on October 17th and on nearing the land had made signals but received no answer and observing that the door of the hut was open, with two natives about the place, he concluded the station had been broken up, and sailed on his course for Cooktown. THE FIRST SEARCH . The Cooktown Courier reported that on Thursday, 20 October 1881, the “Neptune” cutter in charge of some Chinamen, who returned from searching for their vessel in that locality, saw eight or ten canoes hauled up on the beach, about forty natives on the Lizard Island where a bush fire was raging. They reported the case to Mr. FAHEY, Sub-Collecter of Customs, Cooktown, who, with his usual promptitude, communicated at once with Inspector Fitzgerald, who consented to allow a police officer with five troopers to accompany him to the island. Arrangements were made to leave, but Lieut. IZATT , of H.M.S. Conflict , hearing of the affair, offered to convey the party, which left on the 21 October 1881, in the “Conflict”. Mr. FAHEY took with him one of the Customs boatmen, as well as the police, and expected to return on Sunday, the 23 October, 1881. In the meantime further intelligence is awaited in Cooktown with much anxiety. Apparently the search revealed nothing, as no word is to hand among the files of the tragedy regarding any report made by the party. THE VEIL IS LIFTED. The Cooktown Courier followed the story and report that on Sunday morning January 22nd 1882 a beche de mer schooner Kate Kearney arrived from the Northern fisheries, whom Captain BREMNER

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Member’s article

reported having discovered on Warson Island the remains of poor Mrs WATSON, her baby and her Chinese servant Ah Sam. On Thursday afternoon (19th inst. 1882) Captain BREMNER was endeavouring to beat south to No. 4 Howick. But was unable to fetch it and brought up for the night at No. 5 where his native boys caught some seasonable fish and were allowed to land for the purpose of cooking them. One of the boys who had wandered inland in search of eggs returned with a scared face and a rather indistinct story of having seen “um white dead fellow” and under his guidance the party discovered, on the south east beach the body of Ah Sam, Mrs WATSON ’s servant. Continuing their search they found not far distant, in a small lagoon close to the mangrove scrub, the tank, or rather three-quarter tank (used as a beche de mer boiler) missed from the Lizard and half filled with water from recent rains. When emptied it disclosed the missing lady and her baby, together with a chest containing a few articles of clothing for the baby, jewellery, trinkets and money tins of preserved milk, tins of sardines and of preserved meats, a small bag of rice, some groats and close to her side a cup, and a revolver, loaded and at full cock, together with a number of cartridges. STORY IN DETAIL. What happened after that is described graphically in the sad record kept from day to day by poor Mrs. WATSON herself in her diary. This diary was in two parts. The first part was written at the camp on l.izard lsland before she left in the tank, and was not recovered till 1883 - two years after her death - when it was found by chance in the ruins of the hut. The second part was that written during the time - eleven days -

they were drifting about among the waterless islands and sandbanks in the sea in half of a square ships tank in which they had barely sitting room and could not steer in any direction except where the wind and tide forced it to go. The tank measured 125cms x 130cms x 61cms.

The Tank and Paddles © Queensland Museum

THE DIARY. The diary was written with lead pencil, on a few sheets of note paper, and was as follows:- September 27 1881. Blowing gale of wind S.E. Ah Sam saw smoke in S. direction, supposed to be from native camp. Steamer bound north, very close about 6 p.m. – ‘Corea’ I think.

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Member’s article

September 28. Blowing strong S.E. breeze. September 29. Blowing strong breeze although not so strong as yesterday. No eggs. Ah Leong killed bv the natives over at the farm (a quarter of a mile from her cottage). Ah Sam found his hut which is the only proof. September 30. Natives down on the beach at 7 p.m. Fired off rifle and revolver and they went away. October 1 Natives (four) speared Ah Sam, four places on right side, and three on the shoulder. Got three spears from the natives. Saw Ten men altogether. Part two of the diary was found in the tank near her baby, at No. 5 Howick Island It read: - Left Lizard Island October 2 1881 (Sunday afternoon) in tank (or the pot in which beche de-mer is boiled). Got about three miles or four from the Lizards. October 4. Made for the sand bank off the Islands but could not reach it. Got on a reef. October 5. Remained on the reef all day on the look-out for a boat but saw none. October 6. Very calm morning. Able to pull the tank up to an inland with three small mountains on it. Ah Sam went ashore to try and get water, as ours was done. There were natives camped there, so we were afraid to go far away. We had to wait return of tide. Anchored under the mangroves, got on the reef. Very calm. October 7. Made for another island four or five miles from the one spoken of yesterday. Ashore, but could not find any water. Cooked some rice and clam fish. Moderate S.E. Stayed here all night. Saw a steamer bound north. Hoisted Ferrier’s white and pink wrap, but did not answer us.

October 8. Changed anchorage of boat, as the wind was freshening. Went down to a kind of little Jake on the same island (this done last night). Remained here all day looking out for a boat; did not see any. Very cold night. Blowing very hard. No water. October 9. Brought the tank ashore as far as possible with the morning tide. Made camp all day under the trees. Blowing very hard. No water. Gave Ferrier a dip in the sea. He is showing symptoms of thirst and took a dip myself. Ah Sam and self very parched with inflammation, very much alarmed. No fresh water, and no more milk, but condensed. Self very weak, really thought I would have died last night (Sunday). October 11. Still all alive, Ferrier much better this morning. Self feeling very weak. 1 think it will rain to-day: clouds very heavy, wind not quite so hard. October 12. No rain. Morning fine weather. Ah Sam preparing to die. Have not seen him since 9. Ferrier more cheerful. Self not feeling at all well. Have not seen any boat of any description. No water, nearly dead with thirst. So for the diary calm courage in the face of pain and suffering, hopeful to the last, not one word of complaint against anyone; not even those who left her in such conditions without a boat of any sort, or any means of signalling for help to passing vessels. It was not till more than three months after the castaways had died that their terrible fate became known - the half tank containing the bodies of Mrs. WATSON and baby Ferrier, the later part of her diary; and the body of Ah Sam lying under a small tree some distance away from the thirst. Ferrier is showing symptoms. October 10. Ferrier very bad with

14

Member’s article

tank, THE FINAL REST. June 30th 1886. A great public funeral to Mrs WATSON and her babe and the Chinaman, Ah Sam, who were the victims of the Lizard Island tragedy, took place at Cooktown on Sunday afternoon. All flags were half mast all day. The bodies were removed from the police station on the previous evening and placed in the Town Hall to await burial, visitors being allowed to see the coffins. On reaching the cemetery, Mr.

agonising condition from the spear wounds. AFTERWARDS . Nothing has been said about Mary’s parents or Robert WATSON in all the reports of the tragedy although from advertisements in various newspapers we find that The Brisbane Courier reported the administration of Thomas OXNAM ’s will dated January 15th 1886 and his death on June 28th 1886. The record confirms Thomas’s parents as James

and Mary OXNAM nee MOORE . The news of his death was relayed back to Cornwall and the notice appeared in The Royal Cornwall Gazette on September 10th 1886. The Friends of Mr. WM. LEIVESLEY (married to Susan OXNAM ) are respectfully invited to attend the funeral of his deceased Father-in law, Mr. T. OXNAM to move from his late Residence, Red Lion Hotel, Denham street, This (Wednesday) afternoon, at 4 o'clock, for the Rockhampton Cemetery. TUCKER and NANKIVELL Undertakers Denham and Alma Streets. Morning Bulletin June 30th 1886. Mary OXNAM nee PHILLPS married John BARTLETT on February 10th 1892 Mary BARTLETT nee OXNAM died on December 30th 1904, the record confirming that her parents were William and Mary PHILLIPS nee SPARGO . Robert WATSON died on October 30th 1894. The record confirms that his parents were Robert WATSON and Elizabeth nee FERRIER . Margaret Bowman ( Member #12356) SOURCES – Trove Australia for newspaper reports, Find My Past, Queensland Museum, Australia National Library for births,

Watson Memorial

HOSKINS read the remainder of the burial service in a very impressive manner. After this portion of the ceremony had been performed the firemen and band returned to the Town Hall for Ah Sam’s body, which shortly after 4 o'clock was carried to the cemetery, the procession being as before, except that there were Chinamen in front of the hearse scattering pieces of paper. The Chinese Band and several Chinese mourners followed the hearse. At the end of the procession was a spring-cart containing crackers, these being lighted and thrown down all along the road. The firemen having deposited the body in the grave the Chinese made a fire on the brink of the grave and paid the accustomed marks of respect to the dead body, bowing while crackers were thrown in all directions. At the gate they distributed brandy and Chinese drinks freely to all. The people of Cooktown raised money and built a monument to this brave, patient and noble Australian heroine Mary Beatrice WATSON nee PHILLIPS . Poor Ah Sam also did all he could to help, in spite of his

15

Member’s article

The last cruise of the Royal Navy’s Squadron

My maternal grandmother Madeline Gertrude JACKSON, nee, GORDON was born in Devonport in 1874 but lived most of her life in Portsmouth. Whilst her father was a Devonport man, her mother was from Barnstaple as was her paternal grandfather, Henry BLACKWELL . Both paternal grandparents, however, left north Devon and they died in Plymouth. Madeline's youngest brother was Richard John Blackwell GORDON . He was also born in Devonport but some six years after her. He also happened to be the father-in-law of Edward HARTE , who was at one time a member of Churchill's secret army during WW2 (see Hampshire Family Historian, Vol.48 No.2). Richard joined the Royal Navy at the end of the 1890s. Before steam was grudgingly accepted at the end of 1898, the Royal Navy maintained a squadron of four ships for the specific purpose of training to sail. There was indeed no prouder achievement for any young seaman than to complete his sail training in one of those barque rigged ships even when it was recognised that this was but an adjunct to his training in the art of gunnery and the purpose of steam and all it implied. The four ships that were officially designated ‘The Training Squadron’ was manned from the three main naval ports of Devonport, Portsmouth and Chatham. Each year two cruises were completed, the first from October to April, the ‘West Indies Cruise’ and the second, from June to September, the ‘Scandinavian Cruise’. The break between each cruise enabled the officers and ships’ companies to be relieved, the ships refitted

and provisioned and recommissioned with new crews for the next cruise. The last West Indies cruise, comprising HMS Active , HMS Calypso , HMS Champion and HMS Volage was completed in 1898 and the last Scandinavian cruise (in which Richard served) consisted again of HMS Champion and HMS Volage by then other two ships were replaced by HMS Cleopatra and HMS Raleigh . This was to end in the autumn of the same year. All the ships in the squadron were fitted with a propellor and lifting gear that was involved in the operational command. “Down funnel – up screw!” Once clear of the harbour, it was a case of making plain sail when the whole crew was at the mercy of the winds – for good or ill. In due course the ships assembled at Portland but it did not occur to Richard Gordon that the Commodore of the Squadron must have viewed his new young seamen with mixed feelings and the thought that “Well, here’s some young men that I’ll need to lick into shape before very long!” From Portland the squadron sailed to St Helier on Jersey, carrying out the first sail drill on passage. This was intended to get the soles of the young seamen hardened for climbing the rigging and manning the yard arms. Boots in those days were a luxury and only for Sundays and only then if weather permitted. Richard was not likely to forget St Helier. He was the stroke oar of a 12 oared cutter, a boat used in these circumstances for landing the ship’s postman to collect the mail and fetch any provisions that might be needed. On the previous day, Richard had been one of a painting party and had splashed some paint on his cap ribbon. The duty officer spotted him

16

Member’s article

under sail in 1898

HMS Voltage, launched in 1869, here with her funnel up

Richard Gordon as a young seaman

and as he could not decipher the name of Richard’s ship because of the splash of paint, he promptly placed him in the Commander’s Report. Next morning, he duly appeared as a defaulter before the Commander who awarded Richard six cuts with the cane. This punishment was inflicted by the Master-at Arms at the foot of the main mast where Richard, clad only in a pair of white duck trousers was made to bend over to receive the strokes of the cane. On reflection, Richard accepted the punishment as being fair for his careless use of the paint brush. From Jersey, the squadron proceeded towards Germany, making plain sail to the entrance of the Kiel Canal on the way to Kiel. In due course the squadron entered the Baltic and went on to Copenhagen. Here they carried out competitive sail drill between the four ships of the squadron and as befits the name, HMS

Champion came first. Diplomatic visits were also made as well as official recognitions. Then it was onward to Stockholm. As no sail was used because the ships were in enclosed waters, they bounded along at 10 to 12 knots. Near midnight Richard was startled by a severe ‘bump’. It was soon discovered that a medium sized barquentine laden with coal from one of the German ports and bound for Copenhagen had tried to cut in between the last two ships of the squadron. He caught the ship in which Richard was aboard some 30 to 40 feet from the bow. There was much confusion in the darkness until it was realised what had happened but it was evident that the small Danish vessel was severely damaged, her bows having been opened. The Commodore ordered standby to assist whilst the other ships of the squadron proceeded on

Continued on page 40

17

Members’ Surname Interests

Members’ Surname Interests Database

Please continue to check the members’ interests webpage at http://www.hgs familyhistory.com/research-resources/me mbers-interests/ for latest details and service updates that will be announced there first. Members’ interests are published quarterly in this journal. There is a restriction in each journal of publishing a maximum of 15 entries per person to keep the journal to a manageable size. Such a constraint does not apply to the database, however, so it is possible to add further interests - within reason! Updates to your surname interests can be made online by following the examples on the page or by post. It is also possible to remove redundant entries, and this is encouraged - deletions are not notified in the journal; they simply won't remain in the database. Updates should be BLOCK printed and submitted in the format used in the following section or as shown on the form on members’ interests webpage. The county Chapman Codes are published at least once in any yearly HFH volume and should be used when submitting interests, e.g. HAM for Hampshire etc. Please note that addresses published in this section refer only to members who have submitted their interests. All enquiries and queries concerning this section should be sent by post to the Research Centre at the HGS Office (address on inside front cover), or go to

www.hgs-familyhistory.com/members interests-signup, or by email to

membersinterests@hgs-online.org.uk. N. B. Changes to email addresses will no longer be noted in the journal as many are already obsolete when published. Please contact the HGS Office for a member's current details if you encounter problems But please remember to inform the Membership Secretary (membership@hgs-online.org.uk) of any changes to either your current email or home address. In the following table the interests are in groups with the members details after the names they are interested in. Notes (‘1900’ given as example of ‘date’):

1900 + = after that date; pre 1900 = before that date; c 1900 = circa (about) that date (+/- 5 yrs); C 20 = xx th. Century; parish a = area around parish

Remember that your addresses are your contact point, so keep them up to date.

If communicating by post remember that an SAE is essential these days, as not everyone has email. Please note that HGS cannot guarantee a response to any enquiry made of a member.

18

Members’ Surname Interests

Surname

County Parish

Date span Researcher

Member #

Adnams Adnams

CON

Falmouth

1799+ Alex Daw 1799+ Alex Daw 1800+ Ruth Allen 1800+ Ruth Allen

15759 15759 13496 13496 15719 14942 15657 15178 15509 15570 14616 14895 15732 15753 15740 15570 11088 15759 14942 15785 15714 15716 15697 15785 15785 15785 15489 15667 15714 15671 14255 15501 15690 15300 15505 14688 15653 15716 15759 15734 15702 15759 15137 15718 15718 15682 14231 14735 14906 13724 15759 15178 15759 15759 15639 14906 15690 15655 15717 876

HAM Alverstoke HAM Overton HAM Steventon HAM All HAM Long Sutton HAM Wherwell HAM Ringwood HAM Winchester HAM All HAM All HAM All HAM All LAN LND All HAM All

Allen Allen

Armstrong

Sharon Dorricott Katie Arnett

Arnett Atwood Baker Baker Ballard Barnes Barratt Barrow Barton Beagley Belbin Bennett Bessant Birrell Bloys Boit Bone Bone Boyes Boyett Boyt Boyte Bracher Bridgen Budd Budgen Bunney Bunny Bunton Burden Burgess Butcher Cannon Cardy Carrett Carter Carter Case Cato Caute Cawte

1750-1850 Alan Batchelor

Sandra Andrews

1700-1900 M J Bye 1700-1854 Peter Trill

Dalton-in-Furness

Maureen Knight

pre1880 Gill Barratt

Gail Leaman Gillian Wade

1700-1850 John Bugden

Leslie Wilson Hill Maureen Knight Maurice Robinson

KEN

Maidstone

HAM South Stoneham

ARL LND

Inverary

1810+ Alex Daw

All

Katie Arnett

HAM All HAM All

1773+ Eileen Boyt

Joanne Burd Susan Sherman Claire Gray

HAM Medstead HAM Twyford HAM All HAM All HAM All HAM All

1597+ Eileen Boyt 1597+ Eileen Boyt 1325+ Eileen Boyt 1740-2000 Graham Bratcher

All

All

Heather Nash Joanne Burd

HAM All

All

All

1920-1980 shirley white

HAM All

Bob Miles

All

Hurstbourne

1683-1764 Philip Bagley 1700-1950 Michael Bunton

DUR

All

HAM North Stoneham 1850-1910 John Burden

HAM All

Paul Stewart

All ESS

All

1720+ Ivan Hurst

Waltham Abbey

Linda Elliott Susan Sherman

HAM All

SRY

Brixton

1834+ Alex Daw 1780-1890 Fay Ostler

HAM All

All WIL

All

Lucy Carter Alex Daw

Bishopstone

1818

HAM St Mary HAM All HAM All HAM Odiham HAM All HAM All HAM All HAM Crondall HAM Portsea All All

1860-1945 Brenda Harfield

Malcolm McBain Malcolm McBain Maurice Lefebvre Lynn Gardner Ken Chatfield Eddie Clarke John Lankester

Chalmers Champion Chatfield Cleeve Colbourne

Conner/Connor HAM Portsea

1805-1912 Alex Daw

Cook

Sandra Andrews

Cook/Cooke Cook/Cooke

1811+ Alex Daw 1811+ Alex Daw 1918+ Shelley Cooper 1800-1900 Michael Bunton 1650-1800 Jean Mealham 1800-1851 Lorraine West Eddie Clarke

MDX

Bishopsgate

Cooper Corderoy Cotterell Cotton

HAM All HAM All

HAM Portsea Island

All

All

Court

HAM All

19