52 Ancestors in 52 Weeks - Week 9 - At the Courthouse - John McCarthy

This year I have decided to take part in Amy Johnson Crow's 52 Ancestors in 52 Weeks blogging prompts. 

The theme for Week 9 (Feb. 25 - Mar. 3) is: At the Courthouse.

The digitised newspapers on Trove are the perfect place to find out if any of your Australian ancestors went to the courthouse for any reason.

Today on Trove I found the following article in the McIvor Times and Rodney Advertiser, Friday, 8 March 1872, page 2. John McCarthy, in this case, is my great great grandfather John McCarthy, with his brother Michael McCarthy. 

John, who was born in 1835 at Clash, County Kerry, Ireland, would have been about 36 years old at the time, married to Catherine (Mannix) McCarthy, with 4 children. His brother Michael would have been aged 20 years. 

Source: HEATHCOTE POLICE COURT. (1872, March 8). The McIvor Times and Rodney Advertiser (Heathcote, Vic. : 1863 - 1918), p. 2. Retrieved February 26, 2019, from http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article89691106

"HEATHCOTE POLICE COURT.
(Before J. G. Taylor, Esq., P.M., R Cocks, Esq., J.P, and the Mayor)
Michael McCarthy, John McCarthy, John Long, John Sullivan, Michael Sullivan, and August Carboon, were charged with creating a disturbance in High. Street on Wednesday last.
Mr. Booker appeared for John Long and Michael and John Sullivan. All the defendants pleaded not guilty. The evidence adduced by the police went to show that the parties were, with the exception of Michael McCarthy, all drunk, and were fighting among themselves. As it did not appear that they interfered with anyone not in company with them and they bear a good general character, they were discharged with a caution. "

Source: HEATHCOTE POLICE COURT. (1872, March 8). The McIvor Times and Rodney Advertiser (Heathcote, Vic. : 1863 - 1918), p. 2. Retrieved February 26, 2019, from http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article89691106

John and Catherine (Mannix) McCarthy had another 5 children before John's death on 29 March 1885 at Heathcote, after he was kicked by a horse. 

The following newspaper article gives more information about John's sad death.

Source: Local and General News. (1885, April 3). The McIvor Times and Rodney Advertiser (Heathcote, Vic. : 1863 - 1918), p. 2. Retrieved February 26, 2019, from http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article90145303

"SAD FATAL ACCIDENT - A very lamentable accident occurred about 5 o'clock on Saturday evening last resulting in the death of a very old resident of the place, Mr John McCarthy, of Commissioner's Flat. Mr McCarthy had just returned home with a load of chaff from the township, and after taking out the horse and putting it in the stable proceeded to carry in the chaff through the stable door. He was in the act of carrying in one of the bags, when the horse kicked out striking him violently in the abdomen, causing serious internal injuries from which he died about 7 o'clock on the following morning, after suffering great agony. The deceased was quite conscious to the last and stated how the accident occurred. We believe some of the children were standing by when the accident happened. Immediately after the accident Dr Clark was sent for and saw the deceased about 20 minutes after the occurrence and in company with Dr Scobell about two hours later. Under the circumstances, an inquiry was not considered necessary, thus, we are glad to state, relieving the family and friends from further pain. Very general sympathy is felt for the widow and children of the deceased, Mrs McCarthy being left with nine children to lament their sad loss. We understand it is the intention to start a subscription for the relief of the family in their distress. The funeral took place on Tuesday and was numerously attended."

Source: Local and General News. (1885, April 3). The McIvor Times and Rodney Advertiser (Heathcote, Vic. : 1863 - 1918), p. 2. Retrieved February 26, 2019, from http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article90145303

Five days later, a notice appeared in the McIvor Times and Rodney Advertiser, as follows:

Source: Advertising (1885, May 8). The McIvor Times and Rodney Advertiser (Heathcote, Vic. : 1863 - 1918), p. 3. Retrieved February 26, 2019, from http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article90145247

"NOTICE
PERSONS having Lists of Subscriptions in aid of the Widow and Family of the late Mr John McCarthy are respectfully requested to hand them in without delay to Mr John Long, Heathcote, or the undersigned.
Michael Manton.
Heathcote, 6th May, 1885."

Source: Advertising (1885, May 8). The McIvor Times and Rodney Advertiser (Heathcote, Vic. : 1863 - 1918), p. 3. Retrieved February 26, 2019, from http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article90145247

Mr John Long is likely to be the same man mentioned in the Heathcote police court report in 1872. 

Michael McCarthy was still living at the time of his mother Honora (Tangney) McCarthy's death on 4 November 1873, but it is uncertain what became of Michael after that time.

© 2019. Australian Genealogy Journeys. This post was originally published at https://ausgenjourneys.blogspot.com/2019/02/52-ancestors-in-52-weeks-week-9-at.html

52 Ancestors in 52 weeks is © Amy Johnson Crow. 

52 Ancestors in 52 Weeks - Week 8 - Family Photo - J.W. Smith and Family

This year I have decided to take part in Amy Johnson Crow's 52 Ancestors in 52 Weeks blogging prompts. 

The theme for Week 8 (Feb. 18-24) is: Family Photo.

For this week's theme, Family Photo, I have chosen to share a photograph of my grandmother's family, taken at the time of my grandmother's wedding in 1936. 
My grandmother was the daughter of James William Smith and his second wife Agnes Fullerton. 

This photograph shows J.W. Smith, his wife Agnes, and 11 of J.W.'s 13 living children in 1936. 

J.W. Smith and Family, 1936. A scan of an original photograph. Click the image for a larger view.

J.W. Smith and his first wife Hanora Hanley married in 1897 and had four sons (James, Joseph, Cyril and Ivo) and one daughter (Audrey). Joseph died in 1902 when almost 6 months old. Hanora died in December 1908 at Elmore, Victoria, Australia. 

J.W. Smith and his second wife Agnes Fullerton were married in 1910 and had four sons (William, John, Robert, Francis) and five daughters (Dorothea, Ellen, Evelyn, Joyce and Kathleen). 

Using Adobe Photoshop Elements, I digitally added photographs of the two living children who were missing from the original 1936 photograph: James (Jim) and Cyril (Syd).

J.W. Smith and Family. Digital creation. Click the image for a larger view.

As part of a Smith family reunion, held in October 2017, I created a Facebook Group for the descendants of James William Smith and first wife Hanora Hanley and his second wife Agnes Fullerton. All descendants are very welcome to request to join the Facebook Group.

© 2019. Australian Genealogy Journeys. This post was originally published at https://ausgenjourneys.blogspot.com/2019/02/52-ancestors-in-52-weeks-week-8-family.html

52 Ancestors in 52 weeks is © Amy Johnson Crow. 

52 Ancestors in 52 Weeks - Week 7 - Love - O'Brien / Joyce Wedding

This year I have decided to take part in Amy Johnson Crow's 52 Ancestors in 52 Weeks blogging prompts. 

The theme for Week 7 (Feb. 11-17) is: Love.

For this week's theme, I have decided to share a newspaper report from 1896 of the wedding of my great grandparents Owen O'Brien and Margaret Mary Joyce. 

"WEDDING AT TENNYSON.

A very interesting ceremony took place at the Tennyson Roman Catholic Church last Monday, when Miss Maggie Joyce, eldest daughter of Mr. E. Joyce, of Pannoobamawm, was married to Mr. O. O'Brien, a well-known resident of the Tennyson district. The church was tastefully decorated for the occasion, and as the day was all that could be desired it tended in no small way to make the surroundings of the wedding pleasant and enjoyable. The marriage ceremony was performed by the Rev. Father Mulquin, The bride was attired and looked well in cream crepon, trimmed with passementerie and lace, with the usual wreath and veil, and her travelling dress was brown serge, with hat and cape to match, The bridesmaid, Miss Annie Joyce, sister to the bride, wore a neat costume of brown serge, trimmed with passementerie, with lace hat to match. Mr. M. O'Brien acted as best man. After the ceremony was concluded, a large number of friends drove to the residence of the bride's parents, where the wedding breakfast was laid out in a sumptuous manner in a large marquee erected for the purpose. The Rev. Prior O'Hanlon presided, and in proposing the toast of "The Bride and Bridegroom," referred to them in complimentary terms and wished them a long and happy life. The toast was suitably responded to by the bridegroom. The other toasts proposed were—"The Bridesmaid," by Mr. Seierson; " The Bride's and Bridegroom's Parents," by Cr. Allan; "The Ladies," by Mr. T, O'Brien; and "The Clergy," by Mr. P. Joyce. They were responded to respectively by Mr. M. O'Brien, Mr Joyce, senr., Mr. O'Brien, snr., P. Joyce and the Revs. Prior O'Hanlon and Father Mulquin.
After the wedding breakfast the happy couple departed amid the cheers and good
wishes of the bystanders to catch the evening train at Prairie, en route to Gippsland, where the honeymoon is to be spent. None of the ordinary accompaniments to such a departure were forgotten - rice and old shoes being thrown after the retreating couple. The presents were numerous and handsome, testifying to the high esteem in which they are held by their many acquaintances. As is usual on such occasions the guests indulged in dancing and other customary amusements until the early hours of the morning reminded them that it was time to be journeying homewards."

Wedding at Tennyson. (1896, August 10). The Riverine Herald (Echuca, Vic. : Moama, NSW : 1869 - 1954; 1998 - 2000), p. 2. Retrieved February 11, 2019, from http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article114993682

A shorter version of a similar notice had appeared in the Bendigo Advertiser on 8 August 1896.

"ROCHESTER, Friday. 

Matrimonial - A wedding took place at theRoman Catholic Church, Tennyson, on Monday, the contracting parties being Miss M.Joyce, eldest daughter of Mr. E. Joyce, of Pannoobamawm, and Mr. O. O'Brien, of Tennyson. The church was beautifully decorated for the occasion, and the ceremony was performed by the Rev. Father Mulquin,of Rochester. The bride's dress was of cream crepon trimmed with passementerie and lace, and the usual wreath and veil completed a most charming toilet. The bridesmaid, Miss Annie Joyce, sister to the bride,wore a very becoming costume of fawn serge trimmed with passementerie, with lace hat to match. Mr. M. O'Brien officiated as best man. After the ceremony a large number of friends drove to the residence of the bride's parents,where the wedding breakfast was partaken of in a large marquee erected for the occasion.The Rev. Prior O'Hanlon presided, and the usual toasts were duly honored. The happy couple left Prairie by the evening train for Gippsland, amid the hearty wishes of a large number of friends who assembled to see them off."

OUR COUNTRY SERVICE. (1896, August 8). Bendigo Advertiser (Vic. : 1855 - 1918), p. 5, column 5. Retrieved February 11, 2019, from http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article88989739

© 2019. Australian Genealogy Journeys. This post was originally published at https://ausgenjourneys.blogspot.com/2019/02/52-ancestors-in-52-weeks-week-7-love.html

52 Ancestors in 52 weeks is © Amy Johnson Crow. 

52 Ancestors in 52 Weeks - Week 6 - Surprise - Ann (Pettit) Peacock

This year I have decided to take part in Amy Johnson Crow's 52 Ancestors in 52 Weeks blogging prompts. 

The theme for Week 6 (Feb. 4-10) is: Surprise.

For this week's theme of Surprise, I have decided to write about my 5 x great grandmother Ann (Pettit) Peacock, one of my direct maternal line ancestors. 

Back in 2006, I was alerted by another Peacock family researcher, via GenesReunited, that the burial register of St Edmund's Church, Abbess Roding, Essex, England, contained a detailed entry of burial for my 5 x great grandmother. I was surprised to discover what this detailed burial entry described.

The entries for burials in the parish around the time of my 5 x great grandmother's death in 1801 only rarely included more than the person's name and the date of burial. For example, the entries for 1801 start off as follows:

1801 

Mary Skinner, January the 10th 

Nancy Madle, an infant, June the 2nd 

What followed after these entries was a detailed account of the sad and unexpected circumstances of my ancestor Ann (Pettit) Peacock's death. The entry covered eighteen lines in the register, instead of the usual one, and spanned across the bottom of one page and on to the next. It gave details about the family that are usually unexpected in the burial registers of that time.  

Anne Peacock, July 19th. In the Death of this Woman there was something so peculiarly aweful, & instructing instructing us all of whatsoever age to remember that in the Midst of Life we are in Death, that it deserves somewhat more than the common obituary Register. Whilst sitting in her Cottage at Fyfield by the side of a window she was struck dead by Lightning. An Infant Daughter in her Arms escap'd altogether unin-jur'd.  A decrepid, paralytick Mother was the unhappy Spectator of this melancholy Event; & a poor Boy, who had taken Shelter from the Violence of the Storm. She left behind her a Husband, & nine Children to regret her Loss. In Consequence of this solemn Visita-tion of Almighty God, & the Circumstances of her young Family, the Bishop of London sent me for their Relief 20 £. To teach us to number our Days, that we may apply our Hearts unto Wisdom.

Just three burial entries below Ann's were the following two burials, for her parents Francis Pettit and Sarah (Bright) Pettit (my 6 x great grandparents):

Francis Pettit, Clerk of the Parish, Decr 4th The Father
Sarah Pettit, Decr 25th & the Mother of the above A.Peacock

Source: "Burial Register, Essex Record Office, Parish Records, Abbess Roding, St Edmund, 1786-1811, D/P 145/1/4.," 1801. Burial of Anne Peacock; digital images(accessed 29 Jun 2009); Essex Ancestors, Essex Archives Online from the Essex Record Office. http://seax.essexcc.gov.uk/Result_Details.aspx?ID=21157

© 2019. Australian Genealogy Journeys. This post was originally published at https://ausgenjourneys.blogspot.com/2019/02/52-ancestors-in-52-weeks-week-6.html

52 Ancestors in 52 weeks is © Amy Johnson Crow. 

52 Ancestors in 52 Weeks - Week 5 - At the Library - Thomas Fullerton

This year I have decided to take part in Amy Johnson Crow's 52 Ancestors in 52 Weeks blogging prompts. 

The theme for Week 5 (Jan. 29- Feb. 4) is: At the Library.

I have decided to write about an ancestor (not direct line ancestor) that I found some information about from a library. I don't often get to research at a library.
I went back through my research and discovered notes for a time I went to the National Library of Australia in Canberra in August 2008. My sister and her family were visiting Canberra and took me along for the trip.

One thing I had on my to-do list for the library was to view the Deniliquin Chronicle and Riverine Gazette on Microfilm for the period November-December 1865. My purpose in doing this was to find the original version of a news item related to the death of my 3 x great uncle, Thomas Fullerton. During my time at the National Library, I found the original notice and made a copy of it. The article was first published in the Deniliquin Chronicle, 18 November 1865, page 4, column 5. 

I wrote the following about Thomas on this blog, in its previous form, on 11 September 2012, under the title Trove Tuesday - Thomas Fullerton of Hill Plain, Deniliquin.

The following article regarding Thomas Fullerton, though a very sad article, is one of my most appreciated, and least expected, Trove discoveries. I had learnt, through a reference provided by the Deniliquin & District Historical Society, that in 1865 there had been an inquest into the death of a young shepherd, Thomas Fullerton, who had died at Hill Plain near Deniliquin, New South Wales. 

Unfortunately, the death certificate gave no information about Thomas' family, and while the inquest index existed for that era in New South Wales, the actual inquest records no longer existed. I thought I was not likely to find any other information to verify that this Thomas was part of my Fullerton family. My best hope was newspapers - but which newspaper? How many rolls of microfilm would I need to trawl through? 

Enter the National Library of Australia's Newspaper digitisation in 2008. At that early stage in the digitisation none of the digitised newspaper titles looked relevant for Deniliquin news - perhaps the Argus, but that was a long shot I thought. Without high expectations of finding any reference to Thomas, I searched for 'Fullerton' and 'Deniliquin'. There it was! In December 1865 the Brisbane Courier had reprinted an inquest report from the Deniliquin Chronicle. The inquest report mentioned Thomas' sister Bridget Fenelon, and thus provided the evidence I needed to place young Thomas on my family tree. Until that time, Thomas' existence had been somehow forgotten in family records and oral history. Previously, the only evidence for Thomas' existence was a record of a Thomas 'Fuller' baptised at Castlemaine, Victoria in 1854. I like to think that Thomas provided a little help in my research. While the information I found about him was very sad, finding it meant that his story would no longer be forgotten. 

"I take the following report from a Deniliquin paper, as it relates to a subject in which not only the faculty but all heads of families must feel an interest. Medical science has not yet reached perfection, great as its triumphs are: 

"On Tuesday last the Police Magistrate attended at Hill Plains to hold an inquiry respecting the death of a lad aged thirteen years, named Thomas Fullerton, who had been found lying dead in his bed on the previous day by Mr. Clancy, sheep overseer to Mr. Hogg, of Mathoura station. The first witness examined was Bridget Fenelon, a married woman and sister of deceased, who deposed that on Sunday evening last she was milking a goat, and her brother held the animal by its horns; the goat giving a plunge forward struck deceased either in the breast or stomach, from which he appeared to suffer somewhat; he ran a few yards after the goat, and then laid down and complained of sickness, and remained drowsy the whole of the evening afterwards. On Monday, she finding him no better started for Deniliquin, and, on her return in the afternoon, found he was dead. John Clancy, the overseer deposed that being in the neighborhood on Monday, and requiring the assistance of deceased, he went to the hut believing deceased to be asleep, and found him on the bed dead and his body cold. A. W. F. Noyes, Surgeon, of Deniliquin, who attended the inquiry for the purpose of making the post mortem, deposed that he had done so, and found that the cause of death was hydatids in the heart, and that no marks of violence likely to arise from the butting of a goat were noticeable on the body. This is the second death which has been attributed here within a twelvemonth or so to that very obscure form of disease - hydatids. The former was a girl of about sixteen years, who died in the hospital, and the organ in which the hydatids were found was the brain, some four or five hundred being discovered in one side of that organ. The professional gentlemen engaged considered the features presented by that case exceedingly singular, and those of the present are viewed as being still more extraordinary and unusual. Some of the hydatids were attached to the heart, and one, which was taken out, was found floating in the blood contained in the left ventricle. The lad appears to have occasionally been subject to fainting fits, and those are supposed to have been produced by the interference of this organic growth with the action of the valves of the heart. The subject as affecting the human frame is exceedingly obscure, but the infrequency of its known occurrence commends itself to the notice of the professional man."

NEWS AND NOTES. (1865, December 1). The Brisbane Courier (Qld. : 1864 - 1933), p. 3. Retrieved January 28, 2019, from http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article1283199 

The same article also appears in the following newspapers on Trove:

• (1865, November 25). Bendigo Advertiser (Vic. : 1855 - 1918), p. 3. Retrieved January 28, 2019, from http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article87928349
• (1865, November 27). Empire (Sydney, NSW : 1850 - 1875), p. 4. Retrieved January 28, 2019, from http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article63240129
• (1865, December 7). Queanbeyan Age and General Advertiser (NSW : 1864 - 1867), p. 2. Retrieved January 28, 2019, from http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article30636352

© 2019. Australian Genealogy Journeys. This post was originally published at https://ausgenjourneys.blogspot.com/2019/01/52-ancestors-in-52-weeks-week-5-at.html

52 Ancestors in 52 weeks is © Amy Johnson Crow. 

52 Ancestors in 52 Weeks - Week 4 - I'd Like to Meet - Peter Fullerton

This year I have decided to take part in Amy Johnson Crow's 52 Ancestors in 52 Weeks blogging prompts. 

The theme for Week 4 (Jan. 22-28) is: I'd Like to Meet.

This weeks' theme was a difficult one for me as I was unsure which ancestor to chose. 

I decided to choose my great-great grandfather Peter Fullerton, because I would like to know the answers to a few questions about his family and he would probably be able to tell me those answers. 

I'd like to meet my great-great grandfather Peter Fullerton so that I could ask him these questions:

• Where and when were his parents William Fullerton and Mary Dunne born? 
• Who were his grandparents? Was his paternal grandfather Peter Folliard from Naas, Kildare?
• Why did his father William appear to change his name to Fullerton when he immigrated to Australia?
• Did his parents have any other relatives living in Australia?
• Why did his parents decide to immigrate to Australia?
• Where does the Spanish ancestry story come from? Is there any grain of truth in the story?
• Is there any truth in the story that he was going to go on the Burke and Wills Expedition but did not go?
• What did he and his father do in New Zealand in 1863? Did they find any gold?
• What were his experiences droving cattle with his brother James? 
• Was his father ever involved in the droving?
• Who did they work for droving cattle? 
• What stock routes did they follow?
• Why did his father leave the property at Elphinstone? 
• What plans did his father have for the properties he owned in Richmond?
• Where was his brother Thomas buried when Thomas died in 1865?
• Where is the gravesite of his mother Mary (Dunne) Fullerton at the Castlemaine Cemetery?
• Where is the gravesite of his father William Fullerton at the Inglewood Cemetery?
• What information about his brother James did he hear in Victoria after James died in Queensland in 1889? 

© 2019. Australian Genealogy Journeys. This post was originally published at https://ausgenjourneys.blogspot.com/2019/01/52-ancestors-in-52-weeks-week-4-id-like.html

52 Ancestors in 52 weeks is © Amy Johnson Crow. 

52 Ancestors in 52 Weeks - Week 3 - Unusual Name - Tangney

This year I have decided to take part in Amy Johnson Crow's 52 Ancestors in 52 Weeks blogging prompts. 

The theme for Week 3 (Jan. 15-21) is: Unusual Name.

For this week's theme, I have chosen one of the more uncommon surnames in my family tree - Tangney. 

About the Tangney Surname

• Forebears - Tangney Surname. According to Forebears approximately 1,721 people in the world have the surname Tangney (excluding variants such as Tangey and Tagney) and it is most prevalent in the United States and Ireland. 
• Barrygriffin.com - Irish Surname Maps - Surname Maps for the Tangney Surname in Ireland
• John Grenham's Irish Ancestors - Tangney. The Tangney surname was historically concentrated in County Kerry. On this site, the Tangney Roman Catholic Baptisms map (using the data from the baptism transcripts on FindMyPast) shows that the Tangney's were most prevalent in Tralee Catholic parish. 

While the surname might be fairly rare across the world, it isn't particularly uncommon in County Kerry. An exact search for the surname Tangney in the Church records at Irishgenealogy.ie  reveals 1340 baptism records and 322 marriage records, predominantly in County Kerry. 

My 3 x great grandmother was Honora (Tangney) McCarthy (c1806-1873). 

About Honora Tangney

According to her 1873 Victorian death certificate, Honora Tangney was born about 1806 in County Kerry, Ireland, the daughter of Patrick Tangney and Julia (Cronin) Tangney. 

Honora married John McCarthy on 26 February 1832 in the Catholic parish of Firies/Molahiff. The marriage witnesses were Nicholas Tangney (perhaps a brother of Honora?) and James Burk. 

A curious 1801 Tangney baptism exists in the records for the neighbouring Catholic parish of Killeentierna. The existing records for this parish at that time are a modern transcript. 
For 17 December 1801, the transcript lists the baptism of "Nicholas Tangney, [residence] Cumer, [parents] Batt +   ___Cronin" Might the original have possibly said Patt [Patrick] rather than Batt [Bartholomew]? Could this Nicholas potentially be Honora's brother?  

John and Honora (Tangney) McCarthy immigrated to Victoria, Australia in 1866.

John McCarthy died at Golden Gully, Heathcote, Victoria on 22 June 1870. 

Honora (Tangney) McCarthy died at Golden Gully, Heathcote on 4 November 1873, at the age of 67 years.

Please see Honora (Tangney) McCarthy's Wikitree Profile for sources for this post. 

© 2019. Australian Genealogy Journeys. This post was originally published at https://ausgenjourneys.blogspot.com/2019/01/52-ancestors-in-52-weeks-week-3-unusual.html
52 Ancestors in 52 weeks is © Amy Johnson Crow. 

52 Ancestors in 52 Weeks - Week 2 - Challenge - James Potter

This year I have decided to take part in Amy Johnson Crow's 52 Ancestors in 52 Weeks blogging prompts. 

The theme for Week 2 (Jan. 8-14) is: Challenge.

For this week's theme, I have chosen to write about an ancestor who is a challenge to find, my 4 x great grandfather James Potter. 

What do I know about James Potter?
James Potter, a bachelor, married Mary Hutton, a spinster, by Banns, on 1 January 1811 in the parish of St Peter in the East, Oxford, Oxfordshire, England. 

James, a cabinet maker/carpenter, and Mary had the following children:

• Ann Hutton Potter, baptised 25 December 1811, St Peter in the East, Oxford.
• James Percival Potter, baptised 21 March 1813, St Mary Magdalen, Oxford. Died Feb 1814. Buried 22 February 1814 St Mary Magdalen, Oxford.
• Edward Hutton Potter, baptised 13 July 1814, St Mary Magdalen, Oxford. 
• George Augustus Potter, baptised 5 April 1816, St Giles, Oxford. My 3 x great grandfather.

The 1813 and 1814 baptisms of James and Edward stated that the family lived 'opposite St John's College'. 

I found the following notice of insolvency for James Potter in the Newspapers collection at FindMyPast. A notice appeared in the Oxford University and City Herald on 31 August 1822 (page 3, column 3) stating the following:

INSOLVENT DEBTORS' COURT OFFICE
No 33, Lincoln's Inn Fields.
PETITIONS of INSOLVENT DEBTORS to
be heard at the Adjourned General Quarter Sessions
of the Peace, to be holden at the Grand Jury Room, in the
Town-hall, Oxford, in and for the County of Oxford, on the
21st day of September next, at the hour of 12 at noon.
HENRY BASSETT, late of Middle Barton, in the County
of Oxford, Labourer.
JAMES POTTER, late of the City of Oxford, Carpenter
and Joiner.
WILLIAM YOUNG, formerly of Wescott Barton, in the
County of Oxford, Farmer; and late of Oddington, in the
same County, Farmer.
The Petitions and Schedules are files and may be in-
spected at this Office every Monday, Wednesday, and Fri-
day, between the hours of ten and four - Two days' notice
of any intention to oppose any prisoner's discharge, must be
given to such prisoner, to entitle any Creditor to oppose the
same.  JAMES NICHOLLS.
Bennett-Street, Blackfriars-road.

Mary (Hutton) Potter, James' wife, died in about January 1826. She was buried on 19 January 1826 in the parish of St Peter in the East, Oxford. The parish register gave her abode at that time as 'King Street'. 

After that my knowledge of James is patchy and unconfirmed. 

Unconfirmed sightings of James Potter 

There is a probable second marriage for James in 1827. James Potter married Sarah Davis on 23 December 1827, St Ebbe, Oxford, Oxfordshire, England, United Kingdom. The parish register does not state whether this James was a bachelor or a widower. 

James' sons Edward and George later lived in London during the 1840s and early 1850s. 
The marriage record for George's first marriage, to Mary Ann Stone, on 21 December 1840, at St Mary, Rotherhithe, Surrey, stated that George's father was James Potter, Carpenter.
The marriage record for George's second marriage, to Amelia Preston, on Christmas Day (25 December) 1848, at St James, Bermondsey, Surrey, stated that his father was James Potter, Deceased. This appeared to confirm that James Potter died sometime between 21 December 1840 and 25 December 1848. 

I thought perhaps I would find James in London also, as I had not been able to locate him in Oxford after 1827. I searched the Census records for 1841 for any Potter's living in the same vicinity of London where George's marriages took place. I thought I had found my James Potter when I discovered: James Potter, 55, Carpenter, not born in county, in the same household as Sarah Potter, 55, not born in county, living in the parish of St Mary Newington, Surrey. I then discovered the death of this James Potter, on 5 August 1843, at Potter's Place, Uxbridge Street, St Mary Newington, Surrey. The death certificate for this James Potter stated that he was a Carpenter, aged 57 years. He was buried on 13 August 1843 in the parish of St Mary Newington. 

However, after going back over some existing research, including a copy of a death certificate sent to me by a Potter cousin, I have realised that something doesn't add up.

A Sarah Potter died at the Oxford Workhouse on 21 January 1856 and was buried in the parish of St Giles, Oxford, on 26 January 1856. Her death certificate stated that she was 62 years of age and the "Widow of - Potter Cabinet Maker" Probably this same Sarah Potter who appeared in the 1851 Census in the Oxford Workhouse. 

Sarah Potter, pauper, w [widow], 56, servant, [born] Oxford. 

So far this would make sense, she could still possibly be the same Sarah Potter married to James Potter who died in 1843 in the parish of St Mary Newington?
However, the 1841 Census shows the following person in the Oxford Workhouse. 

Sarah Potter, 45, -, y [born in the county]

So this certainly doesn't add up. I feel, given that this Sarah is in Oxford, she is more likely to be the Sarah who married James Potter in Oxford in 1827. Her death certificate in 1856 described her as the 'widow of - Potter Cabinet Maker', so we know she was a Sarah married to a Cabinet Maker named Potter - very likely James Potter. 

This leaves me believing I may have may found the completely wrong death for James Potter in St Mary Newington, Surrey, in 1843. He was just coincidentally a James Potter, Carpenter, married to a Sarah, born out of the county of Surrey, living in the same vicinity of London where my James Potter's son George married during the 1840s. 

I have been unable to confirm when James Potter was born, though there is a particular Potter family I suspect are close relatives, including an Ann Potter, a spinster, who died aged 71 years in February 1834.  She lived on King Street, Oxford, which is where Mary (Hutton) Potter was living when she died in 1826. 

References for this research are available on James Potter's Wikitree profile. 

James Potter is certainly a challenge to find. 


© 2019. Australian Genealogy Journeys. This post was originally published at https://ausgenjourneys.blogspot.com/2019/01/52-ancestors-in-52-weeks-week-2.html
52 Ancestors in 52 weeks is © Amy Johnson Crow. 

52 Ancestors in 52 Weeks - Week 1 - First - William and Mary (Dunne) Fullerton

Happy New Year!
This year I have decided to take part in Amy Johnson Crow's 52 Ancestors in 52 Weeks blogging prompts. 

The theme for Week 1 (Jan. 1-7) is: First.

One of Amy's suggestions for this weeks theme is: 

Who was the first ancestor to arrive in the country? 

My first ancestors to arrive in Australia were my 3 x great-grandparents, William Fullerton and Mary (Dunne) Fullerton. They arrived at Port Phillip (Melbourne) on 30 September 1840 on the barque Himalaya. 

You can read more about the Fullerton's on my Fullerton Family History blog: A Summary of the Fullerton story.

© 2019. Australian Genealogy Journeys. This post was originally published at https://ausgenjourneys.blogspot.com/2019/01/52-ancestors-in-52-weeks-week-1.html
52 Ancestors in 52 weeks is © Amy Johnson Crow.