Surprise

#52 Ancestors 52 Weeks – Week 6

The stories are are told that prove to be folklore and the stories that we are not told, surprise us all the time. I am sure that this is one of the reasons that we become addicted to genealogy and our family history, we never know what may be in that next document or newspaper article that we find. Over the years I have come across a number of surprises and thought I would share some of them with you.

Discovering that the LOADES family had origins in Norfolk was a surprise. Understanding where all the different branches of the family arrived from was made easier by the use of the 1851 census as this lists the place of birth of the individual. This make it easier to search for other members of the family. Nobody in the family every mentioned where or when people came to South Australia. If you are lucky enough to have family in the UK in the 1850’s and later than the census is the go to tool for determining where to look to next.

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The two notices above were a surprises. It was a surprise to learn that tow of my fathers great grandfathers on his paternal side had committed suicide. The digitized papers of TROVE provide the family historian to uncover more of the daily life of our ancestors, especially if they have been in business, insolvent or in trouble with the law. We are able to build up a picture of the individual and who they may be. Over the years many discoveries have been made on TROVE not only about that dead but also the living.

The Shipping Records that can be accessed in person at the State Archives and also on line provide us with further information. Wen looking carefully at the list of the Caroline, I noticed that a branch of my mothers family had arrived on the same ship as my fathers family. One wonders if they had met and continued their acquaintance once they had arrived. Certainly, the BLUNT family maintained contact with the LOADES family as Mary Jane BLUNT became the second wife of Edward Waller LOADES. The other surprise I found when looking at the Ships Log as well as the Shipping Record was that Edward LOADES was taken on as School Master while aboard the Caroline and paid 5 pounds in wages.

These are just a fee of the surprises that I have come across during my research. What surprises have you found?

Happy hunting.

1. Loades, C. 2019. Cemetery Photo
2. 1851 England, Wales and Scotland Census, HO107, 1516, 249, 17, Finsbury, Clerkenwell. Accessed at http://www.findmypast.com.au
3. RECENT SUICIDE AT SOUTH YARRA. (1891, March 17). The Age (Melbourne, Vic. : 1854 – 1954), p. 6. Retrieved February 17, 2019, from http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article201452463
4. CORONERS’ INQUESTS. (1888, November 19). Evening Journal (Adelaide, SA : 1869 – 1912), p. 2 (SECOND EDITION). Retrieved February 17, 2019, from http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article204464900
5. State Records of South Australia, Passenger Lists 1845 – 1940. Accessed at https://www.archives.sa.gov.au/passenger-lists-view
6. State records of South Australia. South Australia Crown Lands and Immigration Office. Australia, South Australia, Crown lands and immigrant ship’s papers (deaths and births on board), 1849-1885. Immigrants ships papers (deaths and births on board), GRG35_48_2_10_1855-Caroline, 1 Jan-31 Dec 1855. Accessed at: https://www.familysearch.org