FINDING HENRY VAUGHAN.
Hypothesis.
That Henry Vaughan, Red Rover, born 1810 in
Middlesex, occupation hatter[1] is the same person as my
ancestor, Henry Vaughan, born 1810 in Middlesex, occupation hatter[2].
Method.
This will be proved or disproved by looking at the three convicts named Henry Vaughan, who arrived in either Sydney Cove or Van Diemen’s Land between 1828 and 1836. This will be done by comparing key dates, events, and places of the four and seeing where they conflict, match or are not known.
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Name and ship. My assigned number
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Known as for assignment
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Henry Vaughan. Florentina 1
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Henry (F1)
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Henry Vaughan Red Rover 2
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Henry (RR2)
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Henry Vaughan Lord Lyndoch 3
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Henry (LL3)
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Henry Vaughan (my ancestor) 4
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Henry (ma4)
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Figure 1: How to identify the four Henry Vaughans.
I first encounter Henry (ma4) on my great
grandmother’s, Isabella’s[3] birth certificate and from
this I searched backwards to locate the marriage. What I found were eight other
children but no marriage. Going forward I located the marriage of Henry Vaughan
and Charlotte Chasmar, in 1858, with Henry listed as a widower[4]. Searching for a previous
marriage proved inconclusive. As did a search of English marriages. I then
looked for his death and found that he had died in 1871. This certificate
stated that he had been ’40 years in New South Wales.[5]’ A search for Henry’s
arrival, going back to
1830,
yielded three results.
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1
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2
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3
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4
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Name
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Henry Vaughan
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Henry Vaughan
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Henry Vaughan
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Henry Vaughan
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Native Place
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London
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Middlesex
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Middlesex
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Date of Birth
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1795
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1810
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1806
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1810
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Ship
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Florentina
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Red Rover
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Lord Lyndoch
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Arrived
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1828
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1831
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1836
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Sentence
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7years
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7years
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14years
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Place of Arrival
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Sydney Cove
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Van Dieman's Land
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Van Dieman's Land
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Occupation
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Seaman & Sawyer
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Hatter
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Hatter
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The first Henry (F1), arrived as a convict in 1828 on
the Florentina.[6]
His Certificate of Freedom, dated 10 May 1831, [7]gave me details of his
crime, sentence, and occupation. The fact he was free in 1831, when Henry (ma4)
was supposed to have arrived then, was interesting. Investigating this Henry
gave me a trail of convictions, usually for drunkenness, with time in gaol, consequently.
The fact that this Henry doesn’t appear to have married and was still alive and
in gaol in 1881[8],
ten years after my ancestor had died, ruled him out.
The second Henry (RR2)[9] was also a convict but
into Van Diemen’s Land and I ignored him.
The third Henry (LL3)[10] was a convict as well and
again into Van Diemen’s Land and I ignored him, too.
Over the years I would search for Henry’s (ma4)
arrival and not find matches. It was time to look at the convicts in Van
Diemen’s Land.
Henry (RR2), aged 20, had arrived in March 1831[11] and was from Middlesex,
as was my ancestor. His occupation was given as a hatter, so was my ancestor.
This Henry applied to marry, Susan Cole and they were married in April 1837[12], in Van Diemen’s Land.
Could this be my Henry’s (4ma) first marriage? I can find no conclusive
evidence that Henry (RR2) and Susan lived as husband and wife and both were
still convicts, not free to leave Van Diemen’s Land.
Researching this Henry (RR2) gave me his Ticket of
Leave in October 1836[13] and his Certificate of
Freedom in September 1837[14].
My final Henry (LL3), arrived in Van Diemen’s Land, on
the Lord Lyndoch in August 1836[15]. That didn’t fit with my
ancestors’ ’40 years in New South Wales,’ from the death certificate, but death
certificates often have mistakes. Following this Henry, I located the date of
his Ticket of Leave, May 1843[16]. As Henry (4ma) and
Charlotte had their second child in 1842[17], I eliminated Henry (LL3)
from the suspects.
Back to Henry (RR2) and searches of newspapers,
through Trove, found five mentions of him, from April 1837 to 18 May 1840[18], in the Hobart and
Launceston papers. The last mention is of his Hawkers and Carriers Licence,
(issued June 1839) having expired. He then disappears.
Henry (ma4) is first mentioned in the Sydney papers in
March 1840,[19]
with him filing charges of stealing, against Catherine Armstrong, for stealing
a cloth cop on 13 February 1840. Could this be the same person as Henry (RR2)?
If so when and how did he arrive, in Sydney?
Working Theory.
Henry’s (RR2), wife, Susan Cole is only ‘Free by
Servitude’ in April 1847[20]. I have checked three
colonies, Van Diemen’s Land, Victoria and New South Wales for her death or a
re-marriage and have not located either, using three surnames I have for her
but she could have changed it, again. My working theory is that sometime
between April 1847 and Henry’s (4ma) marriage in November 1858, Susan died, and
Henry is notified. Thus, he is listed as a widower.
The place and year of birth is the same for both, while
a common place, the odds of two Henry Vaughans’ arriving in either colony, with
the same details, around the same time would be interesting. Their given
occupation, hatter, also makes it likely that they are the same person, given
that Henry (ma4) gives that occupation on several of his children’s birth
certificates. He goes on to become an auctioneer, with a thriving business, by
the time of his death.
The elimination of the two other Henry Vaughans, by
tracing their lives, leaves only Henry Vaughan (RR2) as the likely candidate.
Further research is required to find Susan Cole’s
death and any other Henry Vaughans’ arriving in the colony around 1830, for
this to be conclusive. Also researching the family lines of Henry (ma4), for
any DNA matches would help, with the theory. Henry’s (RR2) departure from Van
Diemen’s Land is inconclusive, with further research required.
Conclusion.
At this time and with the research undertaken, I have
a probability of around 95% that Henry Vaughan, Red Rover, born 1810 in
Middlesex, occupation a hatter is the SAME person as my ancestor, Henry
Vaughan, born 1810 in Middlesex, occupation a hatter. Ongoing research may
produce a 100% accuracy.
[2]
Derived from two NSW certificates. Death certificate of Elizabeth, 722 V25B,
1841, father a hatter. Marriage certificate, 1858/417, birthplace, Middlesex,
England.
[3]
NSW Birth certificate 195 V32A, 1847.
[4] NSW
Marriage certificate, 1858/417.
[5]
NSW Death certificate, 1871/00237.
[6]
Convict Transport Registers 1787-1870, FindMyPast, accessed 18 July 2016.
[7]
Certificate of Freedom 1/478, Records NSW. 4/4306; Reel 987.
[8]
NSW Gaol Description and Entrance Books, 1818 -1930, Ancestry, accessed 04
October 2016.
[9] Tasmanian
Convict records 1800-1893, accessed 12 September 2016.
[10]
Founders and Survivors Database, accessed June 2020.
[11] New
South Wales and Tasmania: Settlers and Convicts 1781-1857, accessed 2 May 2016.
[12]
Founders and Survivors Database, accessed June 2020.
[13]
Founders and Survivors Database, accessed June 2020.
[14] Ibid
[15] Ibid
[16] Ibid
[17]
NSW Birth certificate, V1842 4070 45B.
[18]
The Hobart Town and Van Diemen’s Land Gazette, (Tas 1839-1840) Fri 5 Jun 1840,
p2.
[19] The
Sydney Monitor and Commercial Advertiser, (NSW 1838-1841), Mon 2 Mar 1840, p2,
Quarter Sessions.
[20]
Founders and Survivors Database, accessed June 2020.
Awesome 👏🏻 work Lilian
ReplyDeleteThank you.
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