Lilian's Tree

 Rachel Wyatt Vaughan is the tenth child of my great-great-grandparents, Henry Vaughan and Charlotte Chasmar. I know little about this child other than the facts I list below. Rachel Wyatt Vaughan, born 28 July 1864 at Castlereagh Street, Sydney and died 13 January 1865 at Castlereagh Street, Sydney and buried 15 January 1865 at Camperdown Cemetery. What has interested me was the middle name Wyatt. A maiden name of someone? Couldn't find ANY family with that name. It has/had me stumped. Well until this morning and it's only an assumption but... I was searching through the Camperdown Cemetery List on the church website,  Camperdown Cemetery   When a name caused me to look again, Joseph Wyatt, 1788 - 20 July 1860. Interesting. There was also a link to the headstone and there are seven people with the surname Wyatt buried in that cemetery, including Rachel Dobson Wyatt, 1794 - 1 July 1894. Very interesting. More searching happened. Joseph was an Inn Keeper in Castlereagh Str...

I have had an interesting week. I have started trying to design a cover for THE BOOK, with some success. I have purchased my own ISBN and bar code and have found that Lulu won't let me use them as I'm not doing a perfect bound book but a saddle stitched book. Strange and I have an email query in to them and am waiting for a reply.  I am now considering a publisher/printer in Goulburn but this will require me to purchase books and then send them to people. Meanwhile I have twice gone to the book to get details, rather than turn the computer on and gone Noooo. Both times things needed to be changed. The first one was adding a date and the second was changing the number of children. Simple changes that my wonderful editor, Jennie has done, for me. Wednesday saw me attend my first luncheon of The Women's Pioneer Society of Australasia Inc. As Charlotte Chasmar arrived in the Colony of New South Wales in 1839, I am eligible to join. It was lovely and I was made very welcom...

                        CHARLOTTE CHASMAR. [Whilst I hold copies of some documents, marked * , others have been sighted, using microfilm, at the Family History Library, Salt Lake City, Utah, February 2016 and they are marked * .] CHASMAR has been found spelt in several different ways, Chasmer, Chasmur, Chapman and Chasman. I have chosen Chasmar, as this is on most of the documents I hold. Charlotte Chasmar was christened 23 December 1821, in the Parish Church of Benenden, Kent, England * . She was the daughter of Robert Chasmar and his wife Elizabeth Gardiner. Robert was a brickmaker. I next find Charlotte as an Unmarried Female Immigrant, arriving on the Cornwall, 1 September 1839 * . Her date and place of birth are given as 11 December 1821 and Benenden, with her parents listed as Robert and Elizabeth. She could read and write, was a Protestant and a Farm...

                                                HENRY VAUGHAN. Henry Vaughan, my Great-great-grandfather is a bit of a mystery, before 1841, with the birth of his and Charlotte’s first child. Several theories surround how he got here and what his name was but I’m going to do the unthinkable and accept everything on the certificates I have as gospel and introduce Henry to you. I can hear my Genie friends shaking their collective heads at my plan but hear   me out. ( * indicates that I have the certificate/document.) I’m starting backwards, with Henry’s death certificate * ; 2 March 1871, Henry Vaughan, aged 60 years, 40 years in the colony, spouse Charlotte, age at marriage 30 years, born Middlesex, England, 4 males, 3 females, living, 2 fe...

I’m enjoying sharing my surnames with you.   Have you looked at the Surname Database, yet? This week I’m looking at Charlotte Chasmar’s husband Henry Vaughan. I think he is an intriguing man as it has taken many years to find small details about him. I first encounter Henry, as my Great-grandmother’s Isabella Mary Ann’s father.   I then find his marriage and death but little else. This was pre-computers and not knowing much else about him, I set him aside. With the computer age growing rapidly Henry was taken out,   dusted off and looked at solidly. Where was he born? When did he arrive? What work did he do? Some of these I was able to answer by carefully reading the certificates I had.   Place of birth, Middlesex, England around 1810.   Arrival date??? Occupation, Tailor is given on Isabella’s birth certificate, commission agent on his marriage certificate, and he states he was a widower and nothing is listed on his death certificate. Widower, inter...

Today I'm looking at my Chasmar line. Some times I see it spelt Chasmer and figure they weren't that literate back then.  I used the Surname Database to find the meaning of Chasmar  and discovered that  this unusual surname is of early medieval English origin. Something I didn't know.  It gives seven different ways that is can be spelt and also mentions Benenden, Kent, where my Chasmars' came from. My ancestor, Charlotte Chasmar was born in Benenden, Kent around 1821 to Robert Chasmar and his wife Elizabeth Chasmar, nee Gardner. Her Christening record show that she was christened on 21 December 1821. I'm going to jump around here and just do Charlotte and then add other details. Charlotte arrived in Sydney on 1 September 1839, on board the 'Cornwall'. The spelling of her surname was given as Chaperance. (With the spelling conventions, of that time, the letter p might well have been an S.)  She was 18 years old, a Protestant, from Benenden and was se...