No wonder these boys went off the rails as adults

For years I researched my convict ancestors: Cullen, Bartlett, Blay, and Tedder. Foolishly I thought I had it all worked out, and wrote four books about them. Today while I was changing profile pictures on my ancestors, I noted two hints for 4 x great grandmother, Sarah Blay. ‘There won’t be anything new in these hints,’ I thought. ‘No real point looking at them.’ But I did look. And YES. NEW INFORMATION. AAAGGGHHH!!!! If you are a descendant of Sarah and James Blay via James Jr, William (like me) or John, you will be interested in my find:

“London, England, Selected Poor Law Removal and Settlement Records. 1698-1930. The examination of Sarah Blay, wife of James, Middlesex to wit, this Examinant on the oath saith that she is the wife of James Blay who hath deserted her and was married to him in the Parish Church Sepulchre London on 16 June 1800. That about three years ago her said husband took certain apartments of Mr Gummer in his house, No. 1 London Wall the corner of Draper’s Buildings in the Parish of Allhallows, London Wall, London, consisting of 2 rooms – one on the 1st floor and one on the 3rd floor. The furniture of such rooms being the property of this Examinant’s husband and continued to rent same and reside therein and to pay the sum of 4/6 per week for such apartments – five months and hath not since gained any other settlements. Hath by her said husband two children namely James aged 4 years and upwards and William aged about 10 months and that her husband is by trade a bootmaker and hath left her about 3 months and this Examinant cannot say where he is to be found – and not being able to maintain herself and children she hath become chargeable to the Parish of St Leonard, Shoreditch.

Sworn before us 16th July 1808. Sarah Blay (X)”

Reading this information also made the date of William’s birth in 1808 unlikely. It was probably 1807 if he was ten months’ old as said above.

The tragedy that is family.

 

As I work on the history of families who settled in the Lancefield District, and Kyabram in Victoria, in the 1850s, I’m often surprised by the information I uncover. These families have been the subject of my research for years – at least nine – but each time I set about writing their story, something else muddies the waters.

Yesterday I was working through my 3x great aunt, Margaret Allan’s family story (she married John Foy) which I thought I’d done to death already, only to discover a child whose birth registration slipped by me because it has inaccurate information, intrigue surrounding a daughter, and terrible sadness hovering over the eldest child.

David Foy was the eldest of Margaret Allan and John Foy’s children. He was born in Lancefield on 31 October 1872. His father’s Will (Public Records Office Victoria) makes no mention of him, even though David outlived his father. John Foy left money in his will to all the other children. Why? David never married, and farmed at Lake Rowan. In David's Last Will and Testament he left one hundred pounds to “my dear sister, Letitia”. The rest of his estate he left to his siblings, to share equally, but the one hundred pounds is not included in this. He appointed his cousin, Samuel Foy and his brother James Foy as executors. Looking at the Probate files for David’s Will, his last address was given as the Kew Insane Asylum. He was forty-seven when he died there in July 1920. He had been in the Asylum since 9^th August 1903. THAT’S SEVENTEEN YEARS!!!!!!!

And then we have Letitia. She was the third child of Margaret and John, and in her father’s will is bequeathed fifty pounds, but is not included in the share of his properties as James, John, Margaret and Jane, are.

I have to be satisfied with the information my research digs up because there’s no one to ask.

P.S. Margaret died in  1887 when her youngest child was one year old.

Kew Lunatic Asylum c 1887-1889

Problem solved

 

Dilemma – Richard Werrett born Gloucestershire 1832 died Balwyn, Victoria 1888. Married Mary Jane Williams in Gloucestershire, they emigrated to Melbourne in 1858. Nothing extraordinary there EXCEPT, Mary Jane’s mother’s name was Mary WERRETT. Hence began the long search to find how Richard and Mary were related…then along came COVID LOCKDOWN and I had the time and the inclination.

The trail was difficult to follow on Ancestry because Thomas Werrett is listed as “spouse of 4^th great grandmother.” He was, but he was also a 4 x great uncle. Charlotte Wooderson Luton married John Werrett and they had six children. John died and Charlotte married his brother, Thomas. They had five children. Thomas and Charlotte owned the Rose and Crown Inn in Gloucestershire and when Thomas died in 1847, Charlotte ran it until she sold it in 1860. However she did live there until her death in 1880.

The results: Mark Werrett and William Werrett were brothers.

One of William Werrett’s sons was John, who married Charlotte. Charlotte and John were Mary Werrett’s parents.

Another of William’s sons, Mark Werrett married Ann Window. Mark and Ann had a son, Mark who married Martha Bennett. Mark and Martha are Richard’s parents.

Mystery solved. The children of Mark and John are first cousins. Their children, Richard and Mary Ann are first cousins once removed. DONE AN DUSTED.

ANOTHER DETOUR

 

After months of procrastination and struggling to get into the heads of my Allan, Darby, and Murray ancestors, and hence not getting much written, it dawned on me quite suddenly, that I should write a creative non-fiction, not an historical fiction. Since that decision, I’ve been rattling along quite nicely. Until the other day.

Looking through a folder for information, I rediscovered two letters written to me from my great uncle Roland Werrett, who met a young French woman during the First World War and eventually settled in France. He came home to Australia in 1966 for a much heralded visit, and we corresponded after that. He helped me with the French I was learning at school. I remember the French teacher at Waverley High School, Mrs Papazy, she hated me. It’s hard to imagine these days how awful she must have been for me, at thirteen, to know she had it in for me. It rattled her cage terribly when she was forced to give me an “A” for French at the end of the year. Thanks to Uncle Rolie’s help.

Back to the two letters: one was written in 1969, and the other in 1971. He had a beautiful hand, and the text was easy to read, so I transcribed his words and emailed a copy off to his granddaughter, my second cousin Catherine, in France.

That should have been the end of it, but of course it wasn’t.

Retracing earlier steps of that family tree I reignited the coals that had been smouldering on one of the branches. My 2x great grandmother, Mary Jane Williams who married Richard Werrett in Gloucestershire in England and emigrated with him to Melbourne in 1858, threw up a curve ball. Her mother’s name was Mary Werrett. Another maze to navigate: how were Richard and Mary related apart from marriage?

The picture of the church is relevant – it’s St Barnabas in Balwyn – Richard Werrett was one of the founders of the church and Uncle Rolie wanted to get back to Australia in 1972 for the 100 year anniversary of the first service. That wasn’t possible for him.