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