Thomas Rankins: From Maine to California, and From California to Australia

Thomas Rankins is my great great granduncle (see the connection at the end of the post below).

In an earlier post about Thomas Rankins (Where Thomas Went) I had discovered that he had sailed from California to Australia in 1852, but I wondered how he had gotten from his birthplace in Maine to California. Why California? How long was he there?

That was what I was wondering back in 2017. Now, years later, I have come across the explanation. In the publication,  American Fever, Australian Gold, the authors devoted several pages to Thomas.

In 1850, the U.S. Federal Census listed Thomas with his family--parents Thomas (age 48) and Joanna (age 49), our Thomas (age 20) and John (age 18). All the men were listed as farmers. Also in the household were Sarah (16), Ada (14), Joseph (8), and Lydia (6).

“When Thomas heard the news of the remarkable gold finds in California, he… decided it was time to leave his home and family and make a fortune of his own. He was not alone in his thinking, for many young men in neighboring counties packed their bags, and bade farewell to their loved ones. The authors have found numerous men from the state of Maine sailed in the 1850’s seeking wealth on which to build a comfortable living. Thomas left the eastern seaboard of the United States and sailed south to Panama. Crossing to the western seaboard of the USA, he boarded the SS Panama on October 17th, 1851 and headed for California. On board also were Joshua Cushman Bigelow, from Norridgewock, Somerset County, and Benjamin Kendall Snow, from Skowhegan, Somerset County;* this trio would remain in company with each other.

Two days into the voyage, the ship encountered heavy westward gales with torrents of rain. She arrived in Acapulco, Mexico, eight days after leaving Panama. Sickness was prevalent on board, with seven deaths from fever. Jesse Sawyer, a steerage passenger, on October 27th jumped overboard. He left a wife and five children in Hollowell, Maine.** No doubt the passengers were relieved when they reached San Francisco on November 4th.

The boys from Maine spent less than a year prospecting in California, but had they acquired the amount of wealth that they had sought? Ben Snow, in a letter to his sister, Mary, dated June 14th, 1852,*** mentioned that he, with others had mined at Shaw’s Flat, while some had been engaged in the mines at Columbia and Tanke Hills. Most of the boys had done quite well during the past few months, but things had since quietened due to lack of water…. Ben continued his jottings to inform his sister that he along with seven men from Maine would leave California the following day to “another land of gold on the Eastern Hemisphere”—Australia. A.R. Brainerd, Joshua Bigelow, his brother Charles, Heman Spaulding, Thomas Rankins and Frank (Ben Franklyn) Allen of Norridgewock would board the ship ‘Orpheus” of Boston. “

The Orpheus arrived in Port Jackson, Sydney, Australia Sept. 1, 1852, after a voyage of two and a half months. Thomas' Australian adventure was just beginning. 

*****

*Source as given by the authors of American Fever, Australian Gold: Maritime Heritage Project, retrieved December 16th, 2006 from www.maritimeheritage.org. 

**Source as given by the above authors: Maritime Heritage Project, retrieved December 16th, 2006 from www.maritimeheritage.org. 

***Source as given by the above authors: Letter written by Benjamin Snow, in collection of Thomas J. Bassett Family Papers, held by Depauw University, Indiana, USA.

The above quoted paragraphs come from:

American Fever, Australian Gold; American and Canadian Involvement in Australia's Gold Rush, by H. Denise McMahon and Christine G. Wild. 

CD-ROM. Published in Middle Park, Queensland, Australia, by H.D. McMahon and C.G. Wild, 2008. 

Copies of this CD may be obtained from the authors at goldfever2008@gmail.com.

*****

How Thomas and I are related:

Thomas Rankins 1830-1892 (brother of my great great grandmother, Eleanor)
2nd great-granduncle

Joseph P RANKINS Sr. 1801-1882 (my great great great grandfather)
Father of Thomas Rankins

Eleanor Ruth RANKINS 1822-1914 (my great great grandmother)
Daughter of Joseph P RANKINS Sr.

Oscar J ELLIS 1852-1907 (my great grandfather)
Son of Eleanor Ruth RANKINS

Eva Josephine ELLIS 1888-1943 (my grandmother)
Daughter of Oscar J ELLIS

Daniel Lawrence HARRIS 1907-1972 (my father)
Son of Eva Josephine ELLIS

Clair Marie Harris
I am the daughter of Daniel Lawrence HARRIS

Richard Rogers Recalls His Childhood

Old postcard from eBay showing the area where Richard's family lived 

Richard Rogers was the son of Samuel and Ann Gaunt Rogers, who were featured in the previous post. He was born in Yorkshire, England in 1791 and journeyed with his parents and siblings to Pennsylvania in 1801.  These stories take place in Forksville, Sullivan County, Pennsylvania, where the Rogers family settled. 

Quoted from Weavers of a Legacy (see source note):

"J. M. M. Gernerd, editor of The Now and Then, interviewed Richard Rogers (son of Samuel I) in 1874 when Richard was 83 years old. Gernerd captured some of Richard’s memories and escapades as a child growing up in the wilds of the virgin Pennsylvania forests.

Richard’s stories of encounters with wild animals give us a vivid picture of just how dangerous life could be on the frontier. Three of Richard’s adventures are noted below:

He (Richard) related with great minuteness how he went out one morning on the flat below the Forks to bring in the oxen, with his rifle on his shoulder, as was then the common custom, when leaving the house, and had a most terrific encounter with a deer. 

He said he found a large doe with the cattle and shot her. Just as he fired she slightly changed her position, in consequence of which the ball merely stunned her. When he went to bleed her she was almost instantly on her feet again, and attacked him with great fury. He undertook to hold her, but her strength surprised him. The combatants now rolled over each other, back and forth, in the savage struggle for life. She fought him until, as he said, his “shirt was torn into ribbons,” and he was “almost naked.” When he at last succeeded in using his knife, he was himself so nearly exhausted that he was for some minutes hardly able to move.

Once he killed a wolf on the same flat below the Forks with a hemlock knot. He said he was driving some young cattle through the woods, along the creek, when the wolf jumped from behind a tree and started for the stream. He managed to get between the animal and the creek, and just as it raised to attack him, with bristles up and mouth open ready to bite, he struck for its head. Overreaching his mark, he hit it a stunning blow on the back, but before the enraged beast could recover, he dispatched
it with a blow on the head.

When nearly grown up Richard went one day with several of his younger brothers to inspect a bear trap that they had set several miles away in the forest. On returning it began gradually to grow strangely and unaccountably dark. He said “a queer feeling” came creeping over them. They saw a flock of seventeen deer; the nimble-footed creatures did not seem anxious to get away, but appeared to be, as they were themselves, strangely disconcerted. 

The boys stopped at a corn field some distance from the house to do some hoeing, but the mysterious darkness continued to increase, and they could not work. The younger brothers began to cry. Richard now said, “Come, boys, I guess we might as well go home,” with all the apathy he could muster, but secretly he himself was no less strangely affected. They went home and were soon comforted. The darkness was caused by a total eclipse of the sun."

*****

Source

Weavers of a Legacy by Jean Paterson Rosencrantz, 2006. P. 22. http://grimshaworigin.org/wordpress/wp-content/uploads/WeaversOfLegacyByJeanLand.pdf

*****

My connection to Richard Rogers (1791 - 1875) great-uncle of wife of 1st cousin 3x removed


Samuel Rogers (1761 - 1828) father of Richard Rogers


John Rogers (1787 - 1858) son of Samuel Rogers


Rebecca A Rogers (1813 - 1878) daughter of John Rogers


Emma Little (1846 - 1933) daughter of Rebecca A Rogers


Eldorous H Whitehouse (1852 - 1938) husband of Emma Little


Mary Carroll Rankins (1827 - 1909)--my 3rd great aunt--mother of Eldorous H Whitehouse


Joseph P Rankins Sr. (1801 - 1882)--my 3rd great grandfather--father of Mary Carroll Rankins


Eleanor Ruth "Ellen" Rankins (1822 - 1914)--my great great grandmother--daughter of Joseph P Rankins Sr.


Oscar J Ellis (1852 - 1907)--my great grandfather--son of Eleanor Ruth "Ellen" Rankins


Eva Josephine Ellis (1888 - 1943)--my grandmother--daughter of Oscar J Ellis


Daniel Lawrence Harris (1907 - 1972)--my father--son of Eva Josephine Ellis


Clair Marie Harris--me--I am the daughter of Daniel Lawrence Harris

Samuel Rogers and Ann Gaunt

Fairmount Cemetery, Forksville, Sullivan County, Pennsylvania

From Find a Grave: https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/33173800

The fun of digging around in genealogical records and histories is when the stories are uncovered. Sometimes I am busy following my relatives back in time and find myself gone somewhat astray. That's what happened when I came across the Rogers family of Pennsylvania.

Rebecca Rogers (1813-1878) was the mother-in-law of my first cousin 3 x removed, but let's not worry about that--I'll spell out the connection at the bottom of this post. Rebecca's grandparents are the ones with the interesting stories about their journey from Yorkshire, England to America, and their subsequent adventures. And they sure did have a lot of children...

Samuel Rogers (1761-1828) was married in 1783 in Yorkshire, England to Ann Gaunt (1762-1823), when they were both 21 years old. They started their family in Yorkshire with the birth of Samuel, Jr. in 1782 (before they were married?--the records are a little unclear); followed by:

Joseph 1784
Jonathan 1785
John 1787
William 1788
Hannah 1790
Richard 1791
David 1793
Abram 1794
Elizabeth 1795
Martha 1796
Benjamin 1797
Reuben 1798
Jacob 1801

That's 11 boys and 3 girls (so far. Stay tuned). Abram, Elizabeth, and Martha died young and were buried in England.

With their remaining 11 children,  Samuel and Ann and Samuel's brother George sailed for America in 1801. I calculate that their oldest son was 19; then the ages were 17, 16, 14,  13, 11, 10, 8, 4, 3, and baby Jacob.

The trip couldn't have been easy in any way.

"The calamities of the voyage as told by Ann Gaunt Rogers:

Ann related that when her little ones cried for water, she gave them bits of hard, dry toasted bread to chew and abate their thirst. She told of the death of baby Jacob, 5 months old, who died from the dreaded smallpox outbreak and was buried at sea. 

After the ship had anchored about three miles from shore, some drunken sailors accidentally set a fire and nearly burned down the ship... Uncle George had his leg badly scalded during the fracas. 

Four-year old Benjamin was missing when the family was ready to disembark. Joseph, 17, rushed back to the berths and found his brother asleep. Finally, the family arrived on American soil with 10 of their 14 children. Besides the child who died at sea, they had buried Abram, Elizabeth and Martha in England. Four more children would be born in their new homeland." (3)

The four children born after the family arrived in Pennsylvania were:

George born 1802
Isaac b. 1804
Moses b. 1806
Mary Ann b.1808 when her mother Ann was 46.

Next post: More adventures for the Rogers family

*****

Sources

1. Ingham's History of Sullivan County, Pennsylvania. 1899. http://usgwarchives.net/pa/sullivp.html

2. Now and Then: A Quarterly Magazine of History, Biography & Genealogy, Volumes 2-3. 1888.

https://books.google.com/books?id=y5YyAQAAMAAJ&dq=%22the+now+and+then%22+a+quarterly&source=gbs_navlinks_s

3. Weavers of a Legacy: Ancestors and Descendants of Samuel Rogers (1760-1828), Ann Gaunt (1762-1823), Yorkshire, England; and Allied Families (Gaunt, Roger, Molyneaux), by Jean Peterson Rosencranz. 2006. Downloadable PDF Document, available at http://grimshaworigin.org/wordpress/wp-content/uploads/WeaversOfLegacyByJeanLand.pdf

*****

I am very loosely connected to Samuel Rogers in the following way: 

Samuel Rogers (1761 - 1828)
great-grandfather of wife of 1st cousin 3x removed

John Rogers (1787 - 1858)
son of Samuel Rogers

Rebecca A Rogers (1813 - 1878)
daughter of John Rogers

Emma Little (1846 - 1933)
daughter of Rebecca A Rogers

Eldorous H Whitehouse (1852 - 1938)
husband of Emma Little

Mary Carroll Rankins (1827 - 1909)
mother of Eldorous H Whitehouse

Joseph P Rankins Sr. (1801 - 1882)
father of Mary Carroll Rankins

Eleanor Ruth "Ellen" Rankins (1822 - 1914)--my great great grandmother
daughter of Joseph P Rankins Sr.

Oscar J Ellis (1852 - 1907)--my great grandfather
son of Eleanor Ruth "Ellen" Rankins

Eva Josephine Ellis (1888 - 1943)--my grandmother
daughter of Oscar J Ellis

Daniel Lawrence Harris (1907 - 1972)--my father
son of Eva Josephine Ellis

Clair Marie Harris--that's me, the daughter of Daniel Lawrence Harris

My Great Grandfather, Oscar

A livery stable on Green Street in Worcester, Massachusetts--maybe it's the one where Oscar worked as a stable keeper.
Worcester Historical Museum image
http://worcesterhistory.pastperfectonline.com/media/72ABFD71-30B7-4447-88CE-582890716490

My great grandfather, Oscar Ellis, was born in 1852 in Smithfield, Somerset County, Maine to Eleanor Ruth Rankins and Robert Winslow Ellis. Oscar was the fifth of ten children. Two of his siblings, Isaac and Anna, died young. 

When his parents, Eleanor and Robert, moved to Iowa along with other relatives and neighbors, five of Oscar's brothers and sisters--Helen, Henry, Cora Bell, Clarence, and Robert-- went with them. Thomas stayed behind in Maine.

By 1875, both Oscar and his older brother, Edward, had married women from Maine and had moved to Woonsocket, Rhode Island.

Oscar married Julia Tupper in 1875. She died in 1883. I can't find a record for the cause of Julia's death at age 28, but although she was living in Woonsocket as late as 1880, she was buried back in the Woodside Cemetery in Belgrade, Maine along with her parents and siblings. I find no record of any children born to this marriage.

Massachusetts Marriage Record, 26 Oct 1887

In 1887, Oscar married Ellen Maria Healy of Worcester, Massachusetts. Ellen, widow of Thomas Lynch, had been born in England, the daughter of Elizabeth Reardon and Daniel Healy. Oscar and Ellen lived in Worcester after their marriage.

According to Massachusetts vital records, Oscar and Ellen appear to have had one child before this marriage. Oscar James Ellis was born 11 Mar 1886 and died at age 4 months and 12 days of "cholera infantum."

Oscar and Ellen lost another unnamed son, in December of 1887. This little boy lived only 13 days and died of "heart disease."

In 1888, a healthy girl was born to Oscar, then age 36, and Ellen, age 27: Eva Josephine, my paternal grandmother. She was followed by Edward Francis in 1891, Oscar Joshua in 1893, and Ellen Mabel "Nellie" in 1898.

Although Oscar came from a family of farmers, he chose other career paths. In 1874 in Woonsocket, Rhode Island, he lists himself as a carpenter in the Rhode Island state census. In the 1880 federal census, he is a teamster; on his 1887 marriage record he is listed as a horse car driver; by the 1900 federal census he "works in a livery stable;" and his occupation at the time of his death in 1907 is stable keeper.

Oscar died of endocarditis and nephritis in November of 1907, just a couple of months after the birth of his grandson, Eva's boy, Danny, who was my father. I am sure that they met each other during those few months. My dad had a lot in common with his grandfather--he was first a carpenter and later drove tow trucks (a more modern version of driving a horse car, I suppose), and he also suffered from heart disease.

Oscar is buried in the Union Cemetery in Providence, Rhode Island, along with his brother Edward, Edward's wife Profenda Nickerson, and their daughter, Addie.

Ellen, with three children still at home--Edward, age 16; Oscar, age 14; and Nellie, age 10--soon remarried in 1909 to a much younger bachelor. Ellen was 48 and George Farrington was only 24, but he provided a home for Ellen and her children.

Ellen died in 1935, when she was 74 and George was 50. George lived until he was 66, dying in 1951. He is buried next to Ellen in the Pine Grove Cemetery, Fitzwilliam, New Hampshire--the same cemetery where Oscar's sisters, Eva and Nellie and their husbands, Albert Harris and John Hayes, are all buried.

*****

Relationship between Oscar J Ellis & Clair Marie Harris.

Oscar J Ellis (1852 - 1907)
great-grandfather

Eva Josephine Ellis (1888 - 1943)
daughter of Oscar J Ellis

Daniel Lawrence Harris (1907 - 1972)
son of Eva Josephine Ellis

Clair Marie Harris
You are the daughter of Daniel Lawrence Harris

Cora Bell: My Ancestral Doppelgänger

Doppelgänger: an apparition or double of a living person.

Cora Bell Ellis 

1862-1939

Image from Ancestry.com

When I first "met" my great great Aunt Cora Bell Ellis, she was living on a farm in Willow Township,  Cherokee, Iowa, being counted in the 1870 U.S. Federal Census. She was there with her father Robert; mother  Eleanor; older sister Helen; older brother Henry; and her two little brothers, Elsworth and Robert. (1,2)

When I had done a lot more research, I learned that Cora had been born in Maine, and that some time after her baby brother Robert was born the Ellises moved with their extended family members to Cherokee, probably by covered wagon. The same page of the 1870 census shows that their neighbors next door were the ones who had also come with them from Maine: Two Rankins families, and a Rankins daughter, Lydia, married to Obed Wells. Everyone was related, as Cora Bell's mother Eleanor was also a Rankin, daughter of Joseph and Joanna.

Cora's mother, Eleanor Rankins Ellis, with Eleanor's three sisters: 

Cora's Aunt Lydia, Aunt Mary, and Aunt Adah.

They all had moved to Cherokee, Iowa from Maine.

Image from Ancestry.com

The more I looked at Cora's blurry old photo, the more I recognized someone. It was me! Neither of us is a great beauty, but we share the same facial structure, the same weak eye muscles (mine corrected in early childhood by a stern ophthalmologist threatening surgery if I didn't do my eye exercises), and--now that I've been thinking about Cora so much--the same hairstyle, more or less. Cora just looks a little more stern than I do, but her life was much harder than mine, of course. 

There are more things that we have in common. Cora was born in Rome, Maine in 1862. Just 90 miles away and 82 years later, I was born in Biddeford, Maine in 1944--five years after Cora died.

When Cora was around seven years old, she was walking beside a covered wagon, heading west to Iowa. When I was a seven year-old living in San Francisco, I was playing covered wagon, my favorite "let's pretend" game. It's true!

I've thought about Cora a lot since I am reminded of her every time I look in a mirror. I wonder what she was like, and wish that I could find someone's personal memories of her. In the meantime, the documents available to a family history researcher do tell the outline of Cora's story. 

Next time: Silas enters the picture...

*****

Sources and Notes

1. 1870 U.S. Federal Census. Census Place: Willow, Cherokee, Iowa; Roll: M593_381; Page: 478B; Image: 182; Family History Library Film: 545880

2. How I am related to Cora Bell:

Cora Bell Ellis (1862 - 1939)
2nd great-aunt

Robert Winslow Ellis (1821 - 1876)
father of Cora Bell Ellis

Oscar J. Ellis (1852 - 1907)
son of Robert Winslow Ellis

Eva Josephine Ellis (1888 - 1943)
daughter of Oscar J. Ellis

Daniel Lawrence Harris (1907 - 1972)
son of Eva Josephine Ellis

Clair Marie Harris
I am the daughter of Daniel Lawrence Harris

Abraham Perkins of Hampton, New Hampshire

I was surprised and pleased to find that my great great great grandmother, Joanna Perkins Rankins (who we previously met in From Rome to Cherokee, Part 2 when she trundled off in a covered wagon for hundreds and hundreds of miles at age 70) was descended from the one of the early settlers of Hampton, New Hampshire.

After all, my own immediate family had lived in New Hampshire for over twenty years, and I had always felt very much at home there even though I didn't know about my connection.

Layout of Founders Park in Hampton, New Hampshire

showing the placement of memorial stones.
Several of the names here (Perkins, Sleeper, Dow, Fogg, Moulton, and Sanborn, so far)

are in my family tree. From the Founders Park website 

Abraham Perkins, born in 1613 in Hilmorton, Warwickshire, England, was my 9th great-grandfather. Or perhaps he was born in 1603, or 1605, or 1608--accounts vary. His parents were Isaac Perkins and Alice [Unknown]; or they might have been John Perkins and Judith Gater. It's so hard to tell at this distance.

He came to America with his wife Mary Wise (or Wyeth) around 1639. Abraham was 26 (or not, depending on which birth date you choose), and Mary was 21. They stayed for a short while in Plymouth Colony before moving to Hampton, New Hampshire.

From The Find a Grave memorial for Abraham Perkins: Abraham Perkins was among the first settlers [in Hampton]. He is described as being superior in point of education to the most of his contemporaries, writing a beautiful hand, and was often employed as an appraiser of estates, etc.  He was town marshal in 1654, and selectman between 1650 and 1683.

In addition to his duties with the town and the development of his homestead and land, Abraham was a good family man. His children numbered thirteen, and they were named Abraham, Mary, Luke, Humphrey I (died young), James I (died young), Timothy I (died young), James II, Jonathan, David, Abigail, Timothy II, Sarah, and Humphrey II. All were born in New Hampshire. 

How do I know that he was a good family man? I believe that it shines through in his will, which I will share with you in the next post. 

*****

Sources

1. U.S. Sons of the American Revolution Membership Applications, 1889/1970. Ancestry.com

2. U.S. and International Marriage Records, 1560-1900. Ancestry.com

3. Millennium File, Ancestry.com

4. Descendants of Isaac Perkins: http://www.genealogy.com/ftm/n/e/l/Valerie-F-Nelson/GENE3-0002.html

5. U.S. and Canada Passenger and Immigration Lists, 1500s to 1900s. Ancestry.com

6. U.S., New England Marriages Prior to 1700. Ancestry.com

My relationship to Abraham Perkins:

Abraham Perkins (1613 - 1683)
9th great-grandfather
Abraham Perkins (1639 - 1677)
son of Abraham Perkins
Elizabeth Perkins (1676 - )
daughter of Abraham Perkins
Elizabeth Dow (1715 - )
daughter of Elizabeth Perkins
Benjamin Perkins (1746 - 1834)
son of Elizabeth Dow
Joseph Perkins (1776 - 1853)
son of Benjamin Perkins
Joanna Perkins (1799 - 1880)
daughter of Joseph Perkins
Eleanor Ruth Rankins (1822 - 1914)
daughter of Joanna Perkins
Oscar J. Ellis (1852 - 1907)
son of Eleanor Ruth Rankins
Eva Josephine Ellis (1888 - 1943)
daughter of Oscar J. Ellis
Daniel Lawrence Harris (1907 - 1972)
son of Eva Josephine Ellis
Clair Marie Harris
You are the daughter of Daniel Lawrence Harris

Australia, 1901: Alice Makes a Name For Herself

When I perused the historical newspaper files at Trove, the National Library of Australia online resource, I was amazed at the amount of detail reported by the newspapers. You'll see what I mean in a minute.

The articles below are about Thomas R. Rankins (born 1858) and his wife, Alice Maude McCutcheon. This is the son of the Thomas Rankins (born 1829/1830) I have been telling you about in the several previous posts. This Thomas R. Rankins was my 1st cousin, 3 times removed, on my father's side, in case you are keeping score.

I don't think that I am revealing any family secrets here, as this story was carried in newspapers all over New South Wales (The Sydney Evening News and Daily Telegraph, The Cobar Herald), and even all the way to South Australia in the Adelaide News.

I can't seem to make this clipping from the Cobar Herald, Sept 21, 1901 any larger. I'll use the transcription from Trove where these clippings were located.

Transcription: The hearing of the suit in which Thomas Rankins, of Wrightville, near Cobar, cordialmaker, petitioned for a dissolution of his marriage with Alice Maud Rankins, formerly M'Cutcheon, on the ground of her adultery with Thomas Woodthorpe, who was joined as co-respondent, was heard at the Divorce court, Sydney, on Monday morning before Mr Justice Simpson and a special jury of twelve.

The respondent, in her answer denied the allegations made against her, and cross-charged drunkenness and cruelty, upon which grounds she, in turn. asked for relief. The petitioner denied those allegations, and the co-respondent, in an answer filed by him, denied the misconduct charged against him. 

In the petition a claim for £1000 compensation was laid against Woodthorpe. The petitioner, who was represented by Mr. Whitfield, there being no appearance of either respondent or co-respondent,
deposed to having married the respondent at Cootamundra in May, 1891, according to the rites of the Presbyterian Church. They lived in various places till September, 1896, when they went to reside in Wrightville.

They then had three children, and in January, 1898, another child was born. Woodthorpe, who was a baker, used to serve them with bread, and he frequently had breakfast at petitioner's' house. Up to
1900 petitioner and his wife lived happily, and in that year he asked his wife to cease dealing with Woodthorpe. Petitioner afterwards saw a lot of bread, and his wife said someone was leaving an extra supply, but she did not know who it was. 

On a subsequent occasion, one of his sons told him something, and petitioner spoke to his wife. He said to her: 'Reggie tells me Woodthorpe is always stuck here.' She said that was a lie. He asked if Woodthorpe was there at all and she replied: 'Not when he says'. Next morning she picked up a carving knife and threw it at the boy, saying: 'I'll teach you to tell lies about your mother.'

Petitioner sent a letter by his son to Woodthorpe on September 24, and in the evening of that day his wife said he had a cheek sending a letter 'business transactions being ended,' that being the first part of the letter. He had not told her about sending the letter. 

About this time he went into her room one morning, and thinking she looked downhearted said, ' Cheer up my wife; things will be all right'' She said, ' Yes, I'm your wife, but another man's' woman.'
He exclaimed, 'What! Do you mean to say you are a ???' and he stopped. 'He did not say what, but he meant a lot. Her reply was, 'Yes.' 

On another occasion, he saw a boy looking round the door of the bedroom, and, replying to a question, the lad said he was looking for Mr Woodthorpe. His wife said : 'That was a nice place to

look for him,' and petitioner, who was laying on the bed at the time, said, ' I should think so,' and rising, left the room. To his wife, he afterwards wrote a letter. 

On October 16, Woodthorpe had the gates at the races, and petitioner served the booth with cordials. He saw Woodthorpe at about half-past three in the saddling paddock, and missed him half an hour later. Returning home, he saw Woodthorpe there, and had a fight with him. During the fight, the respondent stepped up behind petitioner, and pulled him off, and told Woodthorpe to summons him. Woodthorpe said he would, and left. 

Petitioner some time later spoke to his wife about the house being upset by 'A ? thing like that.'
His wife said, ' Don't you call him a thing, or I'll brand you with this,' flourishing a flat iron. She did brand him.

Petitioner related an occasion upon which his wife had said, 'When Willie gets stronger I am going to live at the bakery; I am only biding my own time. I am going to keep house for Woodthorpe and — — ,' She left on October 29, and took away with her, two of the children. 

He received a letter from Mrs M'Cutcheon. The letter (which was read by the associate) was dated November 16, 1900, and began, 'My own dearest Alice.' It was of an affectionate nature throughout, and concluded, ' Now be sure and kiss our dear boys for me. With best wishes to your mother, and hoping yourself and all are well, with fond kisses, Alice, for yourself. I shall never forget the last Saturday night we parted, — From your ever faithful Tom.'

Mrs Ann M'Cutcheon, mother of the respondent, said that after she left Rankins's house with her daughter they went to two or three different places, and then to a house in Glebe road. Woodthorpe came to that house on December 23. He came there as a boarder, and remained till January. Later she spoke to her daughter, and told her that she believed all that she did not believe in Cobar.' They had some words over the matter, and witness told her she would not stop in the house. The letter produced she handed to the petitioner.

This having concluded the petitioner's case, his Honor summed up, and the jury retired to consider their verdict at 1 o'clock. At 4.20, the jury returned into court with a finding in favor of the petitioner.
They assessed the damages at £350. His Honor granted a decree nisi, making it returnable in three months. [End transcription]

There was an odd postscript to all this drama. Nineteen years later, in the Richmond River Express and Casino Kyogle Advertiser, New South Wales, there appeared an article on Friday,12 March 1920, page 3. I hope you can read from the enlarged clipping. If not, the main points are: Woodthorpe disappeared after the previous trial and never paid the damages and additional costs, now amounting to  £643. He was located by the petitioner (Rankins) 17 years later, a wealthy man in Perth, Western Australia. Although Rankins sued for costs and fines and to have Woodthorpe found in contempt, the court found that since more than 12 years had passed the case was dismissed.

As for Alice, I do know that she lived until 1942, dying in Redfern, New South Wales, but I don't know (yet) what happened to her during those intervening years, or if she ever had occasion to practice any more of her knife-throwing or man-branding skills.

Thomas and Emily's Family

In the last few posts, we've traveled with my great great great Uncle Thomas Rankins from San Francisco to Australia; met his wife to be, Emily Stanbury; and learned about her voyage from England to Geelong, Victoria, Australia. 

Thomas and Emily married in Victoria in 1855. Thomas was 25 and Emily was 19. Over the next 23 years, they had nine children:


William Stanbury Rankins, 1856-1932

Thomas Reginald Rankins, 1858- ?

Mary Florence "Minnie" Rankins, 1860–1944

Joseph Edward Rankins, 1862–1947

Emily Stanbury Rankins, 1864–1953

Ernest Rankins, 1867–1943

Ada Rankins, 1870–1951

Eva Evangeline Rankins, 1872–

Mabel Edith Rankins, 1879– ?

Beyond these bare statistics there are, of course, a great many stories to be told. I think of all those children, growing up as pioneers in that raw great land. But then I read a newspaper story like this one about Mabel Edith, which doesn't sound at all raw and pioneer-ish:

Yes, Mabel sounds like she lives in a very civilized manner. But, wait! One of her brothers and his wife had previously appeared in a great many newspapers, and their story certainly raised some eyebrows...

Next time: Australia, 1901: Alice Makes a Name For Herself

The Thomas Rankins Story Continues: Emily's Long, Long Voyage

My great great great Uncle Thomas Rankins was born about 1830 in Maine. As we've seen in the two previous posts (Where Thomas Went, and Thomas and Friends), he sailed from San Francisco to New South Wales, Australia in 1852.

Three years later (1855) when he was 25, he married 19-year old Emily Stanbury. Her parents, Mary Murray and William Stanbury, together with Emily and her younger brother, George, had emigrated from England to Victoria, Australia in 1849.

By the time Emily and Thomas got married, they each had traveled thousands and thousands of miles across the world to begin their new lives in Australia. We've seen previously that Thomas' ship took two months to sail from San Francisco, but Emily's voyage was much, much longer. 

The Stanbury family had made their trip on the ship, Osprey, which traveled for 117 days at sea--without touching land once! They left Plymouth, England on November 24, 1848 and arrived at Geelong, Port Phillip, Victoria on March 22, 1849. 

Here is a report from Emigration: Papers Relative to Emigration to the Australian Colonies (In Continuation of House of Commons' Paper No. 593, July 1849).(1)

Now we come to the sad part. During that long sea voyage to a better future, eleven passengers died: 2 adult women and 9 children aged 14 and under. On a more positive note, there were 6 babies born during those interminable 117 days. 

This chart gives us an idea of the makeup of the passenger population--how many shepherds were on board, as well as laborers, servants, mechanics, and tradespeople. Emily's father, William, was a butcher, so he was no doubt making some helpful business contacts along the way. 

The report for the voyage ends with these cheery remarks which were no doubt written by someone well used to living a life forever at sea. 

Next Post: Emily's Long, Long Voyage: More About the ship Osprey and Her Captain

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Sources

1. All Osprey reports are from Emigration: Papers Relative to Emigration to the Australian Colonies (In Continuation of House of Commons' Paper No. 593, July 1849). You can read more about emigrant ship reports online at google books (link below). 

I have to say there are some amusing bits, such as this comment by an immigration agent for another ship: "With the exception of 19 boys from the Ragged Schools of London, the immigrants by this vessel appear to be of a very respectable description and likely to be a valuable acquisition to the colony." (page 85)

https://play.google.com/store/books/details?id=24pPAQAAMAAJ&rdid=book-24pPAQAAMAAJ&rdot=1

Thomas and Friends

Continued from the previous post about Thomas Rankins of Smithfield, Maine.

I keep being mistaken about Thomas Rankins. I form a theory and then find that it is wrong. Come to think of it, that's the scientific method applied to genealogical research, so maybe my approach isn't so far off. But Thomas keeps surprising me.

I figured that he traveled across America alone and, in 1852, boarded a ship filled with strangers to go to Australia (Where Thomas Went). Then I found a website called American Fever, Australian Gold. The following quote comes from the home page:

"Authors Denise McMahon and Christine Wild realized there had been a large number of Americans and Canadians who came to the northeast district of what was then the colony of Victoria during the gold rushes of the mid 1800s and about whom little, and in most cases nothing, had been recorded or acknowledged in the region's history books. With that in mind, they set about to rectify that omission.

With five years' work into researching the lives of men and women, and of the history of northeast Victoria, Denise and Christine have captured how these intrepid travellers journeyed thousands of miles in the hope of a fortune and how they contributed to the development of the district, an area very few white men had traversed.

At a time when there were no towns, no infrastructure and little communication with the outside world, these new arrivals found nothing but mullock [rubbish] heaps, shanties, tents and tracks dotted through the Australian bush. Under a canopy of gum trees with the smell of eucalyptus in the air, and with kangaroos, koalas, and kookaburras always close by, these people lived a dream."

In the website's index of narratives, there was my very own great great great Uncle Thomas Rankins: "Born 1829; native place Smithfield, Somerset County, Maine; yr. of arrival in Australia, 1852." Wonderful! This meant that the CD called American Fever, American Gold would contain more information about Thomas.

But, wait! What was this? The very next person indexed was Leonard Richardson from... Somerset County, Maine, arriving in Australia the year after Thomas. Were there perhaps others?

Late last night, I went through the index and extracted a list of all the men and womn who left Somerset County for Australia in the gold rush years. There were fifty-five (average age just under 24 years), and several of those were from Thomas' town of Smithfield (population 873 in 1850). He had to have known some of them. (3)

I took my list of gold rushers traveling from Somerset County and compared it to the list of ship's passengers for the "fast sailing packet ship Orpheus" (1) and BINGO! There they were, all in a group with Thomas. See for yourself.

This is the list of passengers leaving San Francisco on June 29, 1852 and arriving in Port Jackson, New South Wales, Australia on September 1st of that same year.

And here are the names that matched the list on the Australian gold website. The fact that they are listed in a group makes me believe that they were all traveling together. While there is no way of knowing for sure without further research, I believe that they are:

Heman [yes, Heman] Spaulding; born 1828; native place, Norridgewock, Somerset County, Maine; arriving Australia 1852

Benjamin Franklin Allen; born 1831; Somerset County, Maine; arriving 1852

Benjamin Kendall Snow; born 1828; Skowhegan, Somerset County, Maine; arriving 1852

Joshua Cushman Bigelow; born 1826; Norridgewock, Somerset County, Maine; arriving 1852

Charles Pishon Bigelow; born 1828; Somerset County, Maine; arriving 1852

Thomas Rankins; born 1829; Smithfield, Somerset County, Maine; arriving 1852 (2)

Next post: The Thomas Rankins Story Continues

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Sources/Notes

1. New South Wales Australia, Unassisted Immigrant Passenger Lists, 1826-1922. Ancestry.com

2. Thomas' birthdate is given here as 1829. I have used 1830 in my records, but that is based on a census record that gives Thomas' age as 20 in 1850. Age estimates from census records are often a year off if no actual birthdate is given. 1829 is no doubt the better date.

3. List that I extracted from the index to the website American Fever, Australian Gold

 Name Birth Arrival Origin

Allen, Benj Franklin 1831 1852 Somerset County, Maine

Allen, Daniel 1830 1853 Smithfield, Somerset, Maine

Allen, Francis 1836 1853 Bloomfield, Somerset, Maine

Allen, Freeman 1834 1853 Bloomfield, Somerset, Maine

Bickford, Samuel Augustus 1822 1853 Skowhegan, Somerset, Maine

Bigelow, Charles Pishon 1828 1852 Skowhegan, Somerset, Maine

Bigelow, Joseph c1826 1853 Skowhegan, Somerset, Maine

Bigelow, Joshua Cushman 1826 1852 Norridgewock, Somerset, Maine

Bigelow, Leander Lowell 1833 1852 Norridgewock, Somerset, Maine

Bradley, Augusta D 1829 1853 No. Anson, Somerset, Maine

Cleveland, Simeon Cragin 1817 1853 Embden, Somerset, Maine

Cleveland, William Parker 1833 1853 Bloomfield, Somerset, Maine

Dean, Samuel Jr. 1833 1853 Bloomfield, Somerset, Maine

Dillingham, Joseph S 1831 1853 Skowhegan, Somerset, Maine

Dinsmore, Ephraim 1828 1853 Skowhegan, Somerset, Maine

Eaton, Horace 1825 1853 Skowhegan, Somerset, Maine

Gould, William Dinsmore 1821 1853 Norridgewock, Somerset, Maine

Hill, Ebenzer [sic] 1830 1853 Skowhegan, Somerset, Maine

Hilton, John 1824 1853 Starks, Somerset, Maine

Hilton, Sarah Wheeler 1829 1853 Starks, Somerset, Maine

Holloway, Ansel 1831 Bef.

1853 Starks, Somerset, Maine

Hutchins, Cyrus L 1831 1853 New Portland, Somerset, Maine

Johnson, N ---- 1853 Brighton, Somerset, Maine

Kimball, Cyrus 1827 1853 Brighton, Somerset, Maine

Kinsmore, John Roscoe 1831 1853 Cornville, Somerset, Maine

Leighton, Albert 1826 1853 Bloomfield, Somerset, Maine

Longley, Wm 1830 1853 Bloomfield, Somerset, Maine

Marston, Norris 1823 1853 Smithfield, Somerset, Maine

Morrison, John Keith 1809 1853 Bloomfield, Somerset, Maine

Neil, Henry Baker c1827 1853 Smithfield, Somerset, Maine

Nowell, Samuel 1827 Bef.

1854 Fairfield, Somerset, Maine

Nye, Bartlett Samuel 1830-1832 1853 Fairfield, Somerset, Maine

Nye, Hiram 1836 Bef. 1861 Fairfield, Somerset, Maine

Page, Augustus C 1835 1853 Norridgewock, Somerset, Maine

Page, Henry S 1834 1853 Norridgewock, Somerset, Maine

Pearson, Wm Henry c1833 1853 Norridgewock, Somerset, Maine

Smiley, Shepherd Parkman 1828 1853 Skowhegan, Somerset, Maine

Snow, Benjamin Kendall 1828 1852 Skowhegan, Somerset, Maine

Spaulding, Charles Hudson 1831 1853 No. Anson, Somerset, Maine

Spaulding, Heman [sic] 1828 1852 Norridgewock, Somerset, Maine

Steward, Horatio 1827 1853 Bloomfield, Somerset, Maine

Steward, Philander Coburn 1832 1853 Bloomfield, Somerset, Maine

Steward, Charles Miller 1829 1853 Penobscot County, Maine (included here because of possible relationship to other Stewards)

Rankins, Thomas 1829 1852 Smithfield, Somerset, Maine

Richardson, Leonard 1831 1853 Bloomfield, Somerset, Maine

Teague, Francis 1795 1853 Skowhegan, Somerset, Maine

Thompson, Stephen 1833 1853 Starks, Somerset, Maine

Tufts, Charles 1835 1853 Starks, Somerset, Maine

Tufts, Hanson 1835 1853 Starks, Somerset, Maine

Walker, Cephas Raymond 1820 1852 Embden, Somerset, Maine

Waugh, Daniel 1820 1853 Starks, Somerset, Maine

Wentworth, William 1822 1853 Athens, Somerset, Maine

Weston, Ephraim 1827 1853 Bloomfield, Somerset, Maine

Weston, Moody Joseph 1822 1853 Bloomfield, Somerset, Maine

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Additional note: Here is how I am related to Thomas Rankins.

Thomas Rankins (1830 - 1892)
3rd great-uncle
Joseph P. Rankins Sr. (1801 - 1882)
father of Thomas Rankins
Eleanor Ruth Rankins (1822 - 1914)
daughter of Joseph P. Rankins Sr.
Oscar J. Ellis (1852 - 1907)
son of Eleanor Ruth Rankins
Eva Josephine Ellis (1888 - 1943)
daughter of Oscar J. Ellis
Daniel Lawrence Harris (1907 - 1972)
son of Eva Josephine Ellis
Clair Marie Harris
You are the daughter of Daniel Lawrence Harris