Researching a family online for a day?

This is how I did it today:

The focus of the family is named HUMMERSTON – quite a rare surname.

From the marriage certificate of Edward Thornton and Anne Clarke, my ancestors – one of the witnesses was named George Hummerston so I’d like to know who this George Hummerston was and his connection to my ancestors. 

So my procedure of doing the research in day (with plenty of interruptions from my kids of course) is shown below.

Now the first website I go is at the BDM NSW Registry online (http://www.bdm.nsw.gov.au/familyHistory/searchHistoricalRecords.htm )  where I used all three search engines (Birth, Death and Marriages) to see if I can find him and his family – I was pretty confident that it will be easy as the surname is unusual.

The first two records came up:

A death record – George Hummerston died in 1892 at Woollahra – father named George and mother unknown. [14196/1892]

A marriage record – George William Hummerston married Emily C Harris at Waverley in 1876.

Then I looked through the rest of the marriage records under the name of HUMMERSTON and those what I found – there was not many.

George W Hummerston married Ellen Styles at Woollahra in 1899 – son of George?

Christopher Hummerston married Susan Windsor at Sydney in 1873 – brother of George?

Arthur Hummerston married Sophia Wilson at Waverley in 1885 – son of George?

Edward Hummerston married Alice C Lusty at Waverley in 1887 – son of George?

So with all those marriages sorted out – I did a broad Hummerston research on the Birth search engine and compiled the whole family groups as much as I can, which are shown below – 6 family groups.

George and Emily Hummerston’s children registered as:

1.     1877 – Amy at Sydney

2.     1879 – Percy at Sydney

3.     1881 – Violet Ada at Sydney

4.     1883 – Millbra M at Sydney

5.     1885 – Clarice M at Sydney

6.     1888 – Ada M at Sydney

7.     1890 – Gertrude L at Sydney

8.     1893 – Emily C at Woollahra

9.     1901 – Stella M at Waverley

10. 1898 – Walter T S at Waverley

Christopher and Susan Hummerston’s children registered as:

1.     1877 – Maud A at Paddington

2.     1873 – Christopher at Paddington

3.     1880 – Annie G at Paddington

4.     1885 – Sydney S at Paddington

5.     1888 – Jessie at Paddington

6.     1891 – Winifred S M at Paddington

George and Georgiana Hummerston’s children registered as:

1.     1865 – Albert S at Paddington

2.     1867 – Percy at Paddington

3.     1869 – Violet A at Paddington

4.     1872 – Maud A at Paddington

5.     1874 – Percival H at Paddington

Arthur and Sophie Hummerston’s children registered as:

1.     1886 – Alice M at Paddington

2.     1888 – Reginald A at Waverley

3.     1890 – Albert S at Waverley

4.     1892 – Stanley R at Woollahra

5.     1894 – Cecil W at Woollahra

6.     1897 – William R at Woollahra

Edward and Alice Hummerston’s children registered as:

1.     1887 – Ernest E at Waverley

2.     1889 – Clarence G at Waverley

3.     1891 – Ethel M  at Woollahra

4.     1905 – Roy E at Waverley

George W and Ellen Hummerston’s children registered as:

1.     1899 – Nellie E at Woollahra

2.     1903 – Frederick W at Glebe

3.     1905 – Rose E at Glebe

4.     1907 – Albert G at Glebe

5.     1910 – Doris M at Glebe

Then I noted there are two records with no name in the Fathers column:

Gertrude L had a daughter named Rita A in 1907

Ada had a son named Alfred T in 1909

Leaving BDM NSW registry online to do broad search with the Google Search Engine, a great tool to use...

I did a Google search to see if there is any notable website focused on the Hummerston family – unfortunately there is not much and I was only able to extract that - Christopher was a blacksmith whereas his son George W was a printer (http://www.lkjh.org/family_history/legacy/575.htm ).  This is confusing because the BDM NSW Registry shows no particular relationship.  So I am just taking this website with a grain of salt although it did stated that details were obtained from the certificates. It is possible that George W’s birth record was not recorded for some reason? I’d leave this for time being and move on.

Then I noted from one of Google records that there is a mention of a Florence Hummerston reserve at Perth in Western Australia – aha! My Clarke family came from Perth in 1850-60s so better hop off straight to the BDM WA Registry online to see if I can find any more Hummerston records.

Onto the BDM Western Australia Registry online for possible further records...

Then from BDM WA (http://www.bdm.dotag.wa.gov.au/_apps/pioneersindex/default.aspx?uid=9125-2873-5779-1388 ) shows that a Christopher was born in 1851 at Fremantle to George Hummerston and Georgiana Dixon.

So it can be assumed that Clarke and Hummerston families knew each other and that Anne and Christopher may have grew up together being close in age. In the marriage certificate of Edward Thornton and Anne Clarke, it was stated that  they got married in the residence of Mr James Clarke, Perth House at Smith Street, Sydney. Now there is no Smith Street in existence now at Sydney, but it can be assumed the name of the house was named after the city they ‘came from’ to Sydney (“Perth House”)?

Next excellent website to look at but remember nothing's absolute online so take care on gathering details from the Family Search - IGI (International Genealogy Index) and its massive record collections...

From Family Search org (http://www.familysearch.org), it shows there is a particular family group I was looking for which stated that:

George Hummerston was born on 23^rd January 1823 at Essex, England, married Georgina Dixon on 5^th April 1851 at Western Australia and died on 13^th April 1892 at Woollahra NSW. Georgina Dixon was born on 20^th December 1833 at Fremantle WA and died on 31^st May 1889 at Woollahra NSW. Her parents were unknown.

Their children were listed as:

1.     George William Hummerston – born May 1853 at Fremantle WA

2.     James Hummerston – born 1855 and died 1855 at Fremantle WA

3.     John Wesley Hummerston – born 1856 and died 1858 at Fremantle WA

4.     Samuel Hummerston – born May 1858 at Fremantle WA

5.     Edward Hummerston – born 10^th April 1860 at Fremantle and died in 1951 at Parramatta NSW

6.     Arthur Hummerston – born July 1862 at Fremantle WA and died on 26^th September 1896 at Woollahra NSW

7.     Mary Adelaide Hummerston – born 1^st February 1864 at Sydney NSW and died on 29^th October 1944 at Sydney NSW

8.     Albert Sydney Hummerston – born 12^th May 1865 and died 27^th May 1872 at Sydney NSW

9.     Percy Hummerston – born 29^th August 1869 at Sydney NSW

10. Violet Ada Hummerston – born 16^th November 1868 at Sydney NSW and died in 1950 at Paddington NSW

11. Ernest William Hummerston – born 6^th August 1870 and died  in 1870 at Sydney NSW

12. Maude Alice Hummerston – born 29^th February 1872 at Sydney and died on 12^th July 1950 at Randwick NSW

13. Percival Heidelbert Hummerston – born 20^th February 1874 and died in 1874 at Paddington NSW

14. Herbert John Hummertston – born 29^th September at Paddington NSW and died on 12^th November 1875 at Paddington NSW

Next obvious step was to check out the Ancestry site to see if there would be any possible records, which I could check out later at a public library or a genealogical/historical society for more details...

Then I checked the Ancestry.com (http://records.ancestry.com/Georgina_records.ashx?pid=12020215 ) and did a limited search there as I am not a paid member of the website – it is far cheaper to use it from a public library than doing it at home! There is a record of Georgina Dixon Hummerston which stated that her parents were William Dixon and Jane Frances Stanfield and that she was born in Fremantle, WA on 20^th December 1833. Georgina died on 31^st May 1889 at Woollahra NSW.

We can deduct that George was an immigrant while Georgina was born in Australia – how did George got himself planted in Western Australia by 1850s? Was he a soldier, a convict or a free settler?

Now I need to know why George Hummerston was invited to be the main witness to Anne Clarke and Edward Thornton’s wedding. This is where internet get limited as there are so few military websites for Australia and I was unable to confirm that Robert Clarke, Anne’s father, was actually a soldier from the 99^th Regiment as stated in Anne’s birth certificate (the informant was Robert himself). An interesting note – the birth certificate has a correction to the number of his Regiment from 51^st to 99^th – wonders why it was corrected in the first place. However I cannot find him in both 51^st and 99^th regiments but there is a possibility that he may have been in the 96^th regiment – need to dig that up at the library though.

Another great tool to use is the NLA's Trove - a wide database search engine that includes the digitalised newspapers of Australia from 1803 onwards and other manuscripts, etc... 

A quick look at the Trove – digitalized newspapers and such from NLA (http://trove.nla.gov.au/ ), which shown only two pages of searched records which is quite not enough and nothing so worthwhile if you only used the ‘Family Notices’ as a part of the criteria. So re-did the search with only the name “Hummerston” and years ranged between 1803 and 1900. The records number shown as 1,268 or in 20 pages, now we are getting somewhere. I’ve clicked the relevance to the earliest date to see when the Hummerston was first mentioned in Australia. The first mention was dated in 1814 and the earliest newspapers were both Sydney Gazette and the Argus (Melbourne).  The earliest mention of a Hummerston was a Michael Hummerston.

Further research on this Michael Hummerston proved to be quite difficult as it was apparent that no one is sure how or when did Michael Hummerston migrated to Australia. It was generally accepted that he arrived at South Australia around 1849 and ended up living at Ballarat, Victoria. There he married a Charlotte Honey, who was at the age of 20 years, on the 27th April 1854 at "St James Church" in Melbourne. Michael was listed as a shoemaker and later a licensed victualler in the Chidlow’s Well Hotel in Western Australia. He was born in 1822 in Epping, Essex, son of George Hummerston and Mary Pindon. After their marriage Michael and Charlotte moved to Steiglitz, North of Geelong, probably in search of gold, and it was here that their first children were born. They’ve had 10 children together before Charlotte died in 1876. Michael re-married in 1882 at South Australia to Mary McCracken. They’ve had two sons. This family have lived across South Australia and Western Australia. (http://members.iinet.net.au/~kjstew/HONEYhistory.htm )

Could it be possible that this Michael was related to George Hummerston?

From some advertisements and notifications in the newspapers, George Hummerston was a bootsmaker of Woollahra. So both Michael and George have similar occupational background.

Other websites could assist in narrowing leads and possibilities such as...

A quick look at the Western Australian Museum’s Welcome Walls (http://www.museum.wa.gov.au/welcomewalls/names/hummerston-michael ) for a record of Hummerston revealed there is a Michael Hummerston. However there is quite an interesting twist to the mystery of Michael – it was stated that Michael “Ran away from 24 siblings. Owned licences to several hotels in South Australia & Victoria. Returned to Perth with his family & owned licences to the P&O & Freemasons (now Sail & Anchor) Hotels. Built hotels in Mt Helena, Kalamunda (still standing) & Midla.”

To make sense of what I've gathered and put together...

So therefore, the Hummerston family is quite large, mainly located in Essex, England; Perth, Western Australia; Sydney, NSW and Victoria.  And I am nowhere closer to the reason for the connection between George Hummerston and the Clarke family. It may be possible there would be a military, locality or even family relation connection but a further research will need to be done in the library or such.

In the end...

There is so much one can do with family research online for a day before coming to a point where books and more comprehensive details can be found from other institutions such as libraries and genealogical societies.

I hope this helps somewhat for others to do more on their own family research. Any feedback, tips and such are always welcomed.

Cheers!

All known convicts in the family

This is the post with all known convicts in the family, both maternal and paternal sides. Also those who married into the family are included. If you have more information than what I've got here, please do let me know.

All in alphabet order for the ease of searching a convict:-

Edward Bennett, per 'Britannia' -1797, 7 years sentence:

• Born around 1768
• His trial was in 1796 and he was sentenced to transportation for Life
• Arrived abroad the 'Britannia' on 27th May 1797
• Was a landholder with 21 acres of land at Toongabbie in the district of Parramatta, which he then purchased it fully in 1806
• In the Muster of 1806, it was stated that he grew maize on 6 acres of land and had half acre with potatoes - all on his own
• Edward received his Ticket-of-Leave in April 1811
• By the Census of 1828, he was aged 60 years and was buried in 1842 aged 74, leaving behind possibly no descendants

William Butts, per 'William and Ann' - 1791, 7 years sentence:

• Aka Butt, he was in the Third Fleet group, on 'William and Ann' arrived Port Jackson on 28th August 1791
• He was sentenced to 7 years for?
• Married Catharine Malone on 1st June 1794 at St John's Church, Parramatta
• Only child was born to him, a daughter Sarah on 10th December 1794, and she died and buried on 27th January 1797 at St John's Cemetery, Parramatta, aged 3 years
• Received a land grant of 30 acres at the north boundary of the colony (exact location?) in November 1794
• Lived in the district of Mars of Field (?) until his death in 1821, and was buried at ?, Parramatta on 23rd January 1821

William Fry, per ? (possibly a soldier?):


William Goslett, per ?:


John Hockey, per 'Burrell' - 1830, Death sentence to 14 years sentence:


Edward Humphries/Humphreys, per 'Scarborough' - 1788, 7 years sentence:


James Jackson, per ? (possibly a soldier?):

• Arrival details unknown
• Married Lucy Knowland, the daughter of David and Mary Knowland, on 11th May 1826 at St Philip's Church, Sydney. He was listed as a mariner and a bachelor.
• Bought 30 acres of land at Airds from Lucy's father before the marriage to Lucy
• Sold the land to Henry Howey in September 1826, only 4 months after the marriage
• Then abandoned Lucy and disappeared...

Joseph Jones, per ?:


David Knowland, per 'Neptune' - 1790 - Life sentence:

• Aka Nowland, Nowlan, Knowling
• Born around 1772 in East Smithfield, England
• David got caught on 6th June 1788 at Shadwell, England, hiding under a bed inside the house of John Burrell by the police, after being let in by a co-accomplice named Bowles
• Trial on end of June 1788 at Old Bailey had David sentenced with transportation for 7 years for stealing items worth about three pounds
• Held at the Newgate Prison for a year until May 1789 when he was transferred to the "Dunkirk" hulk at Plymouth
• David then embarked on the 'Neptune' in late November 1789
• Left England on 19th January 1790 with the rest of the Second Fleet, which arrived at Port Jackson on 28th April 1790
• Enlisted in the NSW Corps at Norfolk Island on 20th May 1801, as David Knowling. He was attached to the Captain E Abbott's company there
• Met Mary Smith before middle of June 1802
• Had four children with Mary between 1803 and 1810 - Mary, Sarah, Lucy and Mary Ann
• David may have possibly got involved with guarding Parramatta during the battle of Vinegar Hill in 1804
• A record shown David as aged 36 in September 1808 from the records of the NSW Corps
• He delivered twelve bushels of maize to Hawkesbury Stores on 24th June 1809
• Discharged from the NSW Corps in April 1810, a month before the Corps left for England
• David married Mary Smith officially on 6th May 1810 at St Matthew's, Windsor
• He received a land grant of 40 acres at Airds, Campbelltown in the same year
• The NSW Corps record shown David was in the Corps for 8 years, 11 months and that he was living at the district of Windsor with Mary and children by 1810
• A year later in 1811, the family moved to Airds from Windsor to take up the land David was granted with
• On the subscription list, promising to pay two pounds for the construction of the court house at Sydney on 1st July 1813
• He was recommended to have an extra land grant of 60 acres at Airds. David was permitted to be a settler at Airds by December 1814
• David (Nowland) was then granted a land grant of 105 acres at Airds by 18th January 1817
• He got a loan from the Bank of NSW by 1817 but had to sell his land to a Sydney miller named John Leighton for 200 pounds on 7th February 1818
• Became a foster parent to an eight-years-old 'orphan' boy named Thomas Warrington by July 1818 while they lived at Airds
• David was working as a wardsman at the General Hospital in Sydney by September 1821
• He petitioned to the Governor Macquarie for another land grant, stated that he owned two horses and wanted to support his family more comfortably
• Allowed to occupy a 50 acres of land in Airds and David then bought another 30 acres nearby
• In the Muster of 1822, David was listed as a landowner with eighty acres. The land grant of 50 acres was not officially his until 30th June 1823, when Governor Thomas Brisbane signed the papers
• From the Muster of 1822, he had 40 acres cleared with 25 under wheat and other half an acre under peas. He had 20 bushels of wheat and 50 bushels of maize (corn) on hand, as well as two horses and twenty hogs. He had a convict named William Thompson worked for him
• Around 1822, David and other 10 men in the district of Airds sought permission to form a 'patrole' or a security group to combat the robbers who were raiding the farms at night while the farmers slept. David was appointed as a honorary constable afterwards by the magistrates
• In September 1822, a petition was signed by 29 settlers of Airds and Appin, asking to have the market day changed from Friday to Thursday. It was claimed that they were at a disadvantage because of the distance to the market at Sydney - which was about 25 miles/40 kilometres from Airds and from Appin about 35 miles/55 kilometres. The settlers wish to return home in time for their religious duties on Sundays, as the round trip took about 4 days!
• David needed another convict/government servant to help him with working on the property, as he already had several others there (names unknown). He was listed as a ploughman of Airds in March 1825
• From the Muster of 1825, a convict named John Domican (per 'Hooghly' on April 1825) was assigned to David
• He leased his 50 acres block at Airds to Philip Joseph Cohen for a year at the rate of 50 pounds. David was then a settler of Five Islands (Illawarra) and was living with one of his daughters there
• David died in late January and was buried at the 'Pioneer Cemetery' - Liverpool Cemetery near the present Hume Highway on 24th January 1837

Catharine Malone, per 'Sugar Cane' - 1793, 7 years sentence:

• Born around 1769 in Ireland
• Trial on March 1792 at Dublin - was sentenced to 7 years. Her age was noted as 23 years old
• Left Cork, Ireland on 12th April 1793 on the 'Sugar Cane' with 110 male and 50 female convicts
• Arrived Port Jackson on 17th September 1793, a journey that took 157 days with a via to Rio de Janeiro
• Was "under the protection" of a third fleet convict named William Butts, i.e. a de facto relationship, and then got married on 1st June 1794 at St. John's Church, Parramatta NSW
• Only known daughter named Sarah was born 10th December 1794, baptised on 1st February 1795, died and buried on 27th January 1797 at St John's Cemetery, Parramatta
• Nothing is found on her till the birth of her first son, James, who is most likely to be the son of John Warrington. No birth or baptism record found yet on her first 3 sons
• Had 3 more sons between 1805 and 1812 - Thomas, John and William. William was baptised as William Fry Malone on 11th June 1826 at Parramatta. His father was not listed and his identity remained unknown, but a man with surname as 'Fry' would the obvious father?
• In the Muster of 1802, William Butts and Catharine Malone were receiving rations from the Government Stores and were living in the Parramatta district.
• From the Muster of 1806, dated August, it shows that Catharine was a nurse at Parramatta Hospital and already had a child (James or Thomas were not named but presumed it was one of those sons)
•  By 1814, William Butts and Catharine Malone, as a 'wife to' William, were listed as free and were not on the Government Stores list
• In the Musters of 1822 and 1825, Catharine Malone was shown as wife to and was employed by Edward Bennett in the district of Parramatta. In the 1828 Census, they were listed as a family group without children and were living at Seven Hills, and listed as protestants
• From the Return of Orphans, dated Jul 1818, it shows that Catharine Malone's son Thomas Warrinton was then in the care of David and Mary Knowland in the district of Liverpool. Catharine was the mother of four children, and that she was in great distress because the father of her son Thomas Warrington had left the colony. The father was most likely to be a John Warrington
• Believed to have had William Fry Malone fathered by a William Fry?
• Died on 4th August 1841, aged about 72 years old at Seven Hills, and was buried at St Patrick's Cemetery in Parramatta as Catharine Bennett 

John Morris, per 'Almorah' - 1816, 7 years sentence:

John Pallier, per ?:


Daniel Ryan, per 'Phoenix' - 1821, Life sentence:

•  Born around 1805 at the County of Limerick, Ireland - mother: Mary Ryan, father unknown
• Caught stealing a watch from William Barratt in London no 7th June 1821
• Tried at Old Bailey on 18th July 1821 and was sentenced to transportation for Life. Daniel was aged only 16 years old
• Left Portsmouth, England on 20th December 1821 on 'Phoenix', headed for Van Dieman's Land (Tasmania)
• Arrived Hobart, Van Dieman's Land on 20th May 1822
• Was assigned to his mother Mary Ryan at Appin after 1822
• Married Mary Ann Knowland on 5th March 1827 at Campbelltown
• Further details unknown

Malachy Ryan, per 'Tellicherry' - 1806, Life sentence:

• Tried in 1804 at County Limerick, Ireland and was sentenced to Life
• Transported on 'Tellicherry' from Cork, Ireland on 31st August 1805, arrived in Port Jackson on 15th February 1806
• Received a Conditional Pardon in 1813 and lived in the district of Sydney
• Malachy received a land grant of 50 acres at Appin from Governor Macquarie in 1816
•  Appointed as a constable in the district of Appin in 1822. Promoted to the position as a Chief Constable and poundkeeper in the districts of Appin and Illawarra
• Died on 8th February 1852 at Benevolent Society Ayslum in Sydney

Mary Ryan, per 'Minstrel' - 1812, 7 years sentence:

• Born around 1774 in Ireland
• Caught 'stealing some cloth from a shop in London' on 19th December 1811
• Tried on 15th January 1812 at Middlesex, London and was sentenced to transportation for 7 years
• Left England on 4th June 1812 on 'Minstrel', leaving behind her son Daniel aged about 7 years old 
• Arrived Sydney on 25th October 1812 and it was not known where she went to but presumed to the Female Factory at Parramatta
• Mary married Malachy Ryan at St Luke's Church in Liverpool on 20th September 1819
• Had two children in 1813 and other unknown, both un-named!
• Mary petitioned to have her son Daniel be assigned to her in 24th April 1822 at Appin NSW
• Died on 8th February 1854

Mary Smith, per 'Nile' - 1801, Life sentence:

• Aka Mary Hall, born around 1777 in London?, England
• Took various items listed as:  2 mens' shirts (3 pounds and 12 shillings), 3 shifts (3 pounds), 3 gowns (20 shillings), a woman's dress (3 shillings), a yard of muslin (5 shillings), 2 aprons (3 shillings), 9 pairs of stockings (18 shillings), a silk cloak (10 shillings) and a satin bonnet (5 shillings), all the property of Ann Williams, a washerwoman on 18th October 1799
• Arrested on June 1800 at her lodgings, wearing a dress and a hat belonged to Mrs A Williams
• Trial on 9th July 1800 at Old Bailey, Middlesex and was sentenced to death, which was then commuted to transportation for Life
• Mary left England on 21st June 1801 on 'Nile' with other 96 female convicts on board (and there were no death occurred on board during the voyage with other two ships 'Canada' and 'Minorca'. 'Minorca' listed 2 deaths on board)
•  Arrived at Port Jackson on 14th December 1801, after a journey of 176 days
• Her first child, Mary Knowland or Smith, was born on 14th March 1803 and had her baby baptised on Christmas Day of 1803 which was recorded at St Philip's Church in Sydney. It was assumed that the actual ceremony was done elsewhere, possibly at Windsor, where Mary Smith and David Knowland were living then, rather than at Sydney
• Her other 3 daughters were born in Windsor - Sarah, Lucy and Mary Ann. All were born before Mary Smith and David Knowland got married, at St Matthew's Church of Windsor dated 6th May 1810
• Mary recieved her Ticket-of-Leave by 1806
• In the Muster of 1822, she was listed as living at Liverpool with 2 children aged 12 and 14
• Then in the Muster of 1825 had Mary living at Liverpool as a wife of D Nowland. David (Knowling) is shown as a landholder of Liverpool with his children listed as Lucy and Mary Ann Knowling
• Catholic baptisms were done in June and July of 1820 for David, Lucia, Mary Ann and Sarah Nowlan of Bunbury Curran. Mary Snr may have already been baptised in England
• Mary witnessed her daughter Sarah Nowland's marriage to Thomas Martin on 30th May 1822, along with her husband David, from the Therry Registers. Sarah and Thomas Martin were living at Liverpool by 1822
• In 1818, Mary and David took in an orphan boy named Thomas Warrington under their care. Thomas Warrington had three brothers (William, John and James) who were placed in the orphanage by 1818 and their mother being Catharine Malone who was in distress and unable to take care of her boys then. It was believed that Catharine and the Knowland family knew each other
• Mary may have died before 1829 and probably was buried at Liverpool, however no record was found yet
• Mary's third daughter Lucy married William Warrington/Fry, the youngest son of Catharine Malone in 1841 

John Solomon, per 'Mariner' - 1815/1816, 14 years sentence:


Sarah Thornton, per 'Broxborough' - 1814, 7 years sentence:


John Turner, per 'Mariner' - 1815/1816, ?


Mary Williams, per 'Neptune' - 1790, Life sentence:


James W Woods, per ?