RootsChat.Com

Research in Other Countries => Australia => Australia Lookups completed => Topic started by: PrueM on Sunday 03 July 05 22:35 BST (UK)

Title: Emigrated from Ireland twice???
Post by: PrueM on Sunday 03 July 05 22:35 BST (UK)
I have a dilemma I've be trying to solve for a while now.

My ancestor Richard BALFOUR (aka BELFOUR or BELFORD) was born in Drummond, Co Derry, northern Ireland, around 1795.  He was a soldier in the 1st Regiment of Foot (The Royal Scots) and was pensioned out in 1816 with "scrofulous opthalmia" ( :o ) - I have found his pension papers in the NA and found he had been serving since 1811; we think he was involved in Waterloo but more research is required down that avenue.

ANYWAY...in 1832 he and his family (wife Ann and several children) emigrated to Van Diemen's Land on a Chelsea Pensioner's scheme.  He set up shop in Launceston as a Dyer and I have found several advertisements from newspapers of the time.

Now I only found out about the Tasmania connection when I found the births of some more children there in the 1830s.  Until then, I had thought that the family arrived in Sydney in 1838 on board the "Parland" from Londonderry.  It turns out that they DID arrive then, AFTER they had been in Tasmania for several years.  Richard died in 1845 in Sydney.  His son Charles Linton BELFORD is my 3xg-grandfather.

I have no record of the family leaving Tasmania, so my question is this:  Has anybody heard of anyone emigrating, then returning home, then emigrating AGAIN within about a year, to a different colony?  What might the circumstances have been to encourage this?  or am I barking up the wrong tree, and they just hitched a ride on the "Parland" as it passed by Hobart or Launceston on its way to Sydney?

Help please!

Prue
Title: Re: Emigrated from Ireland twice???
Post by: trish251 on Monday 04 July 05 06:00 BST (UK)
Hi Prue

I would vote for the latter - that they picked up the boat in Hobart for Sydney. There could be shipping records in the Tas archives related to the trip - or the early newspapers would surely have the details of the ship (if it passed by Hobart). The Tas archives and library are very helpful - if you don't have them, these are the links
http://www.archives.tas.gov.au/ You may not find a passenger list to Sydney, but should get the arrival of the ship in Tasmania.

http://www.statelibrary.tas.gov.au/
http://www.statelibrary.tas.gov.au/collections/Famhistory/
One of their indexes
Shipping arrivals and departures Vol 2 (Nicholson) 1834-1842 Paper H, L, T, B, D, G, R
- not online

Trish



Title: Re: Emigrated from Ireland twice???
Post by: PrueM on Monday 04 July 05 06:20 BST (UK)
Thank you Trish,
It was only when typing this message this morning that I thought of the possiblity of boarding the Parland in Tasmania, rather than where it started in Londonderry, so I think I will follow up this line.
Thanks for your help!
Prue
Title: Re: Emigrated from Ireland twice???
Post by: Kezlyn on Monday 08 August 05 06:10 BST (UK)
Hi Prue,

I think your family probably did hitch up with the boat in Hobart, however in answer to your question regarding a "double" immigration from Ireland - well yes, it did happen!

I have an ancestor who was in the Irish Constabulary. He came to NSW with his wife in 1849 and joined the police force there. Several years later he applied to join the force in Victoria. In his application he mentioned that he had returned home to "England" (probably a typo) for three years and then returned to Australia. I actually found the marine death record of a daughter who was born in NSW but died on the way from Liverpool (England) to Melbourne!

Cheers,

Kerryn :)
Title: Re: Emigrated from Ireland twice???
Post by: PrueM on Monday 08 August 05 06:59 BST (UK)
Gosh Kerryn  :o
Our ancestors were amazing people weren't they!  I haven't had any luck finding out whether my people boarded in Tasmania or not, but I will continue to follow that up along with (once more) the possibility that they did return to Ireland before re-emigrating to NSW.
Thanks!!
Prue