Looking for info on Haviland Family

[aussiegal]

Im looking for any information on Francis John Haviland b 1830 to Francis John & Jane Haviland. I haven't found any info on which county they are from, only that Francis (b.1830) emigrated to Australia & married in sydney around 1855. Any info would be very much appreciated!

[Clare Fowler]

Hi there,

I have had a quick search on Scotlands People and can find no births for a Francis Haviland at any time, not just in 1830.  However, I ran out of credits to search before I could search for any variants of Haviland 

Cheers,
Clare

[aussiegal]

Hi!

Thanks for trying....ive found it difficult myself to find anything!!!!

[Clare Fowler]

Hi,

What info do you have that states he was originally from Scotland?  It doesn't look like Haviland is a very common name here - or at least not in the Church of Scotland records.  The records from before 1855 in Scotland are mostly Church of Scotland, so if his family were not Church of Scotland, they are unlikely to show up in those records.

Cheers,
Clare

[bungleberry]

Are you sure these guys are from Scotland? I would hazard a guess that they may have originated in Gloucestershire, where there was a very strong contingent. I have pics of about 8 graves at Winstone, Glos.
Like you I am researching HAVILANDs (my g-g-grandmother was one). I have met up with about six other folk on the net who are following up the name - all much more knowledgeable than I am. The GOONS has a newly reconstituted group studying the name. It originated way back, in the Channel Islands, and some of the family were quite distinguished. I'm told that Olivia de Havilland, Joan Fontaine and Sir Geoffrey de Havilland were my 13th cousins twice removed!
Francis is not one of my directs but I know I've come across the name somewhere and will go through my mountain of papers if you think your Francis might have been English.
Incidentally, there was also a Richard HAVILAND (my g-g-g-grandfather) who was transported to Oz in about 1805 for horse stealing, and apparently started a new family your side.
Good luck!

[aussiegal]

Thank you for that! Im sure they are from Scotland...i first found them on the LDS family search website where it says born about 1830.....Scotland & Francis John (b.1830) wife's parents names were Fergus & Anne, Francis John 's parents were Francis John & Jane.  Im thinking i will have to get copies of their death certificates to find out for sure.

You mentioned Richard Haviland. I came across something about a Richard Haviland on the State Records of New South Wales website- Tickets of leave, emancipation & pardon records 1810-19, Index to Convict Pardons & CSre land.

The webpage for this is www.records.nsw.gov.au/archives/keyname_search_2187.asp   then type in the surname of Haviland. 

Hope that is of help to you!!!

[bungleberry]

Thank-you for the info on Richard, which I will certainly follow up. He's an interesting case! After being arrested for horse stealing he escaped from custody, was recaptured, and transported. Later (or so I'm told) he applied to marry in Oz, although his 1st wife was still living in UK. Don't yet know if there was a divorce ...
 
I have looked up Francis on the 1841 census for Scotland, the only one currently available on www.ancestry.co.uk. Nobody of that name is listed, although there are several in ther English censuses. Trust that you're not relying solely on LDS for this? I've found numerous errors on it!

Unfortunately I can't find the Francis record I thought I had, but I do have one contact, a lady who has been pursuing HAVILANDs for 25yrs on and off (she has a database of some 2000 of the name). If you wish I can put the query her way?
 
Thanks again, and good luck in your search.
 

[Clare Fowler]

Hi Aussiegal,

I saw the record on the LDS site, but it is one that has been submitted rather than extracted from records.  This means that it is based on someone's research that was submitted to the LDS, rather than being a transcription of a record.  From checking the indexes to the Church of Scotland records (pre-1855 scottish records), there is no mention of Francis Haviland there.  I think it may be worthwhile broadening your search to include other areas of the UK, as there is currently no corroborating evidence for this.  In addition, running a search on the name Haviland brings up very few matches in Scotland as a whole - it is a very Englich name which you will find is much more popular in that country.  A possibility to consider is that he may have sailed from Scotland but been born in England...

Another possibility that I raised previously, however, is that his religion may be the reason there is no mention.  The pre-1855 records focus on the Presbyterian Church of Scotland, so if he was Catholic, an Episcopalian, Methodist, etc, he may not be mentioned there, but in the records of another Church.  Do you happen to know what religion he was?

Cheers,
Clare

[aussiegal]

Thanks for that info... thats good to know. Unfortunately i have very little information on Francis & his wife, however im going to get a copy of their death certificates & hopefully that will tell me a bit more.