Shipping List for non passenger? Where to from here??

[McBeth1972]

My Grandad is the last of his generation and I have been searching his family tree for him. I am very much a beginner at this but I wonder if I have reached the end of my leads on his Grandfather, Charles Alexander McBeth (Alex).

I cannot find where he came from at all. In fact the first record I have is his marriage to Charlotte Perham in NZ. I have searched all of the passenger lists for ships arriving in NZ (he was married in Akaroa 1864) to no avail. Now (after all that reading!) I have heard that he was an apprentice seaman and may not have been listed as a passenger. Are there any records I can search to look this up?

His childrens birth registers have his origin as Scotland but his death register has his birth place as Essex, England. I have spent a small fortune on Scotspeople and other websites (as well as bdm printouts) but found nothing relating to him.

Some of his children were born in Little River and it is rumored he was a pit sawman and that he was born about 1842 but this has not led to any information so far. He died in Hawera or Stratford but there is no additional information held about him at the cemetery. My Grandad is still sharp as a tack and all he can remember is that he thought Alex came from Aberdeen. It was also rumored that he was on the 'Elizabeth' that was wrecked in Okains Bay (this was a schooner taking timber to Lyttleton) and the year given was correct but could not find any leads from this info either.

Any ideas or suggestions about where I should look next would be greatly appreciated.

[andycand]

Hi

Welcome to Rootschat.  Does his marriage or death certificates have his parent(s) names? These may help find him in the 1851 census.

If he was born in Scotland then it would have been before the commencement of Civil Registartion in 1855, the OPR's on Scotlandspeople are for the Established Church of Scotland, Catholic Parish Registers are in a different section but other churches such as Free Church of Scotland, Episcopal (the Anglican church in Scotland) are not online.

Andy

[McBeth1972]

Thanks Andy.

No, unfortunately there is no information about his parents on his marriage or death certificate. I searched the 1851 census based on family rumor that he was born about 1842 which would have made him 9 but I did not find anyone.

How do I go about searching the records in Scotland that are not online? Is there an address you can write to?

Thanks for your reply Andy.

Pam.

[MonicaL]

Hi Pam

I have been reading through all the posts on the searches going back a while on Ancestry's forum. It is a real pity that there is no mention of possible parents for Charles on either his marriage or death certs. You need one hard piece of evidence to be certain that you are on the right searches for his potential origins and family and by the sounds of it, there may not be one to be found. The only thing, from what I read on some of the posts, is that his birth place on his marriage cert (?) showed as Essex England.

Not sure about the Scottish connection. I am sure you and the others researching his line have looked at the Scottish censuses and also the Old Parish Registers for possible entries for his birth. Without at least a father's name for him, it is hard to know whether any of these entries could be for him.

The only thing I could see from a general look around was the following:

A Charles MacBeth, aged 24 (so born c. 1834) arrived in Sydney, New South Wales from London on the 'Speedy', 31 Aug 1858. His place of birth/origin is given as Hackney. He shows as AB (able seaman).

There are a number of christenings showing in Hackney, Middlesex, to parents William and Anna Maria Macbeath between 1828-35, including I think this Charles (middle name of Ferne on the christening entry) who I think shows as arriving in Sydney in 1858. William, father to these children, shows as a gardener in some of their christening entries.

Looking at the names of the children for Charles Alexander and his wife Charlotte, the names don't look particularly Scottish so an English birth for Charles is a possibility.

Wish I could find more!

Monica 

[MonicaL]

....Just a little bit more on this family. Struggling to find them on the 1841 census, but this family look to have headed off to South Australia in 1849. There are a number of member submitted family trees for the family of William James M*cBe*th and Anna Maria Tant on Ancestry (have you got access?).

From one of the trees, it mentions:

William MacBeth aged 46yrs, married, Ann, married aged 48yrs, William James aged 18yrs, Henrietta aged 16yrs, Mary aged 11yrs, Horace 8yrs, Louisa 8yrs, Janet 3yrs and James 6yrs all arrived aboad the "Brackenmore" ex London at 11a.m. on 22/3/49, arriving Pt. Adelaide 3/7/49. This family contributed Thirty Nine English Pounds and ten shillings towards the cost of the voyage.

William MacBeth was a gardener and in 1850 he leased 9 acres around what is now the Newton - Rostrevor area for 7 years at an annual rental of 50 quid payable half yearly.  It is not known when he died but his wife died at her residence in tynte Street North Adelaide on 16 October 1862 aged 63 years.  She was buried at the Wackerville Cemetery.  It was a double plot and it was surrounded by an iron railing.  The stone has gone but apparently it read Anne Maria Macbeath died 16 October 1862 aged 63 years.

For this to potentially be Charles' family, we would need Charles to have actually been born earlier c. 1834 and perhaps by the time the family left for Australia, he would already be at sea.

Given the dates of all of this for this family, the 1841 census is important as it is likely to be the only UK census this family will show in, and also to connect Charles with the family...and I am struggling to find the family at the móment for that year.

Monica

[MonicaL]

A really not great transciption of 1841 census in Hackney, to be fair, image is faint:

William Macheatt 40
Ann Maira 40
William L Maira 11
Harrietta Maira 9
Charles Maira 6
Mary Ann Maira 5
Horace Maira 9 Months
Louisa Macheath 9 Months

HO107/700/12/10/14

That really is as far as I can go with this potential family Pam!

Monica

[McBeth1972]

Wow! Thank you so much for going to all that trouble Monica. I really appreciate that.
Pam

[MonicaL]

Pam, I may well be putting 2 and 2 together and getting 5  Not sure how to go about trying to verify any of this unfortunately...

Monica 

[yokerbrian]

I have heard that he was an apprentice seaman and may not have been listed as a passenger. Are there any records I can search to look this up?

If he was an apprentice seaman, I believe the Merchant Navy records are held at the national archives in Kew, London.