help with immigration for Andrew Glew

[judb]

He is at school in West St, Chichester in 1841 apparently joined the merchant navy abt 1844.

South Harting where he was apparently baptised is only 20 miles from Portsmouth, and he was already at Chichester, only 17 miles from Portsmouth at age 12. 

(Lovely pub at South Harting, The White Hart, nice meals  )

Before civil registration a baptism certificate was often used as proof of age which is possibly why the merchant navy record has his baptism date as his birthdate.

Judith

[LizzieL]

Before civil registration a baptism certificate was often used as proof of age which is possibly why the merchant navy record has his baptism date as his birthdate.

Judith

Merchant navy record give dob as 4 July 1828. The online tree has DOB as 3 Aug 1828. It is the online tree which is using baptism date as dob. This would indicate that the author had not had access to the navy record which would actually have given a bit of credence to their family story.

I have come across more than a handful of rellies who were baptised several years after their birth, so a baptism certificate as proof of age would not be too reliable. It can give evidence of parentage however. What I have come across when proof of age is required (for e.g Civil Service) is a signed statement by parents and often several other respectable citizens that a child was born on a certain day and is the lawful child of X and Y. 

[judb]

Sorry LizzieL - I didn't read your reply re the birthdate/baptism date on the merchant navy information properly, and got it the wrong way round.

As you rightly point out, sometimes a baptism is years after the birth, however it is sometimes the only documentation available and I have seen it used as a "proof" of probable age as well as of parentage.  I think either scenario is possible, but obviously not in this case.
 
Judith

[cando]

Headstone at Footscray Cemetery, C of E section,  indicates a birth c1827.

GLEW
In loving memory of my beloved husband Andrew Glew, who died 4th Octobert 1890, aged 63 years.
Also Ellen, wife of the above, died 10th May 1919, aged 82 years.
Also our dear son Charles, A.I.F. killed in France 25th April 1917, aged 37 years.
A hero, and one of the best.

The OP is seeking his arrival in Aus....someone expected him to be here by 1853.

http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article94360644
Geelong Advertiser and Intelligence 5 May 1853

Unclaimed letters at Geelong PO as at 1 May 1853
.....Glew, Andw

http://prov.vic.gov.au/provguide-49

Cando

[LizzieL]

Good find, that's the actual list of unclaimed letters mentioned on the online tree. It also said it didn't appear in a list shortly after so must have been collected.

So the theory is: he was ship's crew who when paid off decided to go prospecting in the goldfields instead of getting a passage back to England. The link to crew lists from Cando might give the date of the last vessel he sailed on. Once out in the goldfields, anyone wanting to write to him would have to do so by letter - care of the Geelong post office. The post office publishes names of recipients of uncollected letters, so that those out of town can make arrangements to collect them. If he's a successful miner he would have to sell his gold somewhere - probably to one of the gold dealers in Geelong. For such an important and valuable commodity they must have kept records of their dealings. Would they still be available somewhere?

This link mentions an article from a 1851 paper. With names of a couple of gold buyers

http://treasure-explorer.nla.gov.au/closerlook/text-analysis-and-comprehension-2-9

[judb]

Hi heaven

A couple of other R'chatters have asked you for information that would have been requested for inclusion on his death certificate as to  "number of years in colony".  It would be helpful if you could please post the info if you have it.  Judith

[cando]

Good find, that's the actual list of unclaimed letters mentioned on the online tree. It also said it didn't appear in a list shortly after so must have been collected.

So the theory is: he was ship's crew who when paid off decided to go prospecting in the goldfields instead of getting a passage back to England. The link to crew lists from Cando might give the date of the last vessel he sailed on. Once out in the goldfields, anyone wanting to write to him would have to do so by letter - care of the Geelong post office. The post office publishes names of recipients of uncollected letters, so that those out of town can make arrangements to collect them. If he's a successful miner he would have to sell his gold somewhere - probably to one of the gold dealers in Geelong. For such an important and valuable commodity they must have kept records of their dealings. Would they still be available somewhere?

This link mentions an article from a 1851 paper. With names of a couple of gold buyers

http://treasure-explorer.nla.gov.au/closerlook/text-analysis-and-comprehension-2-9

You are making lots of assumptions.

Andrew lived at Fryerstown which is near Castlemaine so why would he travel 156 kms to Geelong to sell gold and bypassing Ballarat as well. 

My newspaper link is to a different newspaper and an earlier date than mentioned in the online information.

heaven did Andrew have a relative Robert GLEW?

As mentioned by Judith, years in the colony from his death certificate would be helpful.

Cando

[LizzieL]

I agree it is only a theory. To be modified or discarded as more facts come along.

But to have a letter waiting for him at Geelong, he must have told someone to address it there. Which means that must have been the nearest office to where he was living at the time. I hadn't spotted it was a different letter to the on line reference, so we don't know how quickly he picked it up from Geelong, if at all.

But if there are records of gold sales available from towns near any places he was known to be, then it might track him. Just thinking of any other records that might be kept which might help locate him in a particular place at a particular time.

It's always hard to track people who are honest, hardworking, never commit any offence which would get them onto a court record or do anything oustandingly bad or good that gets them in the newspapers.

[majm]

May I please make some comments....

1. Mail held at Geelong at that time could well be mail from 'overseas' simply addressed to Mr XYZ, at that seaport, so it is possible mail held there could be from UK family and/or UK employer, and be sent there simply because that was the sea port that the sender was aware of.  Mail being at that location does NOT, of itself mean that the addressee provided that address, or expected to collect mail from that location.   In fact, perhaps it suggests the sender was striving to anticipate a location for the addressee, rather than acting on exact information provided by the addressee.
2. Mail listed as unclaimed in the Gazettes and newspapers was usually ONLY listed once or twice, and just because it was not listed in later months, that did not indicate it had been collected.  It simply indicated that the Post Master General had determined a course of action to limit the accumulating mail being held.  ...... Dead Letter Office/Return to Sender/irregular source of fuel for PO fire places etc.
3. Assayers offices were required by the various Colonial governments to be established basically at the gold fields, and of course Ballarat had assayers offices.  It was the gold-dust/nuggets (so unprocessed) that was sent from those offices under government escort in strong boxes on royal mail coaches to the capital cities, and it was that gold that became the targets of bush rangers.

Cheers,  JM

I agree it is only a theory. To be modified or discarded as more facts come along.

But to have a letter waiting for him at Geelong, he must have told someone to address it there. Which means that must have been the nearest office to where he was living at the time. I hadn't spotted it was a different letter to the on line reference, so we don't know how quickly he picked it up from Geelong, if at all.

But if there are records of gold sales available from towns near any places he was known to be, then it might track him. Just thinking of any other records that might be kept which might help locate him in a particular place at a particular time.

It's always hard to track people who are honest, hardworking, never commit any offence which would get them onto a court record or do anything oustandingly bad or good that gets them in the newspapers.