Searching for early records of James Robertson

[KennyD]

There was definitely *almost* a Jane/Jean (nee) Robertson among the 109 passengers on board the Minerva (Captained by James H. Robertson) that arrived in Hobart in 1832!

Jean/Jane Craw was married to Walter Craw and her siblings were Grace Robertson (born about 1802 - will scour the Minerva passenger list for a married name for her), William Robertson (son of James Senior, born in 1807, who traveled with his wife Hanna and daughter Mary), James Robertson (Junior, born 4 June 1814 and sailed on the Minerva) - so the Craw family and the large Robertson family were traveling together...  Walter and Jane/Jean had further children (in addition to Euphemia and Agnes) shortly after arriving in Van Dieman's Land in 1832 so this rules out any *liaison* between Jane/Jean (nee) Robertson and 'my' James Robertson.

The 'Caledonian Mercury' of 24th May 1832 states the Minerva sailed with 112 emigrants, yet I only have 109 in the 'full' listing in 'The Colonist' of 5th October 1832...  Do I have a missing Jane Robertson unlisted?  Was David Robertson born on the ship and his birth registered as soon as they got to New Norfolk?  There was plenty of time from the ship landing before David was baptised on 14th October 1832.

Tracking Jane Robertson might be incredibly hard if she is not even listed as a passenger!

What a quest!

Regards, Ken.

[Dundee]

Marriage of a James Alexander ROBERTSON gives his age as 21 in 1864 and he is the son of the late James ROBERTSON, Engineer.

http://trove.nla.gov.au/newspaper/article/38651543

https://stors.tas.gov.au/RGD37-1-23p99j2k

Debra 

Rosanna BECK was born 11 Oct 1838 in Hobart, the later use of 'Jane' was I think her own addition.  James Alexander ROBERTSON and Rosa appear to have had just one surviving child in 1864 named Rosa Eliza Jean.  I think James Alexander born 1866 died in 1868.

Hobart Post Office Directories
http://stors.tas.gov.au/AUTAS001126438076

1896/97
72 Park Street
Mrs James ROBERTSON

There is a good chance that the following link is the daughter, Rosa Eliza Jean aged around 30, from the photographs of season ticket holders for the Tas Exhibition 1894/95:

https://stors.tas.gov.au/NS738-1-2084

In 1894/95 72 Park Street was occupied by a James ANDERSON.  I can't positively identify an entry for Rosa in those years.

1898
56 Park Street
Rosa ROBERTSON

1903
56 Park Street
Rosa ROBERTSON

Rosa's identity and address is confirmed with the death notice of her brother-in-law Charles SUTTON who married Adelaide Margaret BECK.
http://trove.nla.gov.au/newspaper/article/12823549

1904/1905
90 Warwick Street
Rosa ROBERTSON

MISS ROBERTSON, dressmaker, removed from 56 Park-street to 90 Warwick-street.
http://trove.nla.gov.au/newspaper/article/12273895

1906/1908
118 Brisbane Street
Rosa ROBERTSON

MRS. and the MISSES ROBERTSON Have Removed to 118 BRISBANE-STREET.
http://trove.nla.gov.au/newspaper/article/12326175

This is the same address as given at the death of David's sister Elizabeth and I think that she was one of the Misses ROBERTSON, the other being Rosa Jnr.

Electoral rolls show that Rosa then moved to 112 Brisbane Street.

Rosa Snr. lived to a good age and articles were printed on the occasion of her birthdays in 1932/33/34/35.

http://trove.nla.gov.au/newspaper/article/24696533
http://trove.nla.gov.au/newspaper/article/24871042
http://trove.nla.gov.au/newspaper/article/29162427
http://trove.nla.gov.au/newspaper/article/30058646

Note that Thirza May HARBORD nee TURNER was not her daughter.  The article should have stated that Rosa lived with her daughter AT the home of Mrs HARBORD.

Rosa's obituary and funeral in December 1935:

http://trove.nla.gov.au/newspaper/article/30066819

The chief mourner was Miss Robertson....Others at the graveside were....Messrs. H. Thiessen
and Beck (relatives).

David's daughter Elizabeth Eva married Henry THIESSEN in 1896.

The daughter Rosa Eliza Jean ROBERTSON died in 1943.

...or, there are two births to James Robertson and Jean Scott to consider

James Alexander 1843
Margaret 1847

https://stors.tas.gov.au/RGD33-1-1-p399j2k

https://stors.tas.gov.au/RGD33-1-3-p044j2k

It is possible that James had two wives/partners both similarly named but you also need to consider that many births went unregistered in Tas and there may have been more children born between 1835 and 1843.

Debra 

[Dundee]

Robert ROBERTSON (and possibly Archibald) was also part of the family who arrived on the Minerva in 1832, but not recorded on the manifest.

WE, the undersigned, passengers from Scotland by the ship Minerva......

http://trove.nla.gov.au/newspaper/article/4196579

He married Christina WEBB nee FLOOD and died in Victoria in 1882 aged 75, parents named as Alexander and Isabella.

His death notice shows him as being of Easby and Robertson's Albion Foundry:

http://trove.nla.gov.au/newspaper/article/218202527

I don't know where he fits into the family.

Debra 

[KennyD]

Thank you Debra, that has given me heaps to get my head around!

I am particularly drawn to the passengers listing in the Hobart Town Courier article date 10 October 1832 (how ever did you find it?) and note that eight of the people on that list are not on the ship's passenger register!  How many more are there, and is Jane Robertson among the unlisted passengers (which is beginning to appear more and more possible)?

To have only one reported death on that voyage does say much for the attention and care of the ship's surgeon.

Now to go off and see how these other Robertsons fit (or don't fit) into my own family.

Kind regards, Ken.

[matthewj64]

The TAHO Wayn Index has quite a lot on the various Robertsons

"Digitised version of a handwritten card index to colonial Tasmanian Government records and colonial newspapers compiled by Amelia Lucy Wayn during the period from the 1920s to 1940s."

https://stors.tas.gov.au/rd/waynindex/AE807-1-22

M

[KennyD]

Thank you for locating and sharing these, Matthew... 

Creating those index cards must have been a mammoth task - with no digitised records to automatically sift through...

The one 'James Robertson' we have identified from the Minerva who *might* be 'my' James Robertson has only the briefest of mentions on Page 15, Card 4 of the ROB-01 collection and that is just the arrival details...  There is no sign of the births of David and Elizabeth in 1832 and 1835 and no sign of his death in 1862 in the index card collection.  <Sigh>

I also haven't yet located a Will for a James Robertson for the year 1862 - such a document may hold many clues!

My great-great-great-grandfather is proving to be very difficult to trace!

Regards, Ken.

[KennyD]

Finding details of David Robertson's sailing voyage on the Conway in 1855 accompanying the McPhee family has made this even more interesting than it already was!

David has obviously gone overseas from Tasmania (presumably with his mother Jane Robertson) and has returned as a 23 year old to work for a George Johnson of Elizabeth Street, Hobart Town as a general servant for 20 pounds for 12 months but there is no sign of Jane Robertson (perhaps she remained overseas or passed away) coming back to Australia.

Elizabeth Robertson (David's younger sister) died in Hobart on 1 December 1908 so she either didn't go overseas or she also returned to Tasmania.

Are there any records available of passengers leaving Tasmania and heading for the UK?  It would need to be between 1835 (when Elizabeth Robertson was born in New Norfolk) and 1855 when David sailed back to Tasmania...  I'm now hunting for Jane Robertson and David Robertson leaving Australia in addition to James Robertson and Jane Robertson arriving in Australia before 1833! <Sigh>

Kind regards, Ken.

[KennyD]

Huge thanks to you, Matthew...

I just dug deeper and deeper into the Jean/Jane Scott details and the other two children you gave me to look into...

And it is definitely 'my' Jane/Jean Robertson!  And that has led me to her death notice - she died aged 51 of "Dropsy" on 2nd March 1855 at the home in Bathurst Street, Hobart of her engineer husband James Robertson!

Lots of little pieces joined together between the siblings (now at least four of them- David, Elizabeth, James Alexander and Margaret) and witnesses at weddings etc.

David has probably sailed to Scotland with some of his mother's possessions or possibly her ashes and then returned to Australia on the 'Conway', sailing from Liverpool on 12th July 1855 after a brief visit to Scotland.

I now have two new relatives to investigate and more details about Jane/Jean that might finally help me find James and Jane/Jean's origins.

Kind regards, Ken.

[matthewj64]

I'd be interested in any other discoveries you make with this, so do post when you find something 

A couple of other thoughts I've had:

-David's naming his son David Scott possibly ties in with Jean Scott

-Elizabeth's death notice mentions David only, why not James Alexander?

-When did James Alexander die and is there a newspaper notice?

-You mentioned this person also searching for your Robertsons
http://archiver.rootsweb.ancestry.com/th/read/AUS-Tasmania/2008-12/1228986083
note that they had a tribute on the death of Joan O'BEIRNE, her maiden name was Thiessen, so she may tie in somehow
http://obituaries.themercury.com.au/notice/1718009

cheers

M