William Lucas, "Freemantle, South Australia", born Dorset 1840

[hurworth]

I'm putting this message here in case someone has an ancestor that fits these details.

He was born in 1840 in Lyme Regis to William Lucas, a tailor, and his wife Susan Type.  He is on the 1841 and 1851 census in Lyme Regis.

His younger brother Frederick b. 1849 joined the army, and one of his next of kin is his brother William in "Freemantle, South Australia".

I don't know the date when Frederick provided these details about his brother William.  Frederick attested on 27 May 1868.

[sparrett]

Could this be his sad end?

Western Australia 

http://trove.nla.gov.au/newspaper/article/111525124

LUCAS William
Aged   32
Father   Unknown
Mother  Unknown
Birthplace  Unknown
Reg   6145
Yr.  1872

Sue

[hurworth]

It certainly could be him.  Thank you for finding those.

[sparrett]

I don't know the details of the brother's Army record you have or how much recorded information from it  you have access to, but is there a "revised Next of Kin" after 1872?
Sue

[hurworth]

Changes to next of kin are not dated.  The form isn't the original because on the page where NOK details are it says "For mode of computing Foreign Servie, see G.O. 56 of 1874".  He attested in 1868.

Everything seems to be in the one hand on that sheet up until the date he started serving at home in 1876.  The writing is different after that.

It appears his father's details were recorded first, then crossed out and William's details added, and then William is crossed out and his wife is added.  He married in 1886.

[LizzieL]

It appears his father's details were recorded first, then crossed out and William's details added, and then William is crossed out and his wife is added.  He married in 1886.

When Frederick attested in 1868, both his father and mother (William snr and Susan) were still alive. they are on 1871 census. So quite normal for a single man to name his father as next of kin. When his father died, he would probably name his mother as next of kin if she was still alive then, or one of his siblings - which he did (brother William).
Susan Lucas was buried on 28 Feb 1874, I haven't yet found William snr's death / burial, but as Susan was never named as NOK, I suspect she pre-deceased William snr and he was still named as NOK when Susan died. If this logic is correct brother William was not named as NOK until after 1874, so cannot be the death in 1872.

[John Bell]

The William Lucas who died in 1872 was a convict, convicted in the Maidstone Assizes in July 1867 to 15 years Penal Servitude. He was in West Wickham at the time of the offence.