RootsChat.Com

Hi Wulfsige.

My research into both my wife's and my ancestors has shown a strong pattern of successive generations being involved in the same work. From the early 18th Century until they migrated to Australia in 1861 my ancestors were all pitmen in Northumberland and Durham. They lived near the pits and some died in the pits. In over 100 years only one ancestor to my knowledge was not a pitman (he became a publican).

My wife's family were agricultural labourers in Huntingdonshire from at least 1724 until her grandfather (who was recorded on the 1909 census as being an agricultural labourer at 11 years of age) emigrated to Australia in 1911.

It seems to have been a long-established tradition for the male family members to follow their fathers in the same work. There was little chance to change because education was limited and social climbing was hindered by class prejudice. My great-grandfather came to Australia in 1861 aged 11, and he had worked in the mines in Durham before embarking. Compulsory education in Australia allowed him to study to become a teacher - a commitment that took him almost 10 years because in the first four years he had to work hard to achieve an acceptable educational standard just to be able to start the teaching course.

Incidentally, if you have any ancestors who migrated to Victoria and became teachers, you can find their full teaching records (free and downloadable) on the Public Records Office of Victoria (PROV) site:
https://prov.vic.gov.au/search_journey/select?keywords=Arabia#search-top
All you need to do is search the name of the person and add (teacher) after it (eg. Joe Blow (teacher).

I hope this helps. Good luck with your search.

Peter

Hi everyone.

Thanks for the great additional help. As your investigations have shown, the Septimus Thompson in New South Wales was a different person because my great-grandfather had died in1897.

The information by Crisane is very interesting because it contains information that should have been on Septimus's death certificate but was left blank. I will have a look at the site and compare the two documents.

Thanks again for your help.

Peter

1883 is the correct year as it was announced in a newspaper in March of that year. Thanks for the pick-up.

Hi everyone.

My great-grandfather, Septimus Thompson, was a butcher in South Shields. He was born on 25 September 1859 in Westoe, South Shields, and he opened his own butcher's shop at 40 Dale Street, South Shields in 1883. In January, 1886, he stowed away on the Lavinia from Mauritius to Albany, Western Australia, where he was arrested but subsequently released as he'd been allowed by the captain of the ship to work his passage. He next turned up in Melbourne, marrying Rosa Grimsley in 1889. Evidence suggests that he abandoned Rosa and their daughter by 1890. He died in Melbourne on 21 June 1897.

It seems probable that Septimus might have had to leave England in a hurry, and possibly without sufficient money to buy a passage all the way to Australia. I'm interested in trying to find out why.
Had he been declared insolvent?
Had he married and abandoned a wife in South Shields?
Had he been running away from court charges?
His father (William) had died in 1871 and his mother (Margaret) had died in 1884. Was there an issue with his mother's will or her estate?
Are there any passenger lists that record his presence on a ship that left England at that time?
Where did he go after he landed in Western Australia and what did he do until 1889?

If anyone can direct me to sites that might help to answer these questions I would be very grateful.

Thanks,
            Peter

Hi Essnell.

Gadget has given you her usual excellent advice, and I can't add to that as I stopped using Ancestry years ago because too many people post material without checking it for authenticity. One clown even had a family tree that showed my wife's great-great uncle still working as a lorry driver at the impressive age of 122 years old.

I believe that anything you post there automatically becomes the property of Ancestry. Perhaps another reason to be careful when using it?

Good luck!

Peter