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Hi all
Thomas DAVEY (or one of the hundreds of them anyway) born approx 1830 came to New Zealand apparently in 1874 (according to my information). I cannot find any supporting records. A conversation I had with a now deceased relative was that this Thomas Davey was a policeman, he was born or lived in Liskeard Cornwall and brought his wife and 6 children aboard the DOUGLASS.  One of the little ones died on the voyage of diphtheria.  The records are very robust once they got to New Zealand from their 18 year old son anyway. But the initial journey and whoever the parents were, and the names of the other siblings is vague as there are so many Thomas Daveys.

One of Thomas Davey's sons who was on the voyage was Thomas Henry (Harry) Davey b1856 who was born in Liskeard in Cornwall and he was the father of Thomas Harry Pringle Davey b.1885 d.1962.

I have been untangling the Daveys and Dayshes seemingly forever - but this originating and elusive Thomas has eluded me for a long time.

I am very interested in any information on Youdans from Yorkshire or thereabouts. My grandfather was John Youdan Briggs b.1903, his father was also John Youdan Briggs b.1850, his father was Joseph Briggs b.1804 and mother was Sarah Youdan b.1807. My mother has done a lot of the research via graveyards etc as she was fascinated by the Youdan middle name. She met a Youdan via a graveyard visit and obtained some verbal history. From the story she was told it seemed that Sarah Youdan was cut off from her family, who had lands, for supposedly marrying Joseph Briggs - a farmhand. Her father was Samuel Youdan b.1780 and mother Ann.  This is where the history joins other's family trees and I could follow back Samuel's father, Thomas Youdan b.1729 m. Mary Wilburn; his father John Youdan b.1702 m. Frances Woemack; and his father Thomas Youdan b. 1666 m. Alice Shepeard. All this I have been able to verify through census records and births marriages and deaths records. (I am using the Ancestry websites)

Like everyone else that has researched the Youdans this is where it stops. I have noticed that some have gone the 'Udall' or 'Youdall' route, but I am not convinced.  Following clues from my mother's meeting with the Youdan relative - who seems to have done considerable research herself - the families of the Youdans and Vermuydens overlap in the 1600's.  Where the Vermuydens stop dead the Youdans start - well as far as I can ascertain anyway, and given the political circumstances of the time it seems to me a logical answer to the puzzle that the Vermuydens went to ground and changed their names in order to protect their lives.  Sir Cornelius Vermuyden was given some of the land reclaimed from the Isle of Axholme and there were other projects he would have benefitted from. He worked on reclamation in Hatfield Chase - where the Youdans come from - in 1666.

He was knighted in 1929 by Charles I and in the turmoil of Oliver Cromwells takeover work appears to cease. He did propose a treaty between the Dutch and English to Cromwell (not sure of details) so he seemed to stay involved with the leading figures in England. Then Charless II was reinstated and turmoil between the Dutch and English continued. The Great Fire of London in 1666 was a particularly telling event as in the terror that ensued and the newspaper publisher burning down rumours flew that the Dutch were attacking and foreigners were rounded up and lynched.  Anyway I am continuing with both the Vermuyden and Youdan lines to prove or disprove my theory and any input is helpful.

I also have traced the mysterious Harriet Youdan/Briggs who lived with Samuel and Ann. She was Samuel's granddaughter and my research suggests (although 3 different birth years are recorded in the censuses) she was born on 1826 of Sarah Youdan shortly before her marriage to Joseph Briggs. Harriet subsequently married Robert Masey (their children were all called Macey).