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Hi Taryne,

Luckily I get email notifications if there's a post on a thread I started, so that's how I knew about your message! The photo was sent to his niece, Elizabeth Harris, who was my husband's great-grandmother - it says to Lizzie from Uncle Joe on the back. (Elizabeth's mother was his sister Harriet Barnard and she married Samuel Harris). The other photo of 42 Mile Camp is interesting. It must have been from when he first arrived in Australia.

Thanks for the offer of the photo of his grave. If you do ever find out anything else about him, it would be lovely if you could let me know.

Thanks again.

Helen

Hi Helen.....I know it was  sometime back on the 15 September 09 in fact you posted this photo,
however I have redone it to see if I have improved, I hope you like it.

Carolyn 

Thanks Carolyn - that's lovely. I'm not sure why Uncle Joe has resurfaced after all this time - he's turned up on another thread I posted too - but I'm glad he has!

Helen

Albany was often the start of the journey to Kalgoorlie and Coolgardie Goldfields. 42 miles out of Albany in that direction would have been scrubby.

Thank you for the info 

Hello Garen,

Thanks for your help - I've been looking at the census returns and have found the families you've mentioned. However I've also found another possible Alfred whom I'm drawn towards - Alfred William Wheeler registered Jan-Mar in Edmonton, which is in the London Borough of Enfield (this would tie in with our Alfred who says he was born in Enfield). There's a family in the 1861 census with Alfred W Wheeler b Tottenham (again, same area as Edmonton/Enfield), father John b Ponders End (again, same area) and mother Jane b. Enfield. I will do a bit more digging as soon as I get the chance! Again, thanks for your input.

Best wishes,

Helen

Hello Garen,

Well - it hadn't crossed my mind that Alfred Wheeler may not be his real name! However, I do think that the family story that he ran away and changed his identity is more likely to be correct. His daughter would have been told that by her mother (Elizabeth) and then she relayed that to my mother-in-law - so the story hasn't come too far to be changed.  And I would think he would be more likely to get married under his real name than a false one - I'm assuming he would have had to provide a birth cert or evidence of identity.

The witnesses at the wedding were Samuel Harris (bride's brother - or possibly her father, but he tended to sign his full name Samuel James Harris, as when he was a witness at her second marriage) and Henrietta Farge (or possible Targe). Interestingly their first child was named Henrietta - so maybe she could be a sister of Alfred.

Thanks for the medal roll information. I wonder if the 78th Foot man is Alfred. How wonderful if it was him! I just have a feeling he used another name, but I hope I'm wrong!

Thanks again Garen for your input.

Best wishes,

Helen