I am trying to get some clarity to the voyages that our family did from the UK to South Africa and Australia, and although I do have basic information, my task is to get more details. Easier said than done maybe!!!
I do know that Thomas SHAW arrived in Australia on the ship SS Energia in June 1886 sailing from Portsmouth and arriving in Sydney. The associated questions which I have with this voyage are:
- When did he leave Portsmouth?
- What records would there be of his booking on the ship? Did he have to wait to catch the ship?
- How did he get from Co. Down to Portsmouth?
I know that Donald Alexander CLARK was born in Mintlaw, Scotland on 10th February 1861, and the family is not on the 1881 census, so assume they had left, but to where? Folk law has it that Donald Clark went to South Africa twice from the UK, and I want to try and get some clarity to this claim.
- Donald Clark went up to Rhodesia (Zimbabwe) in 1890, so his trip out to South Africa must have been, I assume, some time before that date.
- Where from and when did he leave the UK to travel to South Africa and on which ship?
- Is there any information available on the ship he travelled on?
I know that Isaac MOODY was born in Corsley, Wiltshire and baptized 19th March 1820. The family is recorded as being in the 1841 Census. He married in 1852 in Grahamstown, South Africa, so in those 11 years must have made the trip out to South Africa.
I know that Frederick Thomas KING was born in Stockton, Wiltshire on 18th May 1868, and in the 1891 Census there is a Frederick T King still living in Stockton. I do not know when he travelled to South Africa, however the death certificate of his and his wife Dorothy Hanbury WHITEHOUSE show that they were married in the UK and assume, travelled out together. The same questions above would also apply here- What/when/where and how??
I know that William Frederick WHITFIELD was born in Hull, Yorkshire on 1st September 1857, and was in South Africa by 1885 when he got married.
Thank you fellow RootChatters for any information you can shed on the mystery.
Gaz