Charles Wheeler

[DianeJ]

Hi,
I have a birth cert that is supposed to be my grandfathers, Charles Robert Wheeler, whose mother is listed as Catherine Flyng and Father John James Wheeler.  Grandfather was born in 1863 and their marriage took place in 1863.  However, on my grandfathers marriage cert he states his mother is Jane Johnson and father James Wheeler, (bit hard to read).  Can only find one birth cert online in his name on the date he is supposed to be born.  A real mystery, cant seem to find anything else, I'm well and truly Stuck!
DianeJ

[aghadowey]

Civil registration of births started in 1864 so if he was born in 1863 he is unlikely to have a birth certificate. Is it a church record of his baptism that you have?

[DianeJ]

Hi,
It says it is a Certified copy of an entry of birth given at the general register office.  A friend of the family picked it up at St Catherines I think on the 23rd August, 1995. I wonder if there are any further records in Cheltenham where he was born.  He had a brother Harry Wheeler  and cant find him either.

[aghadowey]

You didn't mention that it was an English birth certificate. Probably best to post a query on the relevant English board if you want to trace the family while they were living in England.
English marriage certificate will lists fathers' names and occupations so it might be worth getting that certificate if you don't have it yet and want to trace the family further back.

[DianeJ]

Hello again,
Charles Robert Wheeler was born in Cheltenham but married in Australia and I have a copy of the original marriage certificate which is why it is confusing because the only birth cert I can find for someone of his name and supposed date of birth shows totally different parents. He went to school in Lisbon Portugal at least till he was 12 and then went to England in 1876 with a guardian Charles Henry Johnson who was an army capt in India I understand. Capt Johnson died in 1877 whilst CR Wheeler was on the merchant navy training ship Worcester. I have his entry form for the Worcester where he left in Dec 1877.  He ended up in Aust but didnt marry till he was 45yrs.  Cant find a marriage cert for the parents named on his marriage cert either
Capt James Wheeler HMS and Jane Johnson.  The guardian died in Cintra Portugal and is buried there.  I can find Capt Johnson thru various census and CR Wheeler in the 1881 census in London.  According the census records the father listed on the BC is a manservant of Capt Johnson in 1861.  John James Wheeler married Catherine Flyng after the birth of CR Wheeler in 1863 and then recorded the birth in April 1863, after that they all seem to disappear, maybe to Lisbon.  CR Wheeler's application for the Worcester shows his last school as British College, Valle du Porsira, Lisbon.  Cant find a record of that either but it may have closed up I guess.

[aghadowey]

First of all, if parents died when he was young or he grew up away from family he may not have known his parents' real names. Another possiblity is that his mother died, father remarried and he gave step-mother's name on marriage certificate.

Am going to split this bit of the thread and move to Beginners Board since there isn't any connection to Somers family from New Ross, Wexford.

[Valda]

Hi

The other possibility is it seems on his marriage he has amalgamated some of the information incoporating some of the details from Captain Johnson into his own background. He has either done that because of a genuine affection for Captain Johnson and/or as a way of making his own background more prestigious. It is far from unknown that people on their marriage were tempted to improve their father's status in this way, particularly when fathers were no longer around for anyone to know any differently. He may have geniunely believed he did have a connection to the Johnson family.

What parents are named on his death certificate?

Where is John James Wheeler and Captain Johnson on the 1861 census?

Have you searched to see whether Captain Johnson left a will?


Regards

Valda

[dawnsh]

Hi Diane

Although civil registration started in 1837, it wasn't compulsory to register births until 1875. A small number of such birth are known to have slipped through the registration process. Alternatively, his birth was registered and somehow hasn't made it's way into the GRO index or his name has been mistranscribed by the clerks who compiled the index.

The other question is: are you looking at the birth data on freebmd or have you looked at the images for Wheeler births for 1863? The freebmd project is a transcription project, again there are errors and omissions.

Dawn

[Valda]

Hi

Charles Robert Wheeler is not a particularly common combination on FreeBMD's transcription of the civil registration index. Coverage charts are here.

http://freebmd.rootsweb.com/progress.shtml


This is a birth registration in the right place at the right time

Births Jun 1863  WHEELER  Charles Robert     Cheltenham  6a 387


and other than the census already mentioned there doesn't seem another sighting for that particular birth on censuses, or marriage or death registrations, so if it isn't him then this Charles Robert Wheeler would also have seemed to have disappeared. Given that the father of this Charles Robert Wheeler may be Captain Johnson's manservant on the 1861 census that does make a connection to this birth registration.


1881 census RG11 196 folio 20
29 Frederick Street St Pancras, London
Charles R. Wheeler 18 Boarder Midshipman  Cheltenham, Gloucestershire


There is a Robert Charles Wheeler birth registered Cheltenham in 1865 but he can be found on the 1871 census in Cheltenham.


Is it possible there are other records for the Thames Nautical Training College that might include Charles Robert Wheeler and give further information?

http://www.nmm.ac.uk/collections/archive/catalogue/record.cfm?ID=WOR


There is also a British Historical Society of Portugal.

http://www.bhsportugal.org/

It does seem to have published on The British College in Lisbon

http://books.google.co.uk/books?id=VclMOAAACAAJ&dq=%22british+college+lisbon%22&lr=&as_drrb_is=q&as_minm_is=0&as_miny_is=&as_maxm_is=0&as_maxy_is=&num=100&as_brr=0&cd=2

as well as on the British Cemetery in Lisbon. They may be able to help as well.


Have you researched Captain Johnson's family to see whether he did in fact have a sibling called Jane?



Regards

Valda