Whatever happened to little Jackie Baldwin ?

[Pipeclay]

On Thursday 23rd March 1911,  a Mrs Baldwin of Wahroonga ( northern Sydney ) took three of her children ( names and ages not known except for "Jackie" aged 3 ),  to visit Mrs Jones at Mount Colah,  another place about 7 kilometers away.

Jackie wandered off into "dingo country",  and was not found until the following Monday morning after a large and apparently somewhat chaotic search.

This was reported in many papers both during and after the hunt.  One of the more detailed accounts was in the "Cumberland Argus and Fruitgrowers' Advocate" on Wednesday 29 March 1911, here

http://trove.nla.gov.au/newspaper/article/85995248

And this story from the "Evening News" of Friday 24th March,  the day after he went missing:
http://trove.nla.gov.au/newspaper/article/113932753

There are many other newspaper reports, a few mostly original but most of them obvious copied from what other papers said.

So who was Jackie Baldwin ?

It seems from the newspaper stories, he had both a mother and a father.  He had two siblings.  One of the newspaper stories apparently refers to an older brother being send on an errand,  and Jackie being disgruntled that he could not go.

A few newspaper stories name the missing child as "John", including this one

http://trove.nla.gov.au/newspaper/article/126775096

Most newspaper stories don't name his parents.  One refers to his father as Mr. J. Baldwin.  Another refers to his father as John Baldwin.
http://trove.nla.gov.au/newspaper/article/79999905
Notably,  the most local newspaper, which names many local residents and details about the search, the Cumberland Argus,  doesn't mention his parents names.

A rather odd story in "The Sun" of 8th April 1911 reported on an outbreak of mental illness at Hornsby after this episode,  and a public meeting held to discuss rewarding the searchers,  or alternatively rewarding Jackie Baldwin.
http://trove.nla.gov.au/newspaper/article/221591598

There are 8 births for people called John Baldwin in NSW between 1907 and 1909.   He might have been an immigrant, or from interstate.

The closest birth registration to Wahroonga was John E Baldwin, who birth was registered at Chatswood in 1908 and whose parents names were George R and Maude.

Looking at the death registrations for John Baldwin,   this 1908 birth seems to correspond in the index to the 1949 death of John Edward Baldwin, parents George Richard and Maude Elizabeth.  There is an internet reference to this 1949 burial at Liverpool cemetery,  which supposedly says he was 41, which would match the 1908 birth, I guess.    I found that the other day,   but I can't find it again now.

So that is one plausible candidate to be the missing Jackie Baldwin, I guess.

This George and Maude Baldwin seem to have had 3 other children born in 1905, 1910 and 1912,  which is three as of 1911 which matches the missing child story.  Except for the father being called George.

There was a John Edward Baldwin in the RAAF in WW2,  who was from Queensland but who claimed to have been born in Sydney on 18th March 1908,    which would be 3 on 23rd March 1911.

Any suggestions on who "Jackie" was,  or what happened to him ?

[majm]

Sands Directories, 1915
Fred    BALDWIN, Coonanbarra Road, Wahroonga
George BALDWIN, Coonanbarra Road, Wahroonga

JM

[sparrett]

Is there a reason you are searching for Jackie BALDWIN?

Is he in some way related to you and perhaps you are wishing to trace this line of your family history?

Sue

[majm]

http://trove.nla.gov.au/newspaper/article/45149059 1 April 1911 a report detailing who helped find the child.   This report is from a Broken Hill newspaper.

Red Post .... Good Questions from Sue. 

May I please add ....... Pipeclay,
Do you have any NSW BDM certificates for the sightings mentioned in your opening Post,

JM

[Pipeclay]

Not related to me.   It is more of a "Hornsby local history" angle.

He apparently survived the ordeal of being lost.  I'm not sure how buying certificates, at this point, would actually corroborate anything specific about any of the potential John or Jackie Baldwins that there might be.

I suppose the 1949 death certificate for the person apparently buried at Liverpool might confirm his age. A cause of death, helpfully stating "died due to debility from being lost in 1911 for three days",  would seem very unlikely to me.

I don't need to "prove" anything about this guy.  I am just wondering what happened to him.

The previous post mentioning there was a George Baldwin in the Sands directory in 1915,   is not inconsistent with the hypothesis that his father was named George, and the 1911 newspapers mentioning his father as J. or John Baldwin were somehow mistaken.

[majm]

http://www.hornsby.nsw.gov.au/library/activities-and-events/hornsby-shire-family-history-group

Have you considered contacting the above group?

JM

[Jamjar]

This sentence beginning with the following needs to be removed. I would be most upset if it was my grandmother being referred to as having died in such a manner and being referred to as "delusional" on a public forum by a complete stranger.

In December 1912, a woman near Wodonga

Jamjar

[Pipeclay]

Checking the index to NSW death registrations,  entry 22904 of 1949 was apparently made on 2 July 1949 and has John Edward Baldwin, whose parents were George Richard Baldwin and Maude Elizabeth and whose death was registered at Liverpool.

The Sydney Morning Herald of 4th July 1949 contains two consecutive funeral announcements
BALDWIN-The Relatives and Friends
of May Baldwin and Familv of
Glenfield are kindly Invited to attend
the Funeral of her beloved Husband and
their Father JOHN EDWARD to leave
All Saints Church Liverpool This
(Monday) Afternoon at 2 45 o'clock
for Catholic Cemetery Liverpool
WOOD COFFILL LIMITED and MURPHY AND SONS Liverpool

BALDWIN -The Relatives and Friends of Mr and Mrs George R Baldwin and Family of Glenfield are
kindly Invited to attend the Funeral of their dearly beloved Son and Brother
JOHN EDWARD BALDWIN For particulars see family notice ^_^

The "Australian Cemeteries Index" says that John Edward Baldwin was 41 and was interred at the Liverpool Catholic cemetery row L plot 105 on 4th July 1949,  transcribed by Peter Olsen.  Whether this is a tombstone or cemetery record that Peter Olsen has transcribed,  is not entirely apparent.

I am prepared to believe that those items cited are in relation to one individual.    The wording of the funeral announcement tends to suggest that he was outlived by at least one of his parents, and names his father George R Baldwin, and which also leads to the inference that he was not himself very elderly.   It also indicates that John was married.

I think that this is the guy whose birth was registered at Chatswood NSW in 1908.   The parents names and his age match up.  There are not a huge number of John E Baldwins.

But that still does not link this 1908 born Chatswood fellow to being the 3-year-old supposed Wahroonga resident who was lost in 1911.

[Pipeclay]

This sentence beginning with the following needs to be removed.
Jamjar

Did you read what all the newspapers said in 1912,  and what the coroner said ?

Anyway,  I am doubtful if it is relevant to my query, so I will take it out if I can figure out how.