John F Smith born approx 1857

[wivenhoe]

Thank you for the details on the certificate.  Can you clarify please -

On John Anthony's birth record, it lists his father as:

"John Smith: deceased 29th September 1887. Parents: Unknown.
Married to Emily Curry April 1886, Rockhampton, Queensland. But in the next column "certified by" it gets her name correct as Emma.

I read this to mean that you have a birth certificate which records  name of baby's father....and accounts for father's origins ie. it records baby's parents...and grandparents?

Where was baby born?

Who is the informant?.  When and where was the birth registered?  Does it record an occupation for father?


On the marriage certificate, what names do you see for witnesses.....what church do they marry in (denomination).

[Zane81]

Thank you for the details on the certificate.  Can you clarify please -

On John Anthony's birth record, it lists his father as:

"John Smith: deceased 29th September 1887. Parents: Unknown.
Married to Emily Curry April 1886, Rockhampton, Queensland. But in the next column "certified by" it gets her name correct as Emma.

I read this to mean that you have a birth certificate which records  name of baby's father....and accounts for father's origins ie. it records baby's parents...and grandparents?

Where was baby born?

Who is the informant?.  When and where was the birth registered?  Does it record an occupation for father?


On the marriage certificate, what names do you see for witnesses.....what church do they marry in (denomination).

It was not a proper birth certificate that I was able to find, just a births registry for the region of Maryborough.

I'll copy down all the information from it.

BABY
When are where born: 31st May, 1888 - Lady Musgrave Hospital, Maryborough Queensland
Name and whether present or not: John Anthony - not present

FATHER
Name and surname: John Smith
Rank or profession: Deceased 29th September
Age: Unknown
Birthplace: Unknown
When are where married: April 1886, Rockhampton, Queensland
Can't make out the next heading except for 'living and deceased': Just a tick, no writing

MOTHER
Name and maiden name: Emily formerly Curry
Age: 30 years
Birthplace: Wicklou Durham, England

INFORMANT: "Certified in writing Emma Smith, mother, Brisbane"

WITNESSES: 1) can't make out name 2) Mrs Ryland

REGISTRAR: Unknown signature - 19th June 1888, Maryborough

On her marriage certificate to James Clayton 24th June 1890
No denomination listed but the marriage was held at Wesley Passage, Maryborough
Witnesses: Alfred StrachawBeau (that's what it looks like) and Martha (german surname I cannot make out)

To me, it is starting to look like she didn't even know John F Smith, and that when she realised she was pregnant by him and he was dead, she decided to say that they had been married. There is no evidence at all that they were ever married or that she knew anything about him other than his name. She does not even know his age on John Anthony Smith's birth record.

[Neale1961]

To me, it is starting to look like she didn't even know John F Smith, and that when she realised she was pregnant by him and he was dead, she decided to say that they had been married. There is no evidence at all that they were ever married or that she knew anything about him other than his name. She does not even know his age on John Anthony Smith's birth record.

Clearly, Emma knew John Smith – she named him as father of her child, and knew his exact date of death.  On John’s inquest, if there is no mention of his wife (they had supposedly been married for over a year by then), then I would question if there was a marriage.
      If married, I would have expected them to be living together. At this time, on a large station like Terrick Terrick, typically farm labourers would be living on outposts, in huts with their wife and family. They may not come into the main homestead very often, and would have contact with, and get direction from, a station overseer.
      I would take Thomas Kent’s statement with a grain of salt, and his timing as very approximate. John could have gone into Blackall and back home again in a week, so his eventual demise could have been related to something else entirely. He may have been out on labouring work and lost his way. One wonders why his swag was so far from where he was found?
       As I haven’t seen the inquest, it is rather guess work on my part, but something doesn’t seem quite right.

[Zane81]

To me, it is starting to look like she didn't even know John F Smith, and that when she realised she was pregnant by him and he was dead, she decided to say that they had been married. There is no evidence at all that they were ever married or that she knew anything about him other than his name. She does not even know his age on John Anthony Smith's birth record.

Clearly, Emma knew John Smith – she named him as father of her child, and knew his exact date of death.  On John’s inquest, if there is no mention of his wife (they had supposedly been married for over a year by then), then I would question if there was a marriage.
      If married, I would have expected them to be living together. At this time, on a large station like Terrick Terrick, typically farm labourers would be living on outposts, in huts with their wife and family. They may not come into the main homestead very often, and would have contact with, and get direction from, a station overseer.
      I would take Thomas Kent’s statement with a grain of salt, and his timing as very approximate. John could have gone into Blackall and back home again in a week, so his eventual demise could have been related to something else entirely. He may have been out on labouring work and lost his way. One wonders why his swag was so far from where he was found?
       As I haven’t seen the inquest, it is rather guess work on my part, but something doesn’t seem quite right.

Agreed, she absolutely knew who he was. My feeling is that they might have just met once or twice in Blackall, had a fling. He goes back to work, dies in quasi-mysterious circumstances. She finds out she is pregnant, knows he is the father. Then, rather than admit to anyone that she just had a fling with the babies father, she says that they were married the year before in Rockhampton. I'm sure back then no one would check or really be able to verify. Obviously all conjecture, but it's the only thing I can come up with that explains why she doesn't know his age, where he was from or any other details other than his name and when he died.

I have contacted Terrick to see if they have any records but not looking good so far. I'm now considering how to use my DNA results to try and narrow down the possible family branches.

Frustrating but also very intriguing!