Henry Edward Stratford, New South Wales (d. 1890)

[PatLac]

Thanks, maddy! Yes, it looks like a '4'. 

[PatLac]

There are two references in the Tasmanian archives, one is H. E. Stratford's departure from Launceston in the cabin of the Lady Bird on 12 March 1854, and another is Mr. Stratford's arrival in the Cape Horn, departed from Geelong on 17 Sep 1854.

I wonder if Edward Stratford could have gone to Tasmania.

Henry Edward Stratford published a notice in the newspaper asking Charles A. Stratford who arrived in the Sea Ranger to write to him, so maybe he went to Tasmania to meet Edward?

The Argus (Melbourne, Vic. : 1848 – 1957)
Sat 3 Jun 1854
Page 2
Advertising

CHARLES A. STRATFORD. who arrived last Nov-
vember in the Sea Ranger, is requested to send his
name in full, and address to H. E. S., office of this
paper.

https://trove.nla.gov.au/newspaper/article/4808787?searchTerm=%22charles%20a.%20stratford%22#

[maddys52]

The Sea Ranger was an American ship that sailed from New York  in November 1853.
https://trove.nla.gov.au/newspaper/article/86415326

Charles not noted on the passenger list, he may have been in Steerage.
https://trove.nla.gov.au/newspaper/article/4799350

So if Charles A STRATFORD was in New York, maybe you could also look for Edward there?

[PatLac]

The Sea Ranger was an American ship that sailed from New York  in November 1853.
https://trove.nla.gov.au/newspaper/article/86415326

Charles not noted on the passenger list, he may have been in Steerage.
https://trove.nla.gov.au/newspaper/article/4799350

So if Charles A STRATFORD was in New York, maybe you could also look for Edward there?

Edward arrived one year early (11 Nov 1852), with Henry per Rip Van Winkle. Their names are on the passengers' list availble on PROV.

Charles is listed arriving per Sea Ranger in 9 Nov 1853 (PROV). I think he might have boarded at Cape Town, not New York.

Henry and Edward had been sentenced to death, commuted to prison (10 and 6 years), and finally to exile, so they had to leave Tuscany immediately. Charles was set free, maybe he stayed a bit more with his mother, but I can't see why he would go to New York, as they had no money.

[PatLac]

According to this bio at WikiTree '(...) "Sea Ranger" 16 July 1853 sailed from Boston to New York, thence, to Melbourne with unassisted passengers, including more than one hundred miners to search for gold in the Castlemaine district, Victoria.'

https://www.wikitree.com/wiki/Gordon-11914

This corroborates a post on RootsWeb by Helen saying Henry and Charles sold goods to miners at Castlemaine.

I don't know where Charles boarded the ship, but it's certain that the Sea Ranger, which was one of the many ships of the "Pioneer Line of Australian Packets", (Monthly Nautical Magazine, and Quarterly Review, Volume 1, page 374), went to Australia via the Cape.

"In their dash to reach the Victorian goldfields in the quickest possible time, many ship's captains adopted the new 'Great Circle' route in the 1850s. Passing far south of the Cape of Good Hope, they sought the 'Roaring Forties' – the strong prevailing winds that blew from the west to the east between 40 and 50 degrees south."

https://museumsvictoria.com.au/immigrationmuseum/resources/journeys-to-australia/

[PatLac]

I wonder how John Gordon, who posted on the now (unfortunately) defunct RootsWeb mailing list, could be a descendant of Henry Mason Stratford, if he didn't have any children (only one stillbirth daughter in 1884).

https://wayback.archive-it.org/20669/20230803144038/https://mlarchives.rootsweb.com/listindexes/emails?listname=aus-vic-gippsland&thread=75778

He's talking about a lost/ex nuptial/fostered child from around 1882, the year of Henry Mason's marriage to Marian Taylor. Maybe Henry Mason had a child with another woman?

[PatLac]

I have found John Gordon's thread on Ancestry message boards (inherited from RootsWeb)

https://www.ancestry.com/boards/localities.oceania.australia.vic.general/11722

Apparently Henry Mason Stratford fostered his grandfather, Donald Reuben Gordon.

He has no birth certificate, married under the surname Gordon (Vic BDM - mar. reg 2168 / 1910) , enlisted under the surname Stratford and died under the surname Stratford (Vic BDM - death reg 17701 / 1956). His military file is avaliable on NAA and his grave on Findagrave.

John Gordon has a brief profile on WikiTree, I've sent him a message, just hope he's still around, born in the 1930s.

The lady that posted on WikiTree about the Sea Ranger passengers headed to the Castlemaine diggings, Joan May Lewis, has probably passed away, she was also born in the 1930s, her profile on WikiTree is being administered by another person who is not related to her.