Deserters of La Cornelie (also Corneille)

[grahamd15]

Hi everyone,
I'm trying to track down six men's movement who I believe one may be my ancestor. They deserted the French Corvette La Cornelie (also written as Corneille in Aus newspapers) on the 28th November 1861. Their names were:
Ulyn Gantier Ferdinand
Francois Bordure
Victor Murdire
Jean Clorie
Frederick Edward Boujonnier
Eugene Perrot

The article is here: https://trove.nla.gov.au/newspaper/article/225139989?searchTerm=ferdinand

I'm unsure if there could be any more info on them in records and am unsure where to look.

My ancestor Charles Franks wrote in his naturalisation certificate that he was born on the 6 Dec 1839 in Brest, France and arrived in Sydney in December 1864 aboard the Corneille. His naturalisation was made fifty years after his arrival which makes me think La Cornelie is a likely candidate.

[judb]

It's not Eugene Perrot, as his naturalisation application is in his name as given in the newspaper article and he states he arrived on the Cornelie in 1861, bornin Bayonne, France about 1845.
New South Wales, Australia, Certificates of Naturalization, 1849-1903
Some of the records for this man give his  full name as:
Eugene Perrot De Pompido

I am not seeing anything for any of the others, except the reports of their desertion in the NSW Government Gazettes

Is this your ancestor?
You probably already have this, and is not much use in finding his origin.

From: Australia and New Zealand, Find a Grave Index,
Name   Charles William Franks
Gender   Male
Birth Date   1839
Death Date   7 Apr. 1924
Cemetery   Williamstown Cemetery, Williamstown, Hobsons Bay City, Victoria, Australia
Spouse   Mary Ann Franks
Children   Ernest Victor William Franks; Louis Franks; Henry Murray Franks

There is an on-line tree for the chap shown in this burial index.  In this tree it gives his birthdate/place as 6 Dec 1839 • Brest, Finistère, Bretagne, France.  however there is no documentation for this. Parents are listed for this man but again - no documentation.

From TROVE: 
The Herald (Melbourne), Tue 8 Apr 1924 Page 6
 FELL OVER BALCONY  This man died by falling over a balcony at the Little Sisters of the Poor Institution, Northcote, aged 86 and "who was mentally deficient"

Judith

[grahamd15]

That's great you found the record for Eugene Perrot, I'll have to have a look.

Yes, Charles Franks is my ancestor. This is a copy of his naturalisation certificate which states his birthdate and place and arrival: https://recordsearch.naa.gov.au/SearchNRetrieve/Interface/ViewImage.aspx?B=11884

[shume]

So we have Charles Franks stating he arrived in 1864 and Eugene Perrot and the other deserters arriving 1861. So although on the same ship, perhaps he isn't part of the deserters group?

[grahamd15]

I think it's possible that Charles misremembered the exact year of his arrival as he doesn't include the day. I've found in researching my other ancestors that sometimes the arrival date is off by a few years.

The Cornelie may have come again in 1864 but I haven't been able to find a record of it so far. I'll have another look and see if I can dig up anything.

[hanes teulu]

Related thread (thought it rang a bell)
https://www.rootschat.com/forum/index.php?topic=886306.0

[judb]

Quite likely some of these men would have changed their names, especially as they had been named in the Government Gazette.  I was surprised to find Eugene Perrot still using his original name.

With regard to your ancestor, I note that the application for naturalisation was made some 50 years after the date he gives for his arrival, when he is approx 73 and is still unable to sign so he's done well to remember all of the places he's lived, and other discrepancies are understandable.

Judith

[grahamd15]

Thanks for your help with this Judith!

Whereabouts did you find the naturalisation certificate for Eugene Perrot? I'd like to have a look at the original if possible. In some branches of the Franks family, the story about Charles Franks was that he jumped ship with a brother who lived with the Indigenous people in the area - I'm sure that some of it has been exaggerated overtime but I think "the brother", if he existed, may have been one of his crewmates. It would be interesting to see where Eugene said he had lived in his naturalisation certificate and compare with the list of places on Charles Franks' naturalisation record.

[judb]

I gave the reference for the Perrot naturalisation in my first mention.  Ancestry has it; it's not available on National Archives as it was before Federation.
It gives the following personal information:
Eugene Perrot, a native of Bayonne, France, fruitgrower, aged 45 years arrived in the Colony of New South Wales by the ship Cornelie in the year 1861, resided in the Colony for 29 years.
Dated 15 March,1890

The words in italics are handwritten on the document and his age and the ship's name are difficult to read.  Later records show he died in Temora so perhaps that's where his fruit-growing was.  I didn't look closely at his other records.   There is no mention in the naturalisation record of his address at the time.

Judith