a convict?

[kylejustin]

im looking for the arrival of my 3rd great grandfather, josiah twyford smith,
in australia.

my first record of him here is in 1853, st james, melbourne, his wedding to margaret palmer.

he's not on the england census. i'll be going to the pro in melbourne next week, to look at pre 1853 shipping lists. they are not online yet.

i was thinking lately he may have been a convict. im not descended from any convicts, but the stories about him, and the records, tell me he was a sly character.

can anyone give me sources to search for his name? convict sites? maybe a site where he may have been sentenced in lancashire?

thanx for any help

[kylejustin]

im thinking his name wasnt hyphonated twyford-smith, but more along the lines that twyford is his middle name. he has two sisiters baptised smith, no sign of the twyford.

[fiona c]

Have you seen this tree??

RootsWeb's WorldConnect Project: vicki twyford


There is a Hugh Twyford and Josiah Smith here in 1841

HO107; Piece 91; Book: 10; Folio: 7; Page: 10

[kylejustin]

yes, ive seen that tree. i tried to get in touch to no avail.
i should say that the info about the parents is wrong.

he was born 1824, preston lancashire.

on his death cert in 1882, kyneton, the parents are william twyford and elizabeth sophia bell

on his records from the igi, his parents are william and elizabeth sophia smith.
i havn't been able to locate the marriage records.

i discounted the census before, because they're in cheshire, but maybe im wrong. can you make out the occupations?

[kylejustin]

does it look right? it is almost an hour away.

[fiona c]

Can't make out the occupations on the 1841 census.

Census says they are both born out of county.

[kylejustin]

is it possible to trace this josiah forwards?

[kylejustin]

according to freebmd, there are no hugh twyford deaths

[fiona c]

There are lots of Josiah Smiths around that age so wouldn't like to say if any of the ones in 1851 are the same as the 1841 one.

[fiona c]

There is a baptism for a Hugh Twyford on the igi 1801 Manchester, parents Josiah and Mary Twyford. Looks like they may have had quite a few children and possibly had there first child in Westminster London.

There is also a birth for a Elizabeth Sophia Twyford in 1787, westminster. Could just be coincidence but a William Smith marries a Elizabeth Twyford in 1827 Westminster.

Minds working over time here.

Have you found a marriage to Elizabeth Sophia Bell?

[flashieboy]

On the Queensland digital library list of convicts there are no hits for a Josiah Smith or Josiah Twyford...that doesn't mean you CAN rule him out as a convict...it just makes it unlikely.

[dicole]

Does his marriage certificate give his address ? Have you found his death certificate ? These are likely to indicate when he arrived in Victoria (Melbourne), which may lead you to more information on whether he was a convict or not.

He may not have arrived to the colonies to Melbourne - some of ours arrived first into Adelaide and a few days later joined another ship for Melbourne.

Di

[kylejustin]

actually, fiona, the tree you had found gave elizabeth's birth as 1787, and a date for 1855, timperley. but i cant verify that info. its looking good, but how will i prove that its my elizabeth and william? im starting to think elizabeth was a twyford, maybe a bell at death. she was supposed to remarry, to who i have no idea!! why london of all places?

was she and hugh related?

josiah married in 1853, so they only info i have from then is names of witnesses and partners, and parish thy're from, this case kyneton.

i do have the death cert, but the ink has vanished really bad on half it, i can just make out parents names and the other info. but its so feint i cant see what he died from!!

[kylejustin]

im obliged to investigate this fully, as i thought id only ever find josiah's baptism and nothing else.

would anyone else put this in if it was they're family? i guess it's the london link i don't get.