I am trying to trace a birth at sea in July 1849. It is for a Fanny Nelson P Dunsford, mother Mary, I believe she was on her way home to England from Australia, can anyone help me please or tell me where to look for it,
Unconfigured Ad Widget
Collapse
Announcement
Collapse
No announcement yet.
Help please with a birth at sea
Collapse
X
-
Hello Whitbread,
that name takes me back a few years with "Trophy Bitter".. I digress..
I would think, that you would need to check the birth index where the ship docked?
do you know where the ship docked?? at allJulie
They're coming to take me away haha hee hee..........
.......I find dead people
Comment
-
right,
had a bit of a shuftie on ancestry....
1851 census
Mary Dunsford,-mar-age 33- capt's wife. born Clist Honiton, Devon
Henry Dunsford -son-age 6 scholar. b. sidney aus
Sopha Dunsford- dau- age 4 scholar. ditto
Fanny Dunsford-dau-age 2. ditto.
Henry Fish - Relative- age 23, cordwainer, b. clist honiton devon. (i'm betting her brother)
Class: HO107; Piece: 1866; Folio: 158; Page: 14;Julie
They're coming to take me away haha hee hee..........
.......I find dead people
Comment
-
Thanks Julie, yes I too found rthat on Ancestry and on the 1891 census it say born at sea (from Australia). Unfortunately it never said which she she was on and I have not been able to find out. If I could then I may be able to find her birth details and parents. Trevena
Comment
-
Ahh is that your tree that is on ancestry then?? with the images etc?? of fanny? (I couldnt see cos it is private)
I take it you have fannys marriage in islington? london
just as a matter of course I presume you have had a look for a marriage between a mary fish and a ? dunsford in clist honiton?
dont mean to sound patronising.. is not meant toJulie
They're coming to take me away haha hee hee..........
.......I find dead people
Comment
-
I wonder if this birth registration is relevant (from freeBMD)
Births Dec 1848
Nelson Female
St Thomas volume 10 page 201
The registration district for Cryst Honiton is St Thomas
Sorry just realised, if we are to believe the IGI then it is too early!Last edited by Elaine ..Spain; 28-08-08, 21:01.Elaine
Comment
-
The IGI has a marriage between a Henry Dunsford and Mary but I have checked the parish record myself and had the parish clerk check it and there is no such marriage. Yes I have Fanny's marriage to William Underwood, but I doubt that would tell me anything about her birth. Thanks Trevena
Comment
-
You probably know that Sophia and Henry's births are recorded in Sydney, parents Henry and Mary.
Henry 1845 and Sophia 1846.Phoenix - with charred feathers
Researching Skillings from Norfolk, Sworn from Salisbury and Adams in Malborough, Devon.
Comment
-
Most of the references I come up with by googling are the questions that you have put on other forums and I can see that you have done a great deal of research.
Have you found Henry's records at Kew? Unfortunately, they will peeter out just at the relevant time, but should list the earlier voyages. I cannot remember the coverage for crew lists, but if he were captain, the odds are that he continued with the same ship for a number of voyages and you might be able to pick up his voyage. There is coding for the actual ports the voyages were to and from.
Chris and Michael Watts have published two very useful books. One is "My Ancestor was a Merchant Seaman" the other has a title something like "Births Marriages and Deaths at Sea". They are extremely detailed and suggest all sorts of different sources to use.Phoenix - with charred feathers
Researching Skillings from Norfolk, Sworn from Salisbury and Adams in Malborough, Devon.
Comment
-
Yes I have been to Kew and found him on one or two ships. There are however no records for these ships, likewise I have been to the NMM and found his Master's certificate but again none of the other papers have survived. I do know the name on the ships he mastered and they are the Elizabeth Jane (1847), the Jane Cain (1848/9/51) and the Enmore(1849/50). The reason I want to find Fanny's birth is to finally prove one way or another if this Henry is the same Henry who later went off and married Caroline Litten in Australia and had 5 children with her.Last edited by Guest; 28-08-08, 22:48.
Comment
-
I can't see that Fanny's birth will actually do that. Henry's merchant seaman's ticket ought to give his date and place of birth.
I am not familiar with Australian records, but might the death of the husband of Caroline Litten provide a place of birth for you to compare?
Have you looked for wills for Dunsfords?
The trouble with merchant seamen is that they don't confine themselves to England and Australia. I have a couple of brothers, contemporaries of your Henry. One witnesses a marriage in Shanghai and dies in Calcutta, another has a son born in Erromango in Vanutu. To date, I've only been able to infer the birth and death from other records. They hop and skip all over the place and take their wives and children with them.
Are there any Australian manifests showing passengers? I've found the family that way, though I cannot remember the name of the site, I'm afraid.Phoenix - with charred feathers
Researching Skillings from Norfolk, Sworn from Salisbury and Adams in Malborough, Devon.
Comment
-
Originally posted by whitbread View PostI do know the name on the ships he mastered and they are the Elizabeth Jane (1847), the Jane Cain (1848/9/51) and the Enmore(1849/50).Uncle John - Passed away March 2020
Comment
-
Hi John and Pheonix, thanks for the replies. I do have the death of Carolin Litten's husband and it is Henry Dunsford in 1903 in NZ. The ships sailed to and from Australia and NZ and sometimes the Phillipines. I have lots of ref's from book for Captain Dunsford and found him on a manifest. The trouble is not finding Henry, that I have done in abundance but proving the two Henry's are the same one is the stumbling block. On Fanny's baptism entry it has her father as Master of the Goodship Jane Cane. Different spelling but I guess the same ship. I guess I have him nailed but what I want is not only Henry's name on the birth cert but the maiden name of the mother, Mary, it should be Irish or Fish. Henry's ships were advertised in the Times and in Australian newspapers so I have those. I just feel somehow that Fanny's birth cert might provide a few answers. I really have masses on Henry including about 7 of his signatures from various parts of the world but nothing absolutely concrete to tie him into one man.Last edited by Guest; 29-08-08, 11:04.
Comment
-
Originally posted by whitbread View PostJust another thought, would her marriage cert have the name of the ship she was born on, do you think, that might be a starting point
I don't think the marriage cert will help, as you dont have to specify a POB on a marriage cert, (well UK ones anyway) just residence at the time of marriage.
So her b/day isnt 21 July 1849 then??Julie
They're coming to take me away haha hee hee..........
.......I find dead people
Comment
Comment