Michell and Eddy

[steven]

Hi everyone...

I'm looking for information on the family of Matthew Michell and Thomas Eddy.

Matthew Michell was married to my great great great aunt, Wilmot Ann Phillips. They married in 1874 and on the 1881 census, Wilmot is alone with her children and her husband is "abroad". I find no further trace of him. Wilmot and Matthew had three children that I know of. A baby boy born in 1875 who probably died by 1881, and two daughters, Margaret and Wilmot Jane. I think that Margaret married James Stevens Hawke (who died in 1924 by falling down a flight of stairs) and that Wilmot Jane married William John Martin Chard.  I have no proof of either marriage and don't know if either had children.  Wilmot Ann Phillips Michell is still living as of 1933 as she is listed as a survivor on the obituary of William Phillips, her brother, who died in Michigan in 1933.  I'd love to know when she died.

Also, Thomas Eddy married Sarah Jane Phillips around 1869, probably in St. Ive's.  They are with Sarah's parents in 1871.  They had several children baptized non conformist in the 1870's including Susan Phillips Eddy, William Eddy, and Elizabeth Jane Eddy.  They have totally disappeared by 1881 (at least I can't find them on the census).  I'm guessing that they might've emigrated, but was wondering if anyone had come across them.

Thanks so much for any help.  It's greatly appreciated from across the pond!

Steve

[sue]

Hi Steven

Margaret & Wilmot Jane Michell's baptisms at Towednack 1876 & 1878 respectively can be found on OPC Cornwall website.

Mother Wilmot is widowed by 1891, by which time the girls are said to have been born at Towednack, as opposed to the 1881 Falmouth declaration ( think).

Given the suggested husbands you have put forward for these 2 girls, it looks like Margaret married in the September Q 1910 in the Penzance Reg District; Wilmot in the December Q 1906.

If you now look to find them in 1911 (assuming they were still in the UK), their ages & place of birth should verify that for you. (Assuming you don't want to go the expensive route of purchasing those marriage certificates!)
......................................
The marriage of Thomas Eddy to Sarah Jane Phillips can also be found on FreeBMD: September Q 1870.

Sue

[steven]

Hey Sue!
Thanks for the quick reply. I have found both girls in 1911. I'm assuming that it is them on both counts as the information seems to fit. Margaret Michell Hawke was separated from her husband by 1924. I found an article about his death due to falling downstairs in The Cornishman. He was apparently blind. I don't know if Margaret married again, or what became of her. I was curious about what became of the two girls as I have letters from both of them written in 1900-1901 to my great grandfather after their grandmother died. And their mother, Wilmot Ann Phillips Michell... I don't think that she remarried. Up until 1911 she is still a widow. She is the only child of Francis Phillips and Jane Michell that I don't have a death date for. Thanks for your response!
Steve

[sue]

What's wrong with the FreeBMD death of Wilmot A Mitchell in 1937, age 79?

Sue

[steven]

I didn't see that! Thank you!

[sue]

Methinks it would be reasonable for 79 year old Wilmot to be with one of her daughters at the time of her death, in the Redruth RD.

And lo! I think you should find one such daughter's death also in Redruth RD, a few years later.

To have old letters from 100 years ago is quite something.


Sue

[Cornish Terrier]

I have a couple of things to add here that might be of help.

MICHELL - I am not so sure about the child born in 1875 to Matthew and Wilmot. There is a birth recorded for a 'male' Michell in September Qtr 1875 and that child is claimed in a number of online family trees. BUT - there is no apparent death record for this child AND there is no record of any birth or baptism for such a child in the Towednack Parish Register. I realize the child might have been stillborn BUT I repeat that there is no apparent death record in FreeBMD.

Perhaps more interesting is the information provided in the 1911 Census record for Wilmot which states that she was the mother of TWO children born alive and that BOTH those children were still living. It might be argued that a stillborn child might be 'forgotten' but I again come back to the point that there is no apparent death record for such a child. (The unnamed male Michell born in 1875 may have been registered immediately at birth and not named until later.)

I cannot find any further trace of Matthew Michell but I do believe him to have been born at Towednack about 1855 son of John Michell and Mary Curnow who married at Towednack in 1836.

WILMOT ANN MITCHELL of Church Town Redruth age 79 was buried at Redruth 8th September 1837

MARGARET HAWKE (nee Michell) is probably the Margaret Hawke age 78 whose death is registered in the Kerrier Registration District June Qtr 1956

I also just found some information in an Ancestry Family Tree that suggests Matthew Michell and Wilmot Ann Phillips married at the Penzance Register Office 12th December 1874.

I will have some information about Thomas and Sarah Jane Eddy in my next.

CT

[Cornish Terrier]

Okay, as promised, here is what I have learned about Thomas and Sarah Jane Eddy in the last hour or so.

Sometime in 1877 or 1878 Thomas and Sarah Jane emigrated to South Australia. Unfortunately I cannot find any record of their arrival as yet but the following information shows the details are correct. Also, because I don't have access to those passenger lists at the moment I cannot ascertain what happened to the first three children.

You already know that Thomas Eddy and Sarah Jane Phillips married in 1870 but, unless you have other information, I need that marriage record to confirm the identity of Thomas. At the moment I think he was probably the son of Nathaniel and Mary Ann Eddy at Towednack but I cannot be certain. (You already know where Sarah Jane Phillips belongs)

The following children were born in Cornwall:-

Elizabeth Jane baptized 27th February 1871 St Ives Wesleyan Methodist Circuiit (born 18th December 1870 St Ives)
Susan Phillips baptized 11th April 1872 St Ives Wesleyan Methodist Circuit (born 24th February 1872 St Ives)
William baptized 17th March 1876 St Ives Wesleyan Methodist Circuit (born 21st December 1874 St Ives)
Elizabeth Jane baptized 16th April 1877 St Ives Wesleyan Methodist Circuit (born 2nd March 1877 St Ives)

Emigrated to South Australia 1877/8 and had the following children of whom none survived:-

William born 10th November 1878 Bowden, SA and died 1st December 1878 Bowden
Mary Ann born 6th January 1880 Brompton, SA and died 28th March 1880 Brompton
James Henry born 17th January 1881 Brompton, SA and died 21st February 1881 Brompton
John born 19th July 1882 Brompton, SA and died 15th December 1882 Brompton
James born 26th January 1884 Brompton and died 18th April 1884 Bowden

Sarah Jane Eddy of Bowden age 35, wife of Thomas Eddy, died 9th July 1885 at Bowden
Thomas Eddy of Bowden age 36 died 10th October 1886 at Adelaide

As mentioned above I can find no death/burial records for any of the first three children. Elizabeth Jane must have died in England prior to 1877 and William must have died before 1878 but William and Susan may possibly have died at sea during the voyage.

Elizabeth Jane Eddy age 20 married Henry Fredrick William Wallmann at the Primitive Methodist Manse, Norwood, SA 6th October 1897

That is all I have been able to find but at least you now know what happened to the family.

CT

[spikeharwood]

Evening, CT
I checked BISA and looks like they arrived on the Hesperus in 1878. Wife and three.
Trove link here
trove.nla.gov.au/ndp/del/article/42995937?searchTerm=hesperus&searchLimits=exactPhrase|||anyWords|||notWords|||requestHandler|||dateFrom=1878-01-01|||dateTo=1878-12-31|||l-advstate=South+Australia|||l-advcategory=Article|||l-advcategory=Family+Notices|||sortby

(SA Register 14 Oct 1878, although I dont think they arrived until later in the month)

[spikeharwood]

BISA details (FWIW, DYOR, E&OE etc)

b 1851, Eng (no parents)
res Brompton
rel Meth
m Sarah J (b 1851 Eng)
ch Sarah (1872-), Thos (1873-), Eliz J. (1876-), Mary (1880-), Jas Henry (1881-)

[steven]

thanks everyone, for your expertise. I had a feeling that the Eddy family had gone to Australia, but didn't see them on any resources Ancestry has. This clears a lot of things up! I really appreciate the information.
Steve

[Cornish Terrier]

Interesting - we would still need to see the Arrival list for the Hesperus but what we have here gives us a couple of things to consider:-
1. the sailing list tells us there were three children with Thomas and Sarah Eddy and the Biographical Index suggests there was a son Thomas. The first child born after arrival was son William in November 1878 so obviously the earlier William had died but what we don't know, and the Arrival list might tell us, is whether he died before departure or during the voyage. If there was indeed a son Thomas born about 1873 as suggested then it means William must have died in England and the three children would have been Susan Phillips, Thomas and Elizabeth Jane.
2. there is a marriage for Elizabeth Jane and a potential marriage for Thomas but I found no marriage or death record for Susan. It is quite possible that Susan remained unmarried and lived to an old age but it is also possible that she died prior to arrival so once again the Passenger Arrival List would be very useful.

The one thing I have learned since these last couple of posts is that Thomas Eddy must have been the son of Nathaniel Eddy and Mary Ann Bawden. I was searching the death records again just now and found that a Nathaniel Eddy died at Brompton in 1914 age 69. This makes him son of Nathaniel and Mary Ann and his location at Brompton suggests that he must have been a brother to Thomas. Nathaniel also had a son named Nathaniel who died at Adelaide just a few months after his father in 1914.

CT

[spikeharwood]

Nathanial arrived the year before Thomas on the Oaklands with Mary Ann and two.

www.theshipslist.com/ships/australia/oaklands1877.shtml

There were two other Eddys on board, single men, ag labs, another Nathaniel and James.

BISA has Nathanial b 1845 Eng (again no parents)d 9 Nov 1914 bd Hindmarsh.
m Mary b 1846 Eng d 26 Oct 1929
ch Susan(c1867-), Mary (c1873-), Nathaniel (1873-1914), Wm R. (1881-1881)



I should have mentioned their occupations, Thomas was Ag Lab and Nathanial was a miner. Hmmm, a better fit as brothers if they have the same occs. And what is a miner doing at Brompton?

[Cornish Terrier]

I would not be too concerned about the occupations - after all, Thomas was also a miner when in Cornwall in 1871.

CT