William and Edward Michell

[steven]

Richard Michell (1820-1868) and Elizabeth Stevens Curnow (1817-1901) had 6 children that I know of.  Their oldest son, Richard, went to Australia, but I don't know what happened to two of their younger sons, William John Michell (b. 1850) and Edward Michell (b. 1854).  They disappear after the 1871 census and I'm guessing that they went abroad.  I'm wondering if anyone has record of them and where they might've gone.
Thanks for the help!
Steve

[Cornish Terrier]

Hi Steve - I cannot find anything at the moment but if you can tell me whereabouts in Australia Richard Michell settled then it might be of some help.

CT

[steven]

Thanks CT....I don't know where in AU Richard started out, but he died in Kalgoorlie, WA on June 25, 1924.
Steve

[Cornish Terrier]

Okay, do you have any details of a marriage or possible children? Even the name of a wife might help to track his earlier movements and thus perhaps lead us to his brothers.

CT

[steven]

I have him married to Kate (Catherine) Rosewall in the fall quarter of 1876...possibly St. Ives or Towednack. Kate died in Kalgoorlie in 1923. Children of this couple, from Richard's obituary are:
Edward George, J. Michell (female), Kate, Lily, Mary Elizabeth, Richard John (1880-1964). Thanks again.
Steve

[spikeharwood]

There is a burial with date of death 24 June 19254 of a Richard MiTchell at Karrakatta Cemetery, Perth. Richard was 78 and died in the "suburb" of Kalgoorlie.
There is a death on WABDM of a Richard MiTchell in 1924, Registration Dist, E Coolgardie, Reg#99.
So this is either the right man with a name variation or you have the wrong date of death and the wrong man.
Where did you get the date from?

[steven]

There are several newspaper clippings from late June, 1924 in and around Perth announcing the death. Kate, his wife, died Jan. 24, 1923 in Perth

[spikeharwood]

Kate and Richard are both referred to as Mitchell in their death notices in Trove.
Edward George and Richard John and several married daughters get a mention.
So the people you mention all belong to the same family, just not sure it's the family you want.

[steven]

I just found a memorial printed in 1925 for the one year anniversary of his death. For a minute there I though I had the wrong guy, but it appears to be the same one.

[steven]

Understood... I find Michell and Mitchell interchanged a lot but there is a possibility that this couple could belong to someone else. Guess I need to keep digging.

[Cornish Terrier]

The details I can find on Richard Mitchell in Perth suggest that he 'might' be the son of Richard Michell and Elizabeth Stevens Curnow but we still need to find something to confirm that. What I have now is as follows:-

Richard Mitchell buried Karrakatta Cemetery with death recorded as 25th June 1924.
Death Index gives his age as 78 which equates to a birth around 1845 or 1846 - consistent with the likely birthdate of the son of Richard and Elizabeth.

I have also found birth details for a number of children:-

Lily Mitchell born 19th November 1877 Moonta, South Australia - parents Richard Mitchell and Kate Rosewall
Mary Elizabeth Mitchell born 25th May 1879 Parkside, South Australia - parents Richard Mitchell and Rose Wall
Richard John Mitchell born 31st December 1880 Parkside, South Australia - parents Richard Mitchell and Kate Rosewall
Adeline Rosewall Mitchell born 15th July 1882 Mitcham, South Australia - parents Richard Mitchell and Kate Rosewall
Edward George Mitchell born 23rd March 1885 Mitcham, South Australia - parents Richard Mitchell and Kate Rosewall
Catherine Olivia Mitchell born 6th June 1889 Parkside, South Australia - parents Richard Mitchell and Kate Rosewall

There is a death for a Richard John Michell age 83 at Perth in 1964. Parents are recorded as Richard and Catherine. HIs age equates to a birth about 1880 or 1881 and the parents names are right if we substitute Kate for Catherine. He fits the 1880 birth above.

Adeline R Mitchell married James H Pascoe at Boulder, Western Australia in 1910.
Catherine O Mitchell married Lauritz P Rasmussen at E Coolgardie, Western Australia in 1916.
Richard J Mitchell married Mary B Thomas at E Coolgardie in 1908.
Mary Elizabeth Mitchell married William McCorkill at Boulder in 1904.
Lily Mitchell married Issac John Nutman at Kanowna in 1902. (near Kalgoorlie)

There are other possible marriages for Lily and Mary Elizabeth as well but but I think those above are likely the right ones.

So we now know that 'a' Richard Michell/Mitchell of about the right age married in Cornwall in 1876 and apparently left almost immediately for South Australia where he had six children (that I can find) before heading West to the Kalgoorlie/Coolgardie area.

I have not yet been able to find Edward or William John although there was an Edward Henry Mitchell of the right age marrying Mary Jane Comley at Unley, South Australia, in 1877.

Unfortunately none of the children's names give any definite link although Richard and Kate did name a son Edward.

BTW - Richard (1924) and Kate (1923) are buried in the same grave at Karrakatta so that should dispel the issues raised by Spike.

I can also add that Kate Rosewall was the grandaughter of George Rosewall and Mary Quick who married at St Ives in 1830. I am not sure which of their children was the parent of Kate but Kate was born in St Ives and I suspect she may have been illegitimate. George and Mary also had a grandaughter named ADELINE who was the daughter of their son John and his wife Georgina Osborne Dunn. Adeline was born at Devonport in Devon about 1860 but was present with her grandparents at St Ives in 1871. I suspect Richard and Kate Mitchell named their daughter Adeline Rosewall Mitchell after her.

CT

[steven]

Thanks for the reply and the information CT. Guess I'll have to keep my eyes open for William John and Edward!
Steve

[Cornish Terrier]

Guess I'll have to keep my eyes open for William John and Edward!

Maybe not for much longer! At least not for Edward anyway!

I decided to have a look at Ancestry Public Member Trees tonight to see if I might find any clues. Searching for an Edward Michell born Towednack about 1855 gave me a possible answer and after checking the relevant records I have found him!

The Queensland Historical BMD Index shows the death of Edward Mitchell in 1935 with parents recorded as Richard and Elizabeth Curnow Mitchell. Registration Number C2927.
I have nothing so far to indicate whether or not he might have been married.

AHA! - and from the same source:-

William Mitchell died Queensland 1879 - parents Richard Mitchell and Elizabeth Kurnal - Registration Number C1648.

AND!!

Samuel Mitchell died Queensland 1936 - parents Richard Mitchell and Elizabeth Curnow - Registration Number C383.

And more! - armed with the above information I did a little searching in the Electoral Rolls which gave me a couple of possible clues for Edward and then using the Cemetery Records I found the following:-

Edward Mitchell buried Gympie Cemetery 15th August 1935 - Grave CEP-3-626
Maria Mitchell buried Gympie Cemetery 10th November 1944 - Grave CEP-3-626 (possible wife of Edward?)

In 1934 Edward and Maria Mitchell were living at Bligh Street, Gympie with Edward's occupation recorded as 'miner'.

Samuel Mitchell buried Gympie Cemetery 30th March 1936 - Grave MPC-11-204
Richard Mitchell buried Gympie Cemetery 9th October 1963 - Grave MPC-11-204 (possible son of Samuel?)

In 1934 Samuel and Emily Edith Mitchell with son Richard were living at Perseverance Street, Gympie. Samuel was a miner and Richard a labourer.

More from the Queensland BMD Indexes:-

Edward Mitchell married Maria O'Brien in 1903 - Registration Number B2375
Samuel Mitchell married Emily Edith Kidby in 1889 - Registration Number C815

Elizabeth Ann daughter of Samuel and Emily Edith Mitchell was born in 1891 - Registration Number C5324
Richard son of Samuel and Emily Edith Mitchell was born in 1903 - Registration Number C4288

That might cheer you up a little.

CT

[steven]

CT...you're amazing! Thanks for the hard work! I must then have the wrong Samuel Michell in this family. I have Samuel Polmear Michell(1856-1873) as the son of Elizabeth and Richard. Polmear being the maiden name of Elizabeth's grandmother.
Steve

[Cornish Terrier]

No Steve - you have the right man. It seems he was registered as Samuel Polmear Michell at birth, and possibly baptised as such, but thereafter he appears to have dropped the 'Polmear' from use.

I don't know if you have access to Ancestry but you might have a look at this link to one of the Public Member Trees:-

trees.ancestry.com/tree/74009872/person/34285708537?ssrc=

Do not take information from any of these trees as 'gospel' but use them as a guide or as a tool to find potential clues. Anything you do find needs to be checked thoroughly against reliable and, where possible, original records.

This particular work appears to have some reliable sources and also includes a photo of Samuel's gravestone at Gympie. It also shows a birthdate of 22nd February 1856 at Towednack.
That information is something that would certainly need to be checked even though it is from Findmypast.com. I suspect that date will actually be a date of baptism rather than a date of birth as I don't think the Vicar at Towednack was recording birthdates at that time.

This same tree has information on the other members of this family also including that William John Mitchell died at Maryborough, Queensland, 29th April 1879. This information does not show a source but states he died of 'silicosis'.

I have just checked Maryorough Cemetery records online. William Mitchell age 27 was buried 20th April 1879 at Maryborough Cemetery - Section: Monumental C Plot 127 (So that date of death is probably correct.)

A correction - the Australian Death Index shows that Samuel Mitchell was recorded as 'Samuel Pullmere Mitchell' and that he died 28th March 1936.
The same source shows that Edward Mitchell died 14th August 1935.

CT