#52ancestors

The census suggests

Miss W. #52ancestors, Bryant , , , , ,

In Australia we rarely have any census records so Electoral Rolls are the best way to find out where a person lived at a certain time in their lives. Before finding out my grandfather was English, I didn’t get back to any census until about the 1850’s in England. And one of these records made me wonder…..

 

Here was my great great grandmother Caroline Bryant in the 1851 census age 12, living with her mother and three other siblings. A couple of unusual things I noticed about this record:

  • Her mother Charlotte is unmarried but has four children
  • Each child is born about five years apart
  • Her mother is a dressmaker

I know this is the correct family as I have DNA matches from descendants of Henry and Charles. Julia married but had no children so no descendants there.

So a few questions relating to this census:

  • Who is the father of the children?
  • Where is he in the census?
  • Why a child born every five years? Was the father a sailor or a crew member that returned every five years?
  • Why is Charlotte a dressmaker on the census but a cook when she arrives in Tasmania in 1856?

On the 1841 census, there is a Henry Weight -surgeon- at the bottom of the page before Charlotte and her children are on top of the next page. Could he be the father? The children on their marriage certificates say their father is Henry Bryant a surgeon.

Questions and more questions – will I ever know the answers?

 

Another favourite photo

Miss W. #52ancestors ,

This is one post I have written each time I have taken part in the #52ancestors challenge. I had to check out what was my favourite photo from previous years so I don’t choose one of those again this year.

My parents had a great friend called Jon Grey and he enjoyed photography. He took a couple of fantastic photos of my parents when they didn’t realise they were in his camera frame.  These photos are very reminiscent of how my parents were – thoughtful, loving the outdoors and together always.

Jon caught them at just the right moment to get these photos and then he sent them to dad and also to me.

 

This story and why it means so much to me

Miss W. #52ancestors, Allen, Wyatt ,
Peggy_Marco / Pixabay

Most of the stories I have researched in my family have been pretty straight forward. Lots of easily found data relating to births, deaths, marriages, children, newspaper articles giving the background to the family as well as photos to add that personal touch. Also more recently DNA matches proving the relationships.

But the one person who has taken a lot of research was my grandfather, William Elvis Allen. I have written about him often on my blog and wrote his biography here. But a bit of background to him.

  • Born in England just after his father died
  • Mother remarried
  • He joined the navy
  • Eventually arrived in Australia
  • First marriage in New South Wales then deserted wife and two children
  • Moved to Tasmania, added new surname of Wyatt
  • Married, two children, wife died
  • Remarried, one child (my dad) then deserted wife and child again
  • Moved back to New South Wales
  • Married again, three children, stayed with that family until death

Why was the research tough? I had been using paperwork from his marriages in Tasmania which were under his assumed name. He had listed his grandfather as his father, his mother’s maiden name was correct, his occupation as steward was correct but the most important bit was wrong. His surname at birth.

It took over twenty years research and DNA matches from the two marriages in New South Wales to finally get the answers I needed. Once I had the correct surname at birth, it only took a weekend to build his biography using all the different sources I could find.

This story means so much to me because all the research was completed and the biography written before my father and his half brother in New South Wales passed away in 2024. Also this was a story of collaboration with newly found cousins who each had their own stories and knowledge of William Elvis Allen aka Wyatt.

Please read the biography linked on this post to read the full story of my grandfather.