William Chandler

Help finding William Chandler

Miss W. Bryant, Chandler , ,

On WikiTree this week, the challenge is from the London Westminster and Middlesex Family History Society. I replied that I would try to help with their research but I also commented that I had a brickwall from Enfield area which is a place covered by the society. A reply from Elizabeth asked could they help me. So this post is about what I know about my great great grandfather.

William Chandler arrived in Hobart Town, Tasmania on 15 February 1855 on board the ship Fortitude. It had sailed  from Plymouth on 1 November 1854.  According to the arrival record he was aged 22. He was one of 147 immigrants under the bounty system and his passage was certified by John Leake, a large property owner in the midlands of Tasmania. William’s single ticket was number 227. James Axton, ticket number 230, also went to John Leake as a gardener the same as William. He was also from Middlesex, was 23, could read and write and was Church of England like William.  Book 5, pages 191-192

George Jobson, his wife and two sons from Yorkshire also went to John Leake’s property as a coachman and general servant. The family were also Church of England.

Caroline Bryant was a worker at Rosedale with Leake family at same time as William Chandler. She took over as housemaid from Susan Green in April 1857. page 216

Had William known Caroline back in London and asked John Leake if he could organize for her to come out as an immigrant? Or did they first meet at Rosedale?

In 1859, William married Caroline Bryant who had arrived with her mother Charlotte on 19 January 1856. They came from London to Sydney on the ship La Hogue then by steamer to Tasmania. The person who applied for them to come out was R.W. Nutt, an important solicitor in Hobart Town at the time. Book 34, pages 203-204

On the marriage certificate for William and Caroline, he was 24 and she was 22. One of the witnesses was R. G Winter who was Caroline’s brother in law and married to Esther Julia Bryant back in London. Esther’s mother Charlotte had applied for her daughter, son in law and his parents to come out to Tasmania. They left London on 7 October 1856, arrived Hobart Town on 29 December 1856 on the ship Woodcote. Pages 18-21

The other witness at the marriage was Emma Minns who arrived also on the Woodcote with her parents and sister.

By the time of his marriage, William was a gardener at Government House and was sometimes mentioned in the diaries of Lady Gore Browne, wife of the governor.

Children of William and Caroline. Might be helpful to find parents and siblings of William if naming pattern followed.

  • Julia Charlotte 1860 – 1905
  • William Charles 1863 – 1944
  • Robert Henry 1865 – 1929
  • Mary Ann Eliza 1867 – 1940
  • Caroline Louisa 1870 – 1958
  • Sarah 1872 – 1873
  • George Edward 1874 – 1918
  • Ada Ellen 1877 – 1955
  • Fanny Ethel 1882 – 1951

What have I found prior to his arrival in Hobart Town?

1. I have found a William Chandler from Enfield, Middlesex aged 16, unmarried and a gardener lodging with the family of John and Jane Frayne living at Railway Gate House in the district of Edmonton in 1851 English census. The family is still there in the 1861 census but William is not there anymore.

Class: HO107; Piece: 1703; Folio: 221; Page: 18; GSU roll: 193611

2. There is a possible baptism on 10 Jan. 1835 at St Leonard’s, Shoreditch, Hackney, England

Father John Chandler and mother Mary Chandler nee Youngman??

3.  There is a possible baptism on 4 Aug. 1833 at St Andrew, Enfield, Enfield, England

Father Daniel Chandler and mother Mary Chandler nee Chivers??

4.  From 1841 census with parents Daniel (a carpenter) and Mary  Class: HO107; Piece: 653; Book: 2; Civil Parish: Enfield; County: Middlesex; Enumeration District: 3; Folio: 25; Page: 7; Line: 22; GSU roll: 438772

Hope this information and the links included can help Elizabeth find some more information about William Chandler my great great grandfather.

UPDATE: I was listening to a talk about gardeners in Tasmania and William was mentioned. The speaker Ann Cripps has written a book including a chapter on the Chandler family. I found a library with a copy of the book and this information now takes me to Williams employment back in England.

For two years 1852-1854 William had been working for, and living with William Everett Esquire at Chase Side which was an estate in Enfield.

Where did you come from William?

Miss W. #52ancestors ,
Peggy_Marco / Pixabay

The first challenge for 52 ancestors in 2023 is

I’d like to meet

Now in a previous challenge, I wanted to meet Charlotte Bryant, but this year it is her son-in-law I would like to meet

William Chandler

  • Where exactly were you born and when?
  • Who are your parents?
  • Did you know Caroline and her family before you came to Tasmania in 1855?

The basics of what I know about William 

He worked at a nursery at Enfield near London before coming to Australia with another family in the sailing ship Fortitude on 15 February 1855. They settled at Monavale in the midlands where he was an estate gardener. He was then employed as gardener at Government House but left to establish a garden south of Granton. After his marriage in 1859 he returned to Government House as Head Gardener then before retirement worked at the Grange Taroona. His son began Chandler’s nursery which still runs in Sandy Bay at the present time. (Mercury 23 July 1985)

I have written a few posts related to William

Readers: Which of your relatives would you like to meet and why?

I’d like to meet …

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

my great great great grandmother Charlotte Bryant nee ????

That is the first question I would ask her – What is your maiden name and when did you marry Henry Bryant?

These are the facts that I know positively about this woman.

Charlotte sailed from London on 1 October 1855 to Sydney with her daughter Caroline Bryant on the La Hogue which was a steamer. They then sailed on the Tasmania finally arriving in Hobart 19 January 1856.

Charlotte was aged 51 and a widow when she arrived in Tasmania.

According to her arrival details, Charlotte was a cook and born in Sussex.

 

Charlotte had at least three children – Caroline, Charles and Esther Julia. I know Caroline and Esther were living in Tasmania but unsure of where Charles and any other siblings were living.

In 1856 Charlotte Bryant sponsored her daughter and son-in-law who then arrived on the ship Woodcote along with Robert’s parents.

Tasmania, Australia, Immigrant Lists, 1841-1884 Alphabetical List of Immigrants with Details , 02 Dec 1856 – 18 Aug 1858

This meant Charlotte must have had a very good occupation (or already had money) to be able to pay for this so early after her arrival in Tasmania. She must also have needed good connections for it to have been done so quickly. RW Nutt, who sponsored Charlotte and Caroline, was a prominent lawyer in Tasmania. Also Caroline’s future husband, William, worked at Government House so maybe that was the connection.

When Caroline married William Chandler in 1859, Charlotte was not a witness but her son-in-law RG Winter was – Esther’s husband.

In 1863, Charlotte Bryant, residing at Government Gardens, was the informant on her grandson William’s birth.

UNIVERSITY OF TASMANIA STANDARD COPYRIGHT LICENCE https://eprints.utas.edu.au/licence.html

In 1865, now living at Government Domain, Charlotte was informant on another grandson’s birth Robert Henry.

Charlotte died at the residence of her son-in-law on 1 May 1883 at 41 Elizabeth Street, Hobart. She was aged 78, a widow and death was noted as decay of nature.

Readers: What would be some of the questions you would ask Charlotte if you met her – taking note of what I already know?