W is for Waves of Ancestor Immigration

 This post is part of the A to Z Challenge, a blogging initiative where participants publish daily posts in April (except Sundays), each one themed around a letter of the alphabet. My theme this year is "Migration Stories"—tracing the journeys, ships, and personal histories behind my ancestors’ moves across continents. Through passenger records, newspaper clippings, and genealogical detective work, I’m piecing together the routes they took and the vessels that carried them. Today's post is brought to you by the letter W.

They came not all at once, but in steady, determined waves. The Thomas family, miners from Cornwall, were drawn halfway across the world by the lure of gold and the hope of a better life. Some came early, swept along by the promise of prosperity. Others followed later, reuniting with husbands, brothers, or children who had gone ahead. Eventually, they would all come to settle in Eaglehawk, Victoria, where their name would be remembered among the early pioneers of the district.

🧭 Migration in Waves: The Bassett and Thomas Families’ Journeys to Australia

Migration is rarely a single leap—it’s a series of choices, connections, and courageous departures, often unfolding over decades. For both the Bassett and Thomas families, the journey from Cornwall to Victoria was made in waves, shaped by opportunity, family ties, and the practicalities of 19th-century travel.

This post traces two interconnected family migrations to Eaglehawk, Victoria. Though they began independently, these families would eventually converge through marriage, work, and community life on the Victorian goldfields.

---

🧭 Bassett Family Migration Timeline

(Cornwall → Eaglehawk, Victoria)
Patriarch: John Bassett Sr. (my 3rd great-grandfather)

The Bassett family's journey from Cornwall to Victoria unfolded in multiple waves across more than a decade. At the centre of the story is John Bassett [II], whose early voyages to Australia in 1853 & 1854 appear to have been scouting trips, likely undertaken on behalf of a mining company. These early ventures laid the groundwork for the broader family migration that followed from 1857 onwards. For clarity, generational numbers in square brackets (e.g., John Bassett [III]) are editorial and used to distinguish individuals with the same name.

🔍 Reconnaissance Trip 1 – 1853ⁱ

May 1853 – Aboard the Marco Polo

• John Bassett [II] (aged 53) – son of John Sr.

• John Bassett [III] (aged 32) – grandson of John Sr.
  ▸ Likely travelled on behalf of the Colonial Gold Mining Company to explore quartz reef prospects.
  ▸ Returned to Cornwall soon after, possibly to report back or recruit others.

🔸 Reconnaissance Trip 2 – 1857ⁱⁱ

January 1854 – Marco Polo (again)

• John Bassett [II] re-enters Australia alone.
  ▸ Believed to have made multiple trips between Cornwall and Victoria.

🔸 First Wave – 1857

July 1857 – Aboard the Royal Charter

• John Bassett [III] and wife Catherine (née Davey)ⁱⁱⁱ

• Children:
  • Francis (11)
  • John (10)
  • Catherine (8)
  • Martha (6)

• William Bassett (aged 40) – brother of John Bassett [III]; travelled independently.^iv

• Stephen Davey (aged 36) – brother-in-law to Catherine; travelled independently.^v

🔸 Second Wave – 1861

December 1861 – SS Great Britain (Voyage 21)^vi

• John Bassett Sr. (aged 70) and wife Martha (née Carbis) (aged 65)

• Daughters:
  • Ann Davey and her husband, with children
  • Martha Rowe and her husband, with children

• Eleanor Symons – listed passenger, soon to marry James Bassett, another son of the family.

🔸 Third Wave – 1866^vii

February 1866 – Aboard the True Britain

• Martha Bassett – wife of William Bassett

• Children:
  • Mary (22)
  • Elizabeth (15)
  • Matilda J. (17, likely Martha Jr.)
  • John (12)
  • Nanny (23)

---

🧭 Thomas Family Migration Timeline

(Cornwall → Chewton, Victoria, Australia)
Patriarch: John Thomas (my 3rd great-grandfather)

🔹 First Wave – 1857

Ship: Shakespeare (ticket 4054)^viii
Destination: Geelong

• Mary Thomas (aged 27) – eldest daughter, married (now Mary Williams)

• Richard Williams – Mary’s husband

• Children:

• Eliza (aged 3) and

• Sarah (aged 1)

• William Thomas (aged 21) – son, miner

• Michael Thomas (aged 20) – son, miner

🔹 Second Wave – 1861

Ship: Red Jacket (tickets 6155 & 6157)^ix
Destination: Melbourne

• John Thomas (aged 56) – patriarch, labourer; likely came ahead to assess opportunities

• James Thomas (aged 17) – youngest living son, labourer

🔹 Third Wave – 1865

Ship: Forest Rights (ticket 359)^x

• Margaret Thomas nee Smith – matriarch (3rd great-grandmother)

• Sarah (aged 20) – unmarried daughter

• Margaret (aged 17) – my 2^nd great-grandmother

• Eliza A. Kemp (aged 25) – married woman, sister-in-law to Robert Thomas (wife of Susan Kempe Thomas)

🔹 Fourth Wave – 1865

Ship: Ocean Empress (ticket 46298)^xi

• Robert Thomas – son

• Susan (née Kemp) – Robert’s wife

🔹 Fifth Wave – circa 1894

Ship: Unknown
Estimated Arrival: Between 1891 and 1894

• Elizabeth Stevens – daughter, widowed
  ▸ Settled in Eaglehawk; obituary notes she had been there 20 years before her death.
  ▸ May have travelled with her daughter to Sydney in 1892, or shortly after.

---

🔗 Tying the Threads Together

While the Bassetts and Thomases began their Australian journeys separately, their stories run in parallel, marked by careful planning, staggered departures, and family reunions in the colonial goldfields. By the late 1860s, both families were well established in Victoria, a growing mining town that attracted Cornish settlers with familiar granite hills and a thriving Methodist community.

These migration waves show the complexity and fluidity of 19th-century family relocation—far from a single ship voyage, they involved scouting trips, return journeys, and the gradual reuniting of kin across oceans. For descendants like me, they offer a powerful glimpse into how two family lines converged in a new land and laid the foundation for generations to come.

Like the Thomas family, the Bassetts did not arrive in Australia all at once. Their migration spanned more than a decade, driven largely by the gold mining opportunities in Victoria and sustained by deep family ties and determination.

Both families reflect the broader Cornish migration story, where skilled miners left familiar ground to build new lives across the globe, bringing their families with them in stages.
Ultimately, these waves of movement converged in places like Eaglehawk, where families not only found work but helped shape pioneering communities in colonial Australia.

🔍 Conclusion By viewing these two migration stories side-by-side, we can better understand how interconnected and complex family migration patterns could be during the Gold Rush and settlement eras. Both the Bassett and Thomas families used phased migration strategies—sending scouts ahead, supporting extended kin, and responding to opportunity and adversity along the way.

Together, their timelines sketch a shared narrative of resilience, risk, and reinvention in 19th-century Australia.

Blog Post Meta Data

The URL for this post is https://ancestralresearchjournal.blogspot.com/2025/04/w-is-for-waves-of-ancestor-immigration.html,  originally published on 26 April 2025

Author 2025, Sandra Williamson

Sources:

i Passenger Listing John Basett (55)& John Bassett(32) on the Ship "Marco Polo" 12 March 1853. Unassisted Passenger Lists, 1839-1923 Public Record Office Victoria, North Melbourne, Victoria. VPRS 947/P0000, Apr - May 1853 (https://prov.vic.gov.au/archive/3402227A-F96C-11E9-AE98-FF6251ADC8F4?image=272 accessed 26 april 2025)

ii Passenger Listing John Bassett(33) on the Ship "Marco Polo" 9 November 1853. Unassisted Passenger Lists, 1839-1923 Public Record Office Victoria, North Melbourne, Victoria. VPRS 947/P0000, Jan - Mar 1854 (https://prov.vic.gov.au/archive/3AF2902C-F96C-11E9-AE98-6F3E4C825073?image=208 accessed 26 april 2025)

iii Passenger Listing John Bassett(36), his wife and children ticket # 256 on the ship “Royal Charter” 15 May 1857 page 2. Unassisted Passenger Lists, 1839-1923 Public Record Office Victoria, North Melbourne, Victoria. VPRS 947/P0000, Jul - Sep 1857 (https://prov.vic.gov.au/archive/3B05F129-F96C-11E9-AE98-27F6998F8082?image=113 accessed 26 April 2025)

iv Passenger Listing for William Basset(40), ticket # 152 on the ship “Royal Charter” 15 May 1857 page 4. Unassisted Passenger Lists, 1839-1923 Public Record Office Victoria, North Melbourne, Victoria. VPRS 947/P0000, Jul - Sep 1857 (https://prov.vic.gov.au/archive/3B05F129-F96C-11E9-AE98-27F6998F8082?image=109 accessed 26 April 2025)

v Passenger Listing for Stephen Davey(36), ticket # 153 on the ship “Royal Charter” 15 May 1857 page 4. Unassisted Passenger Lists, 1839-1923 Public Record Office Victoria, North Melbourne, Victoria. VPRS 947/P0000, Jul - Sep 1857 (https://prov.vic.gov.au/archive/3B05F129-F96C-11E9-AE98-27F6998F8082?image=109 accessed 26 April 2025)

vi Passenger Listing 2754 John & Martha Bassett and Miss Samions on the Ship "Great Britain" 19 October 1861. Unassisted Passenger Lists, 1839-1923 Public Record Office Victoria, North Melbourne, Victoria. VPRS 947/P0000, Sep - Dec 1861 (https://prov.vic.gov.au/archive/3B1D49CA-F96C-11E9-AE98-BB631F4E00E4?image=244 accessed 26 April 2025)

vii Passenger Listing 47530 for Martha Bassett and family on the ship “True Briton” 8 November 1866 Unassisted Passenger Lists, 1839-1923 Public Record Office Victoria, North Melbourne, Victoria. VPRS 947/P0000, Jan - Jun 1866 (https://prov.vic.gov.au/archive/3B2F7247-F96C-11E9-AE98-B31157B3D9B4?image=174:accessed 26 April 2025)

viii Passenger Listing 9054 for Rd Williams, wife & children & Wm & Michl Thomas on the ship “Shakspeare” 21 September 1857 Unassisted Passenger Lists, 1839-1923 Public Record Office Victoria, North Melbourne, Victoria. VPRS 947/P0000, Oct - Dec 1857 (https://prov.vic.gov.au/archive/3B0750BA-F96C-11E9-AE98-19084F8A768F?image=345 : accessed 26 April 2025)

ix Passenger Listing 6155 John Thomas(56) & 6157 James Thomas on the Ship “Red Jacket”2 February 1861, Unassisted Passenger Lists, 1839-1923 Public Record Office Victoria, North Melbourne, Victoria.VPRS 947/P0000, Jan - Apr 1861 (https://prov.vic.gov.au/archive/3B19C758-F96C-11E9-AE98-83A363F01077?image=190 : accessed 26 April 2025)

x Passenger Listing 359 Margt Thomas(57), Eliza A Kemp(25), Margt Thomas(17) & Sarah Thomas(20) on the ship “Forest Rights” 8 October 1864. Unassisted Passenger Lists, 1839-1923 Public Record Office Victoria, North Melbourne, Victoria. VPRS 947/P0000, Jan - Apr 1865 (https://prov.vic.gov.au/archive/3B2BA1B4-F96C-11E9-AE98-EF0B184FC7D3?image=102: accessed 26 April 2025)

xi Passenger Listing 46298 Robt Thomas(22) & Susan Thomas(21) on the ship “Ocean Express” 10 April 1865. Unassisted Passenger Lists, 1839-1923 Public Record Office Victoria, North Melbourne, Victoria. VPRS 947/P0000, May - Aug 1865 (https://prov.vic.gov.au/archive/3B2CDA35-F96C-11E9-AE98-B794787000F6?image=193: accessed 26 April 2025)