A to Z Challenge - J is for January Weddings.

Snippets from the life of Martha Sarah Ellis.

Martha travelled to Australia on the SS Nairnshire as part of a group of servant girls such ships were often known as “Bride Ships”, with her younger sister Kate Ellen Ellis.[1]  Kate Ellen was 2 years her junior and only 17 when she left England.[2]  It would appear that Kate Ellen managed to settle much quicker in Western Australia than her elder sister Martha.  Kate Ellis married almost a year after arrival in the January 1891 in Fremantle and settled there.[3]

The two sisters:The left is a Studio portrait of  Kate Ellen Ellis possibly taken circa 1892 in WA, digital scan,  from Lurline Marshall's Private Photo  Collection [T123] and on the right is  a Studio portrait of Martha Sarah Ellis possibly taken circa 1892 in Victoria or just before leaving WA, digital image,  Jim Bennett's Private Photo  Collection currently held by Dorothy Bennett [T065] (Photographers unknown)

It is thought that Martha probably left soon after Kate’s marriage, to go to Melbourne in Victoria.  Almost a year later Martha is getting married also in January on the 16^th to Walter Todman in the All Saints Church, Saint Kilda in 1892.[4]

Was Martha Kate’s protector? Martha did not leave England without her younger sister, who may not have been able to join her until she was at least 16 years of age.  As the eldest daughter in the family Martha would have understood that if she left home with her sister Kate, Kate would probably become the unpaid domestic worker for the family.  Prospects would have been no better for Kate that they were for Martha.

Kate was younger than Martha when she arrived so was perhaps better able to adapt as she may not have had so many strongly formed opinions at that age.  In contrast, Martha appears to have been a feisty and opinionated soul ready for any sort of adventure.  

It is interesting to ponder why Martha did not leave Western Australia straight away.  Perhaps she felt that she needed to be around until she knew that Kate would be taken care of.  Kate’s marriage to Thomas Wardle gave Martha the freedom to travel and leave her bad experiences behind her.

To Read more about Martha's life for articles previously posted for the A to Z Challenges click the Letters below:-

A  B  C  D  E  F  G  H  I  J  K  L  M  N  O  P  Q  R  S  T  U  V  W  X  Y  Z

Sources

[1] Shipping Records for the 'Nairnshire', Page 3 Passenger listing, 8 Oct 1889; Passenger and Crew Lists (State Records Office, Western Australia. [Copy of the original record provided via email by Tom Reynolds from the State Records Office of Western Australia on 8 February 2013 Note no reference was given.  Reference  created from known sources])

[2]  England, birth certificate for Kate Ellen Ellis, born 12 June 1872; citing 1d/721/191, September quarter 1872, Camberwell registration district, St George Camberwell in the County of Surrey sub-district; General Register Office, Southport

[3] Marriage index entry for Andrew Thomas Wardle and Kate Ellen Ellis married 1891, entry number 110, Western Australia Registry of Births, Deaths & Marriages, Department of the Attorney General, Western Australia [I have not see a copy of the marriage certificate of Andrew Thomas Wardle and Kate Ellen Ellis however I have assumed that the marriage was at the beginning of the year based on the number of the entry for that year.]

[4] Marriage certificate of Walter Todman and Martha Sarah Ellis married 16 Jan 1892, Victorian Registry of Births, Deaths and Marriages, 345 (1926),

Applying to Emigrate to the Australian Colonies

“The method adopted by all the Australian colonies in the nineteenth century to meet the need for paid domestic labour was to establish extensive programmes of assisted immigration aimed at offering very cheap or free passages to single British women, preferably those with some experience as paid domestic servants.”[1]

The decision to join one of these programs and travel to Australia in 1889 would be one of the pivotal points in my great Grandmother Martha Sarah Ellis’s life. If she had stayed in London her life would have been very different.   

Martha was 18 years old when she migrated to Australia.  She travelled with her sister Kate (aged 16). At the tender age of 18 Martha was a spinster as she had reached child bearing age and was of marriageable age.[2] During the Victorian era, most women married between 18 and 23. 

What prompted her to go is not clear, there were competing tensions.  On one hand, there was a lot of poverty and industrial unrest. Demographically there were also far fewer men than women.  The opportunities for woman earn to earn a wage to become independent and self-supporting were thin and often frowned on by Victorian society. The Australian colonies offered much-needed hope including higher wages for women (due to labour shortages) and a source of plentiful men, making marriage a much more likely scenario. A new land offered new possibilities.

The opportunities for emigration were advertised in posters which were distributed by the Emigrants' Information Office to every Post Office in the United Kingdom.  The aim of the advertising was to inform people giving them details as to possible Australian colonial destinations, passages, and demand for labour ect.[3] Circulars were issued regularly to those interested and considering applying for free, assisted or unassisted travel to the West Australian Colony by the same office which was “established under the supervision of the Colonial office for the purpose of supplying intending emigrants with useful and trustworthy information respecting emigration to the British Colonies.”[4] 

Figure 1 Western Australia Handbook, with Map / Issued by the Emigrants’ Information Office. Handbook. Australasian Colonies, no. 6. London: Printed for Her Majesty’s Stationery Office by Eyre and Spottiswoode, 1888. http://nla.gov.au/nla.obj-3553543233.

A domestic servant either worked as either a live-in servant or they lived outside of the employer’s home.  

British Women's Emigration Society, (BWEA) Preliminary application Form

To qualify for free passage Martha and Kate the colonial government required the BWEA, to provide 3 certificates as part of their application one from her employer, a certificate from a doctor [akin to a medical certificate of fitness], and evidence of general capacity.[5]  In addition as part of the application process, an applicant had to fill out a "British Women's Emigration Society, Preliminary application Form"

Based on a newspaper report I have reconstructed what Martha’s completed form may have looked like, see below[6]

"Martha Sarah Ellis aged 19, no mother, only situation at home"

"10. Give name and address of following persons to whom you will refer,

• ·         “a Minister of religion” — she gave the local minister’s name (not that she really knew him after all she had been 10 when she had been baptised.)
• ·         "Two householders” —

o   “Mr. Smith” — although she wasn’t able to give any address for him

o   “Elizabeth Mary Ellis” - her step mother’s name     

"M. E. Forster" (Mrs.) may have signed the paper and recommended her as an applicant, although she may not have known her a year, however as often was the case she met Mrs. Forster shortly before embarking when she had gone to make inquiries about immigration.  Mrs Foster often signed the girl’s application to help expedite their application. Mrs Foster was the wife of Mr. Foster who was the Secretary of the Bristol Emigration Society, a branch, of the British Women's Emigration Society.

The selection process seemed to be fraught with problems, with the insinuation that many of the answers given by the applicants were “cooked”.[7]

Once this application was submitted to the BWEA a selection process would take place and successful applicants would be informed.  Qualifying for the program was not automatic "Elizabeth Quinn was refused passage on the steamer Port Pirie, on Mrs Joyce's instruction, as a result of her 'disobedience' and 'insubordinate behaviour'”[8]

Further reading & to learn more

1. United British Women’s Emigration Association
2. The Ship that Martha came out on the ss Nairnshire
3. Travelling on the SS Nairnshire in 1889

Sources

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1. Gothard, J. “Protecting Labour. Carrie Hall and the Master and Servant Act.” Papers in Labour History, no. 6 (1990): 41–53. http://researchrepository.murdoch.edu.au/id/eprint/14374/.
2. Canot, Coralie. “The Undesirable Spinster: The Organised Emigration of British Single Women, 1851-1914.” (PhD), University of London, 1999. HAL. https://dumas.ccsd.cnrs.fr/dumas-00935238/document.
3. Great Britain. Colonial office. Combined Circulars for Canada, Australia, and South Africa. Vol. Circular 2 page 1. London: Printed for H.M. Stationery off., 1890. http://archive.org/details/combinedcircular00grea.
4. Great Britain. Colonial office. Combined Circulars for Canada, Australia, and South Africa. [London, Printed for H.M. Stationery off.], 1890. http://archive.org/details/combinedcircular00grea
5. Anon, 'CORRESPONDENCE - THE METHODS OF EMIGRATION SOCIETIES.', The West Australian, 8 February 1890, p. 4, Col.3. [http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article3131910, viewed 13 Feb 2017]; Anon, 'Anglo-Australian.', The West Australian, 9 February 1892, p. 2, Col.4 ,  [ http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article3031536, viewed 13 Feb 2017]
6. Anon. “CORRESPONDENCE. - THE METHODS OF EMIGRATION SOCIETIES. To THE EDITOR.” Western Mail. February 15, 1890. TROVE. http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article32728296.
7.  “Local and General.” The W.A. Record. February 13, 1890. TROVE. http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article212688115.
8. Gothard, J. “Protecting Labour. Carrie Hall and the Master and Servant Act.” Papers in Labour History, no. 6 (1990): 41–53. http://researchrepository.murdoch.edu.au/id/eprint/14374/. P.47

What happened to Thomas MANDERSON?

In May 1903 he married Lillian CRUMP in Eaglehawk, Victoria, Australia, Lillian was only 19 years of age, Thomas was six years her senior.[1]  The couple’s whereabouts after their marriage is not known.  It is quite possible that Thomas took his new bride back to his usual place of residence in Kalgoolie, Western Australia. [2]

Figure Photographer - 1 G.L. Massingham, Wedding Photo of Lillian Crump & Thomas Manderson, 1903, Scan of original image.

By February 1906 Lillian had returned to Eaglehawk, Victoria to have her first child, Thomas does not seem to have returned with her[3]  By March 1906 there is a “Missing Persons notice” the Western Australian Gazette.[4]

Western Australia, "MIssing Friends," Government gazette of Western Australia, 16 March 1906, online archives (https://www.slp.wa.gov.au/gazette/gazette.nsf/searchgazette/F5F32A6A4046D57348257C6100257B4A/$file/gg020.pdf  : accessed 26 Jan 2017), p. 898, col. 1

Three months later he has been located, in Goomalling, near Newcastle in Western Australia which was reported in both the Government Gazette and the in the MISSING FRIENDS Column of The Daily News  in Perth.[5]   {Note - Newcastle, Western Australia is now known as Toodyay, it was known as Newcastle between 1860 and 1910, the  town situated on the Avon River,}

A year later on the 17 May 1907 in Quebec, Canada Thomas joins the crew of the Empress of Britain, and works as a Trimmer until June 1907 where he disembarks in Liverpool, England.[6]   The records show that he worked on the Everton Grange earlier in the year as crew before joining the Empress of Britain.

Liverpool, England, Crew Lists 1861-1919;" Liverpool Record Office, Liverpool, England; digital images, Ancestry.com Operations, Inc, "Crew lists (fishing boats). 387 FIS : 1907,"Ancestry.com (www.Ancestry.com : accessed 24 Mar 2016), Entry for Thomas MANDERSON on the Empress of Britain - Cropped image

Eventually, Thomas winds up in California in 1910 where he is working as a labourer in a mine, He is living San Simeon, San Luis Obispo, California in the Cambria Precinct.[7] By 1920 he is in Big River, Mendocino, California in Road Street Winning West Lown Carpar.[8]

He eventually dies in 1938 Sonoma having worked as a farm labourer for 30 years.[9]

Further Research

We know where Thomas Manderson is on the

•          30 June 1906, he is in Goomalling, WA;
•          ?? date unknown he is on the Everton Grange
•          31 May 1907 he joins the crew of the  Empress of Britain in Quebec, Canada
•          17 June 1907, he is in Liverpool, England disembarking the Empress of Britain

How did he get to Quebec?  How and/or when did he leave WA?

Why?

Lillian CRUMP had four children. Her two eldest children Doris and Myrtle were born in Eaglehawk, Victoria; both were registered without a father.[10]  Her third child William BASSETT was born 1908 in Dundas, Tasmania with William BASSETT noted as the father in his military records.[11]  Her last child Gladys was born in 1912 in Eaglehawk, Victoria with William BASSETT listed as the father.  In 1912 Lillian and William BASSETT were living in Eaglehawk, Victoria as a married couple.[12] William BASSETT was Lillian’s long term partner in life.

Establishing where Thomas Manderson was living will help to confirm or eliminate him as the possible biological father of Doris & Myrtle, Lillian’s two eldest children. 

References

[1] Birth Certificate Doris Lillian Manderson, born 25 Feb 1906, Register of Births, Deaths and Marriages Victoria, 2600/1906

[2] Western Australia, "MIssing Friends," Government gazette of Western Australia, 16 March 1906, online archives (https://www.slp.wa.gov.au/gazette/gazette.nsf/searchgazette/F5F32A6A4046D57348257C6100257B4A/$file/gg020.pdf  : accessed 26 Jan 2017), p. 898, col. 1.

[3] Marriage Certificate of Thomas MANDERSON and Lillian CRUMP, married 7 May 1903. Registrar of Births, Deaths and Marriages, Victoria, 2358/1903

[4] Marriage Certificate of  Lillian CRUMP and Thomas MANDERSON, married 7 May 1903 [Thomas listed his usual place of residence as Kalgoolie, Western Australia at the time of their marriage]

[5] Anon, ‘MISSING FRIENDS’, 30 June 1906, The Daily News, p. 5 (SECOND EDITION). Accessed 25 November 2016 at http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article82405063; Anon., ‘MISSING FRIENDS’, The Daily News,  30 June 1906, p. 6 (SECOND EDITION). Accessed 25 November 2016 at http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article82404925 [note the same article is repeated twice in the same edition of the Daily News it appears on both pages 5 & 6]

[6] "Liverpool, England, Crew Lists 1861-1919;" Liverpool Record Office, Liverpool, England; digital images, Ancestry.com Operations, Inc, "Crew lists (fishing boats). 387 FIS : 1907,"Ancestry.com (www.Ancestry.com : accessed 24 Mar 2016), Entry for Thomas MANDERSON on the Empress of Britain[The address given by Thomas MANDERSON in this document provides direct evidence that he came from Caldwell St., in Victoria, Australia and that he was born in 1877. It also mentions the previous ship that Thomas MANDERSON crewed for, the “Everton Grange”. ]

[7] "Liverpool, England, Crew Lists 1861-1919;" Liverpool Record Office, Liverpool, England; digital images, Ancestry.com Operations, Inc, "Crew lists (fishing boats). 387 FIS : 1907,"Ancestry.com (www.Ancestry.com : accessed 24 Mar 2016), Entry for Thomas MANDERSON on the Empress of Britain [The address given by Thomas MANDERSON in this document provides direct evidence that he came from Caldwell St., in Victoria, Australia and that he was born in 1877.]; 1910 U.S. census, San Luis Obispo, California, population schedule, San Luis Obispo, enumeration district (ED) 0044, sheet 5B, p. 101, dwelling Cambria Precinct, family 90, Tom Manderson; digital images, Ancestry.com (www.Ancestry.com : accessed 25 Mar 2016)

[8] 1920 U.S. census, Mendocino, California, population schedule, Big River Township (part), Big River Precinct 1, Big River Precinct 2, Caspar Precinct, enumeration district (ED) 111, sheet 18B, p. 7015 (image 26 of 27), dwelling 678, family 468, Thomas Manderson; digital images,  Ancestry.com (www.ancestry.com : accessed 25 Mar 2016)

[9] Death Certificate for Thomas Manderson, died 10 Mar 1938, Sonoma County Clerk's Office, California, USA,  20331/1938 [ Note Thomas parents were listed as Thomas Manderson and Anna Young, being born Australia]

[10] Victorian Birth Certificates 1906/2600-Eaglehawk for Doris Lillian MANDERSON and 1907/10233 Eaglehawk for Myrtle May MANDERSON

[11] NAA: B883, VX21203 William BASSETT

[12] Australian Electoral Commission, Australia, Australia, Electoral Rolls, 1903-1980, vol. 1912: 4 (image 4 of 37), Lillian Bassett; digital images, Ancestry.com Operations Inc, "Division of Bendigo, Subdivision of Eaglehawk," Ancestry.com (Ancestry.com.au : accessed 21 Mar 2016); Victorian Birth Certificate 1912/19781 Eaglehawk Gladys Irene BASSETT

An assault on a servant girl - poor Ellen Carey

Martha met Sarah Jackson on the SS Nairnshire in 1889 on their way to Australia and had formed a friendship during the three-month journey.[1]  After arrival, they both secured positions as domestic servants.  On Thursday evening, 15^th May 1890, Martha and Sarah had been out for the evening in the company of John Hayes and William George Arnold.

Figure 1 Photographer unknown, Studio portrait of a young lady thought to be Martha Sarah Ellis possibly taken circa 1888 (before she leaves England for Australia), digital image,  Jim Bennett's Private Photo  Collection currently held by Dorothy Bennett

The girls heard that Ellen Carey “had told several persons that they were bad characters, and had advised persons against associating with them.”[2]  According to the testimony given, they made their way to Mr. Justice Stone's house where Ellen was working as a domestic servant.  They must have decided to confront Ellen when they arrived.

Their companion Mr Haynes told the court that the assault “was provoked by the persisted efforts of the complainant [the victim Ellen Carey] to damage the characters of Ellis and Jackson.”[3]  On arriving at their destination Martha knocked on the door and spoke to Ellen.  Martha “went inside first, followed by [Sarah] Jackson. There was no disturbance whilst Ellis was inside, but when Jackson went in, I heard screaming.”[4] Ellen suffered a blow that dislocated her jaw and a beating “as soon as she opened the door, Jackson flew in, pulled her hair, and thumped her in the back.”[5] The fight broke up when Ellen called for Miss Stone, her employer’s daughter, to come to her aid.

Photographer A.H.Stone,  Rose Hill, George Frederick Stone's residence, Adelaide Terrace, Perth, circa 1860, digital image, Collection of photographs taken by A.H. Stone during the 1860s and featuring people, buildings and scenes in Perth ; 6923B/97 Accessed 7 May 2017. http://purl.slwa.wa.gov.au/slwa_b4170453_1. [House where the assault is thought to have occurred, in 1890]

Both Martha and Sarah were found guilty of assault and were fined 40s each.  The judge also commented that “if there was a suitable institution for their detention he would send them in for a time”.

The incident was reported in the following 4 papers over a period of 6 days:

1. Anon, ‘TO-DAY'S CITY POLICE NEWS’, The Daily News, 19 May 1890, p. 3. Accessed 26 Jan 2017, http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article77286257.
2. Anon, ‘NEWS AND NOTES’, The West Australian, 20 May 1890, p. 3, column 1. Accessed 7 May 2017,  http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article3134319 [summary and list of court cases for previous day]; Anon, ‘Assault on A Servant Girls’, The West Australian, 20 May 1890, p. 3, column 6. Accessed 26 Jan 2017, http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article3134312 [In-depth report of case]
3. Anon, ‘TO-DAYS CITY POLICE NEWS’, The Inquirer and Commercial News, 21 May 1890, p. 2. Accessed 26 Jan 2017, http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article66930962.
4. Anon, ‘ASSAULT ON A SERVANT GIRL’, Western Mail, p.6. 24 May 1890, p. 6.  Accessed 26 Jan 2017, http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article32731935

Details of the Court case

The case of assault was heard before the Acting Police Magistrate, Mr, J. Cowan in the Perth Police Court, on Monday 19 May 1890. 
The crime was committed on Thursday 15 May 1890 those charged were Martha Ellis, Sarah Jackson and John Hayes for assaulting Ellen Carey. Mr Hayes was discharged but the two girls Ellis and Jackson were fined but according to the judge if there "had been a proper institution, they would have been sentenced to a term of imprisonment,.

Research already conducted

WA Police Gazettes – no listing found in the indexes for 1890 or 1891 https://www.slwa.wa.gov.au/explore-discover/wa-heritage/police-gazettes

Further research required

At State Records Office of Western Australia possibilities include:-

• Perth Police Court, Charge Books, 1853-1917, Consignment 1386, 1052, & 3146, AN 17 [source http://www.sro.wa.gov.au/archive-collection/collection/court-records]    
• PERTH POLICE STATION - IAU WA A199 [source https://archive.sro.wa.gov.au/index.php/perth-police-station-au-wa-a199]
• Series S2135 - COMPLAINTS (CHARGE SHEETS) - Charge Sheets (complaints) provide a summary record of the case. They show complainant, defendant, what the defendant was charged with, the plea, outcome of the trial, fines, magistrates signature, any clerk's records, date of hearing, fines and payments. **NB These records can only be accessed at The Central Law Courts. Direct all requests to The Manager of Court Records.  They are arranged by years(? But not sure if these records go back as far 1890). [source https://archive.sro.wa.gov.au/index.php/complaints-charge-sheets-s2135]

To read more about Martha Sarah Ellis click here

Edit History

Originally posted on the 25 January 2017
Updated and revised on 7 May 2017

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[1] Shipping Records for the ‘Nairnshire’, Page 3 Passenger listing, 8 Oct 1889; Passenger and Crew Lists; Shipping Records for the ‘Nairnshire’; State Records Office, Western Australia

[2] Anon, "TO-DAYS CITY POLICE NEWS," The Inquirer and Commercial News, May 21 1890, p. 2, col. 7; digital images, TROVE (http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article66930962 : accessed 26 Jan 2017), Digitalised Newspapers. 

[3] Anon, "NEWS AND NOTES," The West Australian, May 20 1890, p. 3, col. 6; digital images, TROVE (http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article3134312 : accessed 26 Jan 2017), Digitised Newspapers.

[4] Anon, "TO-DAYS CITY POLICE NEWS," The Inquirer and Commercial News, May 21 1890, p. 2, col. 7; digital images, TROVE (http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article66930962 : accessed 26 Jan 2017), Digitalised Newspapers.

[5] Anon, "TO-DAY'S CITY POLICE NEWS," The Daily News, 19 May 1890, p. 3, col. 7; digital images, TROVE (http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article77286257 : accessed 26 Jan 2017), Digitalised Newspapers.

United British Women’s Emigration Association

Recently I read a Blog Post by Moya Sharp concerning the “United British Women’s Emigration Scheme”  transcribing an article that she had found in the “West Australian” dated the 24 March 1894 to read her original post click here.  The article piqued my interest prompting me to revisit my, albeit limited, research concern the “United British Women’s Emigration Association” and the role that they played bringing young women to Western Australia.

My ancestor Martha Sarah Ellis and her sister Kate Ellen Ellis travelled out to Australia on the SS Nairnshire from England to Perth under auspices of the Association in 1889 (more details about their journey can be found here and here).[1]

In 1894 a report was published entitled the “United British Women’s Emigration Association Report”, contained within the report were interesting titbits on the work of the Association, as shown below.[2]

Figure 1 United British Women's Emigration Association, Report 1894, Winchester: Warren and Son, Printers and Publishers. [Accessed 5 November 2016 http://nla.gov.au/nla.obj-52874072] page 7

Figure 2 United British Women's Emigration Association, Report 1894, Winchester: Warren and Son, Printers and Publishers. [Accessed 5 November 2016 http://nla.gov.au/nla.obj-52874072], page 10

The newspapers of the day also revealed other interesting material concerning the young women who came across under the scheme of Free Passages sponsored by the West Australian Government.

Figure 3 Anon., 'THE LADIES' COLUMN. SEEKING NEW HOMES', Western Mail, 2 February 1901, p. 36 [Accessed 05 Nov 2016, http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article33199584] excerpt 

Figure 4  Anon, 'THE IMMIGRANT GIRLS', Western Mail, 15 October 1897, p. 27. [Accessed 05 Nov 2016, http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article33145319] Note Miss Monk who supervised many of the trips of the girls out to Australia – presumably she is the older woman standing on the far left of the photo

There appears to have been a mixed response from the public concerning the newly arrived girls.  Some felt that despite the best efforts of the Association some girls were unsuitable for the life they would eventually find for themselves and were unprepared for what lay before them.  Others were desperate for domestic help or perhaps the opportunity/possibility of finding a wife.

Figure 5 Anon, 'NEWS OF THE DAY.', The Daily News, 16 March 1889, p. 3.,  [Accessed 05 Nov 2016, 05 Nov 2016, http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article77373635]

Interesting Times.

Images

Figure 1 United British Women's Emigration Association, Report 1894, Winchester: Warren and Son, Printers and Publishers. [Accessed 5 November 2016 http://nla.gov.au/nla.obj-52874072] page 7

Figure 2 United British Women's Emigration Association, Report 1894, Winchester: Warren and Son, Printers and Publishers. [Accessed 5 November 2016 http://nla.gov.au/nla.obj-52874072], page 10

Figure 3 Anon., 'THE LADIES' COLUMN. SEEKING NEW HOMES', Western Mail, 2 February 1901, p. 36 [Accessed 05 Nov 2016, http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article33199584] excerpt  

Figure 4  Anon, 'THE IMMIGRANT GIRLS', Western Mail, 15 October 1897, p. 27. [Accessed 05 Nov 2016, http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article33145319] Note Miss Monk who supervised many of the trips of the girls out to Australia – presumably she is the older woman standing on the far left of the photo

Figure 5 Anon, 'NEWS OF THE DAY.', The Daily News, 16 March 1889, p. 3.,  [Accessed 05 Nov 2016, 05 Nov 2016, http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article77373635]

Sources

[1]  Shipping Records for the ‘Nairnshire’, Page 3 Passenger listing, 8 Oct 1885; Passenger and Crew Lists; Shipping Records for the ‘Nairnshire’; State Records Office, Western Australia. [Copy of the original record provided via email by Tom Reynolds from the State Records Office of Western Australia on 8 February 2013 (Tom Reynolds tom.reynolds@sro.wa.gov.au)Note no reference was given.  Reference  created from known sources]

Does anyone recognize this Thomas Manderson?

Does anyone recognize this Thomas Manderson? I am trying to track down a Thomas Manderson who married Lillian Crump in 1903 in Eaglehawk, Victoria and then went missing.

G.L. Massingham, Wedding Photo of Lillian Crump & Thomas Manderson, 1903, scan of original image

"Thomas Manderson, found at Goomalling, near Newcastle "

Links

To read more about Lillian Crump and what became of her click here
To learn more details about the photo click here

To read more about the venue for Lillian & Thomas's click here

Sources

"MISSING FRIENDS" The Daily News (Perth, WA : 1882 - 1950) 30 June 1906: 6 (SECOND EDITION). Web. 17 Mar 2016 <http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article82404925>. 

MISSING FRIENDS (1906, June 30). The Daily News (Perth, WA : 1882 - 1950), , p. 5 (SECOND EDITION). Retrieved March 17, 2016, from http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article82405063 

Victoria Department of Justice, marriage certificate 2358 (1903), Manderson-Crump; Registry of Births Deaths and Marriages Victoria, Melbourne

Edit History

Originally posted on the 22nd March 2016
Updated and revised on 16th August 2016

Travelling on the SS Nairnshire in 1889

There are conflicting reports concerning the SS Nairnshire’s departure from England, some Australian newspapers reported her as leaving on the 21st August 1889, another one gave the date as  26th August as the departure date. [1]

Figure 1  Annotated Map of the journey of the SS Nairnshire in 1890 from London to Fremantle, for more details, see below.

The ambiguity of dates probably reflects the chaos as they left the London shores as the 1889 dock strike began to take hold. They only just manage to escape the strike which involved which was reported as

“completely paralysed the loading of all vessels on the berth. ...The strike is assuming ranch larger proportions than was at first anticipated, and has now .spread to the carters. Several manufacturers are, I hear, expecting their men to go out to-morrow. There are at present between 40,000 and 50,000 men on strike.” [2]

Figure 2 Manifesto Poster of the South Side Central Strike Committee, 1889, for more details see below.

What must have the passengers felt as they moved through the swelling crowds of men milling around the docks? Men who were desperately looking for work, their families hungry, and a feeling that there was no future or relief in sight.

After leaving England the Nairnshire went round the Cape, to avoid the seasonal extreme heat of the Red Sea.[3] There is some confusion about the timing of different stages of the journey. The Argus reported that they had “fine weather to Las Palmas, reaching there on August 28. The voyage was resumed on August 30”and there the “snow storms and hail squalls were frequent, but there were no disastrous gales.”[4] Whereas the Sydney Morning Herald reported that the “Nairnshire left London on August 26, and called at Las Palmas on September 3. She coaled and left the same day and after experiencing strong trades and head seas she arrived at Cape town September 26 and left next day.”[5] Regardless of the timing it is clear that the first leg of the journey was quite pleasant but on the last leg they experienced bad weather.  On arrival the weather at Fremantle was “persistently boisterous.[6] In total the voyage took 43 days, 3 hours and 17 minutes from London to Fremantle.[7]

Life on Board ship during the voyage

On board were 48 were servant girls who were travelling in steerage, with enhanced “security derived from there being no other third-class passengers carried."[8] Unlike the Saloon Passengers, the girls were all under the supervision of Miss Monk, a well respected Matron. It was the task of the Matron to look after their well fare and guard their reputations during the journey.  The importance of this protection cannot be underestimated, this “questioning of their virtue had far-reaching consequences as the unvirtuous woman was lost: she could not qualify for domestic service anymore and was “damaged goods” for marriage.” [9] 

As one of the girls from another vessel describes, we were divided “into 'messes,' ... crowded together like sheep. We slept, and had our meals, and even had the hospital all in one room ... Our bunks were roughly put up in rows side by side and above each other. When we took our clothes off, we mostly threw them on our bunks because there was nowhere else to put them. Then we each had served out to us a common enamelled-tin plate and mug and a knife and fork — the whole tied up in a cloth net, It wasn't nice to eat and drink from chipped tin-ware, but then what better could poor servant girls expect. We got a hard mattress, coarse sheets, and a blue blanket ...”[x]

During the fine days, the girls were able to up on deck to sing nursery rhyme songs, dance around and reminisce over childhood fancies.  Mrs Monk would have supplied “work material, books, magazines, and materials for games and entertainments” that could be used when indoors during inclement weather or in the evenings"[11] Other accounts include descriptions of “games of all kinds being organised to beguile the hours of daylight; whilst in the evening there was a continuous round of amusements in the shape of concerts, parlour games, amateur theatricals, etc”[12]

Arrival at Fremantle

They were greeted by blustery weather when they arrived in Fremantle, but the girls must have been so relieved when we finally saw Western Australia, even if they had to remain on the vessel until the next morning after having arrived so late at 8pm in the evening of October 8, 1899.

In the 1890s the experience of girls arriving was vividly described in a local paper. “On the wharf a crowd of men stood waiting to stare at us, as if we were prize cattle. I never saw a shabbier collection of men before (that's quite, anyhow), and the remarks some of them made about us caused my ears to tingle. Then a gruff official ordered us to get into order, and off we were marched in charge of a couple of policemen, like prisoners, the crowd following to gaze at us.”[13] It must have seem very strange that the first reception as they “were escorted by the police on their first walk on Australian soil. Truly, a peculiar reception.[14]

I wonder how my Great-Grandmother Martha Sarah Ellis felt as first stepped foot on Australian soil?

Image Credits

Figure 1  Annotated Map of the journey of the SS Nairnshire in 1890 from London to Fremantle. – This map is made up of the following graphical elements

1.       "World Map Template - Steampunk/Victorian Style". Accessed February 3 2016. http://floppybootstomp.deviantart.com/art/World-Map-Template-Steampunk-Victorian-Style-295299981 . Orange travel line added by Sandra Williamson;

2.       Photographer unknown, S.S. NAIRNSHIRE, ca. 1900, digital image,  David Little collection of steamships, SLV.(This work is out of copyright);

3.       Photographer unknown, Studio portrait of a young lady thought to be Martha Sarah Ellis possibly taken circa 1888 (before she leaves England for Australia), digital image,  Jim Bennett's Private Photo  Collection currently held by Dorothy Bennett

Figure 2 Artist unknown, Manifesto Poster of the South Side Central Strike Committee, issued during the London Dock Strike of 1889, Scanned from Rodney Mace, British Trade Union Posters: An Illustrated History [https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:South_Side_Central_Strike_Committee.jpg#, Accessed 11 February 2017]

Source Citations

1.   Anon, 'SHIPPING.', The Inquirer and Commercial News, 25 September 1889, p. 6, Col.1. , [http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article66089423, viewed 10 Feb 2017]; Anon, 'ENGLISH SHIPPING NEWS.', The Daily News, 24 September 1889, p. 2, Col.5, [http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article84575862, viewed 10 Feb 2017]
2.   Anon, 'SHIPPING.', The Inquirer and Commercial News, 25 September 1889, p. 6, Col.1. , [http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article66089423, viewed 10 Feb 2017]
3.   Anon, 'ENGLISH SHIPPING NEWS.', The Daily News, 24 September 1889, p. 2, Col.5, [http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article84575862, viewed 10 Feb 2017]
4.   Anon, 'SHIPPING REPORTS. THE S.S NAIRNSHIRE', The Argus, 29 October 1889, p. 9, Col.8. , [http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article8565779, viewed 10 Feb 2017]
5.   Anon, 'THE S.S NAIRNSHIRE.', The Sydney Morning Herald, 15 November 1890, p. 8, Col.2, [http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article13799437, viewed 10 Feb 2017]
6.   Anon, 'THE S.S NAIRNSHIRE.', The Sydney Morning Herald, 15 November 1890, p. 8, Col.1, [http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article13799437, viewed 10 Feb 2017]
7.   Anon, 'THE S.S NAIRNSHIRE.', The Sydney Morning Herald, 15 November 1890, p. 8, Col.2, [http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article13799437, viewed 10 Feb 2017]
8.   Anon, 'Notes from London.', Kalgoorlie Western Argus, 14 December 1899, p. 12. , [http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article32203258, viewed 11 Feb 2017]
9.   Coralie Canot. The Undesirable Spinster: The Organised Emigration of British Single Women, 1851-1914. Literature. 2013, p.34
10.   Anon, 'THE GOLDEN WEST.', The Inquirer and Commercial News, 29 May 1896, p. 12, Col.6.[http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article66532077, viewed 11 Feb 2017]
11.   Anon, 'Notes from London.', Kalgoorlie Western Argus, 14 December 1899, p. 12. , [http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article32203258, viewed 11 Feb 2017]
12. Anon, 'THE LADIES' COLUMN. SEEKING NEW HOMES.', Western Mai, 2 February 1901, p. 54, Col.2.[http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article33199584, viewed 11 Feb 2017]
13.   Anon, 'THE GOLDEN WEST.', The Inquirer and Commercial News, 29 May 1896, p. 12. [http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article66532077, viewed 11 Feb 2017]
14.   Anon, 'NEWS AND NOTES.', The West Australian, 27 May 1896, p. 4, Col.8, [http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article3090945, viewed 11 Feb 2017]

Further Reading

More information about the Ship SS Nairnshire

More information on the United British Women’s Emigration Association 

Edit History

Originally posted on the 02/02/2016
Edited and updated 03/02/2016 & 4/2/2016
Edited and revised on the 11/02/2017