Most people in the U.S. that I have talked to, think that because I come from Australia, my ancestors were convicts, but that is not the case. So far I have not found any ancestors that were convicts, most of my relatives came over from the U.K. between 1850-1875. Some of them I am still looking for their immigration details.

John Fuller Rose, as far as I can tell, is my earliest immigrant ancestor. He sailed from London, England to Sydney, Australia where he arrived on 18 May 1838 aboard the “Orontes“, with his wife and children.

John is listed below at the top of the page on line 35. He is 30 years old, married and is travelling with 3 children, 2 boys and 1 girl. He was brought into Australia by the government and was engaged by Mr. Dawson of George Street in Sydney.

The following card shows that John is the son of John and Elizabeth Rose from Shadwell, London. He is 30 years old and his occupation is a Brassier and Smith. Ann is the daughter of William and Elizabeth Newman also from Shadwell, London. She is either 31 or 32 years old and her occupation is a House Servant.

Their children are listed as:

1. F. 11 years 7 Apr. 1838
2. John 6 years died 5 Nov. 1837
3. Male child born 20 Feb. 1838 at sea
4. Mary Ann 4 years July 1837
5. Elizabeth 3 years died 28 Jan. 1838

Now, here’s where the catch comes in. Of all the children listed only 3 are supposedly alive when they arrived in Australia. That would be: F. the 11 year old, the male child born at sea, and Mary Ann the 4 year old girl. Two boys and 1 girl, like the passenger list at the top says.

John and Ann went on to have at least 4 more children after they arrived in Australia. Thomas in 1840, Charlotte in 1843, Sarah in 1846 and Catherine in 1849.

The other 2 children, John and Elizabeth supposedly died on the journey, however, according to records I have found, they both got married and had families. I am still looking for more passenger list records to sort this out. I had thought that maybe they were named after the deceased children, but their birth years are the same.

I definitely need to do more research on this couple and their children. I am just glad that little Mary Ann, my 3rd great grandmother, survived the journey. As for my 4th great grandmother Ann, giving birth on a ship, I cannot even begin to imagine what that was like!

Since it helps me get caught up quicker, I am going to make this weeks post really easy on me. I am just going to list all the surnames that I have proven for my lines so far.

The names below are for my husband’s lines.

If you have any of these surnames, feel free to send me a message. Always looking to make new connections and meet new family members!

My 3rd great grandparents, William Absalom and Mary Ann Rose, have the largest family of all my relatives that I have found so far. They had a total of 16 children. I cannot imagine having that many mouths to feed!

William was born in England in about 1830, a son of Charles Absalom and Eliza Knight. He immigrated to Australia in 1849.

Mary Ann, a daughter of John Fuller Rose and Ann Newman, was born in about 1834 in England and immigrated to Australia with her parents and siblings in 1838.

William married Mary Ann in 1855 in Victoria, Australia. Their children are listed below with their spouses.

1. Eliza born in 1856 and died in 1935. She married William Edwards.
2. Charles born in 1857 and died in 1938. He married Catherine McKenna.
3. Annie born in 1858 and died in 1890. I believe she was unmarried.
4. Charlotte born in 1860 and died in 1870.
5. William was born in 1861 and died in 1916. He married Flora McDonald.
6. Sarah born in 1864 and died in 1936. She married Alfred Jolliffe.
7. Frances born in 1865 and died in 1938. She married William Smith.
8. James born in 1866 and died in 1932. He married Mary Anne Knight.
9. Mary Ann born in 1867 and died in 1938. She married Donald Robinson.
10. John born in 1869 and died in 1945. He married Mary Ann Green.
11. George born in 1871 and died in 1938. I believe he was unmarried.
12. Avy born in 1872 and died in 1920. She married William Greaney.
13. Henry born in 1873 and died in 1946. He married Nellie Keogh.
14. Edward born in 1875 and died in 1926. He married Emily Hill.
15. Letitia born in 1877 and died in 1923. She married John Ritchie.
16. Robert born in 1878 and died in 1880.

William died in 1882, aged 52 and Mary Ann in 1898, aged 64. When he died, she was left with 8 kids aged 16 and under.

These dates are just rough estimates as I haven’t researched into their lives much, and they will probably end up being part of future blog posts. My line is through James.

Feel free to send a message if you are related to anyone in these posts.