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!