This page is about my mother’s family, which includes the Magills and the Campbells, the Tindals and the McConnells, and their journies from there to here.
Merilyn Magill Daniels (My Mother)
On the Magill family’s journey………….
The McConnells
William McConnell, (born to William Thomas McConnell and Elizabeth Corbin or Parkey on the 11th of May 1820 in Ballymena, Northern Ireland) married Letitia Sarah Foster (born to Joseph Foster and Harriet Semple in May 1816, in Ballyverston, Northern Ireland), on the 23rd of April 1841 in Ballymena.
They had nine children:
Harriet 10th of September 1841
Mary (born and died) 1841 – possibly a twin?
William 12th of May 1843
Joseph 24th of January 18461820
Elizabeth 18th of June 1848 (see below)
Thomas 17th of February 1850
James 21st of April 1852
John 26th of May 1854
Hugh 24th of February 1858
Letitia McConnell died on the 18th of November 1891 in Warnambool, Victoria.
Purchased record from Victorian births, deaths, and marriages office. (bdm.vic.gov.au)
William McConnell (the elder) died in Panmure, Victoria in 1905 (Registry number 13915/1905)
Snip of index from search on Victorian births, deaths and marriages website (bdm.vic.gov.au)
The Magills and the McConnells Join
Crawford Magill (also McGill in some records) married Elizabeth McConnell (also McConell, M’Connell and McConnel in some records) in Raloo, Antrim, Northern Ireland on the 26th of May 1874. Find My Past (findmypast.ie) confirms that there is a record for the marriage between Elizabeth and Crawford in the registration district of Larne, County Antrim, Ireland. (Volume 6, p. 701).
Record from Ancestry
They then emigrated to Victoria, Australia aboard the “Great Britain” in July 1874. Elizabeth travelled under her maiden name with her family, and the passenger list has a C. McGill as a single passenger.
Header for passenger lists for the
“Great Britain”
https://prov.vic.gov.au/archive/3B4BACEC-F96C-11E9-AE98-7B5C08B25DBA?image=79
Extract from the passenger list of the “Great Britain” showing the McConnel families.
https://prov.vic.gov.au/archive/3B4BACEC-F96C-11E9-AE98-7B5C08B25DBA?image=82
Extract from the passenger list of the “Great Britain” showing C. McGill.
https://prov.vic.gov.au/archive/3B4BACEC-F96C-11E9-AE98-7B5C08B25DBA?image=84
Elizabeth McConnell already had a son, William Owen McConnell, born when she was fifteen and a half years old.
William Owen McConnell 1864 in Larne, Antrim, Ireland, married Jane May Moore in Victoria, Australia in 1884 (Registry number 4696/1884), he passed away in Melbourne, Victoria, in 1905 (Registry number 13496/1905).
Elizabeth and Crawford had six children:
Isabella 1875 in Warnambool, Victoria (Registry number 20217/1875), married William Ephraim Britain in Victoria in 1896 (Registry number 7079 in 1896), she married Henry Arthur Scott in Bunbury, Western Australia in 1903 (Registry number 1979 in 1903), she passed away in Mount Lawley, Western Australia in 1940 (Registry number 100099 in 1940).
Letitia 1876 in Warnambool, Victoria (Registry number 20013/1876), she passed away in Allansford, Victoria in 1951 (Registry number 11088/1951).
William Arthur (great grandfather) 1877 in Allansford, (surname recorded as McGill in the Victorian records, Registry number 12606/1877). See above for details.
John Crawford 1878 in Allansford, Victoria (Registry number 20251/1878), married Laura May Englefield in Victoria in 1928 (Registry number 11964 in 1928), he passed away in Melbourne, Victoria in 1942 (Registry number 11162/1942).
Matthew 1881 in Allansford, Victoria (recorded as Arthur in the Victorian records – according to family legend, when Crawford was registering the birth of Matthew, the clerk asked the name, and Crawford said “Arthur!” at the same time, chastising William Arthur. Registry number 13601/1881), married Sarah Blanch Dalton in Greenbushes, Western Australia in 1908 (Registry number 500005 in 1908), he was killed in France in 1916 while fighting in WWII.
Edward James 1887 in Allansford, Victoria (Registry number 20217/1887), married Maggie Sutherland in Victoria in 1909 (Registry number 5840/1909, surname recorded as McGill), he passed away in Warnambool, Victoria in 1943 (Registry number 19383/1943).
Crawford Magill died in Western Australia on the 16th of February 1900 (Registry number 2252 in 1900, surname recorded as McGill), injuries sustained falling out of a tree. He was buried in the Pioneer Park Cemetery up near the back beach in Bunbury, but according to the Bunbury Cemetery Board he was exhumed and moved to the current Bunbury Cemetery in the 1930s. Some of the headstones from the park have been moved to the Bunbury Cemetery, however a visit to see if there is a headstone for him was fruitless.
Copy of death certificate available.
Elizabeth McConnell Magill died on the 12th of November 1902 in Warnambool, Victoria (Registry number 16033/1902).
Record from Ancestry
The Campbells
Hugh Campbell married Ann McColl on the 25th of July 1771, in the parish of Kilninian and Kilmore, on the Isle of Mull, Scotland. The Isle of Mull is on the west coast of Scotland in the Inner Hebrides islands. Hugh’s occupation was listed on Duncan’s death record as a crofter – someone who leased a small amount of land, a croft, to farm, mostly subsistence. They had six children that records were found for on the ScotlandsPeople website:
John 5 Feb 1773
Janet 26 Nov 1774
Mary 10 Nov 1776
Ann 5 Dec 1785
Donald 10 Jun 1787
Duncan 4 Nov 1793
No death records for Hugh or Ann have been found yet that can be verified, however Find A Grave has a Hugh Campbell, born 1749, died 1810, buried on the Isle of Mull. It lists his wife as Catherine Campbell, however a note left on the site says that the person believed his wife to be Grace (known as Ann) McColl.
Duncan Campbell married Janet McLean (daughter of Donald McLean and Isobel McNiven or McNivein) on the 4th of August 1818, parish of Kilninian and Kilmore. (The record shows she was from Dervaig, he was from Tengie, also known as Tongue).
Record obtained from ScotlandsPeople website www.scotlandspeople.gov.uk
He was described as a sailor; however, the census details record his occupations as crofter and tailor. They had five children according to the ScotlandsPeople records; however, it should be noted that a lot of the records hold different spellings, and sometimes searches online do not get all the records. Also, there are two Catharines, this sometimes happens when the older of the two dies young, and the family uses the name again, or could be the same child with two different dates on the record. After visiting Dervaig, and the Mull Museum in Tobermory, much more information came to light. A woman named Jo Currie has written a comprehensive book about Mull and its people, and Duncan, Janet and their son John appear in the book. Further, while writing the book Jo Currie created over 10,000 index cards with names, dates, events and children etc. for people on Mull. On Duncan Campbell’s record I found out that the second Catharine was a twin, her sister Janet also born that day, and that there were children that were not registered in the parish registers – Mary and John.
Hugh 26 Apr 1819
Record obtained from ScotlandsPeople website www.scotlandspeople.gov.uk
Lachlan 31 Jul 1821
Catharine 18 Sep 1823
Anne 9 Jan 1825
Catharine 9 Sep 1826 and Janet 9 Sep 1826 “lawful twins” (From index card at Mull Museum)
Mary (1828, from index card at Mull Museum)
John (1831, from index card at Mull Museum)
Census records from 1841 mention the family, there is no mention of Hugh (had left home by then) Lachlan – unknown if he had left home or had passed away, Catharine (born 1823) same, Anne was on the census return, the twins were not, Mary and John were. The assumption is that the twins did not survive. It should be noted that it was not compulsory to register deaths, and quite often up until 1855 when the government took over the records, the deaths were not registered (there being a fee that frankly some families could not afford), making the tracing of certain people difficult. Janet’s age: Baptised in 1807, meaning she would have been 11 when she married. 1841 census says she was 40, meaning she would have been born in 1801, and the 1861 census has her age as 67, making her born in 1794. Lastly her death record says she was 86 in 1877, putting her year of birth as 1791. I decided to go with the middle ground and picked 1800 as a base.
Janet McLean Campbell died on the 9th of May 1877, of old age. Note above the comments on her age.
Record obtained from ScotlandsPeople website www.scotlandspeople.gov.uk
Duncan died not long after, on the 3rd of August, also of old age. His age was listed as 85, making his birth year 1792, which is only one year out from above.
Record obtained from ScotlandsPeople website www.scotlandspeople.gov.uk
Hugh Campbell was married to Mary McIntyre on the 25th of December 1849, by a Mr. Hugh McDougall, a Free Church minister in Glasgow, Scotland.
Record obtained from ScotlandsPeople website www.scotlandspeople.gov.uk
The marriage record lists Hugh Campbell’s occupation as sailor, which confirms what was recorded on James Campbell’s death certificate. They had five children:
Caroline 1850 Glasgow, Scotland
Colin 1851 Scotland
Duncan 1856 in Warnambool, Victoria (Registry number 2180/1856)
James 1857 Meredith, Victoria (record not available)
Mary Ann 1861 in Borhoneyghurk, Victoria (Registry number 3132/1860). Their stories are below.
Searches in the Scottish records unearthed the following from the 1851 Census in the UK:
Record obtained from ScotlandsPeople website www.scotlandspeople.gov.uk
Information in this record notes birthplaces for Hugh, Mary, and Caroline, and that they were residing at a boarding house run by Euphemia McLean, Hugh’s aunt. Hugh’s death record in Victoria notes his parents as Duncan Campbell and Caroline McLean, however the Scottish record fits all the other details including place and year of birth, so it is assumed that Janet may also have been known as Caroline.
The Australian records search started with the Victorian births, deaths and marriages for any records that contained Hugh and Mary as parents. Two records were found, for Duncan Campbell in 1856 (Registry number 2180/1856) and Mary Ann Campbell in 1861 (Registry number 3132/1861).
Knowing that previous children would be listed on the birth record of the youngest, Mary Ann’s birth record was obtained from the Victorian births, deaths, and marriages website. This record listed three older siblings, Caroline, Colin, and Duncan. As the year of Duncan’s birth was close to James Campbell, it was assumed for a while that James was Duncan. As there were no records for Caroline and Colin in the Victorian records, a search was made in ScotlandsPeople (Scotland’s birth deaths and marriages/archives). No birth records appeared, however there is a record of the family, an immigration document on the ScotlandsPeople website, that produced Caroline’s name.
The detail on the document reads as follows:
Heading: List of Emigrants assisted by the Highland and Island Emigration Society and embarked onboard the Ship “New Zealander” which sailed from Liverpool for Portland Bay on 23rd July 1853.
Detail: Number 463 – Campbell, Hugh (32), Mary (28), Caroline (2), Colin (1). From Quinish, Isle of Mull. Estate: Mr. McLean of Coll: Remarks – very good family: Pro Rate £9.0.8½.
(Portland Bay is on the south coast of Victoria, 96 kilometers from Warnambool towards the South Australian border).
Update: Quinnish is near Dervaig and appears to be private property rather than a town.
Record obtained from ScotlandsPeople website www.scotlandspeople.gov.uk
https://prov.vic.gov.au/explore-collection/explore-topic/passenger-records-and-immigration/assisted-passenger-lists
Side note: The “New Zealander” departed from Liverpool on the 23rd of August 1853 to Australia carrying 465 assisted passengers. The immigrants were mainly Irish (103) and Scottish (362). After unloading the passengers, and 16 days in Portland, the vessel underwent an extensive refit. 18 of the original crew had to be jailed for failing to prepare for the return journey. On the 16th of December 1853, after Captain Brown had tried to muster a new crew, the ship was found ablaze at 4am. It was towed to the beach at Whaler’s Bluff and continued to burn. One theory at the time was that the cook set the ship alight because the crew wanted to go ashore, whilst another theory was spontaneous combustion of the coal cargo, fueled by the new varnish which kept the hull burning. The vessel burned for 2 to 3 weeks and was visible for many years above the water at the foot of the lighthouse. (Heritage Victoria website, vhd.heritage.vic.gov.au/shipwrecks/heritage/489).
Further details of the ship “New Zealander” – she was a three masted wooden sailing ship built in 1852 at the port of Pictou, (Nova Scotia), Canada. She was registered in the port of Liverpool, England, and the voyage to Australia was her maiden. She was owned by A.W. Sharp, and the return voyage was to be with a cargo of coal.
S489_NewZealander_PortlandBay_C from vhd.heritage.vic.gov.au/shipwrecks/heritage/489
Later research of the Victorian records leads to two possible Hugh Campbell death records, of the approximate correct age. The first record obtained had no details other than the name Hugh Campbell, the age, and the cause of death. All the other usual details such as spouse and children were listed as unknown, and as such was a dead end.
It was later that the second record (Registry number 2891/1868) was identified as a potential match, and after it was obtained it was discovered that it listed five children, including James, between Duncan and Mary Ann.
This was unexpected but clears up the matter of whether Duncan was James. On Mary Ann’s birth record, where James is not mentioned, Mary (McIntyre) Campbell’s “signature” is an X, surrounded by the words her mark, so the assumption is that the record taker did not correctly take down the details of the family.
Hugh Campbell died at the Ararat Hospital on the 25th of April 1868 of an aneurism of the aorta, and he was buried the same day in the Ararat cemetery. His occupation was listed as shepherd, and Mary McIntyre Campbell was still living at this time. The five children are listed with their ages, James being only 10 when his father died. Hugh Campbell’s parents are listed as Duncan Campbell, sailor, and Caroline Campbell formerly McLean. Searches for Mary McIntyre Campbell in the Victorian records have produced several possibilities, with little or no information available to narrow down the choices. On the 7th of July 2023 – I found her. I went to the Karrakatta Cemetery in Perth, Western Australia on the 7th of July 2023, and went to James Campbell’s grave to photograph the headstone. I found that Annie Tindal Campbell was also buried in that plot, and they share a headstone. There was a second headstone on the grave, half buried and badly weathered, (photo below), for “beloved mother Mary Campbell,” (the only words I could make out). I did not make the connection to Mary McIntyre Campbell until later that day, as I was still working with the information that she had died in Victoria, Australia in 1907. I had also assumed that the headstone for Mary Campbell was later than the one for Annie and James. Burial records for Mary Campbell in the Karrakatta Cemetery, for the plot number 426, states that Mary Campbell was born in 1819, and died on the 12th of December 1908. Searching the Western Australian births, deaths and marriages online index found a death record for Mary Campbell, 89 years old, father – John McIntyre, mother Mary unknown. (Registry number 100724 in 1908). The confirmation was that she was Mary McIntyre Campbell. Death certificate was ordered, and it confirms that it was her, listing Caroline, Colin, Duncan, James and one female deceased (Mary Ann had passed away six years earlier). It notes that Mary had lived in Western Australia for 11 years, meaning she had moved here in 1897 approximately. This fits in with records showing that the Dornans, Colin, Duncan and James Campbell and families also making the move west.
Purchased record from Victorian births, deaths, and marriages office. (bdm.vic.gov.au)
Mary McIntyre Campbell’s headstone, taken by author 7th July 2023
Caroline Campbell married James Dornan (son of James William Dornan and Francis Prentice or Knox) on the 22nd of December 1869 in Elmhurst, Victoria (Registry number 4177/1869).
Purchased record from Victorian births, deaths, and marriages office. (bdm.vic.gov.au)
The Dornans had nine children:
James Alfred 1870 in Ballarat, Victoria (Registry number 21155/1870), he passed away in Ballarat aged 1 in 1871 (Registry number 7755/1871).
Rose 1872 in Amphitheatre (NW of Ballarat), Victoria (Registry number 13321/1872), she married Daniel Patrick Rogers in Perth, Western Australia in 1905 (Registry number 1517 in 1905), she died in Perth, Western Australia in 1916 (Registry number 100208 in 1916, parents’ names listed correctly).
Catherine Ellen 1874 in Elmhurst, Victoria (Registry number 22515/1874), married Edward Donovan in Karridale, Western Australia in 1896 (Registry number 966 in 1896), she passed away in 1959 in Subiaco, Perth, (Registry number 100469 in 1959, parents names listed as James Dornan and Catherine Campbell)
Frances Mary 1876 in Crowlands (near Ararat), Victoria, (Registry number 22321/1876), she married William Richard Paterson in Perth, Western Australia in 1901 (Registry number 1170 in 1901), she passed away in Perth, Western Australia in 1925 (Registry number 100080 in 1925, parents names listed as James Dorman and Katherine Campbell)
Left to right: Dolly Campbell (bride’s cousin), Alice Dornan (bride’s sister), Jim Dornan (bride’s brother) Frances Dornan Paterson, William Richard Paterson, Rose Dornan (seated, bride’s sister), Mr. West and unknown girl standing next to Rose.
James Hugh 1879 in Crowlands (near Ararat), Victoria, (Registry number 22369/1879), he married Ann Jane Lamb in Bunbury, Western Australia in 1909 (Registry number 6600043 in 1909), he passed away in Elmhurst, Victoria in 1945 (Registry number 19829/1945)
Caroline 1881 in Drouin, Victoria (Registry number 8793/1881), she passed away in the Busselton Government Hospital, Busselton, Western Australia in 1898 (Registry number 2517 in 1898, parents names listed correctly) - she was 16.
John Duncan 1886 in Richmond, Victoria (Registry number 5592/1886, last name mis-recorded as Dorman), a marriage record in the WABDM appears for John Dornan and Mary Murray in Fremantle, Western Australia (Registry number 2700094 in 1916), he passed away in Keswick, City of West Torrens, South Australia in 1942 (Ancestry).
Alice Adelaide 1888 in Richmond, Victoria (Registry number 5886/1888), she married Richard Donald John Young in Perth, Western Australia in 1913 (Registry number 100348 in 1913), she passed away reportedly in 1972, researching for confirmation (Ancestry).
Frank 1890 in Hawthorn, Victoria (Registry number 23771/1890, mother’s name recorded as Carol Campbell), he passed away in Adelaide, South Australia in 1964 (Ancestry). No marriage records yet.
James Dornan (the elder) passed away “On the Nannine Peak Hill Road at a place called The Granites,” Western Australia (Registry number 1347 in 1900, place noted as recorded in the WABDM index). It lists his mother’s maiden name as Francis Prentece, whereas his marriage record notes her maiden name as Knox.
Side note: The Granites are at Mt. Magnet.
Image from Google Maps, The Granites, Mt Magnet, Western Australia
Caroline Campbell Dornan eventually passed away in South Australia in 1927 (Ancestry).
The South Australian BDM records are not searchable online, and as such are not accessible.
Colin Campbell died in Kalgoorlie, Western Australia in 1941 (Registry number 1800059 in 1941) The record states he was 88 years old.
Snip from Kalgoorlie Cemetery records
A search on Trove found the following death notice, and from that a search of the WABDM yielded no results, and VICBDM yielded a result for marriage between Colin Campbell and a Margaret McDonald in 1875 in Victoria (Registry number 3131/1875).
Notice from Trove.
Searches for children with Colin and Margaret as parents that matched the notice below yielded the following results:
John 1877/1878, no birth record, passed away at 7 months old in 1878 (Registry number 1423/1878, place of death not listed) parents recorded as Mary McDonald and Colin Campbell, place of birth abbreviated to MOAM in the death record, unable to locate in Victoria. Not mentioned in the death notice, most likely as he had passed away.
Mary – no record yet but mentioned in the death notice. (As previously noted, sometimes the records are not readily accessible).
Colin – 1879 (Mother Margaret McDonald) In Amphitheatre, Victoria (Registry number 59/1879), he passed away in Perth in 1955, (Registry number 102381 in 1955).
Margaret May – 1881 (Mother Margaret McDonald) in Drouin, Victoria (Registry number 8790/1881)
Sarah – 1883 (Mother Margaret McDonald) in Victoria (Registry number 20363/1883)
Hugh 1885 in Traralgon, Victoria (Registry number 14170/1885) not mentioned in the death notice, most likely because he passed away in Nagambie, Victoria in 1891 (Registry number 7580/1891) aged 6.
Catherine 1887 in Hawthorn, Victoria (Registry number 11687/1887) not mentioned in the death notice, most likely because she passed away in Nagambie, Victoria in 1893 (Registry number 7024/1893) aged 5.
James Edward – 1889 (Mother Margaret McDonald) in Graytown, Victoria (Registry number 22223/1889) research ongoing.
Rachel Grace – 1892 (Mother Margaret McDonald) in Victoria (Registry number 25849/1892), known as Grace, she married William John Drewett Brennan in Bunbury, Western Australia in 1911, (Registry number 6600105 in 1911), no death record as yet.
Annie – 1895 (Mother Margaret McDonald) in Nagambie, Victoria (Registry number 14661/1895),
The search for Margaret McDonald Campbell and other family records is still ongoing. (Margaret and Mary are very common names, as is Campbell, and thus there are many possible records that are hard to verify).
Duncan Campbell was born in Warnambool in 1856 (Registry number 2180/1856), he married Alice Adelaide Hamilton in Hawthorn on the 20th of July 1887.
Marriage certificate from Ancestry
They had six children:
Frank (no records yet, mentioned first in death notice from family),
Katherine Elsie Maude 1888 in Richmond, Victoria (Registry number 14957/1888), she married Archer James Snook in West Perth, Western Australia in 1914 (Registry number 100468 in 1914, her name recorded as Elsie Maude Catherine), she passed away in Wembley, Western Australia in 1985 (Registry number 103948 in 1985, her name recorded as Elsie Maude Snook)
Isabel Daisy 1889 in Hawthorn, Victoria (Registry number 31895/1889), she married Oliver Gluyas Symons in Perth, Western Australia in 1925 (Registry number 101221 in 1925, name recorded as Daisy Isabelle), she passed away in Mount Yokine, Western Australia in 1963 (Registry number 100767 in 1963, name recorded as Daisy Isobel Symons)
Florence 1891 in Richmond, Victoria (Registry number 16674/1891), she passed away in Perth, Western Australia in 1927 (Registry number 101380 in 19270), apparently having never married or had children.
Charles Alexander 1894 in Richmond, Victoria (Registry number 6487/1894), no marriage records found yet, he passed away in Dwellingup, Western Australia in 1947 (Registry number 4700015 in 1947)
Cecil Gavin 1904 in Subiaco, Western Australia (Registry number 6031 in 1904), he married Edith May Doel in Subiaco, Western Australia in 1943 (Registry number 100999 in 1943, his middle name misspelled as Gaven), he passed away in Busselton, Western Australia in 1949 (Registry number 6000001 in 1950, indicating it was late December when he died, mother’s name recorded as Alice Bates Hamilton, indicating she had remarried at that time).
Duncan Campbell died in Dwellingup, Western Australia in 1928 (Registry number 4700020 in 1928) The record states he was 72 years old.
Notice from Trove
Notice from Trove
Alice Adelaide Hamilton (Campbell) Bates passed away in Perth, Western Australia in 1950 (Registry number 102669 in 1950). No records found yet for second marriage.
Mary Ann Campbell was born in Borhoneyghurk, on the 28th of November 1861.
Purchased record from Victorian births, deaths, and marriages office. (bdm.vic.gov.au)
She married William Sloan in 1879 (Registry number 4357/1879), and had five children:
Mary 1880 in Elmhurst, Victoria (Registry number 22310/1880).
William Francis 1882 in Ingl, Victoria (Registry number 3501/1882).
Charles Hugh 1884 in Hawthorn, Victoria (Registry number 3035/1884).
John James 1885 in Hawthorn, Victoria (Registry number 10855/1886).
Stanley 1902 in Melbourne South, Victoria (Registry number 12154/1902).
Mary Ann Campbell Sloan died in 1903 in South Melbourne, Victoria at 42 years of age (Registry number 14496/1903).
Side note: Borhoneyghurk is located near Meredith in rural Victoria, see information below. James’ birthplace on his marriage record is listed as Buninyong, however on Jessie’s birth record he says Meredith.
From Trove, https://nla.gov.au/nla.obj-232048154/view
From here, we go to the Tindals, and follow them to where Annie Tindal marries James Campbell………
The Tindals
David Tindal married Elizabeth Smith (daughter of Joseph Smith and Elizabeth unknown), in Brechin Parish, Scotland, on Friday the 26th of March 1852. Side Note: Internet research has located Upper Tenements as a “suburb” of the city of Brechin, the area is now known as Montrose Street. (https://electricscotland.com/history/brechin/chapter12.htm)
“These two suburbs of Upper and Nether Tenements, according to their old names, now Montrose Street and River Street, are connected together by means of paths, as they are termed. Running west from the north end or head of the High Street, is the Upper Wynd, now called St David Street, and running west from the centre of the High Street is the Old Nether Wynd, now Church Street, both of which streets are connected by St Mary Street at the west end, from which proceeds the road to Forfar, by the street now called Castle Street Running west from St David Street, where St Mary Street commences, is a street formerly called Gold’s Yards, now Airlie Street, with Pearse Street branching off from it, and connecting it with the Latch Road, all of which form egresses to the country on the west side of the town.”
(Extract from the above website).
Record purchased from Scotland’s People website. www.scotlandspeople.gov.uk
Scotland’s People were contacted to see if they knew which church in Brechin David and Elizabeth were married in, however the reply was that the records only indicated that they were married in the parish, not at which church. The email said that they were married in the Church of Scotland. The Church of Scotland has been contacted to get some information on what churches were operating in Brechin in 1852. The reply from them was to contact the library in Brechin, to get information about the local churches there. Brechin Library replied with a link to their paid service. Update: The trip to Scotland was amazing, and I found out so much more information. A visit to the Angus Archives at Forfar helped me find all sorts of information, amongst which was the fact that the only Church of Scotland church in Brechin at the time they were married was the Brechin Cathedral – the East Church was not built until 1856/7. The visit to the archives also gave me some leads for Elizabeth’s family, and also led to the fact that her name was often spelled with an “s” instead of a “z”.
They then travelled to Australia the same year on the ship “Wanata,” arriving October 1852. They came out to the colony on an assisted passage, meaning that they came out already employed and with their passage subsidised. According to the records, they were engaged by a Mr. J McKay of Melbourne, as labourers. They were paid £60 for three months, with supplied rations. The record also shows that they were from Forfar, Scotland, which is the shire, Brechin being within the shire. Ship’s records are available on the Public Record Office Victoria website, via passenger records and immigration, assisted passenger lists, search family name Tindal in 1852.
https://prov.vic.gov.au/explore-collection/explore-topic/passenger-records-and-immigration/assisted-passenger-lists
A search of birth records with David and Elizabeth listed as parents resulted in 7 records. These were:
James 1856 in Melbourne, Victoria (Registry number 7052/1856 - on obtaining the record it showed that James was born in 1854, and not registered until 1856 – this ties in with his age on his death notice in the paper) married Emily Lisle (also spelled Lyle in some records) in Victoria in 1882 (Registry number 2512/1882) and died in Victoria (Melb E) in 1904 (Registry number 2135/1904). It should be noted that while his birth and death records spell his surname Tindall, his marriage record is under Tindal.
Isabella 1856 in Kew, Victoria (Registry number 7067/1856, surname spelled Tindall – her birth record was obtained recently to try and determine if she and James were twins – as noted above he was actually two years older), married William John Fowler, in Victoria in 1878 (Registry number 2295/1878) and died in Victoria (Doncaster) in 1886 (Registry number 8931/1886). Marriage record spells surname Tindal.
Margaret 1858 in Boroondara, Victoria (Registry number 14836/1858, surname spelled Tindall), married James Allen Parker in Victoria in 1882 (Registry number 849/1882) and died in Victoria (Kew) in 1919 (Registry number 13043/1919). Marriage record spells surname Tindal.
Rose Ella (also known as Rose and Rosella in the records) 1865 in Boroondara, Victoria in 1865 (Registry number 15811/1865), married Edward George Washfold in Victoria in 1884 (Registry number 6838/1884) and died in Kew, Victoria in 1943 (Registry number 4351/1943).
Mary 1868 in Doncaster, Victoria (Registry number 15765/1868), married George Robert Thomas Drew in 1894 (Registry number 3079/1894), she passed away in Richmond, Victoria in 1953 (Registry number 3602/1953).
Clara Jane (also known as Jane in the records) 1870 in Doncaster, Victoria (Registry number 22688/1870), married Albert John Keilour in Victoria in 1895, (Registry number 6859/1895) and died in Richmond, Victoria in 1942 (Registry number 3667/1942).
Alfred Joseph 1873 in Doncaster, Victoria (Registry number in Victoria 2000/1873), married Susannah Gould in Victoria in 1899 (Registry number 1/1899) and died in Kew, Victoria in 1930 (Registry number 5798/1930).
The only one of the eight children listed on the death records for both David and Elizabeth Tindal that does not appear in the Victorian records under any variation of Tindal is Annie (1861 - 1940). Further to this, there are no records for any Tindal or Tindall in 1860-1862 that could be Annie.
A death record was found for David Tindal, in Anderson’s Creek (Warrandyte), Victoria, in 1901 (Registry number 12153/1901) with an age of 72 and on obtaining the record, it was found that he had died on the 11th of November 1901, of chronic cystitis, cerebral haemorrhage and asthenia. His occupation was listed as gardener. Children listed in the last column, Annie between Margaret and Rosella.
Purchased record from Victorian births, deaths, and marriages office. (bdm.vic.gov.au)
Interestingly, it lists his mother’s family name, Lucas, however a further search of the Scottish records for his birth has so far been without result. There have been two interesting records that may fit, one being a stronger link than the other, investigations ongoing. Update – A record for the baptism of David Tindal, father James (mother not recorded) near Brechin (Menmuir) recorded in 1833, notes James’ occupation as tailor. The search parameters were from 1825 to 1835, assuming that David was born in 1829 (records indicating he was 23 in 1852). There was only one record in that ten-year range for the whole of Scotland, the above-mentioned. Update: further record searches have discovered that his mother’s name was most likely Margaret Leuchars, which can be misheard as Lucas. Research ongoing, there are some very interesting leads on Ancestry, yet to be verified.
There is a death record for Elizabeth Smith Tindal, in Richmond, Victoria in 1913 (Registry number 11164/1913). The death record shows that she died on the 17th of August, 1913 of carcinoma of the colon.
Purchased record from Victorian births, deaths, and marriages office. (bdm.vic.gov.au)
It also lists the eight children, most notably that James was deceased at that time as well, and a search of the records eventually found him listed under Tindall.
We know from Annie Tindal Utber Campbell’s death certificate (Registry number in Western Australia 151 in 1940), that David and Elizabeth were her parents, and from Jessie Campbell’s birth record that Annie believed she was born in Balwyn, Victoria (now a suburb of Melbourne). There are a few conflicting records as to age. (It should be noted here that Annie’s age as listed on Jessie Campbell’s birth record would mean she was born in 1861/1862, where her death certificate indicates she was born in 1860/1861, meaning the inference is that she was possibly born in 1861 – this is confirmed with her age as listed on her father’s death record, as she was 40 years old on the 11th of November 1901. Further, her death certificate states she was 22 when she married Alfred Robert Utber, which would indicate that she was born in 1861).
Annie Tindal married Alfred Robert Utber in 1884 in Victoria (Registry number 3033/1884), and they had one child:
Annie Louisa Utber 1884 in Hawthorn, Victoria in (Registry number 24942/1884).
Tragically, Alfred Robert Utber died in Hawthorn, Victoria, in 1885, at the age of 21 (Registry number 8803/1885).
Family Notices (1885, July 20). The Argus (Melbourne, Vic. : 1848 - 1957), p. 1. Retrieved November 23, 2022,
from http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article6087318
No Title (1885, July 21). The Kyneton Observer (Vic. : 1856 - 1900), p. 2. Retrieved November 22, 2022,
from http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article240949616
Research on Trove uncovered articles in several Victorian newspapers regarding the death of Alfred Robert Utber in an industrial accident at his father’s sawmill. (Note that the article mentions James Campbell, engineer, possibly Annie’s husband-to-be).
From here it is unclear what happened to Annie Louisa, as she was not part of the family when Annie remarried in 1887, and there was no further record of her in Victorian registries. However, a broader search found that she had married in Glebe, NSW in 1909 (Registry number 8000/1909) to Frank Spurrier. They had one child:
Herbert Stephen 1915, in Granville, NSW (Registry number 6935/1915), he passed away in 1960, in Sydney, NSW (Registry number 18573/1960), apparently without marrying or having children.
Frank Spurrier died in 1954, in Auburn, NSW (Registry number 26887/1954).
Annie Louisa Utber Spurrier died in 1963 in Sydney, NSW (Registry number 18005/1963) The assumption is that she was raised by her paternal family, however death notices for Annie Campbell note Annie Louisa as a sister to Rose, Jessie (dec) and Bella (dec).
The Tindals and the Campbells Join
Annie Tindal Utber married James Campbell (2 x great grandparents) in Victoria in 1887 (Registry number 5038/1887). The online record does not show a place or specific date; however, Jessie Campbell’s birth record shows they were married on the 12th of July 1887, in Hawthorn, Victoria. The full marriage record was obtained from Victoria’s BDM, and appears below. Notably, the witnesses were James’s brother Duncan and Annie’s sister Mary. They had three children:
Purchased record from Victorian births, deaths, and marriages office. (bdm.vic.gov.au)
Jessie 1888 in Hawthorn, Victoria, on May 2nd. The address on the birth record says Smart Street, Town of Hawthorn, County of Bourke. (Registry number 12123/1888), and lists James Campbell, sawyer, aged 29, born in Meredith, Victoria as the father, and Annie Campbell, m.n Tindal, late Utber, aged 26, born in Balwyn, Victoria. The birth record does not show any previous issue.
Purchased record from Victorian births, deaths, and marriages office. (bdm.vic.gov.au)
Smart Street in Hawthorn, Victoria, Australia. (Google Maps)
Elizabeth Isabella was born in Richmond, Victoria in 1892 (Registry number 35868/1892). Tragically, Elizabeth died in 1894 in Richmond, Victoria (Registry number 3673/1894) aged 18 months.
Purchased record from Victorian births, deaths, and marriages office. (bdm.vic.gov.au)
Elizabeth Isabella Campbell’s grave at Boroondara (Kew) Cemetery, Melbourne, Victoria, Australia. Photos by taken by author 23 December 2023
Purchased record from Victorian births, deaths, and marriages office. (bdm.vic.gov.au)
Margaret Rose 1895 in Richmond, Victoria (Registry number 15448/1895).
Margaret Rose (known as Rose) married Frederick John Aberle in the Wellington District of Western Australia (probably Collie as the family had settled there and opened a bakery) in 1915 (Registry number 115 in 1915). The had five children:
Dora Marie 1916 in Perth, Western Australia (Registry number 101583 in 1916) she married Arthur John Parker in South Perth in 1939 (Registry number 101198 in 1939), she passed away in Nedlands, Western Australia in 1984 (Registry number 103871 in 1984)
John Roughton 1921 in Peth, Western Australia (Registry number 103084 in 1921), he was killed in WWII, in Malaya (Ulu Pandan) in 1942.
Phillip 1924 (From Trove and Ancestry) in Perth, Western Australia, he passed away in 1996.
Margaret Pam 1926 (From Trove and Ancestry) in Bunbury, Western Australia, she died in 2008.
Frederick Ernest 1937 (From Trove and Ancestry) in Perth, Western Australia, he passed away in 1990.
Margaret Rose Campbell Aberle died in Perth District, Western Australia in 1944 (Registry number 197 in 1944).
Family Notices (1944, January 27). The West Australian (Perth, WA : 1879 - 1954), p. 1.
Retrieved November 22, 2022, from http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article46782872
Fred Aberle Sr. remarried to Daisy Sarah Esther Marie Adam (Molly) in Perth in 1947 (Registry number 102391 in 1947), no children to the marriage.
Frederick John Aberle died in Perth District in 1971 (Registry number 2040 in 1971). There is no birth record for Frederick Aberle in Western Australia, Victoria, or NSW. A further search of the National Archives of Australia found military records for Frederick John Aberle, born in South Australia in March 1888. The record shows that he enlisted on February 14th, 1916, and lists his address, occupation (accountant), and particulars of his service. Margaret Rose Aberle is listed as spouse and next of kin. Record available on NAA website, search people, all records, Aberle, Frederick.
https://recordsearch.naa.gov.au/SearchNRetrieve/Interface/DetailsReports/ItemDetail.aspx?Barcode=3018096&isAv=N
James Campbell died in Western Australia in 1921. Claymore is a rail siding in the region of Jarrahwood, Western Australia, approximately halfway between Nannup and Busselton. As James’ occupation is listed as engine driver, and the family was residing in Perth, it appears likely that James was working at the time of his death.
Death certificate purchased from the Western Australian births, deaths and marriages
Annie Tindal Utber Campbell died on the 12th of January, 1940, in Rivervale, Western Australia (a suburb of Perth).
Death certificate purchased from the Western Australian births, deaths and marriages
Photo taken 7th of July 2023 by author
The Campbells and the Magills Join
Jessie Campbell married William Arthur Magill (known as Arthur) in Bridgetown, Western Australia in 1906 or 1907. No record of the marriage could be found in the Western Australian births, deaths, and marriages records. It would appear that the marriage and the baptism of the children was in the Anglican faith. After contacting the Anglican Diocese of Perth, contact information for the Diocese of Bunbury, within which Bridgetown falls, and contact was made with the office in Bunbury. They have so far been unable to help, and a search of marriage indexes in the State Library of Western Australia have so far been fruitless. They had three children:
Elizabeth Anne 1908 in Greenbushes, Western Australia in 1908 according to her death certificate, however so far, no record of the birth has been found on the Western Australian births, deaths and marriages register. She died in Wellington District (Collie) on November the 26th, 1946 (Registry number 188 in 1946). Elizabeth, known as Bess, was to be married, the date set for only a few weeks after she died.
Donald Crawford 1909 in the Blackwood District in Western Australia, in 1909 (Registry number 69 in 1909). Greenbushes lies in this district, so it is likely that he was born there as well. He married Gertrude Mary Issacs in the Wellington district (probably Collie) in 1941 (Registry number 6600177 in 1941), he passed away in the Perth district in 1976 (Registry number 103328 in 1976).
Rae Edward James was born in North Fitzroy, Victoria, on the 3rd of March 1911 (Registry number 3246/1911).
Sadly, Jessie Campbell Magill passed away in Fitzroy, Victoria, five months later at the age of 23. (Registry number 8908/1911).
Purchased record from Victorian births, deaths, and marriages office. (bdm.vic.gov.au)
The family moved back to Western Australia and settled eventually in Collie, Western Australia. William Arthur remarried in 1914 in the Wellington District (Collie) (Registry number 52 in 1914) and had a large family with his second wife, May Eva Trowbridge. Rae was said to consider May as his mother.
May Eva Trowbridge already had a daughter, Edna May Olive Trowbridge, born in Fremantle, Western Australia in 1913 (Registry number 400 in 1913). Edna had three spouses, George Budd (Registry number 66000181 in 1931, her surname recorded as Magill), William Hewitt, and Curly Anderson. She passed away in 1995.
The children from the marriage of May and William Arthur are as follows:
Frederick Arthur 1915 in Collie, Western Australia (Registry number 491 in 1915), married Della Elizabeth McCaughan in Collie in 1946 (Registry number 6600181 in 1946), he passed away in Bunbury, Western Australia in 1983 (Registry number 6600194 in 1983).
Matthew 1917 in Collie, Western Australia (Registry number 3 in 1917), married Shirley O’Brien in Perth, Western Australia in 1946 (Registry number 103036 in 1946), he passed away in Collie in 1980 (Registry number 6600255 in 1980).
Arthur Melville 1919 in Collie, Western Australia (Registry number 70 in 1919), married Edith Mary Hackett in Perth, Western Australia in 1947 (Registry number 100146 in 1947), he passed away in the Wellington District (Registry number 6600164 in 1979).
Lesley 1920 in Yarloop, Western Australia (Registry number 362 in 1920), married Norma Jensen, and passed away in 2005.
Norman 1920 in Yarloop, Western Australia (Registry number 363 in 1920), married Margaret Milligan, and passed away in 2005.
Reginald John 1924 in Collie, Western Australia (Registry number 117 in 1924), married Dorothy May Wood in Collie, Western Australia (Registry number 6600069 in 1947), and passed away in 1995.
Jean Letitia 1927 in Collie, Western Australia (Registry number 193 in 1927), married Ronald Cowper, and passed away in Bunbury, Western Australia on Christmas Day, 2021.
Dudley William 1932 in Collie, Western Australia (Registry number 495 in 1932), married Beryl Britten, and is still living.
Nellie Lorraine 1936 in Collie, Western Australia, married George Saunders, and passed away in Collie, Western Australia in 1984 (Registry number 6600024 in 1984).
May Eva Trowbridge Magill died in Collie, Western Australia in 1939 (Registry number 6600115).
William Arthur Magill died in Perth, Western Australia in 1950 (Registry number 101656 in 1950). They are buried in the Collie Cemetery.
Photo by author, 28th of February 2022
The Magills and the Finlays Join
Rae Edward James Magill married Amy Alexandra Finlay, on the 26th of September 1939, in Norseman, Western Australia. (Registry number 2400024 in 1939).
Weddings. (1939, October 19). The Norseman-Esperance News (WA : 1936 - 1954), p. 3.
Retrieved November 22, 2022, from http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article258934592
Amy Finlay Magill passed away on the 28th of August 1993, in Bunbury, Western Australia and her ashes are interred in Bunbury at the crematorium gardens. A search of cremations in Bunbury for the name of Magill shows where in the gardens the memorial lies.
Rae Magill died on the 18th of October 2003, also in Bunbury, and his remains are interred next to Amy.
Photograph by author, Bunbury Crematorium Gardens, 28th April 2023
Photograph by author, Bunbury Crematorium Gardens, 28th April 2023
The Magills and the Daniels Join
Merilyn Magill married Raymond Albert Daniels who was born the 25th of August 1941 at King Edward Women’s Hospital in Subiaco (Perth), Western Australia. They were married on the 19th of June 1965, in Victoria Park (Perth), Western Australia at St. Peter’s Anglican Church. Ray Daniels passed away on the 17th of July 2014, in Bunbury, Western Australia. His ashes are interred next to Amy and Rae Magill.
Photograph by author, Bunbury Crematorium Gardens, 28th April 2023
The McLeans
Donald McLean married Isobel McNiven (also McNivein) on the 31st of January 1792, in Kilninian and Kilmore, (Isle of Mull). They had eight children that records were found for:
John 1792 (30th of June) Kilninian and Kilmore
Ann 1794 (2nd of July) Kilninian and Kilmore
Lauchlan 1796 (29th of May) Kilninian and Kilmore
Hugh 1798 (22nd of July) Kilninian and Kilmore
Mary 1800 (19th of October) Kilninian and Kilmore
Flora 1803 (30th of January) Kilninian and Kilmore
Archibald 1805 (28th of April) Kilninian and Kilmore
Janet 1807 (7th of June) Kilninian and Kilmore – see above.
The McIntyres
One record was found for a marriage for John McIntyre and Mary Campbell in the right area of Scotland, Kilninver and Kilmelfort on the 12th of April 1802. (Near Oban/Fort William, Inverness-shire, Scotland).
Record obtained from ScotlandsPeople website www.scotlandspeople.gov.uk
Only one record for a child from the marriage was found, baptism:
Mary 1819 (born on not recorded, baptised on the 7th of February) Kilninver and Kilmelfort Parish.
Record obtained from ScotlandsPeople website www.scotlandspeople.gov.uk
These are my grandmother’s people…………….
The Finlays
William Finlay married Elisabeth Archibald in Dundee, Scotland on the 17th of August 1806. He was in the Stirlingshire Militia but was presumably from the Dundee area.
Record obtained from ScotlandsPeople website www.scotlandspeople.gov.uk
A side note: Militia (Scotland) Act 1802
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Militia (Scotland) Act 1802, 26th of June.
The Militia (Scotland) Act 1802 (42 Geo. 3. c. 91) was an Act of Parliament of the United Kingdom affecting the Militia, a locally raised force for home defence. It applied to Scotland while there were other acts of the same year applying to England and Wales, and to Ireland.
The Act
The Act broadly extended the same provisions as the Militia Act 1802 to Scotland, with some changes for local variations. That Act had brought together a number of the earlier pieces of militia legislation passed during the French Revolutionary Wars, standardising and reenacting them. It provided for an "Old Militia" with a total strength of 8,000 in Scotland and allowed for a "Supplementary Militia" of half as many again which could be raised with Parliamentary approval.
Each county's Lord Lieutenant would set the amount of militiamen to be raised from the various areas of their country, and parish constables would draw up lists of all eligible men between 18 and 45. Men were divided into five classes:
Under 30, no children
Over 30, no children
All men, no living children under 14
All men, one child under 14
All other men
Men were to be drawn from the classes in order - if a quota could be filled only from the first and second classes, the third, fourth and fifth were untouched. A class could be taken in its entirety if it was below the absolute quota, but if larger than the number required, a ballot was to be used. Any man who was taken into service through this process was known as a "principal” and was sworn in to serve as a private soldier for a term of five years, after which they were exempt until a fresh ballot was made or could volunteer for further service. Instead of serving themselves, they could arrange to provide a "personal substitute" who was willing to serve in their stead; this could be a volunteer already on the local ballot, or someone from elsewhere in the county (or a neighbouring county), and it was expected that they would receive a bounty of a few pounds to encourage them to volunteer. Parishes could also arrange to provide parochial substitutes in lieu of their quota of men and were allowed to levy a parish rate in order to pay bounties to these substitutes. Finally, any balloted man could pay a fine of £10 and avoid service, though he would be liable to be balloted again after five years. The fines were used to hire substitutes and any surplus would go to regimental funds.[2]
A wide range of men were exempt - most obviously, officers and men of the Army, Navy and Marines, but also peers, clergymen, teachers, university students, constables, sailors, apprentices, or men working in royal arsenals or dockyards. A poor man (defined as one with assets of less than £100) with more than one legitimate child was exempt, as was any poor man physically unfit for service, or any man at all less than 5'4" tall. A man worth more than £100 but unfit for service was still liable to pay his fine or provide a substitute. Quakers were not allowed to avoid service through paying a fine, but were required to find a substitute in lieu of service; if they did not do so, the county was empowered to hire one on his behalf and if necessary seize his property to pay for it.[2]
Any men who died or were discharged as unfit would produce a second ballot of the county (in practice, probably of his local parish) to find a replacement. Should the county fail to provide enough men, it would be fined £10 per head of the annual deficit; this money was to be raised locally and could be used to hire substitutes, but if this failed to achieve the desired result, it was paid to the Treasury.
Reorganisation of the Militia
The Act increased the Scottish militia quota from 6,000 to 8,000 men and restructured it from the ten regiments raised in 1797 to fifteen. These were, in order, with their colonels:
Aberdeen (Lord Aboyne)
Ayr (Lord Montgomerie)
Fife (Lord Crawford)
Lanark (Marquis of Douglass)
Perth (Duke of Athol)
Renfrew (Earl of Glasgow)
Argyll and Bute (John Campbell)
Berwick, Haddington, Linlithgow, and Peebles (Earl of Home)
Ross, Caithness, Sutherland, and Cromarty (Lord Seaforth)
Dumfries, Roxburgh, and Selkirk (Earl of Dalkeith)
Edinburgh and Lothian (Duke of Buccleuch)
Forfar and Kincardine (M. Douglass)
Inverness, Banff, Elgin, and Nairn (Sir F. Grant)
Kirkcudbright and Wigtown (Sir John Dalrymple-Hay)
Stirling, Dunbar, Clackmannan, and Kinross (Duke of Montrose)
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Militia_(Scotland)_Act_1802
A comprehensive search of the ScotlandsPeople website from 1805 to 1855 only found birth records for one child for Elisabeth and William – a son.
William 1807, Dundee, Scotland.
Record obtained from ScotlandsPeople website www.scotlandspeople.gov.uk
No death records have been found for William Finlay or Elisabeth Archibald Finlay.
William Finlay (the elder) married Margaret Alcock (also Allcock and Allcook in some records) on the 2nd of August 1837, reputedly in Stockport, Cheshire, England. A record for a Margaret Alcock being married in Stockport in 1840 was found, however Alcock seems to be a relatively common name. William was a soldier, 97th Foot (Scottish regiment), and the record indicates that their first child, a son, was born in Dublin, Ireland. The records show that they arrived in Western Australia in 1850 on the “Scindian”, with three children.
They had seven children:
William (the younger, 2x great grandfather) 1840 Dublin, Ireland.
Find My Past (findmypast.ie) search result.
(Interestingly, there is a John R. Finlay born in Malta in 1847, to someone of the same regiment. Possibly John Robert, research ongoing).
Mary Ann 1842 (birthplace unknown), married John Benson in Perth, Western Australia in 1870 (Registry number 3213 in 1870, her surname recorded as Finley), she passed away in Perth in 1934 (Registry number 1295 in 1934).
John Robert 1843 (birthplace unknown), married Maria Cassion in 1869 (Registry number 3045 in 1869), he passed away in 1903 (Registry number 1436 in 1903).
Article from the West Australian on John Robert Finlay’s passing, 19th February 1903
The family emigrated to Western Australia aboard the ship “Scindian” in 1850, William the elder as a pensioner guard.
Detail from website http://wwwperthdps.com/convicts/con-wa0.html
Alexander 1850 Freshwater, Western Australia (Registry number 1614 in 1850), he passed away in 1866 at 15 years of age (Registry number 3177 in 1866). He was buried on the 11th of May 1866, in the East Perth Cemetery. Record available online:
https://www.eastperthcemeteries.com.au/explore/burial-search/burialsite/129324.html
Jane 1853 Claremont, Western Australia, married Henry Prior at St. Werburgh’s, Mount Barker, Western Australia in 1879 (Registry number 104593 in 1979). She passed away in Katanning in 1915 (Registry number 3500024 in 1915).
David 1857 Freshwater Bay, Western Australia (Registry number 3563 in 1857), he passed away in 1877 with his mother, stepfather and half-sister and half-brother on the shipwreck of the “Emily Smith”.
Anne (Ann in some records) 1859 Perth, Western Australia (Registry number 4715 in 1859). She passed away in 1860, no registry number in the Western Australian records, but there is a burial record from the East Perth Cemetery, also available online:
From https://www.eastperthcemeteries.com.au/explore/burial-search/burialsite/129325.html
Side note: Anne’s record at the cemetery notes that “Father left Perth for Adelaide.”
Margaret (also known as Marjory) Finlay remarried in 1861, to a saddler named Robert Simpson. She then had two more children:
Robert Isaac 1862, Perth, Western Australia (Registry number 6370 in 1862)
Alice Maria 1863, Perth, Western Australia (Registry number 7338 in 1863)
It is unclear whether she was divorced from William (the elder), or he was presumed dead, however Margaret and Robert decided to move their family to South Australia and stayed with William (the younger) in Albany, Western Australia before departing on the brig “Emily Smith.” The ship ran aground and was lost off Kangaroo Island in South Australia, and the family, including William (the elder) and Margaret’s son David, were drowned.
Articles from Trove
It is thought that William (the elder) Finlay had returned or was returning to Western Australia, and that may have been what prompted the Simpson family along with David Finlay to make the move to South Australia.
One further piece to this was recently discovered, a hospital admission record from South Australia in 1873 for a William Finlay, 66 years old, born in Dundee, who had been living in the area for 13 years - possibly the same William Finlay as age, birthplace, and time in South Australia all fit. Admitted for pneumonia, 4th of November.
Record obtained through Ancestry.com, https://www.ancestry.com.au/imageviewer/collections/62318/images/62318_b1110986-00018?pId=93393
William (the elder) eventually ended up in a Perth poor house (Dalkeith Old Men’s Home) and died there on the 11th of June 1890.
Copy of death certificate obtained from Western Australian births, deaths, and marriages
The Finlays and the Coppins Join
William Finlay (the younger) married Sarah Coppin (in Busselton, Western Australia on the 6th of February 1861 (Registry number 1599 in 1861). They had ten children:
Charlotte 1862 in Champion Bay, Western Australia (Registry number 6167 in 1862), married Charles Frederick Layton in Albany in 1882 (Registry number 5222 in 1882), she passed away in Perth, Western Australia in 1951 (Registry number 102590 in 1951).
William James 1863 in Albany, Western Australia (Registry number 7087 in 1863), married Rosalind Passmore in Albany in 1886 (Registry number 6154 in 1886), he passed away in Perth, Western Australia in 1947 (Registry number 101052 in 1947)
Alice Constance 1865 in Albany, Western Australia (Registry number 8892 in 1865), married John Underwood Green in Albany in 1889 (Registry number 269 in 1889), he passed away in Albany, Western Australia in 1945 (Registry number 5400065 in 1945).
Amelia Jane 1867 in Albany, Western Australia (Registry number 10335 in 1867), married William Proudfoot Milne in Albany in 1888 (Registry number 276 in 1888), she passed away in Drummoyne, NSW in 1939 (Registry number 15120/1939).
Alexander John (great grandfather) 1870 in Albany, Western Australia (Registry number 12244 in 1870), see below for further records.
Henry Walter 1872 in York, Western Australia (Registry number 13925 in 1872), he passed away in Western Australia in 1900 (Registry number 1855 in 1900).
Adeline Sarah 1874 in Albany, Western Australia (Registry number 15998 in 1874) she passed away the same year in Albany (Registry number 8282 in 1874).
Albert Edward 1875 in Albany, Western Australia (Registry number 16875 in 1875). No further records in the Western Australian registries, records from Ancestry.com show that he passed away in Kensington Park, South Australia in 1939.
Ernest Collington 1878 in Albany, Western Australia (Registry number 18978 in 1878), he married Cecilia Adeline Baylis in Norwood, South Australia in 1903 (Australian Marriage Index p.1179 Vol.217), he passed away in South Australia in 1956.
Mabel Mary 1879 in Albany, Western Australia (Registry number 20441 in 1879), she married William Alexander Chapman in Adelaide, South Australia in 1900, she passed away in North Fitzroy, Victoria in 1963 (Registry number 18712/1963).
Sarah Coppin Finlay passed away on the 18th of September 1884 in Albany, Western Australia (Registry number 12750 in 1884)
William (the younger) passed away after a brief illness two years later on the 16th of June 1886.
Article from Trove, Saturday 19th of June 1886 http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article232698873
Photograph by author, February 2022
Copy of death certificate obtained from Western Australian births, deaths, and marriages
Photograph from Albany Library historian, many thanks
Alexander John Finlay married Amy Caroline Harris at St Werburgh's, Mount Barker, Western Australia in 1894 (Registry number 94 in 1894). They had ten children:
Percy William 1894, Albany, Western Australia, (Registry number 884 in 1894), married Daisy Evelyn Isabel Campbell in Albany in 1924, (Registry number 5400019 in 19240, and he passed away in Perth, Western Australia in 1980 (Registry number 101535 in 1980).
Mabel May 1896, Albany, Western Australia, (Registry number 2146 in 1896), married Charles Hyman in Katanning, Western Australia in 1924 (Registry number 88 in 1924), and she passed away in Fremantle, Western Australia in 1963 (Registry number 204 in 1963).
Ernest John 1898 in Albany, Western Australia, (Registry number 4008 in 1898). Ernest wanted to enlist to fight in WWI, but was too young, so he took passage to Canada and enlisted in the Royal Canadian Infantry and died in France on the 11th of March 1917 – one month short of his 19th birthday.
Lillian Jane 1900 in Albany, Western Australia, (Registry number 4530 in 1900), married Stanley Wright in 1924 (Registry number 934 in 1924), and she passed away on the 14th of March 1956 (Registry number 690 in 1956).
Henry Charles 1902 in Albany, Western Australia, (Registry number 5241 in 1902), married Mary Louise Blair in Katanning in 1924 (Registry number 56 in 1924) and he passed away in Katanning in 1972 (Registry number 3500023 in 1972).
Amy Alexandra (grandmother) 1904 in Albany, Western Australia (Registry number 5966 in 1904) See earlier information.
William Alexander 1907 in Albany, Western Australia, (Registry number 5400093 in 1907), married Elizabeth Rooney in Albany, Western Australia in 1932 (Registry number 5400039 in 1932), later married Peggy Ida May Stevenson, and he passed away in Albany, Western Australia in 1970 (Registry number 211 in 1970).
Clement David 1910 in Albany, Western Australia, (Registry number 5400110 in 1910), married Rhona Daphne Joyce Jago in Cranbrook in Western Australia in 1937 (Registry number 5400072 in 1937), he passed away in Albany in 1985 (Registration number in Western Australia is 5400210 in 1985).
Marjorie 1912 in Albany, Western Australia, (Registry number 5400206), she passed away in Albany in 1913 (Registry number 5400070 in 1913, her name was spelled Margery Finlay), the record says she was 14 months old.
John Alexander 1914 in Albany, Western Australia, (Registry number 5400241 in 1914), married Joan Mitford Fowler in Perth in 1944 (Registry number 101939 in 1944), he passed away in Nedlands, Perth, Western Australia in 1987 (Registry number 103861 in 1987).
Amy Caroline Harris Finlay passed away in Albany, Western Australia in 1936 (Registry number 5400040 in 1936, middle name recorded as Coraline).
Alexander John Finlay passed away in Albany, Western Australia in 1949 (Registry number 21 in 1949). The obituary below does not mention Marjorie.
Photo by author on the 24th of February 2022
Article origin unknown at this time
The Harrises
William Harris married Rebecca Hill in England in 1857 when they were about 20 years old. They emigrated to Western Australia aboard the vessel “Indian Chief,” arriving on the 30th of May 1858. The vessel was a private ship, and the records indicate there were only three immigrants aboard – two men and a woman. They had eight children:
Margaret Jane 1859 in Perth, Western Australia (Registry number 737 in 1859), she married George Rennie Miller in Perth in 1879 (Registry number 4757 in 1879), she passed away in Vancouver, British Colombia, Canada in 1936.
From Trove, http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article110470628
Charlotte Louisa 1861 in Albany, Western Australia (Registry number 5991 in 1861), she married James Tapley Simmons in Albany in 1881 (Registry number 5023 in 1881), she passed away in Perth, Western Australia in 1945 (Registry number 102289 in 1945).
William Richard 1863 in Albany, Western Australia (Registry number 7239 in 1863), he passed away in Vancouver, British Colombia, Canada in 1942.
Sarah Marian 1865 in Albany, Western Australia (Registry number 8817 in 1865), she married Thomas Henry Kneebone in Perth, Western Australia in 1899 (Registry number 1274 in 1899), she passed away in Perth in 1935 (Registry number 101158 in 1935).
Mary Hatley Rebecca 1868 in Albany, Western Australia (Registry number 10586 in 1868), there is a marriage record for Mary Hatley Rebecca Harris and Charles William Pratt in Victoria in 1898 (Registry number 5681/1898), she passed away in Woodville, South Australia in 1959 (Ancestry records).
Sophie Elizabeth 1870 in Albany, Western Australia (Registry number 12458 in 1870), no marriage records found yet, however Ancestry records suggest she married a Robert Clarke, she passed away in Rozelle, New South Wales in 1935 (Registry number 8560/1935, first name recorded as Sophia).
Cecilia Emma 1873 in Albany, Western Australia (Registry number 14680 in 1873), she passed away that same year in Albany (Registry number 6726 in 1873).
Amy Caroline (great grandmother) 1874 in Albany, Western Australia (Registry number 15999 in 1874). See above for more details.
Records of the Harris’ arrival in Western Australia note that Rebecca was the daughter of James Hill, a gamekeeper, and her death record records her mother’s name as Margaret. They arrived on a private ship, the “Indian Chief” and they were two of only three immigrants aboard - two males and a female.
William Harris died in 1879 and is buried at the Pioneer Cemetery in Albany, Western Australia. (Registry number 110214 in 1879). The grave is unmarked.
Rebecca Hill Harris died on the 12th of November 1915, and is also buried at the Pioneer Cemetery in Albany, Western Australia. (Registry number 5400080 in 1915).
Photograph by author on the 24th of February 2022
Death notice, Trove http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article26964124 West Australian 27th of November 1915
The Coppins
James Coppin (son of James Coppen [1779 – 1832] and Elizabeth Whitnall [1781 – 1847]) married Charlotte Collington on the 18th of April 1831 at St. John the Baptist Church, Croydon, Surrey, England. They had eight children, the first three born in England, and the remaining five in Western Australia:
Eliza 1834 in Addington, Croydon, Surrey, England, married William Dennis O’Brien in Busselton, Western Australia in 1851 (Registry number 341 in 1851), she passed away in Broken Hill, New South Wales in 1894 (Registry number 3378/1894).
Sarah 1836 in Selsdon, Croydon, Surrey, England (see above).
Christopher 1839 in Croydon, Surrey, England, married Eliza Bradley in Busselton in 1861 (Registry number 1644 in 1861), married Eleanor Rosetta Rose in Busselton in 1874 (Registry number 3693 in 1874), he passed away in South Guilford, Swan District, Western Australia in 1915 (Registry number 6100115 in 1915). [Eliza Bradley Coppin died in Blackwood District, Western Australia in 1870, aged 30 (Registry number 4747 in 1870) online records say she died in childbirth, the twin babies also not surviving].
Side note: The family of five emigrated to Western Australia aboard the ship “Diadem,” arriving in Leschenault, Western Australia on the 10th of April 1841. They settled in the Australind area and their first child born in Australia was born there. They did not remain in the area; however, the next child being born in the Augusta, Western Australia region, and the last 4 in the Busselton, Western Australia region.
Copy of ‘Diadem’ Passenger List
Passenger List ‘Diadem’- London to Leschenault 1841
The ‘Diadem’ was a barque of 398 tons. She departed Gravesend on December 18, 1841 and arrived Port Leschenault on April 10, 1842. The ‘Diadem’ was one of the four vessels that brought settlers to Australind under the Western Australian Company Scheme.
Source: Australind Family History Society Newsletter,
‘The Skeleton,’ August 2002
From https://www.harveyhistoryonline.com/?p=222
Henry 1842 in Australind, Western Australia (no registry record found), married Anne Feeney in Busselton, Western Australia in 1868 (Registry number 2690 in 1868), and he passed away in Mahogany Creek, Western Australia in 1893 (Registry number 38 in 1893).
James 1845 in Augusta, Western Australia, reportedly dying there that same year. No records found under James, however there is a birth record for a John Coppin in 1845 in Augusta, Western Australia in 1845 (Registry number 579 in 1845, listing the father as John Coppin, no mother recorded – poor record taking?).
Walter John 1847 in Busselton, Western Australia, married Susan Adeline Beere in Toodyay Valley, Western Australia in 1870 (Registry number 3107 in 1870), he passed away in Perth, Western Australia in 1920 (Registry number 100467 in 1920).
Mary Charlotte 1850 in Busselton, Western Australia (Registry number 1548 in 1850) married Joseph Blythe in the Blackwood region in 1870 (Registry number 3140 in 1870), she passed away in Perth, Western Australia in 1894 (Registry number 971 in 1894, surname recorded as Blyth).
Alice Elizabeth 1854 in Vasse, Western Australia (Registry number 2476 in 1854), married George Rose in Busselton in 1873 (Registry number 3566 in 1873), she passed away in East Guilford, Swan District, Western Australia in 1927 (Registry number 6100055 in 1927).
Charlotte Collington Coppin passed away in Busselton in 1860, no record found yet.
James remarried to Sarah Rose in Busselton in 1869 (Registry number 2098 in 1869), no children from the marriage, and he passed away “Near Vasse” (Busselton) in 1883 (Registry number 11980 in 1883).
Information current as of 26 January 2024. I have made every effort to reference sources where possible, and I have digital copies of all documents, contact me via the Contact link, and I will be more than happy to share my information.