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Scotland (Counties as in 1851-1901) => Scotland => Fife => Topic started by: jlmc on Sunday 05 April 09 00:52 BST (UK)
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In 1852, sixteen men from Cellardyke are reported to have set out to dig for gold in Australia. Does anyone have information about what happened to them?
Thet were Thomas Watson, David Rodger, David Murray, David Birrell, David Brown, John Smith, James Cunningham, Leslie Barclay, George and Alexander Fowler, James Davidson, David Wilson, William Doig, Alexander Melville, William Black and James Sharp.
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may be better to post this to the Australian board.
Leanne
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In 1852, sixteen men from Cellardyke are reported to have set out to dig for gold in Australia. Does anyone have information about what happened to them?
Thet were Thomas Watson, David Rodger, David Murray, David Birrell, David Brown, John Smith, James Cunningham, Leslie Barclay, George and Alexander Fowler, James Davidson, David Wilson, William Doig, Alexander Melville, William Black and James Sharp.
My Smith's came from Cellardyke and would be very interested in the John Smith .. will have to look at Victorian CD's to see if he is there.
sidsmith
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:) The William Doig listed can be found at http://wc.rootsweb.ancestry.com/cgi-bin/igm.cgi?op=GET&db=doigf&id=I453.
Yield not to adversity,
Ken Doig, Bass Lake, California www.doig.net
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In 1852, sixteen men from Cellardyke are reported to have set out to dig for gold in Australia. Does anyone have information about what happened to them?
Thet were Thomas Watson, David Rodger, David Murray, David Birrell, David Brown, John Smith, James Cunningham, Leslie Barclay, George and Alexander Fowler, James Davidson, David Wilson, William Doig, Alexander Melville, William Black and James Sharp.
Hi. My information is that they went out as unassisted passengers on the "Ladyhead" leaving Liverpool on 2nd June 1852 and arriving in Australia in the month of August.
John Smith was the son of Thomas Smith and Euphemia Boyter. Thomas Smith lived to be the oldest man in Cellardyke and is the only fisherman mentioned in Matthew Conolly's "Biographical Dictionary of the Eminent Men of Fife".
In 1857, at Geelong, John Smith married another Cellardyke Smith - Margaret Smith, daughter of William Smith and Catherine Murray. Wm. and Catherine were great-grandparents of the late Peter Smith who wrote several books about the history of the East Fife fishing industry.
I have corresponded in the past with an Australian lady called McPherson whose husband is a direct descendant of John Smith and Margaret Smith.
Harry D. Watson
author of "Kilrenny and Cellardyke: 800 Years of History" (John Donald, 1986).
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Thanks for your note. Cellardyke is a charming village, and the Fisheries Museum in nearby Anstruther is worth the visit.
I think you are correct on the 1852 ship arrival. John was at home in the 1851 census in March 1851, but I think he made a prior visit to Australia. My revised note for him:
"William was a mariner (Ticket #446502 or 588706) who departed Leith by Edinburgh on 18 July 1851 on the "Helen Baird." He arrived in Melbourne on 11 Nov 1851. He then departed on 15 Nov 1851 to Hobart, Tasmania on the "Esperanzo." He sailed to New South Wales on the "Emma" on 7 April 1852. He appears to have returned to Great Britain, departing Liverpool on the "Lady Head" on 2 June 1852 and arriving at Port Philip Bay, Victoria in August. William later worked at the Railyards at Williamstown, Victoria docks."
Any additions or corrections always welcome.
Yield not to adversity,
Ken Doig, Bass Lake, California www.doig.net
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Do you mean John Smith or do you mean William Doig?
Harry
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Greetings,
I meant John Smith and William Doig were both at home in Cellardyke in the 1851 Census. John's sister Euphemia Smith married John Doig, the brother of William Doig. I have the Smith family at http://wc.rootsweb.ancestry.com/cgi-bin/igm.cgi?op=GET&db=doigf&id=I8422. Any additions or corrections appreciated.
Ken Doig
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Thanks to Harry for the information.
My interest is in Alexander Melville who was, I believe, son of the David Melville mentioned in your book as being in charge of the fog cannon in Cellardyke.
I seem to have hit a dead end with this one.
JM
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I don't know anything about Alexander's subsequent career in Australia, but I can tell you that his youngest brother James Melville, born 1832 in Cellardyke, became master of the China tea-clipper "Min" when his fellow-Dyker John Smith was moved from the "Min" to the "Lahloo".
Harry
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Further to what I said above, James Melville's full name was James Watson Melville, and he was in command of the Min in 1868. James, Alexander and their siblings would have been 2nd cousins of my great-grandmother Margaret Watson, née Watson.
Harry
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jlmc - regarding your initial question as to what happend to the men who came to Australia - here are acouple of clues taken from the Geelong Advertiser card index and the Geelong Cemetery Trust indexes (this was a few years back so they might even be on-line now)
1876 death of Jessie Barclay nee Stewart - wife of Leslie Barclay, buried plot 844 Geelong Western cemetery
Leslie Barclay died aged 81, 19 June 1908, buried next to his wife in plot 844.
Thomas Birrell, not one of the original migration group, born Cellardyke is buried in row 31.
Also Sophia Birrell nee Barclay wife of David Birrell dieded in 1875 and is in plot 844.
David Birrell lived until 1911 and is also buried in this cemetery but I do not have the plot number.
all plot numbers are in the Presbyterian section.
Angela
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John Smith was the son of Thomas Smith and Euphemia Boyter. Thomas Smith lived to be the oldest man in Cellardyke and is the only fisherman mentioned in Matthew Conolly's "Biographical Dictionary of the Eminent Men of Fife".
Hi Harry
I've got the on-line version of the book on-screen at the moment, but can't find a reference to Thomas in it. Any clues?
Chiad Fhear
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It so happens that I have a photocopy of the offending article and have just dug it out and scanned it for you. However, it's over two pages and it's too many Kb to send as attachments here, so I'll need a note of your email address so I can send it to you.
Harry
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My great, great grandfather Leslie Barclay was one of the young men who came to the Victorian Goldfields from Cellardyke. From what I have learnt they came as a group under the name 'The Joint Stock Company". They must have made some money on the goldfields because they came to Geelong and purchased a Lighter (as there was no pier capable of handling large sailing ships, goods had to be carried from the ships in the bay to the shore by a smaller boat called a Lighter). Leslie Barclay later gave his occupation as Fisherman but he certainly owned his own boat. Many of the original group settled in Geelong and my father knew the descendants of some of them.
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ASS,
My paternal grandmother was very briefly married to David Hutchison Barclay(1890 -1946), the son of Stephen Barclay and Catherine Gellatly. It is a bit of a story! I knew that some of these Barclays went to Geelong. I did some telephone cold-calling but with no luck. I would really love to know that these my imputed grandfather looked like - I don't suppose you have any old photos?
I am in Melbourne.
Regards, AFB