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Research in Other Countries => Australia => Topic started by: Geordie daughter on Thursday 07 May 15 12:36 BST (UK)
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I am slowly but surely tracking down individual members of my Dunstan family from Wendron parish, Cornwall, and have recently discovered that Ann Dunstan, born circa 1822 (eldest daughter of Benjamin and Jane), married a man called John Penaluna there. It appears that John Penaluna was, shortly after their marriage, arrested and convicted for stealing a pig, and transported to Moreton Bay in 1850. The Penalunas subsequently seem to have settled in Adelaide and built a hotel called the Metropolitan. I would dearly like to find out when the family actually arrived there - the hotel was built by John in 1858, so they would probably have been there some time prior to that - and details of who their children/descendants were. I have so far discovered there was one son called Benjamin John and several daughters, but the number seems to vary as do the birthplaces of some of the girls. If anyone could help me in this quest, I'd be most grateful.
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Hi Geordie daughter,
The South Australia BDM index https://www.genealogysa.org.au shows births to John PENALUNA and Ann DUNSTAN
1850 Mary Jane PENALUNA at The Murray/Burra
1857 Benjamin John Horatio PENALUNA at Adelaide
1860 Rebecca Amelia Ellen PENALUNA at Adelaide
1863 Caroline Alice Selina PENALUNA at Adelaide
Checking variations in spelling
1847 Ann PENLUNA at Adelaide (father John PENLUNA and mother Ann DUNSTAN)
regards,
Ros
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Death notices for Anne PENALUNA in 1913
http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article5417041
http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article88826322
Death notices for John PENALUNA in 1882
http://www.rootschat.com/links/01f9p/
I haven't found an obit for him yet ... and the death notices didn't have much information.
regards
Ros
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Thank you, Ros, that's really helpful, and confirms my tentative findings. Ann's parents may have been at Kapunda or Burra Burra mines themselves, as they sailed for Australia just after Ann's marriage in May 1847, but subsequently returned to Cornwall around 1851. Some of the info I have is a little conflicting: John and Ann were married in Wendron Parish in March 1847, and he was supposed to have been convicted in October 1847 or thereabouts, though I need to check this info for myself. As I have already mentioned, he was then transported on the Bangalore in 1850, so I would assume that their first daughter (also Ann) was born in Cornwall, yet there's a birth registration for her at Adelaide in 1847. I haven't yet discovered exactly when Ann senior went to Australia. My initial assumption, before I discovered her marriage, was that she'd gone out along with her parents and a number of her siblings, but now I'm not sure. I've read up on Tickets of Leave, etc, and it looks as if John was pretty much earning a living and living independently quite early on in his time as a convict, so presumably Ann was with him in Australia even while he was still working off his seven year sentence.
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Yes there seems to be some conflicting info on various websites ... :(
South Australia BDM shows marriage
1887 Benjamin John Horation PENALUNA married Sarah Emily Palmer WILSON in Adelaide in 1887
Marriage notices
http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article46828026
http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article92869544
regards
Ros
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Hi,
NSW Government Gazette, Friday 13th September 1850 page 1429
A John Penaluna was one of a large number of 'Prisoners of the Crown' per the ship Bangalore to be granted a Ticket of Leave for the District of Moreton Bay since the last day of publication.
J McLean
Prin. Sup. of Convicts Office,
Sydney
10th Sept 1850
Gerry
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As regards the death notices: yes, they are a bit sparse on details, but better than nothing! Only one of the daughters, Ann, appears to have married, to a man named Walter Chambers. Her full names appear to have been Ann (Annie) Elizabeth according to her marriage announcement on Trove. There's mention of a surviving daughter of theirs, named Mrs Leonard Dempsey in Walter's obit but I can't for the life of me track down her marriage to find out her Christian names, or trace whether Benjamin had any children before his wife (Sarah) Emily Palmer Wilson died at the age of 29.
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Thank you for the info on John's Ticket of Leave, Gerry. It confirms that he got it very early on in the process.
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South Australian Almanac and Directory 1851
Penaluna, J, mason, Grote St.
Gerry
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Oh, wow, so he was in Adelaide as early as that! I had estimated that he might only have arrived there about 1854 or '55 at the earliest, so that's a big help, Gerry :).
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There were in fact three other men of the same name who also married at Wendron in the late 1840s.
And baptisms
1822 Wendron
John PENALUNA who married Ann DUNSTAN
Parents named Richard & Jane
1824 Wendron
John PENALUNA
Parents named Zacharias & Susanna
1827 Wendron
John PENALUNA
Parents named John & Elizabeth
If you have the age of the man arrested and convicted for stealing a pig, then it may be possible to ascertain which particular John it was?
Essie
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Hi Essie
I was a little dubious as to which John Penaluna the convict was at first, but it's definitely the first John, who married my Ann Dunstan, as I've now got confirmation of his wife's maiden name from the birth registrations of their children in Australia and some other sources, and the marriage details confirm John's father's name as Richard and Ann's as Benjamin. In fact, one or both of his parents, Richard and Jane Penaluna, may possibly have joined them in Adelaide: there's mention of a Jane Penaluna, relict of the late Richard Penaluna "of Redruth, Cornwall" dying at Margaret Street, North Adelaide in 1868, although I haven't been able to confirm that they're connected just yet. Redruth is not far from Porkellis and Carnkie where the family were based in the 1830s and '40s, and miners moved around a lot, so it's possible. As you may have guessed, they were all connected to the mining trade back in Cornwall, John and Richard being masons/stonecutters, and Ann's family being miners.
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It appears that the reason that John got his TOL so quickly was that he was an "Exile," having already served three years in prison in Britain, (presumably Bodmin?) between arrest and transportation.
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The penny has dropped that, if Mary Jane's birth was registered in Burra in 1850, Ann must surely have left Britain with John, on the Bangalore, or spent some time with him just prior to his transportation, in order to have got pregnant with her in the first place? Unless Mary Jane was born prematurely, I doubt she was conceived in May 1850 when John disembarked at Moreton Bay. Were convict's wives/families were allowed to accompany them on convict ships?
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There is some info in the Biographical Index of South Australians. It ties in with info already provided, particularly from Rosball.
PENALUNA John parents, Richard and Jane.
Born c1823, died 14.12.1882, buried WTC.
Arrived before 1857.
Occupation, Builder
Resided at College Park
Married Anne born c1825, died 23.6.1913.
Children: Marie Jane(c1850-1931), Benjamin J. H.(1857-1912), Rebecca Amelia Helen (1860-1943), Caroline Alice Selina (1863-1934)
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BISA entry re parents
PENALUNA Richard born c1790 died 24.10.1849 at North Adelaide. Buried WTC.
Resided at Nth Adelaide
Married Jane born c1786, died 19.6.1868.
Children Thomas (1819-1877), John (1823-1882)
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Brother Thomas made his own way out here
PENALUNA Thomas born 1819 England, died 28.8.1877. Buried, Willaston SA.
Arrived 1854 TAYMOUTH CASTLE
Occupation, Carpenter. Resided, Gawler.
Married, (1/2) Avis born 1818 England died, 6.9.1867.
Children, John James (1844-1884), Olivia CHEEK (1845-1908), Elizabeth (c1848-)
Married, (2/2) SA Mrs Lucy GENT nee COLLENETTE, parents Thos and Martha born c1833, died Dec.1909
Children, Ada Maria (1873-1874), Francis Edward (1875-1952)
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Hi Essie
I was a little dubious as to which John Penaluna the convict was at first, but it's definitely the first John, who married my Ann Dunstan, as I've now got confirmation of his wife's maiden name from the birth registrations of their children in Australia and some other sources, and the marriage details confirm John's father's name as Richard and Ann's as Benjamin.
Those details do not prove that your John was the convict who arrived on the Bangalore.
Moreton Bay and Burra are about 2000km apart and his TOL was for the district of Moreton Bay. You would need to check the Colonial Secretary's Correspondence to see how he may have ended up so far away and so soon after arriving.
There is still no explanation for this birth:
1847
PENLUNA, Ann
Father: John PENLUNA
Mother: Ann DUNSTAN
Registered at Adelaide
#2/21
Debra :)
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BISA entry re parents
PENALUNA Richard born c1790 died 24.10.1849 at North Adelaide. Buried WTC.
Resided at Nth Adelaide
Married Jane born c1786, died 19.6.1868.
Children Thomas (1819-1877), John (1823-1882)
I can't see a baptism of Thomas to Richard and Jane PENALUNA.
Arrival of Thomas PENALUNA and family:
http://www.theshipslist.com/ships/australia/taymouthcastle1854.shtml
Arrival of three PENALENA females who may be the daughters of Richard and Jane PENALUNA (See FamilySearch):
http://www.theshipslist.com/ships/australia/lysander1851.shtml
Debra :)
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Birth date for Ann PENALUNA recorded as 19 Oct 1847
Reg. Ade 2/21
Trial date in Cornwall for John recorded in NSW key name search was the same ??? ???
http://srwww.records.nsw.gov.au/indexsearch/keyname.aspx
Essie
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John PENALUNA's offence in 1847 was his second conviction. The first was in 1845 when then were two counts - firstly with stealing a jacket, a pair of trousers, a waistcoat and other articles of wearing apparel from T. BARKER in the parish of Breage. The second count was stealing in the same month a pair of trousers, a shirt and braces belonging to Richard WHITE. He pleaded guilty and said that he 'had no friend and stole the articles through want'.
He was said to be aged 22 and was illiterate and was imprisoned for three months. (criminal registers).
I can't find specific details of the offence for which he was transported but it does state that it was his second offence, larceny, aged 25 and illiterate.
Debra :)
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I can't see a baptism of Thomas to Richard and Jane PENALUNA.
Hmmm, neither can I. BISA was joining the dots. They certainly don't always get it right.
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If you click on the link http://www.aca.sa.gov.au/ and search by surname, it will show a list of all the Penaluna burials at West Terrace Cemetery. You will be able to see who is buried in the same plot.
Chris.
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Found this marriage under the name 'Prualuna'
Chambers, Walter Dancey, age 26 (father Stewart Corry Chambers) to Diana Anne Elizabeth Prualuna, age 21, (father John Prualuna) on 20th October 1868 at St Johns Church, Adelaide. Dist Ade Book 77 Page 110 Symbol A.
Chris.
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BIRTHS:
CHAMBERS, Walter John Penaluna on 23 March 1870 at Kadina to Walter Dancey Chambers and Diana Elizabeth nee Penaluna.
CHAMBERS, Olive May on 1st May 1874 to Walter Dancey Chambers and Diana Elizabeth nee Penaluna.
CHAMBERS, Marion Walter on 19th July, 1877 to Walter Dancey Chambers and Anne Elizabeth nee Penaluna.
Chris.
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Walter Dancey Chambers, Diana/Annie and son Walter are also buried at West Terrace Cemetery.
Chris.
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And the following marriage:
CHAMBERS, Marion Malta (note spelling) age 21 father Walter Dancey Chambers to Basil Leonard Dempster on 27th September 1898 at St Michael's Church, Mitcham.
Chris.
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A huge thank you to every one of you for your contributions!
Essie and Debra, you may well be right about "my" John Penaluna not being the convict, and it would certainly explain how Ann/Diana's birth was registered in Adelaide in 1847. If Ann (Dunstan) was already several months pregnant when she married (in Cornwall at that date, apparently, there was a custom of couples "keeping company" which meant they would only marry once the intended bride was actually expecting) and she and John sailed shortly after their marriage, but on a different ship to Ann's parents, it would make perfect sense. Is there any way I can find out what ship they might have arrived on?
The ages of Diana and Mary "Penalena" on the Lysander's ship's list pretty much tally with the baptisms I have for Richard and Jane's children, although Diana is spelled Dina on the baptismal record. There is no baptism for Ann on the Cornwall OPC, ditto Thomas (but I regularly find gaps so that's no surprise), however, she does appear on the 1841 census with her family at Menorlue in Wendron parish, and again her age is about right.
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DEATHS:
DEMPSTER, Basil Leonard on 15 December 1942 aged 72 years at Burnside, SA
DEMPSTER, Marion Malta on 9 November 1961 aged 84 at Burnside, SA.
Chris.
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Thank you for those, Cristobel! The family tree is coming together nicely now :).
I have been examining the info you have all given me on Thomas Penaluna, and I think he might have been erroneously attached to Richard and Jane. Some family tree sources on the web give his place of birth as Gwennap: there is the baptism of a Thomas Penaluna there in 1819, but his parents are John and Elizabeth. (Another Thomas Penaluna, born that same year in Wendron, is the son of William and Susanna, so it's a case of right parish, wrong parents!) As all of Richard and Jane's children were born in Wendron except Mary (born in Carnkie) and possibly Ann, it doesn't seem likely that he is related at this stage. However, I will keep on digging.
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I've just found a John Penaluna on a list of people who were at Burra between 1845 - 1851, on the Burra History website, although there are no details of how long he was actually there for. Mary Jane Penaluna's birth there in 1850 does seem to indicate he's "my" John, so it's looking more and more likely that he isn't the convict John Penaluna, after all. Finding him on a ship destined for Adelaide around 1847, along with Ann, would be a huge help.
Fourteen Dunstans/Dunstones were also named, and of those, three may possibly be siblings of John's wife Ann: Richard, Sarah Jane and Thomas, but this is only guesswork at this stage. Thomas Dunstan came out to South Australia on the Cressy in 1847, with his parents Benjamin and Jane, some of his siblings, and his first wife Ann nee Caddy. He returned to Cornwall in 1854, to marry his wife's younger sister Grace after Ann's death and then popped up in Creswick and Ballarat shortly after. I have no proof of where he was prior to 1854, but interestingly, the Burra website mentions that many of the Burra miners left "practically en masse" for the goldfields of Creswick and Ballarat in 1852, so Thomas could have well been at Burra between 1847 and 1852 at least. Frustratingly, there's no mention of a Benjamin, Jane or Nicholas Dunstan being at Burra, so I can only assume that the date they left England, and their destination, meant that they were probably headed for the copperfields of either Kapunda or the Burra.