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Research in Other Countries => Australia => Topic started by: Jaznjjj on Friday 01 January 16 22:01 GMT (UK)
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http://www.australia.gov.au/about-australia/australian-story/early-circus
Interesting site which I found when trying to find out about a circus owned by William Charles 'Tinker' Brown. Tinker lived at Wagga, the circus may have been based at Parramatta and it appears to have toured the Victorian goldfields and elsewhere in the 1850s. This is the origin of the story of the pony wearing golden horseshoes and various articles show up in Trove on this topic. Would value any input regarding this circus and happy to share what I have already found. Tinker was married to Sussanah Eleanour nee Seymour, sister to George Seymour (convict) of Windsor, NSW. I have not been able to ascertain the name of the circus.
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Hi there,
What a great resource you have found.
http://trove.nla.gov.au/ndp/del/article/69575478 Wodonga & Towong Sentinel 16 May 1941.
March 28, 1858, about three weeks after the arrival in Beechworth, “Tinker” Brown died. His body was brought to Wagga for burial…… Later when the new cemetery was opened ….. exhumed ….(re interred) in the Church of England portion of the Wagga cemetery ….. Mrs Brown alongside her husband. Alongside also is the grave and tombstone of John Thomas (“Jack”) Hely.
……Young Jack (now Sergeant Hely of Croydon), a son of Mr. “Jack” Hely was sent to get the gold shoes. They eventually found their way to the Mint and realised £96/16/-
Re "Young Jack", the police Sergeant who fetched the shoes .... a John Thomas HELY was born in NSW in 1860 and appointed to the NSW Police 8 June 1882.
http://www.records.nsw.gov.au/state-archives/indexes-online/professions-and-occupations/police-service/police-service-registers
What happened to the circus after Tinker's death in Victoria?
Cheers, JM
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http://www.australia.gov.au/about-australia/australian-story/early-circus
I have not been able to ascertain the name of the circus.
Called the Royal Circus perhaps
http://trove.nla.gov.au/ndp/del/article/118310930
Another Obituary for William BROWN.
http://trove.nla.gov.au/ndp/del/article/118310937
Sue
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A (NSW) 1841 marriage for Susannah SEYMOUR is indexed with the groom as John BROWN .... Volume 25C, line 611, So C of E, Merriwa, Muswellbrook, Paterson
Agh, seems likely Sue :)
ADD, article I spotted has different date for death....
Cheers, JM
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Thank you everyone. I'll try to respond to everyone in this one message. Tinker supposedly arrived as a convict in 1837 - but I've been unable to definitively locate him on a ship under the name John, William, Charles or Tinker. There appears to be no application for him to marry as a convict under any of these names. I don't think I found a certificate of freedom either. I found two assignments of John Browns in the Sydney Gazette of 12th June, 1837 - one at Brownlee, one at Hunter's River. Did he adopt an alias to avoid having to secure permission to marry perhaps?
His death - recorded on a couple of sites as 29th November, 1855. I have sent off an email to Wagga Council (with whom I have corresponded previously) asking for clarification as he is buried at Wagga. I have a feeling there has been some unsupported guesswork - there are a lot of William Browns and John Browns out there! There is a probate packet for a William Brown who died 28th November, 1855 - but none for any William Browns dying in 1858. There is an entry in NSW BDM showing a William Brown aged 40 years who died at Albury 2424/1858 and that is the year indicated in the newspaper article. There are two different death dates - each supported by some form of documentation - sorting them out will be the challenge! A trip to SRO to view this probate packet is in order.
Thank you for the ROYAL CIRCUS - that gives me another search term to use in Trove and elsewhere!
Tinker had a son named Charles William Thurlow Brown but he died in 1915.
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https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:XTCL-BH7
30 May 1841, at Houghton, NSW, John BROWN married Susannah SEYMOUR
I have found a Susannah SEYMOUR aged 24 years arrived (came free) 1833 per Layton.
Can you eliminate the John BROWN mentioned on permission to marry for the above marriage (Rev was SMITH) ?
Cheers, JM
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NSW State Records online Convict Index….
John BROWN on the John (4) Recommended Conditional Pardon …. Reel 798, page 003 …. NO DATE mentioned at index.
http://www.records.nsw.gov.au/state-archives/indexes-online/indexes-to-convict-records/indexes-to-convict-records
Cheers, JM
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I could not locate that permission in SRO on-line index. Thank you. There are a lot of loose ends in this family's story. Susannah (according to her descendants) did arrive on the Layton. I have researched an earlier relationship she had with a man by the name of Augustus Caesar in Sydney. Susannah and Augustus were for an indefinite time resident at Windsor where Susannah's brothers, George and Richard, also resided. They had a daughter in Sydney, and later a son who died and was buried at Windsor. Susannah married Tinker a long distance from Windsor and that is another question. (Did she run away to join the circus!?) Have to look up John Brown on the John (4).
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The Victorian death index item.
BROWN William
Father Unknown
Mother -
Age 40
Birth Place NORF
Year 1855
Reg Number 6597
Sue
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Thank you Sue. I think that's where the descendants sourced their data. Have to check how the place of birth and age fits the convict indent (when I get to it). Interesting, death registered in Victoria, but buried in NSW.
I've been tracking the various ROYAL circuses through Trove - there are at least three of them! I am hoping to find when there is a change of ownership/management. Best prospect is Mr Jones's Royal Circus which appears to be the only one advertising touring any goldfields. Need to give my eyes a rest! More later.
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Interesting, death registered in Victoria, but buried in NSW.
Have you opened and read the link I posted in reply #2?
Sue
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Yes, thanks Sue. I had found that one previously and printed it off. I have a stack of print-outs to go through again in finer detail. Tinker's son, "Stuttering Charlie" would have been ten years old in 1858 so the friendship formed with Hely (who arrived in Wagga in 1858 according to that newspaper article) seems to indicate the circus carried on after Tinker's death.
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I have a book "Spangles & Sawdust - The Circus in Australia by Mark StLeon
Pg 32
The association of William "Tinker" Brown with Australian circus was short but colourful.
While the town of Beechworth was wallowing in the wealth of accumulated wealth from the surrounding goldfields, the arrival of BROWN's circus, ostentatiously entitled his "Royal Amphitheatre and Roman Coliseum" led to events immortalised in an incident known as "The Golden Horseshoes of Beechworth.
William Brown was the licensee of the New Ferry Hotel in Wagga Wagga
In 1855, he formed his own circus.
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Wow, many thanks for that snippet.
I think the 1941 cutting I posted earlier suggests the circus stopped after his death.
Add
I wonder that that book has cited its sources ... if so, perhaps our OP would be interested in following those back to their primary origins. :)
Cheers, JM
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This thread is a goldmine in its own right! Thank you all those 'digging' on my behalf. Might put 'Spangles and Sawdust' on my wish list with my local antiquarian bookshop. My goodness - 'Royal Amphitheatre and Roman Coliseum'!!!
One of the comments in the notes I have accumulated indicated that Tinker bought a circus with all the trappings. That is the transaction I am hoping to locate. Looks like 1855 could narrow down the timeframe and he may have re-named his purchase.
I'm trying to reconcile the events and dates. Yes, primary sources would be good.
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I decided to float over to Beechworth.com - this is their text. Tinker and his circus (and the fact that he owned the horse) does not rate a mention!
Golden Legends
Beechworth's annual Golden Horseshoes Festival now celebrates these
historic and turbulent political times and a gold legend.
A colourful election in September 1855 followed bitter clashes between the two factions of rivalry miners ('Monkeys' and 'Punchers'), and the birth of the Golden Horseshoes legend.
The most popular belief is that the horseshoes were made from gold supplied by "Big" Johnston, owner of the Woolshed field's richest claim. To support their candidate on polling day, a procession of flag-waving, banner-carrying 'Monkeys' marched to Beechworth from the Woolshed diggings. The golden horseshoes were not fitted to the horse until the procession reached the old Vine Hotel, one mile from Beechworth, and they were removed upon arrival into town. Legend has it that they were one ounce lighter after the one mile!
Huge crowds, free beer and brass bands added to the day's chaos, and although at one stage the police placed a cordon across the main street, they eventually gave up trying to control the crowds. Finally, both candidates appeared at the balcony of the Star Hotel and by a show of hands (holding their miners' rights documents) - Daniel Cameron, the man with the Golden Horseshoes - was declared elected. It is no surprise that the 'Puncher' demanded a recount, which was duly held at the Courthouse the following day. Cameron was again declared the elected candidate and "Big" Johnston celebrated the win with a 300 pound champagne shout.
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"Brown's Royal Amphitheatre and Roman Coliseum"
http://trove.nla.gov.au/ndp/del/article/118312561
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Wagga Wagga Cemetery:
BROWN W C., 40, 28/03/1855, ANG-X-33-0010
Wagga Monumental Cemetery, ANGLICAN, Row 33, PORTION X, 0010
BROWN S E., 77,10/06/1883, ANG-X-33-0009
Wagga Monumental Cemetery, ANGLICAN, Row 33, PORTION X, 0009
The day & month of William's death appears to be wrong... possibly taken from headstone :-\
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Headstone at Wagga Wagga Cemetery:
http://postimg.org/image/3rezg6itx/
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http://trove.nla.gov.au/ndp/del/article/108835667
This is the death of a daughter, Mrs MOXHAM in 1883.
It remarks she is the daughter of Mrs BROWN "of circus renown".
It is a bit ambiguous. Does it convey that the circus continued after the death of Mr BROWN in 1955?
:-\
Sue
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Wow, many thanks for that snippet.
I think the 1941 cutting I posted earlier suggests the circus stopped after his death.
Add
I wonder that that book has cited its sources ... if so, perhaps our OP would be interested in following those back to their primary origins. :)
Cheers, JM
Yes the book has 3 pages of Sources
Newspapers, Magazines, Books, Playbills & Interviews.
"Interviews have been cited as appropriately throughout the book."
The St Leon family were circus performers not sure if they owned circuses.
In 1954 Leo St Leon was a fourth generation St Leon family performing under the Wirth canvas during the Sydney Easter season.
For interest Mark St Leon started preparing this book while in his final year at high school & completed the task 13 years later.
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NSW State Records online Convict Index….
John BROWN on the John (4) Recommended Conditional Pardon …. Reel 798, page 003 …. NO DATE mentioned at index.
John BROWN {John (4)}
Conditional Pardon No: 46/892
Year: 1846
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Yes Sue, Mrs Moxham was Susannah Hannah (known I believe as Hannah) the daughter of Susannah Eleanor Brown nee Seymour and a liaison with Augustus Caesar before her marriage to Tinker Brown.
Baptised as Susannah Hannah Caesar Seymour. I have just re-read some of the notes from Wagga Museum which states that Hannah's interest in her mother's estate was not to be "subject to the debts, control or intermeddling of the said Henry Moxham her present husband or any future husband she may in turn marry".
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Just noticed that Susannah died June, 1883, her daughter Hannah (Mrs Moxham) died December that same year "The fortune dissipated whilst held in a trust...." More information available if anyone is interested. Susannah held much property in Wagga from which she collected rent.
I have no idea at this stage whether the circus continued beyond William's death but that's something I will be looking out for.
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John BROWN - Trial 30th June 1831 CCC, London:
http://www.oldbaileyonline.org/browse.jsp?id=t18310630-147-punish792&div=t18310630-147#
http://www.oldbaileyonline.org/print.jsp?div=t18310630-147
http://www.oldbaileyonline.org/images.jsp?doc=183106300081
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Transportation:
John BROWN 1832
Ship: John I (4)
Tried: London 1831
Sentence: 7yrs
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Thank you Merlin,
John I (4) arrived Sydney 08 06 1832 NSW 07 02 1832 Downs 122 200 198 Sam J Lowe Jas Lawrence
http://members.iinet.net.au/~perthdps/convicts/shipNSW2.html
John Brown was said to have arrived as a convict in 1837 though I haven't been able to check that. John II arrived in 1837. John 1(4) arrived (as above) in 1832. No arrival in 1839 in the list above.
Conditional pardon received 1846, sentence was 7 years, so this indicates year of arrival of approx. 1839.
The John Brown Old Bailey proceedings in 1831 indicate he was 15 years old - consistent with birth in 1815.
John Brown's permission to marry in 1841 states his age as 26, indicating a birth year of 1815 which is not quite but reasonably consistent with death in 1858 at age 40. Age at death is consistent with death date of 1855 = birth year 1815!
So did John Brown arrive in 1832, 1837 or 1839?
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A (NSW) 1841 marriage for Susannah SEYMOUR is indexed with the groom as John BROWN .... Volume 25C, line 611, So C of E, Merriwa, Muswellbrook, Paterson https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:XTCL-BH7 30 May 1841, at Houghton, NSW, John BROWN married Susannah SEYMOUR Can you eliminate the John BROWN mentioned on permission to marry for the above marriage (Rev was SMITH)?
Futher to JM's information :)
Permission to Marry:
John BROWN 26yrs; John I (4); 7yrs; Bond; + Susannah SEYMOUR Free Emigrant;
Permission Granted 7 May, 1841 by Rev. SMITH at Paterson.
Marriage:
John BROWN m. Susannah SEYMOUR 30 May, 1841
Parish: Merriwa; Muswellbrook; Paterson, Church of England
Ref Number: V1841611 25C
NB: Paterson was in the Parish of Houghton until 1870
Rev. SMITH is Rev. John Jennings SMITH
http://www.patersonriver.com.au/people/smithjohnj.htm
http://www.patersonriver.com.au/places/stpauls.htm
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Rev. SMITH is Rev. John Jennings SMITH
http://www.patersonriver.com.au/people/smithjohnj.htm
http://www.patersonriver.com.au/places/stpauls.htm
Yes, it is so that some do say that about Jennings SMITH's father, but others don't, and simply refer to him as Rev. JJ Smith, Tom's son ;)
http://anglicanhistory.org/aus/cci/index.pdf
ADD
However, NSW BDM does have a death registration for a son of George IV :)
"1878
William Montague Clarence Campbell dies. William's father is listed as George IV, King of England and his mother was Lady Mary Campbell." (It is dc # 4912/1878 :) registered at Broulee)
http://www.bdm.nsw.gov.au/Pages/about-us/history-of-the-registry.aspx
:)
Cheers, JM
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Jaznjjj and others,re CIRCUS I do have more information on the circus and the family,the latest members live near by,there is so much I could not put it down here.if you need to contact me please do.though my email (*)
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Thank you RayPet, I will email you.
I contacted Mark St Leon some time ago and purchased the latest edition of his book. I would recommend this to interested parties.
J
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"In 1954 Leo St Leon was a fourth generation St Leon family performing under the Wirth canvas during the Sydney Easter season."
I can remember Wirth's Circus coming to NZ when I was a child! One of it's regular venues was just down the road from where I lived, and a lot of the local lads would get work there, helping set up everything, feeding animals etc...even watching a rehearsal, where they were the only audience! Their payment was usually a bag of candy floss and a free ticket to the circus!
I put up a fuss when my brothers used to go down when the circus arrived - because girls weren't allowed to go down and watch or work there!
Just let them try that today, kids wouldn't be allowed to work there, they would have to pay an adult minimum wage, not dish out candy floss and a free ticket! Such a shame all those old traditions have gone though! I've seen kids still hanging around when they come, but perhaps they belong to the circus folk!
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I have just been asked to help out a friend who is researching her 3rd great grandfather William Tinker Brown and Susannah Hannah Seymour - any assistance I could get on life in Australia would be so very much appreciated Thanking you all in advance :)
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Kelly, I will be delighted to help out! Maybe extract what you can from this thread, then pm me with your email address. Regards, Jennifer
I am a descendant of Susannah's brother, George Seymour, who settled at Windsor, NSW.