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Research in Other Countries => Australia => Topic started by: Tittensor ONS on Friday 23 August 24 11:09 BST (UK)
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Hello, I have a distant ancestor who served in the British Army in Australia.
I have his service records from the UK National Archives. He enlisted in 1813 and was discharged in 1838. He served 5 years in Australia.
I have just searched the Biographical Database of Australia and found this entry in the index:
TITTENSOR, Jacob, Private per Lady Harewood (Military) [B#15141026601] [1]
I would love to know more but A$39 is a lot to look up one entry.
Does anyone have any experience of this database and what it might tell me please?
Are there any other records in Australian archives which would tell me more?
Thanks for your help.
Paul
Tittensor One-Name Study web site: www.tittensor.com
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Do you know which years he was in Australia?
There are many references to the Lady Harewood on trove, though I can't see any mention of TITTENSOR:
https://trove.nla.gov.au
Including this item describing her arrival in Hobart in 1829:
"July 28 - Arrived the ship Lady Harewood, Captain Lemon with 297 male prisoners , from London 26th March. - Guard, 39 privates of the 40th Regiment, under the command of Lieutenant Ellis, of the 40th ..."
https://trove.nla.gov.au/newspaper/article/8644400
The Lady Harewood also arrived in 1831 and 1832 in NSW transporting convicts. If you knew which journey you may be able to find more information.
Modified to add:
The guards on the 1831 voyage were apparently from the 75th regiment. And the 1832 voyage guards were from the 4th regiment.
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Hello Maddy, thanks very much for your reply.
Unfortunately I don't know what years he was in Australia.
He was in the 4th Regiment of Foot, so that makes it the 1832 voyage.
Thanks very much for your help :-)
Paul
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You may be interested in this - about the Lady Harewood 1832:
https://www.freesettlerorfelon.com/convict_ship_lady_harewood_1832.htm
The Surgeon's Journal for that voyage is available to view on Ancestry.
If you have access -
https://www.ancestry.co.uk/imageviewer/collections/2318/images/31792_626640_0886-00000
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Hoping this link works.
https://nla.gov.au/nla.obj-728664549/findingaid?digitised=y
Scroll down to find
Subseries (Pieces 2213-2219). 4th Foot, January 1831 - March 1838
There are 7 files about the 4th regiment from 1831 to 1838.
I have not read through to see what treasures they might contain, but perhaps you will find them of interest.
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Neale what a find, I found him on Image 27, could be more
https://nla.gov.au/nla.obj-1642551331/view
cass
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Maddy, thanks very much for the information about the Lady Harewood and the surgeon's journal.
It is amazing what can be found if you know where to look.
There is also a little about the Lady Harewood's three voyages to Australia on wikipedia.
Thanks again,
Paul
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Neale's find is excellent, even though you need to search through a number of pages, it is good to see Jacob TITTENSOR's name, days at sea, pay etc. As Neale and Cass say, there may be more interesting information too.
I don't know for certain, but I suspect this is the information contained in the Biographical Database of Australia file.
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Maddy, I thought it was most interesting to read where, and how, individual men served for specific periods - for example, Emu Plains, Maitland, guard at Moreton Bay, mounted Police, Port Stephens, Norfolk Island, etc….. , and when they received a promotion is also notated. Also if they were sick in hospital or serving time in prison for a misdemeanour.
As you say, you need to spend some time going through the pages.
For example, you’ll find that Tittensor served at Emu Plains and the Cox’s River Stockade during 1835- 36.
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Neale many thanks for finding these records. Thanks also to Cass for looking through them. I need to make time to go through them. They appear to be great.
The UK army records state the Jacob Tittensor spent 5 years in Australia and was discharged on 3rd January 1838 with a "broken constitution" after 28 years 129 days service. If he arrived on the Lady Harewood in 1832 then 5 years would take him to the end of his service. It will be great to find out a bit more about where he was (Emu Plains and the Cox’s River Stockade).
Thank you very much for your help,
Paul
Tittensor One-Name Study web site: www.tittensor.com
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... The UK army records state the Jacob Tittensor spent 5 years in Australia and was discharged on 3rd January 1838 with a "broken constitution" after 28 years 129 days service. ...
It will be great to find out a bit more about where he was (Emu Plains and the Cox’s River Stockade).
I see your Jacob Tittensor was aged abt 42 when discharged. I can’t see his service record to glean more information, but a "broken constitution" could mean many things.
I do know that there was a huge amount of drinking in the military at this period, and men succumbed to alcoholism. Or, he may have succumbed to the climate and general working conditions in Australia.
Emu Plains began as a government prison farm which employed convict labour.
A bit of history here:-
https://trove.nla.gov.au/newspaper/article/100979574
Cox’s River was another penal settlement. The convicts here were employed on building the main western road across the Blue mountains, and constructing the associated bridges and digging road cuttings. Many of the convicts sent here were serial offenders, and were in chain gangs. It would have been very hard physical work.
The stockade was a sizeable construction, enclosing convict huts, overseers' huts, a guard house, barracks, military quarters and store, two hospitals, a cooking hut, blacksmith shops, a butcher's shop and a baker's shop.
Nice picture here:-
https://www.sl.nsw.gov.au/convict-stockade-coxs-river-crossing-near-hartley
Plenty to read here:-
http://www.hartleyvalley.org.au/heritage/that-den-of-infamy-the-no-2-stockade-coxs-river/
In both places, I would think (but don’t know) that Private J. Tittensor would probably have been guarding and overseeing the convicts in their work.
Once you go through the files (per link posted) and find additional information for Jacob Tittensor, I will try to fill you in some more.