RootsChat.Com

Hi Lyn,
I live in Gippsland and am also a decendant from Thomas East Fletcher. I don't know what information you have but his last born son Henry was my Great Grandfather and died age 30 of pneumonia and left a wife and young family. The children were all fostered and his wife Elizabeth Jane Stewart vanished from all records I have traced so far.
thomas's wife Sarah Elizabeth Wilder has no death certificate but died 1867 and I think is buried at Carngham Cemetery.
I have as the parents of Thomas East Fletcher, Charles Fletcher and Ann Taylor and their family in 1841 as:
Elizabeth b 1820
Thomas East b 1821
Valentine b 1823
Sarah b 1826
Hannah b 1833.
Do not have children information before or after this family.
They live at 60 Lane End Great Marlow which seems to be in High Wycombe. Google Earth gives a view of the house but too modern to be our families I think. Dont know where the East comes in but must be before this family.
Hope to hear from you soon.
Maurice

Hi Sherrie,
back again but this time with the Rampling photo taken in 1848 before James ships to NZ.  He is holding hands with the woman so makes one think its his mother and the Sarah buried in Sudbury in1833 in not our GGG.
I have notified some of your previous commentors about what I am sending and hopefully they can come up with some answers.
Puts a face to those letters.
Bye now Maurice

Hi Sherrie,
another letter and last from James in the UK. Hopefully a UK cousin can check UK deaths in Lambeth after this for his death. He doesn't seem to be in the best of health.
Regards Maurice

Hi Sherrie,
I did not answer your question about James being a convict. My belief is that he wasnt as he was dressed normally for the photo with his family and he married in NZ a year or so after arriving. He was listed on his marriage certificate as a farmer .
Here is a letter from the James (b1893) to James Rampling on Ballarat Gold Fields. He must have got onto gold as he sent money back to the familys in UK. He was a qualified bootmaker according to the letters.
The grammer punctuation etc is hard to understand so I copied them as written. When they used ss as in fussy they substitute an f. Anyway I hope a few UK cousins are watching what I send.
James must have been close to the Eureka Rebellion as his children were placed in the chimney to protect them from bullets during the fighting.  There is a reference to James' bad luck but no idea what it is about but this is probably the first letter back after Eureka (Dec 1854)
Hopefully distant cousins in UK see these and find the originals sent to them.
A bit of useless information is that Phillip Rampling, his Grandson, was a sailmaker and made the first Australian Flag which won the flag competition.
Regards Maurice

Hi Lyn,
I am Maurice and my GG Grandfather was also Thomas East Sutcliffe. His son Henry married Elizabeth Stewart and my Grandmother was Ellen Fletcher. I live in Gippsland and have some information and am aware of the Wellings but only in th 1800s. I am sure we can swap information an fill hole in our records.  I am listed under morryack if you wish to send a message.
Regards Maurice.
PS I think his wife Sarah Wilding is buried in Carngham Victoria in 1867 ( Our GG Grandmother).