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Thanks Jill,

I was 100% it was him but just couldn't work out why he changed his name, but showing he was in trouble and I thought that that maybe the case that he needed to change it for some reason. And you are properly right he didn't want to embarrass the family so moved and changed his name.

I have followed the tree of his mother Mary Ann Cooper and went and saw Juniper Hall and is a very big grand house for the time.

James Smith is my 2nd great grandfather his daughter Charlotte Smith was my great grandmother.

Thanks for this information at least now I have a better picture do you know if there are any articles or where I can find information on the trouble he was in.

Thanks
Emily

Hi Debra,

Just wondering as he was illiterate could that be why the spelling may have changed as he said it was Da Silva but as he would have had an accent people may have thought it was Silva or Silver not recognising the 'Da' thinking it was his accent and written it how that thought is sounded.

Thanks
Emily

Hi

I don't know if this will help. But I spoke to my mother in-law regarding Emanuel Silver who was her Great Grandfather and she was told that she was told he was from Portugal and they think the name had been changed at some stage from Silva or DeSilva (Which could explain his headstone as it has written on it 'Manuel Silva' as I took a photo of it earlier this year when in Tasmania). The reason they changed it as he wanted to blend in as he apparently had tanned skin and dark features. He wasn't to dark so he was able to get away with it but needed to change his name. He just wanted to blend in. I have attached a photo of the headstone.Which this could be right if he jumped ship he was properly trying not to get caught. lol

But this is the story she has been told. I am looking at getting the marriage certificate as apparently his death certificate said he was born in the USA maybe he told people that so who ever registered the death could of put that in and it could be wrong so would be interested to know what is on his marriage certificate so if anyone know please let me know.

Hope this helps with the story behind him being portugese.

Quote from: lynfour on Thursday 17 January 13 00:04 GMT (UK)

Now I found an article about the priest that was at the church and apparently he had an accent and apparently he liked a bit of a drink. Unfortunately if you want the article I will have to look for it as moved house last year and can’t find some stuff. But the article suggested he mixed up some of the names of some of the children he baptised one being Jacobus’s sister. He apparently wrote words as he heard them in his head so as he had an accent he would hear Richard as Ricardo and Mary Anne as Maria Anna.

This is a bit silly.  The events in the church registers were recorded in Latin and had nothing to do with the priest hearing things  The intended names of the children would have been Jacob and Mary Ann.

I was curious about what happened to the children of Richard and Mary Ann who were left orphans when their father died in 1841.  In January 1842 a Master James and Miss Louisa HEANEY travelled from Tasmania to Sydney on the William.  If this is your James he would have been about 13, and Louisa would have been aged 6.  I wonder who they were going to?

Debra 

Hi Debra, You may found the answer why he went back to the mainland as they would have been going back to there grandfather Robert Cooper or other family members that lived in Sydney. This may now allow us to search NSW for articles on him.