I am trying to determine when an Edward Edwin Seymour left Australia and arrived in England.
Census records for 1881 onwards indicate that Edward was born in Melbourne, Victoria, Australia. Birth & baptism records in Australia have been checked and there is no documentary evidence of Edward's birth. Family information records his birth as 10.5.1842 and his marriage certificate states that his father was a 'James Seymour, gentleman'. Family legend says that Edward had a sister Margaret (who married and went to Canada) and a brother Thomas (who supposedly died in the Boxer Rebellion in China in 1900). Again, no documentary evidence has surfaced to prove the existance of James, Margaret or Thomas.
The first concrete evidence we have of Edward's existance is his marriage in 1874 to Caroline Teague in Glyntaff, Glamorgan. His life after this date is reasonably well documented. If Edward was truly born in Australia, I am trying to determine when he went to England, and if he lived in Wales for several years before his marriage. I have checked several online passenger indexes for Australia with no luck and he does not seem to appear in the 1871 census for Wales. I have had the 1871 census for Devon checked, because this is where his wife's family came from - again, no luck.
There appears to have been some 'lie telling' in this family in regards to family history, in order to cover up some skeleton in the closet. I checked several convict databases for a James Seymour in case this was the skeleton, and although several James Seymour's appeared, I have not been able to prove any connection to them. Another interesting reference I found was in a posting on the 'Rootsweb' site to an Edward Seymour, aged about 19, who deserted the barque 'Melrose' on 14/10/1860 at Portland, Victoria, Australia. I have not had the opportunity to pursue the line of enquiry regarding this Edward further at this stage.
Any assistance anyone can provide would be greatly appreciated.