Family Records Centre

[Tease]

Sorry it has taken me to long to get back to you.

I just wanted to say thankyou all for your help.

I think that the Baptism of John with James as his father, is probably correct, thankyou.
I have only just started back on this part of the tree, and you have all been so much help.

I will order one of the childrens birth certificates as suggested, so I can add a maiden name to Sarah.

I think a trip out from behind my screen may be due!!

Many Thanks again, you have been wonderful!

Best Wishes to you all,

Louise
x

[dmollison]

Ref  James Austin / Sophia Hill

I'll be a little surprised (but v interested) if your John Austin turns out to be
the son of James Austin / Sophia Hill, b. 1807, chr. 1807 Bray.

That's because I have further info on children of JA & SH, including
Susanna Sophia, who is probably the Sophia Austin chr Bray 1809; but also four
further children christened in St James Piccadilly, 1813 to 1819, when
James is decribed variously as a gentleman, club house keeper and vintner,
living in St James Street.  [These are given in the parish register as children of
James & Sophia Austin, but I have separate info from a later memorial that the
mother's maiden name was Hill.]

Of course, it's possible that there were two couples called James Austin / Sophia Hill, and that my Susanna Sophia isn't the one chr in Bray in 1809.

If you can look up the Bray parish register, you might find more details,
such as John's father's occupation in 1807/09, or the marriage record of
JA & SH.   Or of course the marriage record of your John Austin - it's likely
to include family members as witnesses if not other hepful info.

[barryd]

Martha Austin
Born 8 February 1817, St. James Street, Piccadilly, Westminster, London. Baptized 9 March 1817, St. James, Piccadilly, Westminster, London. Married George Lee 2 October 1841, Kandy, Ceylon. Daughter of James Austin, Vintner,  and Sophia.

Americanized version of her baptism on Ancestry as 9/3/1817 but 9 March 1817 is from microfilm of original.

People who live in glass houses shouldn't throw stones .... I know I should be in Middlesex not London in 1817 but I just can not get around to that.

[dawnsh]

Hi barryd

According to her profile Louise hasn't been online here since June 2008.

Fingers crossed her email address hasn't changed, she gets a notification that you have posted and that she comes back soon.

Dawn

[dmollison]

Dear barryd and dawnsh

I'm not sure why barryd posted the info on the birth of Martha Austin here.  This (rather old) topic was about a John Austin who's almost certainly from a different family.

If anyone's interested I have a lot of info on Martha's family: parents James Austin and Sophia Hill had 10 children in all, 6 of whom went out to Ceylon or southern India; I have Sophia's parents but still not James's. .. A slightly out-of-date summary of what I have is at www.mollison.org/tree/fam/austin.html  (must update this!).

Martha and George Lee had 9 children, including Lionel Frederick (1845-1899) and Henry Austin (1847-1918) who had quite distinguished careers in Ceylon Civil Service and Foreign Office respectively.

.. but I'd suggest if anyone else is interested in this family we should start a new topic.

Best wishes,  Denis

[Bruce609]

Dear barryd and dawnsh



If anyone's interested I have a lot of info on Martha's family: parents James Austin and Sophia Hill had 10 children in all, 6 of whom went out to Ceylon or southern India; I have Sophia's parents but still not James's. .. A slightly out-of-date summary of what I have is at www.mollison.org/tree/fam/austin.html  (must update this!).

M
Best wishes,  Denis

The original discussion was a little while back, but is there any record of why 3 of the Austin girls went to India and 3 others to Ceylon[ Sri Lanka ]. One of the latter , Mary Anne, is my 2nd great grandmother. My interest has been renewed as one of my daughters is now in Sri Lanka. Bruce

[dawnsh]

Marriage to a man already out there because of an army career or trade connections

Employment as a nurse or governess

Maybe an older lady's companion

[Bruce609]

Yes, all possible. What they did in India and Ceylon is documented   .Certainly one married in England then accompanied her spouse to India,  but another married in India, &  at least 2 married in Ceylon and then later  retired to the Channel Islands &/or Canada...Th eparents appear to have remained i n England

[dmollison]

Dear Bruce

As to why the 5 Austin daughters and 1 brother went to Madras/ Ceylon (now Chennai/Sri Lanka), I think most can be explained in terms of who went first ..

Ceylon: probably Mary Ann (1806-75) went first, marrying William Morris - do you have details of their marriage? I have a note to look in Blackwoods Magazine of 1829.
Martha (1817-1870s) and William (1811-48) presumably were influenced by their being there: Martha possibly husband-seeking - she met George Lee on the boat out, marrying him later that year (1841) in Kandy; and William to seek his fortune as a coffee-planter.
The question we still haven't answered is whether Mary Ann meeting William Morris was because of a relationship to Dr William Austin (1790-1871), who married William M's sister.
Still have no info on where the father James Austin came from.

Madras: Susanna Sophia (1804-53) went out to Madras in late 1833 with her surgeon husband William Liddell to become Assistant Coroner there, on the Wellington, a (very interesting) ship captained by his brother James Liddell. They took her sister Sophia (1808-67) who later (1842) married Rev John Garrett - I have a memoir of their family by their daughter Mary Sophia Rice.
Finally, Eliza (1819-70s) went out presumably to stay with the Liddells until she married the banker John Innes Geddes there in 1849.

The theme common to probably Sophia, Martha and Eliza, of going to India/Ceylon to seek a husband, is a well-known phenomenon. I guess it appealed to a certain section of society, reasonably well off daughters of large families ??

So the main question remains - were James and William Austin related?

By the way, I do have more info on James's wife, Sophia Hill, and her family, which helps explain how James ended up catering for the Guards:
From the Gentleman's Magazine, for 1820:
6 November: "In Park-street, Windsor, Adam Hill, many years Mess-master to the Officers of the Brigade of Guards."
Adam's will confirms the relationship.

Best wishes
Denis