Help Please - RAMPLING

[morryack]

Hi Sherrie,
thought you would like to see a letter from the past. Porters writing to James Rampling on the Ballarat Gold fields.
Going out tonight so this will do for now.
Regards Maurice

[boogarbooz]

Hi Maurice

Thanks for that! It certainly was an intersting read 

Unfortunately nothing of the family made it down my line, but with Henry being a convict I wouldn't have expected there to be anything anyway!

Sherrie

[morryack]

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

[morryack]

Hi Sherrie,
a quick reply to send another letter to you.  The originals are at Latrobe Library in Melbourne and in pretty poor state. I gave them over for storage and will see if they can be released as digital coppies for the web.
Regards Maurice

[morryack]

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

[morryack]

Hi Sherrie,
one last letter for you from the Porters. I don,t think they came to Australia but a couple of sons are missing and worth pursuing. Rumors came to me that Porters were on the golfields at Scarsdale which was later in the 1860s.
Regards Maurice

[morryack]

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

[boogarbooz]

Hi Maurice

Finally had time to sit down and read thorugh all the letters.... what a wonderful insight into their lives! Thank you so much for sharing them.

When I get time I'll definitely have a look inot where the Porters disappeared to, it might turn up something interesting!

Sherrie

[morryack]

Hi Sherrie,
 by the look at the hits on letters and photo it has been worthwhile sharing the info. They are family letters and of great value to us all so it was sad they were going unnoticed.

For others looking I have just found several Rampling convicts to NSW so will write them all down including our Henry.
Henry Rampling arrived 27 Feb 1840 on ship Woodbridge.
Henry Rampling arrived 10 July 1837 on ship Mangles.
James Rampling arrived 25 April 1815 on ship Indefatigable.
Murgay Rampling arrived 31 Dec 1818 on ship General Stewart.
These may link with someone looking for lost relatives.
Bye for now.
Maurice