Eleanor Rowland (HALL) b. Mauritius abt 1819

[Jaffajen]

Hello.  I am new to this site and am trying to break down a few brick walls, the toughest being my gg grandmother Eleanor.  She arrived in Sydney, Australia in 1851 with her 13yr old son Albert.  Both surnames are noted as ROWLAND.  The shipping papers say she was 31 yrs old, born in Mauritius to parents whose names appear barely discernable, but appear to be George & Alice HALL at a guess.  I have traced Albert as being born Albert HALL in Gloucester in 1837. Albert appears in London in 1841 living with Eleanor who was born "in foreign parts".  He is still a HALL, she is a POWTNEY.  Cannot find marriage for her to a Powtney or a Rowland!!  Also cannot find death certificate for her in NSW.   Does anyone have any suggestions?  The Mauritius thing is the biggest hurdle.  Thanks, Jen

[garstonite]

Hiya Jen....and welcome to Rootschat.....difficult for you this....I have found this, and it has a slight difference , but it IS an Extracted babtism record
Albert Hall Christened 15th January 1837 at Saint Nicholas , Gloucester,England
mothers name ELLEN   (not Eleanor )....NO father named
so could Ellen have changed her name to Eleanor at a later date ?...maybe we should try and find a birth for ELLEN HALL in Mauritius ?
of course this may not be your Albert, but it`s the only one I can find b 1837....may I ask where you got your info that Albert was b 1837 ?...was it through the census ?....seeing as he was christened 15th January , he may well have been born late December 1836........allan

[Evie]

Hi

I saw that baptism too Allan. I see James and Ellen Powtney and Albert Hall living in the same parish, St Nicholas, Gloucester in the 1841. I wonder if I am looking at a different census to you Jen as you say you saw them in London?

Evie

[garstonite]

 That`s a good find Evie....So you reckon that Ellen Hall married a James Powtney (presuming Eleanor was Ellen that is )...so I would think they married in that Parish...ie  Saint Nicholas ,Gloucester....let`s try and find it then...allan

[Evie]

I cannot see a marriage in the parish and the dates range from 1558 - 1882

[JeannieR]

Hi There.....

There is a birth registered for a Eleanor M Hall in Mauritius, but it was in 1838

Her father was serving with the 12th regiment . vol  955  page 56

JeannieR

[Jaffajen]

Thank you Allan, Evie & Jeannie for your replies.  I am going on IGI data for Albert's christening in Gloucester, Jan 15, 1837 as you have also found.  The lack of a father is not helping one bit!  As Albert was given his mother's surname of HALL I surmise that she was single.  I have searched for a marriage for Eleanor (who called herself Ellen for short) in Gloucester also, Evie, and turned up nothing for POWTNEY  or ROWLAND.  Oh, and of course I meant Gloucester, not London re 1841 census.  Jeannie, how did you find that Hall birth reference?  I figured Ellen's father was probably in the military or administration, but I don't know where to look for relevant info.  I did stumble across some info on Major-General Gage John HALL who was acting Governor of Mauritius at the time of Ellen's birth, but it gave no personal details of his family ...  It's interesting that what I read as 'George' on the shipping papers, could very well be 'Gage".  Any tips on researching in Mauritius?  Any tips on where I could find info in the National Archives in London?  I am going to London and Gloucester in August (I live in Australia) and plan to do some digging while there.  I really appreciate your help.  Cheers, Jen

[Evie]

Hi Jen

Out of curiosity I had a look for Gage John Hall in the census and he appears in 1851 with wife Harriet in Registration district of Exeter. It might be worth having a look at the shipping list again to try and decipher who Eleanor's parents were.

I haven't found them in 1841 yet.

The National Archives have a will which can be downloaded online for £3. 50. It is a chance but I would have thought if Eleanor was his daughter she may well be mentioned. unless of course he had disowned her. The will was in 1854

http://www.rootschat.com/links/08w0/

I have never been to the National Archives so I cannot help there I'm afraid.

Evie

[Jaffajen]

Hi Evie

Thanks for your research.  I should have mentioned earlier that Ellen's parents were noted as 'both dead' on the 1851 shipping list.  I, too, went looking for them in the 1841 but no luck.  I looked for George & Gage.

I've just pulled out the shipping list (again) and I think I'll discard the Gage HALL idea.  Some of the document is very faint, but there is an 'r' in the name - back to looking for George!  Alice appears quite clearly.  Albert's father appears to be Edward (and yes, I've gone down a few tracks looking for Edward ROWLAND).  I even checked convict lists, thinking that maybe the family came out to join him (that happened a lot).

Some time ago I searched for a marriage for George & Alice and turned up a marriage in Lancashire between George HALL & Alice SHARPLES on 25/4/1819.  Don't think that's them, as Ellen is born c.1819/1820 (based on age of 31 in 1851), but maybe?  Just because Ellen was living in Gloucester in 1841 doesn't necessarily mean that her parents came from there, does it?

My puzzlement is why George & Alice were in Mauritius? Can someone direct me to any good military records?  Maybe Alice was a 'native' of Mauritius and they married there?  I'm slowly trawling the National Archives website to find relevant indexes ....

By the way, the HALL is certainly correct, as male children born in the subsequent 3 generations were named Albert Hall ROWLAND.  Even my mother got the moniker!  As the third daughter born, her parents must have despaired of a son and named her Alberta Hall ROWLAND.  Then they had a real Albert, and he in turn named his son Albert Hall.  It stopped there, though.  My cousin Albert didn't like the name and so tradition was broken ...

Sorry to rave on.  Thanks again for your help Evie.

Jen