Hi KarenLee
I have found the arrival of Samuel and Josiah in NSW. They arrived in January of 1855 aboard the 'Bangalore', but the record doesn't say whether they disembarked in Sydney or Newcastle (simply states Sydney/Newcastle). I know that Josiah stayed in NSW, and his sons, Josiah and William, were both registered in Paterson, NSW. Josiah snr married Catherine GALBRAITH and Josiah jnr married Elizabeth Ann SYMONDS, daughter of William SYMONDS and Jane Elizabeth MORTIMER. What happened to Uncle William is another problem for me to solve. I remember my father, Francis Josiah CHAPMAN (m. Eileen Gladys MCDONALD), talking about him, but being young one never listens intently, so now that I could use the information, I don't remember the details of his conversations.
What I do remember is Dad talking about gUncle Samuel going to South Australia, and the grandad was writing to him for a while, but that the letters died off and no-one had heard of Uncle Samuel since.
It doesn't help the search when you have so many common names, does it? I thought if I could pinpoint where Samuel CHAPMAN came from originally, I might be able to prove or disprove my theory re coming to SA and then going home to talk Josiah in to making the move. I just have a distinct feeling that I am on the right track with this, because the Samuel CHAPMAN who arrived on the 'Charlotte Jane' in SA in 1852 was the same age that our Samuel would have been at that time.
Narelle