George Elsmier MATTHEWS

[matthews1867]

Wondering if anyone can advise me of a site that I can find on which ship George elsmier Matthews and his wife Martha Browning and their daughter mary Elizabeth sailed to Australia on in 1854 i really would like to know if the diembarked at Portland or Melbourne Thank you Lynne

[krisesjoint]

Hi Lynne,

I have separated this from a thread on the Cornwall Board as it appears unconnected to that thread. Moved to Australia Board.

George Elsmer MATTHEWS was a coach builder from Wolverhampton Staffordshire. He had more children than you mention.

The family arrived as unassisted immigrants aboard the NORTH ATLANTIC which sailed from Liverpool to Melbourne arriving 18 July 1853

http://210.8.122.120/indexes/index_search.asp?searchid=23

Port B Fiche 044   Page 008

family listed as

MATHEWS G E  36
MATHEWS M 26
MATHEWS G B Child (Further indexing suggests age 5)
MATHEWS M M Child (Further indexing suggests age 1)
MATHEWS M 1

http://trove.nla.gov.au/ndp/del/article/4794735

1851 census

HO107/2018 Folio 528 Page 11
Darlington Street
Wolverhampton

MATTHEWS Geo E Head 34 b Wolverhampton Staffordshire Coach Builder employing 7 men
MATTHEWS Martha Maria wife 23 b Wolverhampton
MATTHEWS George son 3 b Wolverhampton
MATTHEWS Martha Dau1 b Wolverhampton

From something you said in another of your threads

I would like to know if there is a site i can bring up to find the ship that George Elsmier matthews and his wife Martha Browning and their daughter Mary Elizabeth sailed to Australia on in 1854 a daughter was born on board by name of hesibah Ellen but she died at sea i really would like to know if they disembarked at Portland or melbourne

It seems Hephzibah did not die at sea - Martha and Hephzibah Ellen both appear to have died in Victoria in 1854

Martha Maria MATTHEWS aged 26 parents Samue BROWNING and Mary MEEDINGS 1854 661
Hephzibah Ellen  MATTHEWS aged 7 months parents George Elsme MATTHEWS and Martha Maria BROWNING 1854 280

Cheers  Kris 

[matthews1867]

Thank you Chris for all your info however I am still a bit confused as after georges wife martha died in 1854 he then married Margaret Hall in melbourne in 1856 and had at least one child by the name of Margaret this is where Mary elizabeth spent 20 years of her life with her half sister Margaret Philps and she died in 1930 in Castlemaine Vic giving her birth date as about 1851 also compulsory rego for births did not come in in Vic untill 1854 so i do not know where she was born I thought if they had disembarked at portland Vic Mary elizabeth may have been taken in by a possible relative John and Mary Matthews Thank you Chris i will keep searching

[cando]

The death index shows Staffordshire Martha's place of birth. 

Hepzibah's place of death on the death index is AT SEA.

This marriage certificate should list the number of living and deceased issue of George's first marriage.  Occasionally the chn's names are mentioned.

Marriage
MATTHEWS George Elsmer
HALE Margaret
1856  Reg#1926

Births
MATTHEWS Hephzibah Ellen
Father George Elsmer  Mother Margaret HALE
at Prahran  1857  Reg#5157

MATTHEWS Margaret Hannah
Father George Elsmer  Mother Margaret HALE
At Prahran  1858  Reg#16134

This death certificate would note Mary's place of birth and her years in Australia.
Death
MATTHEWS Mary Elizth
Father Matthews Geo Elsmer  Mother Martha  BROWNING
At Castlemaine  79  1930  Reg#8841

Images of certificates can be purchased online and immediately downloaded from
https://online.justice.vic.gov.au/bdm/index-search?action=purchaseImage

Cheers 
Cando

[krisesjoint]

Hi Lynne,

There are several online trees on sites such as WorldConnect.

http://wc.rootsweb.ancestry.com/cgi-bin/igm.cgi

They provide a birth date for Mary Elizabeth just after the 1851 census. It seems the original poster of this information had numerous certificates. Some of these trees date to 2001.

Re Hepzibah's death: These trees state she died in Collingwood 14 Jan 1854 of Exhaustion and that family tradition stating she died at sea is incorrect. This death date is nearly 6 months after the ships arrival. I would suggest you download the certificate to confirm.

Cheers Kris 

[cando]

Kris the Diggers Pioneer index clearly states place of death as AT SEA.  This would be transcribed from the register. I wonder if the registration date was 14 Jan 1854.  I agree with your suggestion to purchase the cert.

Cheers 
Cando

[matthews1867]

Thank You Kris and Cando for your help I will check death cert for mary Eliz poor thing she was blind when she died and no mention of her family I wonder if the daughter born as Martha is her but thank you anyway i might follow up the search on her brother George and his family and see what that brings Bye for now Lynne

[cando]

This appears to be her birth

Births Sep 1851   
MATTHEWS Mary Elizabeth   Wolverhampton 17/441    

Cheers
Cando

[leonie19]

Hi,
I have just come upon this thread.  I am directly descended from George Elsmer Matthews through his son George Browning Matthews.  Have just returned from Beechworth Victoria AUS where I tried to do some research about him, since he lived there and worked as a railway inspector.  He died there in 1895.  He migrated as given earlier in the thread in July 1853 (http://prov.vic.gov.au/search_results?searchid=23&format=freetext&FamilyName=mathews&GivenName&Ship=north%20atlantic&Month=0&Monthto=0&Year=0&Yearto=0&SearchSortField1&SearchSortField2&SearchRecords=50&x=50&y=16 under "Mathews") with his wife Martha nee Browning and four children - George Browning Matthews, Martha Maria Matthews, Mary Elizabeth Matthews and (not listed) Hephzibah Ellen Matthews.  I have Hephzibah's death certificate and it states that she was born at sea on the passage from England and she had been in Victoria for 5 months.  She was 7 months old when she died on 14 Jan 1854 in Condell Street Collingwood.  Her mother Martha Maria Matthews died almost three weeks later on 4 Feb 1854 also in Condell Street Collingwood from dysentery.  Her children were stated on the cert. as George 6, Martha 4, Mary 2 and 1 daughter dead. Her age when married is given as 17.

George Browning married Sarah Ann Savage, Martha married Philip Tracey and Mary who was a nurse didn't marry.  George Elsmer went on to marry Margaret Hale and they had three daughters, Hephzibah, Hannah Margaret who died in infancy and Margaret Hannah.
I'm happy to provide more information if required.
Cheers
Leonie