Immigration - Duckworth

[Lucy2]

... ooops  ... "The Argus" (Melbourne, Vic.) - same day, same page - in an adjacent column -- funeral notice for Rebecca EATON.

... burial at New Cheltenham Cemetery, Vic.

[Not sure if burials for above cemetery are available online ?   Might be an easier way to find husband John ... though I will look again for him on the Death Index. ]

   ~  Lu

 

[tongariro]

Two brief replies:

To Billyblue :  Thank you for your interest, Dawn.  However, I am 95% sure that the Mavis Duckworth that you mention is not linked to the family I am dealing with.  I agree that Duckworth is an 'unusual' name, but it is not uncommon in Lancashire (where I believe it originates from) - a bit like Sidebottom and Longbottom.

To Spades : You said -
"I think we'd all like to know what happened! Sounds like you have a fascinating story to tell."

I am afraid that the story turns out to be quite mundane and not at all fascinating, as you will see when I get around to sending the info to Lucy.  Sorry 

Malcolm

[tongariro]

Hello Lu,
First - many thanks for your time and effort in digging out the surprising amount of information on John Eaton and his family, then typing and sending it to me.  It served the purpose of identifying the Duckworth information and adds extra Eaton info to the family history of my friend.

I discovered a Robt Duckworth (27 & a weaver) who sailed from London onboard the "Omba" on Jan 26 1901, bound for Sydney.  I then noticed that the passenger who was listed just above him on the manifest was a Mr J Heaton (29 & a shoemaker).  That 'rang a bell'!  I looked at the 20-odd page family history story I had done for my friend a couple of years ago and found John Eaton, correct age, a shomaker.  They had spelled his name wrongly on the manifest.

Robert Duckworth and John Eaton were brothers-in-law.  Robert was married to Elizabeth Eaton - John's sister.

I then discovered that a Mrs R Eaton (30) along with a 1 year old William had sailed on Sept 25 1901 onboard the 'Delphic' - destination Wellington.  The 1901 UK census showed John Eaton's wife to be Rebecca (30) and a son William (1).  [It was handy for me that the UK census was late March and showed the families of both Robert Duckworth & John Eaton - the men left in late April]

At that point I asked if you could find John & Rebecca Eaton in NZ - that would help to confirm that Mr J (H)eaton & Mrs R Eaton were in fact John & Rebecca.  You did so

That discovery sadly destroys the whole intruiging story that this thread started on .  Elizabeth did not run off to NZ with the children and leave Robert at home.  In fact Robert was in NZ before her.  The men presumably went ahead to have a look, find, work and homes before sending for their wives.

Why did Elizabeth Duckworth not travel with her sister-in-law Rebecca in 1901?  The answer lies in the parting gift that Robert gave her!  By Sept 1901 she was 5 months pregnant.  The child was born in early 1902 and Elizabeth then went to NZ later in 1902 onboard 'Britannia' - as previously discussed.  The child (Eveline) would have been safer & more manageabe at 9 months than as a new born.

I now believe that the 1907 'Seydlitz' voyage from Sydney to Southampton (previously mentioned) was the Duckworth family on their way back to the UK (Mr R Duckworth, Mrs, Master & Miss).  I agree with the 'Engineer' bit, Lu, he woudn't have been working as a weaver in NZ so he may have been employed as some kind of 'engineer' (but not in the strictest sense of word).

I hope you are not too disappointed, Spades!  My friend's mum knew her grandma Elizabeth and would have been about 15 or 16 when her gran died.  She remembers that the NZ episode was a subject to be avoided and there always seemed to be something of a mystery about it.  I will add a couple of thoughts in another post tomorrow.

Malcolm

[tongariro]

Hello again Lu.

Apart from my thanks, I have been asked to convey the gratitude of my friend and her 75 year old mum for the assistance you gave.  The story you provided of the Eaton family, and the the return to the UK of the Duckworth family in 1907 that you found, were the glue that stuck the story together.

I have discovered that the father of Elizabeth Duckworth died in the summer of 1907 and that may have been the catalyst for their return to the UK later in that year.

Like me, you noticed that in 1902, the ticket number of Elizabeth Duckworth was in sequence to a Thomas Craven (and different to the other passengers).  That seemed significant and led to a lot of speculation at that stage - because we still thought that Elizabeth had 'run away' from her husband.

There was a Thomas Craven in Blackburn at the time (sadly not on the 1901 census).  On the 1891 census he lived half way between the Duckworth & Eaton families and may have been a friend of Robert Duckworth and Elizabeth's brother, John Eaton.  It may be that he was impressed by Robert & John and decided to try NZ too.  Travelling with Elizabeth in 1902 would provide advantages to both on the journey.  Any other interpretation would be pure speculation.  It is not known if Thomas Craven stayed in NZ.

There are other questions (inappropriate here) that have no answer, and remain open to similar 'speculation'.

Just as a "by the way", you said you could not find the Eaton family in NZ after 1919.  However, there are shipping records of Rebecca returning to the UK in June of 1922 along with her 19 year old NZ born daughter, Edith.  Rebecca then returned to Wellington later in the year without her daughter - Edith must have decided to stay in the UK! The Eatons must have gone to Australia after 1922 (why would they do that?!)

I have not forgotten that you asked about my user name - Tongariro.  No, I am not an ex-pat.  I was a Radio Officer in the Merchant Navy in the 1960's & 70's.  One of my ships was the Tongariro and I spent a short time on her sister ship, Taupo.  I also worked on a ship which ran between NZ & Japan.  Auckland being the 'home' port of the service.  I spent many happy days in NZ ports and many more in ports on that small offshore island (Australia I think it is called 

Thanks again and best regards
Malcolm

[Lucy2]

Hi Malcolm

Thank you for the updates and additional information.     
Despite a lack of "scandal", this is still a most interesting tale of two brave couples who ventured "downunder".   

In respect of the EATON's - last appearing in NZ electoral rolls in 1919 - I should have mentioned that the (NZ) rolls for 1922 and 1925 are not available for online viewing and so I had been unable to check these.    I can tell you though that John, Rebecca and daughter Edith were resident in Victoria, Australia, by 1924.

1924 - VIC - Balaclava - St. Kilda West

EATON - John - repairer
EATON - Rebecca - home duties
EATON - Edith - home duties   ... all living at 9 Barkly Street.
-----------------------

I was in the vicinity of our National Library the other day and with time to "kill" (and a heatwave to escape  ) it made sense to pop in and check further for records there.   Details in following post.

   ~  Lu 
 

[Lucy2]

DUCKWORTH in New Zealand

Elizabeth and Robert also settled in Christchurch.   
From NZ Electoral Rolls (@ ancestry) :

1905-06 - Canterbury - Christchurch North electorate

DUCKWORTH

- Robert - occupation: Driver
- Elizabeth - married     .... both residing at - 5 Radnor Street, St. Albans
-------------------------------

Earlier Christchurch (NZ) e/rolls - published in 1902 and 1903 (not online)

[Note:  There were only ever a few men named Robert DUCKWORTH in New Zealand, all of whom appeared to have second christian names and are therefore able to be eliminated.    I believe the following entry is for the Robert you are seeking. ]

1903 - Canterbury - Riccarton roll

DUCKWORTH - Robert - York Street, Belfast* - Labourer
No entry found for Elizabeth DUCKWORTH in this year.

[*Belfast is/was, a community on the Northern outskirts of Christchurch city. ]

And just in case it's of use, electoral info for the EATONs  >

1902 and 1903 - Canterbury - City of Christchurch

EATON - John - bootmaker
EATON - Rebecca - married   ... both residing at Winton Street

-------------

School records  ...  see next  >


 

[Lucy2]

Just this solitary school record for DUCKWORTH.   

Addington School - Christchurch, NZ

Robert E. DUCKWORTH - Reg# 267
Birthdate:   25 January, 1899
Admission Date :   18 April 1904

Parent/Guardian :  R. DUCKWORTH, Selwyn Street

Last Day:   21 September 1904
Destination:    Left District

------------------------------

... and these for EATON  >

Christchurch East School

William EATON
Birthdate:   30 October 1899
Admission Date:   14 November 1904

Parent/ Guardian :  John EATON - 291 Barbadoes Street

Last Day :  21 December 1904       Destination:   Sumner
---------------------------------------------------

Redcliffs School (near Sumner)

Edith EATON (d.o.b. 20 September 1902)
William EATON (d.o.b. 6 October 1899)

Both admitted to this school on 16 September 1907

Parent/Guardian:   William*  EATON - Sumner Road

Last Day (for both children) :   5 November 1912
Destination:    Opawa

[Notes:   Often these school records have errors - e.g. dates of birth - William shown as 30 October and 6 October 1899 :    Parent/Guardian name : (Redcliffs School records)  - shown as "William" EATON (instead of "John"). 
Opawa (the place), is about 2.5 kms South of Christchurch city. ]

[Lucy2]

Hi again Malcolm

... this also from shipping records.

(@ ancestry) "Unassisted Passengers to New South Wales"

1907 - a index listing for a Mr and Mrs P.* DUCKWORTH

 --- from Wellington, NZ, per the "Wimmera" - arrived Sydney, 3 September 1907.

Viewing the actual image for above listing, reveals that Mrs and Mrs DUCKWORTH were accompanied by two children.   

[* The image also clearly shows (Mr and Mrs) "P" Duckworth ... but was "P" possibly mistaken for "R" ?? ]

So, arrival on 3 September 1907 was just in time for the proposed departure of the "Seydlitz" from Sydney - date given in AUS newspapers as 7 September 1907.
----------------------------------

Endeavoured to find in newspapers, a departure list for the "Wimmera" from Wellington (dep. 30 August 1907) - alas, the only list available gave names of cabin/saloon passengers and not those (numbering 70-odd), who travelled steerage. 

[The website "Mariners in Australian Waters" has also at some time captured the passenger list for the "Wimmera", September 1907 voyage - unfortunately though, the link to same, is not working.
I do suspect though that it may be the same listing as that given on the ancestry site ? ]

   ~  Lu


   

[tongariro]

Hi Lu!
Just a quick thank you - very much - for all this info (and work)
I will reply more fully later (tomorrow) from my other computer.  I need a 'proper' keyboard - I hate laptop keyboards!
Malcolm