Jane Flett - how did she get here?

[Jason46]

My Great Grandmother, Jane or Jean Flett, told her daughter that she arrived in Australia on the White Swan, but her name is not recorded in the unassisted passengers and there is no list of assisted passengers and it seems that there may have been no assisted passengers on this trip from Scotland. She would have had to arrive between her marriage in Scotland in 1855 and the birth of a child in Australia in 1862. There was a Mrs Flett on the Black Swan but she was English and had a 1-month old infant. How did great granny get to Australia?

[judb]

It looks as though the time frame for Jane's arrival is between 1855 when she had the baby in Scotland and 1861/2 when a birth was registered in Victoria.

As you have said, it's possible that she had arrived at another port and travelled interstate on the White Swan, which we have established was a coastal steamer mainly travelling between Adelaide and Melbourne.

What was John FLETT's occupation after he arrived in Australia?  By co-incidence, when searching TROVE for possible passenger mentions on the White Swan I came across a John FLETT who was master of a small ship (10 tons) travelling regularly from Port Adelaide to Kangaroo Island).

There are two passengers named SMITH on the Black Swan, same voyage as 'Mrs Flett' - Henry aged 43 (who does not appear to be Jane's brother) and Elizabeth E aged 6

Do you have the birth or death certificate for the baby John FLETT, buried at Williamstown, 7 Jan 1862? 

I'll be at the National Library but not for a couple of weeks so will have a look at the fiche for the Black Swan's voyage.

Judith

[sparrett]

Death

FLETT Jane
Father Smith
Mother  Jane
Age  56
Death Place WTOWN
Year 1886
Reg   4021

Death Notice
http://www.rootschat.com/links/0wic/

To learn more her arrival you would need to purchase the certificate. An uncertified image can be downloaded to your computer immediately upon payment of about  Aus. $20.00.  You will need the registration number which is given above on the index entry.

https://online.justice.vic.gov.au/bdm/index-search?action=purchaseImage

This link shows what you may see on all Victorian certificates.  How complete and accurate the information is, depends on the knowledge of the informant.

http://www.jaunay.com/bdm.html

Hopefully it will tell you how long she had been in Australia so narrow down your time frame a little

Sue
 
 

[~MERLIN~]

Previous thread:

http://www.rootschat.com/forum/index.php?topic=630726.msg5098285#msg5098285

[Jason46]

There are 3 John Flett Children. The first was still born in the Orkneys, the 2nd according to the headstone in the Williamstown Cemetery died 6 January 1861 aged 3 weeks and the  third died 23 April 1888 aged 25 years. Someone here mentioned a son who died in 1862? Their is a date wrong here for the second John.

[Jason46]

I have Jane Flett's death certificate. Who ever completed it did not know her father's name, and it states that on 8 January 1886, she had been in the colony for 25 years which may be a rounded figure. If accurate, she arrived in 1861??

[Jason46]

I do not have a death certificate for the 2nd John. There is no certificate for the first John who died in the Orkneys, only a note that he was 'steal born'. The headstone for the 2nd John states that he died 6 Jan 1861 aged 3 weeks. Jane had 7 brothers and they were Magnus (born 1845) William (43) James (41) Thomas (37) John (32, who was a gold miner and a ship's carpenter) Simon (26, the only brother mentioned in family notes) and Robert (1824). John Flett the father worked for Duke and Orr, the dry-dockers and he eventually became a partner in the firm and according to family legend, this firm lengthened the Black Swan in their dry dock.

[sparrett]

Who ever completed it did not know her father's name


Who was the informant, please?

Sue

[judb]

The Williamstown cemetery search gives the date of the service for John FLETT as 7 Jan 1862, not 1861 which would allow for Jane to have been on the Black Swan in Jan 1861.  Unfortunately there are no further records as to birth dates for this person on the indexed Williamstown deceased search so perhaps this is not the right burial.

You probably already know that there are these burials in the Presbyterian section, Williamstown cemetery.  I can't get the map to load to see if they are near each other:
James FLETT, burial 25 Oct 1896   
Jane FLETT, 10 Jan 1886
John FLETT, 24 Apr 1888
John FLETT, 07 Jan 1862
John FLETT, 08 Mar 1912

There are also two 20th century burials in the C of E section
James Ford FLETT, 14 May 1969   
James Ford FLETT, 13 Apr 1934   

http://www.gmct.com.au/deceased-search.aspx

Judith