The children of John and Catherine:
John (born 1859 in London)
Born in Tasmania:
Louisa Mary c1862 (no registration)
Robert 1863
Kate 1865
Ida Elizabeth 1867 (married as Elizabeth Ada and known as 'Ada')
Charlotte Harris 1869
(married as Charlotte Alice and known as 'Alice' so perhaps the 'Harris' was an error),
Charles Henry 1877 (died 1887 from typhoid fever)
Catherine died in 1902 and John in 1907 and their obituaries and other articles and letters give lots of clues about their background.
Catherine was born c1831 and had a brother R. STAFFORD (probably Robert) in Tasmania. There was also the H. STAFFORD who witnessed the marriage in London in 1858, so possibly another sibling.
John was born c1832 at Walsingham in Norfolk, the son of John DAWSON a bricklayer and Elizabeth GIRDLESTONE. His maternal grandmother, also named Elizabeth GIRDLESTONE, died in 1880 supposedly just short of her 100th birthday. I suspect that this age is not correct but I have only had a brief look.
John DAWSON lived at Little Walsingham with his family until at least 1851 where he was a bricklayer with his father. You will notice that when he married in 1858 and when his son John was baptised in 1859 John's occupation was 'Servant'. An odd decision for a bricklayer, but sometime between 1851 and 1855 he went into service for two years as a footman to the TOWNSHEND family, presumedly at Raynham Hall, just south of Walsingham. He then went to London where he married Catherine.
He MAY have been in the service of Joseph ARCHER just before emigrating, but because they did not arrive in Tasmania together I am not sure if this is correct or if he was just in ARCHER's service at the Panshanger Estate in Longford after arrival. John did go back to being a bricklayer in Tasmania.
Joseph ARCHER left Tasmania in January 1856 for London and returned in December 1859 on the ship
Percy. John and Catherine DAWSON also arrived in December 1859, but on the barque
Antipodes. The
Antipodes was a cargo vessel and only carried three other passengers besides the DAWSONs. There is a record of how the other three were disposed of on arrival but not the DAWSONs. This might suggest that their voyage was privately paid for.
Here are the links you need to put this together:
Catherine's death:
http://trove.nla.gov.au/ndp/del/article/153974148http://trove.nla.gov.au/ndp/del/article/35528274http://trove.nla.gov.au/ndp/del/article/153898468John's death
http://trove.nla.gov.au/ndp/del/article/45837165http://trove.nla.gov.au/ndp/del/article/151795823http://trove.nla.gov.au/ndp/del/article/151796552Arrival in Tasmania 1859
http://trove.nla.gov.au/ndp/del/article/65989582(Second column under 'Miscellaneous Shipping' - '...Passengers per Antipodes from London— John Dawson wife and child..')
If you have a look at the first column there is also a full list of the cargo that the
Antipodes was carrying - always interesting.
Letters written by John DAWSON giving background info:
http://trove.nla.gov.au/ndp/del/article/151820534http://trove.nla.gov.au/ndp/del/article/153759032The death of his grandmother in 1880:
http://trove.nla.gov.au/ndp/del/article/38254251Joseph ARCHER Jnr. (He had an Uncle by the same name who died in 1853)
http://oa.anu.edu.au/obituary/archer-joseph-1158Panshanger Estate
http://www.panshanger.com.au/index.htmThe TOWNSHENDS and Raynham Hall:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Marquess_Townshendhttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Raynham_HallPlenty to keep you busy there and will try to find more on Robert STAFFORD. I think this is his death in 1912:
STAFFORD - On the 21st January at the General Hospistal, Launceston, Robert Stafford, of Longford, aged 74 years.
http://trove.nla.gov.au/ndp/del/article/50634420Debra
