Never a truer word spoken when you say it is a challenge!
The story below is one written by a very good friend of ours
and is the result of many years of joint research. It
is posted on the Australian Redcoat Regiments webpage.
The problem with James is that we do not know the
name of his parents and there are several James Waller
deaths recorded on the Australian Vital Records but
we have no way of knowing if they are our James.
We suspect his father may have been Leonard Waller
but can not be sure.
In 1851, when he is referred to as being the late
Mr Waller, all his family were living at Church Hill in
Sydney and leading a very respectable life so It is quite
possible they had given up on him by that time, either that
or they knew something we don't! Last year I even looked
hopefully at a James Waller on the Staffs 1851 census thinking
he may have gone back to England.
He really did have a serious falling out with Lonsdale
so our guess is that he had burnt his bridges in both
Sydney & Melbourne and headed to Van Diemens Land.
There are a couple of likely looking James Wallers on
the Tasmanian Archives 1842 census but if one of these
are our James and he ended his days in Tasmanian then
you would imagine a death record somewhere?
Somehow Rachel I feel we will never know the answer.
Helen
PS It's nice to be back
Born : Circa 1787
Where Born : Manchester, England
Occupation : Soldier ,
Date Arrived : 8 July 1826
Ship Arrived on : " John Barry"
Rank attained : Weaver / Private
Date of Enlistment : Before 20 February 1826
Where Enlisted : England
Date of Discharge : 24 July 1829
Where Discharged : Sydney
Died :
Where Died / Buried :
Parents Names :
Spouse's Name : Mary Dickenson
Born : Circa . 1790
Where Born : Manchester, England
Occupation : Matron, Female School of Industry, Sydney
Date Arrived : 8 July 1826
Ship Arrived on : "John Barry "
Date Married : 16 July 1807
Where Married: Manchester, England
Died : 18 February 1868
Where Died / Buried : St Peters Botany Cemetery
Spouse's Parents : Abraham Dickenson
Children :
1 . James Waller (Junior) b.1819 ....d.1871 m. Sarah Muddle 1853
2 . Martha Waller b. 1829 ....d. 1909 m. William Beaumont 1851
3 . Agnes Waller b.1832 .... d. 1900 m. Charles Muddle 1854
History & Achievements :
James Waller enlisted in the 23rd Regiment of Foot, The Royal Welsh Fusiliers in 1805 at the age of 18. He served with this famous regiment throughout the Peninsular and Napoleonic Wars, seeing service in Spain, Portugal, France and Belgium and was a participant in the great Battle of Waterloo. He was discharged on 24 November 1818 and recommended to the Chelsea Hospital as deserving a pension. Life outside the army was not for James and he enlisted in the 5th Royal Veterans Battalion the following year, serving for 2 years. He followed his trade as a weaver before enlisting in the newly formed NSW Royal Veterans Company and arrived with it
in 1826 on the "John Barry". He took an early discharge, possibly disqualifying himself from the promise of a land grant, to work as a messenger in the office of the Colonial Secretary. In 1837 he entered the service of Captain Lonsdale and travelled to the new settlement of Port\ Phillip where he was briefly appointed gaoler. He disappears from historical record in a dispatch by Captain Lonsdale on 29th December, 1837 stating that "he has gone to Van Diemens Land." All attempts to trace him have failed.
Shortly after arriving in NSW Mary Waller, his wife, was engaged as Matron of the Female School of Industry, a position she held for over 10 years. This was the first charity in Australia wholly created and managed by women, with a committee of socially prominent ladies, headed by Mrs Darling, wife of the Governor. The institution was dedicated to the moral, religious and basic academic education of girls whilst training them to become household servants. James and Mary's three children all achieved a very high level of social and economic success.
