52 Ancestors Archives - Exploring Family

52 Ancestors #5 Elizabeth Tremellan Trewheeler

Elizabeth Davey, nee Trewheeler (c1802 -1868), my great great great grandmother, was the fifth of my direct ancestors to migrate to Australia. This makes her the fifth of my ‘boat people’.

Very little is known of Elizabeth’s early life. According to the informant for her death certificate, she was born in Truro, Cornwall and married there at the age of 20; her father was unknown and her mother was Catherine Trewhaler.

Elizabeth Tremellan Trewheeler was married, after Banns, to Ebenezer Davey on 7^th January 1822 in Kenwyn Parish (about ½ mile north of Truro). Both were listed as “of this Parish”. Elizabeth signed her name as Elizabeth T. Trewheeler but the Minister clearly wrote her middle name as ‘Tremellan’.

As I have not found any examples of the surnames ‘Trewhaler’ or ‘Trewheeler’ in the 1841 or 1851 Census for Truro, I suspect that Elizabeth’s surname is a version of the much more common name ‘Trewhella’. Perhaps Tremellan is a clue to an earlier family surname? Continue reading “52 Ancestors #5 Elizabeth Tremellan Trewheeler”

52 Ancestors # 4 Ebenezer Davey

Ebenezer Davey (c1792 -1862), my great great great grandfather, was the fourth of my direct ancestors to migrate to Australia. This makes him the fourth of my ‘boat people’ and, at 61, the second oldest!

Ebenezer and his brother Elijah appear to have been born in Truro, Cornwall in about 1792 and 1794 respectively. I have yet to identify their parents or any other siblings. In 1814, Ebenezer was a witness at Elijah’s marriage to Johana Randall in St Mary’s Truro.

By 1823, Ebenezer is listed as watchmaker at West Bridge in Truro. He also married Elizabeth (Trewhella?) at about that time. They had four children: Ebenezer (c1824), Mary (c1826), Elizabeth (c1828) and Jane (unknown). Continue reading “52 Ancestors # 4 Ebenezer Davey”

52 Ancestors #3 Mary Davey

Mary Davey (c1826 -1904), my great great grandmother, was the third of my direct ancestors to migrate to Australia. This makes her the third of my ‘boat people’.

Mary was one of 235 “assisted” immigrants on the barque “Elizabeth” which sailed from Plymouth on 11^th April 1849 and arrived in Port Phillip on the 23^rd July 1849.

The ‘Nominal List’ of the passengers on the “Elizabeth” listed her as Mary Davey; a nursemaid aged 23, from Truro, Cornwall. Her religious denomination was Independent, and she could both read and write. Continue reading “52 Ancestors #3 Mary Davey”

52 Ancestors #2 John Ferres

John Ferres (1818-1898),my great great grandfather, was the second of my direct ancestors to migrate to Australia. This makes him the second of my ‘boat people’.

John was one of 203 “assisted” immigrants on the barque “Aurora” which sailed from Plymouth on 17^th August 1848 and arrived off Point Henry, Geelong on the 7^th December 1848.

The ‘Nominal List’ of the passengers on the “Aurora” listed him as John Ferries (or Fernes?); a carpenter aged 30, from Bath, Somerset. His religious denomination was given as Baptist. John could both read and write and owned a Bible. Continue reading “52 Ancestors #2 John Ferres”

52 Ancestors #1 Esther Chancellor

Esther Ferres, nee Chancellor (c1784-1865), my great-great-great-grandmother, was the first of my direct ancestors to migrate to Australia – at the tender age of 64.

This makes her both the first of my ‘boat people’ and the oldest!

Esther was one of 278 “assisted” immigrants on the barque “Cornwall” which sailed from Plymouth on 28th April 1848 and arrived in Port Phillip on the 11th August 1848. Continue reading “52 Ancestors #1 Esther Chancellor”