Yesterday I was browsing my blog feeds on Feedly when I came across this post - Got Rid of Two Husbands. Imagine my surprise when I realised that the post was about the wife of a man in my extended family. I already knew about the two husbands and had read another newspaper story about the incident. However, this story gave credence to one fact that I was unsure of. The child in the story belonged to the first husband. The Mad Genealogist and I are 4th cousins once removed.
I am currently in England visiting my daughter who is working in London. Naturally I decided I would have to spend some time on genealogical pursuits. The problem was where would I choose for a few day's retreat from London? In the end I decided to go to Northampton to visit the grave of Caroline Chisholm. Caroline is known as the immigrant's friend. She was a well known social reformer of her day. Why is Caroline significant to me and my family? You may recall that Caroline Chisholm was on the original $5 note in Australia. As well as her image there was a picture of a ship. That ship was the Waverley . Caroline agitated at the Home Office to reunite the wives and families of convicts with their husbands and fathers. On 22 June 1847 she wrote that she ‘had just left the Home Office and had obtained a passage per Waverley for forty-nine souls.’ SMH 9 August 1847, extract from letter 30 March 1847. My great great grandmother Matilda Agnew, her older siblings James, Joh
Sharon, I wonder if we share this realtive. I cannot find any convicts, but we do have one murder (husband shot wife-other side of the family tree). Prehaps it was the hard times they lived in - although there is never an excuse for violence against another.
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