FOOTNOTES CHAPTER FOUR

[1] Details from the shipping records of the "Flora McDonald", PRO. Melbourne. Hannah was born at South Willingham Lincs. on Sept 17th 1837 and Sarah Jane at South Willingham in 1839; (details from Kerry Hutchins). The baptisms of three of the other children are recorded in the Tathwell registers:- Henry (Dec 27th 1846); Eliza (Oct 1st 1848) and Mary-Ann (Oct 20th 1850); but no record of the birth of the other two girls has been located.

The death certificate of William lists the names and ages of his children as Hannah (45); Ellen (43); Fanny (41); Sarah (39); Henry (37); Betsy (35); Mary-Ann (32); Maria (29) and Eliza (27). Of these the ages of Hannah, Frances (Fanny), Henry and Mary-Ann are consistent with the documents already quoted. The age given for Betsy is clearly incorrect, but if it is assumed that Eliza and Betsy have been confused then the ages are consistent, ie. Eliza should be 35 and Betsy 27. The same thing seems to have occurred with Ellen (Eleanor) and Sarah; Ellen should be 39 and Sarah 43.

[2] Details were obtained from the birth certificate of Betsy Featherby and from the shipping records of the "Flora McDonald".

Of the children, Hannah is possibly the Annie vaguely remembered by Theresa McFarlane (grand-daughter of Betsy and aunt of the author). She appears to have given birth to a daughter (Fanny Jane Maria) at Mt Rouse (Penshurst) in 1868 or 1869. Fanny is probably the baby referred to in the statement made by Henry Hutchins at the inquest into the death of Jane Featherby. Hannah then married a Robert Baker in 1871 by whom she had at least three children:- George (born at Montajup in 1873), Ann (1875) and Naoma (1879) both born at Horsham. Hannah died at Melbourne in 1911.

Sarah Jane married Thomas Redford (or Radford) in 1858 and gave birth to a son Thomas, at Portland in the following year. Other children followed, William (1861); Sarah Jane (1864); Richard Henry (1869); twins Ellen and Eve (1871) and Hedley (1876). All were born in the Branxholme - Coleraine area of western Victoria. Thomas died in 1879 and after that the family seems to have moved to the Natimuk-Gymbowen district where most of the children appear to have married and lived the rest of their lives. Sarah Jane died at Nurcoung (west of Mt Arapiles) on Aug 8th 1926. Information supplied by a descendant Tracey Wegener of Stawell.

Frances married John Charles Hafekorn in 1860. John operated a brewery in Hamilton at the time of his mother-in-law's death in 1869 and someone of that name later operated a hotel in Coleraine. He died in Hamilton in 1884 (see footnote 7). The couple appear not to have had any children. Two years later Frances married a Samuel George Fogg and lived on to the age of 84 years before dying in Ballarat in 1922.

Eleanor married Matthew Mudra (a native of Prussia) in 1871 and had five children:- Anna (1872), Mary Jane (1873), Herman (1875), Charles (1877), Elizabeth (1880) and Christina (1882). Eleanor died at Nhill in 1884 at 38 years of age.

Henry Featherby married a widow Margaret Ling (formerly Roberts) in 1879. The couple had four children, James (1880) and Jane (1881) were born at Horsham and Arthur (1883) and Alfred (1886) were born at Nurrabiel. While serving with the 46th Battalian AIF, Arthur was killed in action at Bullecourt, France on April 11th 1917. He has no known grave but is commemorated on the Australian memorial at Villers Bretonneux. Margaret had another son John (b 1875) by her first husband who had died at the age of 25 in 1876 after being married for only two years. John Ling later changed his name to Featherby. Henry died at Rosebery East near Birchip at the age of 51 in 1897. My uncle Frank Bond once met a descendant of his living in Altona (probably a grand-daughter). He gave her a copy of a photograph of Henry Featherby that for many years had hung on the wall of the Bond home "Tyneside" in Belmont. (Henry was an uncle of Frank's father William) As the recipient of the photograph later deserted her husband to elope with a neighbour it is unlikely that the photograph will ever be located again - a pity!

Eliza married John Molloy at Hamilton on May 20th 1867, and died at Hamilton on April 14th 1934. Kerry Hutchins is a descendant, as are Gary Murphy a well known jockey in Melbourne in the early 1980's and Gabe Rowbottom a fellow Christian Brother of the author.

Mary-Ann married Alex Sinclair in 1870; he was a farmer in the Horsham district and later became a shire secretary. The couple had at least ten children:- Jane (1871), Bessie (1873), William (1875), Maria (1878-1898), Annie (1880), Robert (1881), Norman (1883), Nellie (1885) and Frances (1888). Another son Francis, who was born in 1893, was the wartime secretary of the Australian Department of the Army. He retired from the Public Service through ill-health in 1955 and died shortly after at Avoca Beach in NSW. Alex died at Noradjuha in 1899 at the age of 53 and Mary-Ann died at Elsternwick in 1943.

Maria never married and lived in Hamilton for most of her life. She was admitted to the Mont Park mental hospital in Oct 1930 suffering from dementia and it was there that she died almost twelve months later on the 13th Oct 1931. During this time she was visited on at least one occasion by her niece, Miss Sinclair, who was then residing at 7 Braemar St, Essendon. Source: PRO Melbourne

[3] The traditions referred to are the recollections of Olive Rossack as related to Theresa McFarlane, of Theresa herself or of her sister Eileen.
The Methodist church in Portland also records details of another Featherby family. These appear to be the children of a nephew of William, also called William, a son of William's older brother Hewitt Featherby. This William also left from Liverpool, sailing on the "Aliquis" and arrived at Yankalilla bay (near Victor Habour in South Australia) on 12th Aug 1855. He moved to Portland Bay in Feb 1857 and after living there for eighteen years, moved with his wife and family to the Horsham district in April 1876, and selected land at Nurrabiel. He later retired to Horsham, but was buried in Nurrabiel after his death in 1927.
Interestingly another son of Hewitt Featherby also emigrated to Australia. David Featherby (1836-1929), a former soldier, arrived in Brisbane in 1866. He lead an eventful life, to judge from his obituary which appeared in the 'Brisbane Courier' of 23rd May 1929. He worked as an engineer in different parts of Queensland before settling in Ipswich where he died in 1929. As a soldier he saw service in India during the suppression of the India Mutiny. and his obituary records that he was the last survivor of the relief of Lucknow in 1857.

[4] The precise family connection was a puzzle for quite some time as whilst both of my aunts Theresa (McFarlane) and Eileen (Ford) agreed that the lost children were 'cousins' of their father, they could not agree on which of the children was related. Theresa believed the relationship was through Jane Duff and Eileen believed it was through Isaac Cooper. As it turned out both were correct, but each had only part of the story. Although known as Jane Duff, Jane was actually born Jane Cooper at Horsham in 1857 the daughter of Joseph Cooper and Hannah Thickitt. As Jane Cooper she was married to George Tumbull in 1876. Isaac Cooper, a son of Joseph and Hannah, is recorded as having been born at Horsham in 1856. All entries obtained from the Victorian Index of Births, Deaths and Marriages. Joseph Cooper died in 1858 and Hannah remarried, to John Duff. The third child who was lost, Frank, was their son. The grave of Jane and the monument to her were both located by the author.

[5] Copies of the death certificates of Abraham and Frances Copland were obtained through Kerry Hutchins. The headstones on the graves of Abraham and Frances were very well preserved and clearly legible at the time of my visits in Dec 1988 and Dec 1996.

The news item from the 'Lincolnshire Chronicle' reads SUDDEN DEATH On Monday last, Abraham Copeland, of Tathwell, Labourer to Fred. Chaplin, Esq., after eating a hearty dinner, and while engaged in tying up straw in Mr Chaplins stack-yard, expired without manifesting the slightest promonitory symptoms of dissolution.

[6] Information obtained from the death certificates of David and Elizabeth Featherby obtained through Kerry Hutchins.

[7] Death certificate of Jane Featherby. The grave is in the Wesleyan section of the cemetery and is marked by an impressive marble headstone over 2 metres tall which from the inscription must have been erected well after Jane's death, probably by her daughter Frances, the wife of Charles Hafekorn. The inscription reads:"In affectionate remembrance of Charles Hafekorn died at Hamilton Oct 10th 1884 aged 57 years. Also Jane the beloved wife of William Featherby died at Croxton March 12th 1869 aged 49 years. Andrew J. Soawyer passed away 22nd March 1955 aged 82 years. RIP. Eliza Soawyer died 12.6.1972 aged 90. Precious in the eyes of the Lord is the death of his saints."

The age shown for Jane is incorrect which is not surprising if the inscription was composed over fifteen years after her death. Eliza Soawyer was a daughter of Eliza Featherby (Mrs Molloy) and Andrew was her husband.

It would seem that at least some contact was maintained with family members in England after William and Jane emigrated to Australia as the following notice appeared in the "Louth Record and Local Advertiser" on 1st Jan 1869. "At Croxton East, Victoria, Australia, on 12th May, Jane, the beloved wife of Mr William FEATHERBY, late of Tathwell, aged 52 years."

[8] A headstone in the Nurrabiel cemetery records the burials of William Featherby who died 6th Nov 1927 aged 97, Mary Featherby (his wife) who died on May 31st 1930 at the age of 93, and Lizzie and Annie, daughters of the above. This William was the son of Hewitt Featherby mentioned in [3] above.

David Featherby and Elizabeth Hewitt had eleven children :- William (bap 180l, Waddingham, who presumably died young); Hewit (bap 1803, Glentham, d 1809); Elizabeth (bap 1805, Waddingham); Jane (bap 1808, Glentham); Hewitt (bap 18l0, Glentham); William; John (bap 1814, Clixby); Sarah (bap 1817, Healing); Ann (bap 1819, Healing); Mary (bap 1821, Binbrook) and Joseph (bap 1825, Stainton le Vale). All of the places mentioned are within twenty miles of each other in the north of Lincolnshire.

[9] Charles Henry Bond was possibly still living with his parents at Kalkee at this time. Charles and Betsy's first three children were all born at Kalkee, although it is also possible that Betsy went from Nurrabiel to stay with her mother-in-law as the time for each birth approached.

[10] Death certificate of William Featherby. The inscription on his headstone reads:- "In memory of William Featherby the beloved husband of Jane Featherby who died at Nurrabiel near Horsham on 2nd. April 1882 aged 71 years. He's placed within our memory dear, He'll always share our love. We hope once more to meet again, in that bright land above."