Manderson family

[Jude]

My great grandparents went to Australia at the end od the 19th century and returned after a few years. My great uncle, Walter Manderson, stayed on and in Aug 1914 joined the Australian Imperial Force. He spent some time in Egypt before being sent back to Australia, having been ill with dysentery. He deserted and was discharged some time later. In his 'confession of desertion' he mentioned having domestic troubles. Is there an Austrlian equivalent to freeBMD which I can search to see if he married? He ended up having 4 operations, unspecified, so I think he may have had some excuse for his desertion. I found all this information on the Australian National Archives.
Jude.

[Procat]

No equivalent of Free BMD I am afraid.

Each state is responsible for its own BMD certificates.

I do have a number of CD's containing the indexes. Do you have more details such as which state he was in? Possibly from his war records?

Hints as to spouse, parents names etc.

[Jude]

Walter Cousins Manderson was born in about 1886 in Liverpool. He enlisted in Aug 1914 in Melbourne, so I think Victoria is the state to look at. His parents were John Manderson and Jane (nee Hannah) both from Ulster.

[Procat]

Hi Jude,
Great - Victoria is the state that I am best resourced for.

Mandersons are:

Manderson Albt Jno Birth Father Jno Mother Jane Hannah Born Richmond (a suburb of Melbourne) 1898 certificate number 21744

Manderson Emily Gray Hopkins Birth Father Jno Mother Jane Hannah Born Richmond 1896 certificate number 14622

Manderson Eva Agnes Birth Father Jno Mother Jane Hannah Born Clifton Hill (next door to Richmond) 1890 certificate number 21467

Manderson Mabel Martha Birth Father Jno Mother Jane Hannah Birth Collingwood (a couple of suburbs from Clifton Hill moving away from Richmond)
Born 1892 certificate number 12404

Manderson Susan Stuart H Birth Father Jno Mother Jane Hannah Birth South Yarra 1894 15692

continued

[Procat]

Manderson Walter Cousins Father Unknown Mother Unknown Death Richmond Age 86 Year 1965 certificate number 7075

Unfortunately that is all I can find on him in Victoria.

The good news though is that armed with the above information if you go to:

www.dvc.vic.gov.au/bdm.htm

you can pay $17.50AU and download a copy of his death certificate.

Depending on what the informant knew you will get:

Parents names and occupations (but not this time as they are not on the index)
Years in Australia
Age at and place of marriages(s)
Names of spouse
Names and ages of children

[Jude]

Thank you so much for your help. I now have a copy of his death certificate and the birth details of several great aunts and uncles. Are Australian census details available online?

Many, many thanks,

Jude.

[Procat]

Thank you so much for your help. I now have a copy of his death certificate and the birth details of several great aunts and uncles. Are Australian census details available online?

Many, many thanks,

Jude.

In our dreams Jude.

The Australian Gov't conscientiously and thoroughly destroyed all Oz census after collating the data.

Except for:

1828 census of NSW
General return of convicts in NSW in 1837
General muster of NSW 1822.

The last census that we had in 2003 people had the option of ticking a box to have their specific information held for posterity - and that was after a huge fight by the Genie Societies.

[Jude]

Ah well! I now have far more information and I am very, very grateful for your help. My beloved grandmother spent a very happy childhood running pretty wild in Australia. I wish I had asked more about her memories while she was still with us.
Many thanks again,
Jude.

[Procat]

Hi again Jude,

I have just checked the 1904 Post Office Directory for the Mandersons but to no avail.

Keep in mind that it was the same system as the Pigot's Directory so not everyone is in them.

There is a project underway to record the 1901 electoral rolls but unfortunately they have only produced them for New South Wales, Tasmania and South Australia to date.

[Jude]

By 1904 they were back in England and living in Bristol, apart from Walter.
Jude.

[Procat]

Drat, I meant to ask where was Walter buried and on which date?

[Procat]

Ignore last post Jude.

Take a look at:

http://www.fcmp.com.au/

and on the left select Deceased Search and put in Manderson

[Jude]

This is amazing to have such detail. Thank you for going to so much trouble.
Jude.

[Lexia]

Have you thought about electoral rolls instead?

[Jude]

Thank you, but I think my great grandparents would have been unlikely to vote. They did not intend to remain in Australia and would not have become citizens. Also, as strict members of the Plymouth Brethren they took a view that "their citizenship was in Heaven" and so avoided any such "worldly" involvement.
My great uncle Walter Cousins Manderson remained in Melbourne until his death in 1965, so he may well have had a different view. How does one search Australian Electoral Rolls? He lived in Richmond, Melbourne.

Many thanks,

Jude.

[Procat]

Hi Jude,

Unfortunately there is no way to search them online.

The only way is to go the the State Library of Victoria (other State Libraries will probably also hold them) which holds most of them on film or contact one of the Genealogical Societies.

The Genealogical Society of Victoria has a fairly extensive holding of them at:

http://www.gsv.org.au/

and will undertake research - for a fee.

The roll will show the name, address and possibly occupation and Date of Birth - but don't hold me to the last two.

Regards,

[Lexia]

Voting is compulsory in Australian elections - even, until comparitively recently, for resident non-citizens holding (British) Commonwealth citizenship. I've never heard religious objections washed as an excuse with the Electoral Commission! Perhaps they used some other excuse though...
I would be inclined to check the electoral rolls (there were two, by the way, one federal, one state). Electoral rolls are also available on fiche at the National Library in Canberra. Sorry I can't do a look up - our family history society doesn't have those for Victroria (they are hugely expensive to buy!). Good luck!