Chasing Thomas Dunstan across the ocean

[KathNZ]

Cancel the info in post #29 re Bennett and Jane Dunstan. They appear on the 1841 census as well as Benjamin & Jane. This is confusing isn't it !

[Tinker]

Hello Kath
Thanks very much for the extra info you have provided on the children of Thomas and Grace. The Grace who married Samuel Whitford is Grace Caddy's daughter, and she later married a Thomas Whitford Goldworthy, according to info acquired from a Rootsweb posting, which unfortunately had an email address that's no longer valid, so couldn't be followed up on.

Wearne and Grace Dunstan also came from Wendron in Cornwall, like Thomas Dunstan, but as far as I know aren't related to him. Many of the Cornish miners emigrated in a job lot and settled together - safety in numbers I suppose!

2468, apologies for not explaining what a PM was, and thank you, Mutley for clarifying the matter. I will PM you in a sec then gather together the info I have and send it off to you. It would be nice to set the record straight on Thomas and Grace and their descendants and fill in the gaps in the family!

[KathNZ]

I was wondering about Benjamin & Janes marriage date & Jane's maiden name because Jane may have been a widow when she married & Thomas could be a child of a previous marriage.

[Tinker]

Hi Kath
Benjamin and Jane married on 12 Feb 1820, Wendron. She was Jane Johns, born 1796 (baptised in Wendron), so it's unlikely she was married before, though not impossible. There seems to be a tradition of 'trying out' the bride for baby-making potential before the couple ties the knot, in this neck of the woods. I've come across quite a few 'early' babies!

[2468]

Hi everyone,
I have read back over the last few postings and was very interested to see a John Dunstan (1868). I looked this up to find he was born in Clunes, Victoria. His parents are listed as Thomas Dunstan 49 and ...Grace Dunstan 44, formerly Caddy, maiden name Combollock (presumably Combellack) the witness was Ann Dunstan sister, married 1853 Liskeard.
This a mistake plainly. I could not find a marriage or death for John but he had died before 1886.

[KathNZ]

There is a Thos Dunstan who died 1885, Ballarat Hosp, Victoria. The age is 59 which is a bit out but it could be a possibility.

Also Grace Dunstan d Walhalla, Victoria, 1886. Daughter of Thos Caddy & Mary Combelick

[KathNZ]

Just read your post # 35 again. John Dunstone son of Thomas & Grace Caddy died 1869 Clunes, Victoria

[KathNZ]

Just found Thos Dunstan d 1889 Walhalla, Victoria, aged 73, son of Ben & Jane

[Tinker]

There's definitely some confusion in some of the details, but it's possible to sift through and pick out the bits that match with what we already know. I'm wondering if the Thomas Dunstan who died in 1885, aged 59, wasn't the Thomas Dunstan who married an Ann Pawley in St. Gluvias, Cornwall? He arrived on the same ship as Ben and Jane Dunstan, in 1847.

It's interesting that 'Ann Dunstan sister' was mentioned on John's birth certificate, though I'm not sure why she would be a witness for a birth (do/did Oz records require one?), as I've so far not been able to find out what happened to Thomas's sister Ann, born 1821. If this is her, presumably she must have joined him and his family in Australia at some point. The ages given for Thomas and Grace at the time of John's birth match the years of birth I have for them, which is encouraging, seeing as I've been unable to find a baptism for Thomas.

[KathNZ]

I think "Ann Dunstan sister" may be the informant on the birth certificate. I don't suppose it could have been Ann Dunstan b 1856 the sister of the baby being registered. She would only have been about 12 but she may have been more able to read & write than her parents.