Ancestor #15 – John Edenborah

The religious faith of Edenboroughs in the United Kingdom were, in the main, of the Established Church (Church of England) so it was of great interest to find a record of one Edenborough appearing to be of the Quaker faith.

The above photo, “Clawson. John Edenborah buryed ye 11th: 10th mo: 1716”, is taken from RG6/1397 – General Register Office: Society of Friends’ Registers, Notes and Certificates of Births, Marriages and Burials; Warwickshire, Leicestershire and Rutland – Monthly Meeting of Leicester, Old Dalby.

Among the large number of religious denominations that emerged during the early-to-mid-17th century in England was the Seekers. And while Leicestershire-born George Fox has been considered the founder and leader of the Religious Society of Friends (Quakers), the Seekers are best thought of as the forerunner of the Quakers, with whom many of them subsequently merged.

George Fox’s journal attributes the name “Quaker” to a judge in 1650 calling them Quakers “because I bid them tremble before the Lord”. Quakerism gained a considerable following in England and Wales during and after the English Civil War (1642-1651) increasing to a peak of 60,000 by 1680.

By 1657, a Friends’ meeting had been settled at Long Clawson and in 1673 a cottage and close for a meeting house and burial ground had been secured.

Fox’s movement ran afoul of Oliver Cromwell's Puritan government, as well as that of Charles II, when the monarchy was restored because Fox’s followers refused to pay tithes to the state church, would not take oaths in court, declined to doff their hats to those in power, and refused to serve in combat during war.

The 1753 published book, A Collection of the Sufferings of the people called Quakers, by Joseph Besse, reports on the hundreds of atrocious accounts forced upon the non-conformist society. Just one such example at Long Clawson being:

 

So just who was this John Edenborah buried at Long Clawson?

Quakers used plain language and dating practices to avoid using the names of months derived from heathen gods and goddesses so that “ye 11th: 10th mo: 1716”, translates to the 11th of December 1716.

I’m pretty sure that this John Edenborah is the same person as John Edenburrow of Hose, Leicestershire, who left a will dated 15 December 1716.

In the name of God Amen I John Edenburrow of Hose in the County of Leicester Webster being of infirm health of body but of a good and perfect memory (praised be God) do make this my last will and testimony hereby revoking all former wills by me heretofore made in manner and form following (that is to say) I give unto my loving sister Ann Burton twenty shillings which my executors hereafter mentioned shall pay within six months after my decease and as for all the rest and remainder of my goods and chattels of what kind soever it be which I shall be possessed of at the time of my death after my debts legacies and other expenses are discharged I do give unto my loving wife and son Charles and do make them sole executors of this my last will and testament in witness whereof I have hereunto put my hand and seal this sixth day of December in the second year of the reign of our sovereign Lord George by the grace of God of Great Britain France and Ireland king defender of the faith etc Anon Domini 1716

Although I have no proof at present, he may also be the Jno Edinborow of Hose who in 1683 gave a Quaker Intent of Marriage to Mary Blake of Harby. This would also tie in with the son Charles mentioned in the above will and I have a record of a Charles Edenborough born approximately 1686 in Hose, Leicestershire. My records show, though, that Charles practised the faith of the Established Church. So was John a one-off? Perhaps acquiescing to a Quaker wife?

 

 

 

Ancestor #14 – Annie Edenborough

Annie Edenborough was born on 16 July 1888 at Paddington, New South Wales, the fourth of eight children born to Edwin and Teresa Edenborough (nee Persiani).

Annie’s paternal grandfather was Arthur Edenborough (Ancestor #1) who worked for many years as a tidewaiter for the New South Wales Customs Department, an occupation that was to see him forcibly carried away aboard an American vessel, the Emerald Isle, in January 1851. He was finally released in Honolulu, and with the help of the British Consul there, was returned back to Sydney via New Zealand in June 1851.

Annie’s maternal grandfather, Peter Persiani, was also involved with seafaring: family lore being that he was a sea captain who went down with his ship! He certainly disappeared after his daughter Teresa (Annie’s mother) was born in Sydney in 1862 but whether he perished at sea or deserted his family remains a mystery.

Prior to marriage, Annie Edenborough remained at home assisting her mother with younger children and other domestic duties required in a large household instead of obtaining a profession for herself. She eventually met and married James Dempsey at Paddington, New South Wales, in 1910.

 

Throughout their courtship, James sent many beautiful greeting cards to Annie and, as was the common practice of the day, Annie faithfully stored them in a postcard album that had been an eighteenth  birthday present to her from her older sister Jessie and Jessie’s husband, Frank Booth.

Annie Edenborough with James Dempsey
on her wedding day in 1910

 

and in later life

 

Many of the postcards reveal a wonderful and charming insight into the everyday lives of Annie and James:  both appeared to have a liking for the theatre and many of the postcards mention theatre rendezvous in the city of Sydney.

Ten months after their marriage, Annie gave birth to their first child, Dulcie (1911). Then followed: James (1913), Nancy (1914), Viola (1916), George (1919), William (1921), Jack (1823 and Verlie (1928).

While both Dulcie and James were born at Balmain, Nancy was the first child to be born at Gladesville in Annie’s newly finished home built by her husband. In 2014 that home celebrated its 100th anniversary.  

Ancestor #13 – Christopher Edinborough

Crossing the Atlantic to America, Ancestor #13 enlisted with the Union Army in the US Civil War.

As a 21-year-old, Christopher Edinborough enlisted at Scio, New York on 13 May 1861 for a term of three years and was mustered to the 65th New York Infantry Regiment. A physical description of Christopher is gleaned from his regimental Company Descriptive Book which states that he was 5 feet 5 inches tall, of dark complexion with brown eyes and black hair. Born in London, England, his occupation was given as shoemaker.

Initially mustered into C Company as a Corporal, Christopher was promoted to Sergeant on 15 Nov 1862 before being returned to ranks as a Private on 1 Feb 1863. On 15 April 1863 he was promoted back to Corporal.

A document recently found on Ancestry.com entitled New York, Town Clerks’ Registers of Men Who Served in the Civil War, ca 1861-1865 revealed three other male Edinboroughs also signed up. They were: Charles (enlisted 12 May 1861), Fergus (3 Apr 1865) and Luther (3 Apr 1865). The document was a good find as the four enlistees were in fact brothers, sons of Christopher and Sarah Edinborough, confirming they had emigrated from England as a family in 1855.

Returning to Christopher (of the 65th NY Regiment), while so far I haven’t located a marriage record for him I do know that he married an American woman named Carrie and presumably this was after his discharge from the 65th NY Regiment. The US Census reveals that by 1880 they were living at Wilton in Iowa with two children: a son, Arthur W (7yrs), and a daughter Jesse M (5yrs).

Christopher died in 1892 and is buried at Grand Junction Cemetery, Greene County, Iowa. Carrie survived her husband for a further 31 years and was buried at Grand Junction Cemetery in 1923.

 

 

Ancestor #12 – Edith Edenborough

Edith Edenborough was the second daughter, and fifth child, of Henry (Ancestor #4) and Margaret Edenborough (née Stedman) and was born 28 December 1846 at Wollogorang, New South Wales, Australia.

In 1854 she travelled to the United Kingdom when her parents returned to England with their six children after selling their large pastoral property, Wollogorang, to John Chisholm. The first census to be held upon Edith’s arrival in England was that of 1861 where Edith, then aged 14, was living with her widowed mother at Kensington, Middlesex – her father Henry having died one year after his return to England.

 

1861 UK Census

 

In 1870 Edith’s talent as an artist saw her being awarded a silver medal at the South Kensington District Art School where she would also be introduced to Prince Teck, a member of German nobility and father of Queen Mary, the wife of King George V.

 

Edith was twice married: firstly to artist Arthur Murch (in 1873) with whom she lived with in Rome while working with Giovanni Costa – the Italian landscape painter and patriotic revolutionary; then in 1891, as the Widow Murch, she married Matthew Ridley Corbet, another landscape artist of some note. By this time Edith was an acknowledged landscape painter herself, closely associated with the Etruscan group, and who had previously exhibited many works at the Grosvenor and New Galleries of London. Following her marriage to Corbet she exhibited primarily at the Royal Academy, visiting Italy but living in London for the rest of her life.

 

Cicero's Villa and the Bay of Baiae
painted by Edith Corbet in 1909 

 

Edith Corbet (née Edenborough) died in 1920 aged 72.

 

Ancestor #11 – Alan Edenborough

In 1933, the light cruiser HMS Phaeton was meant for the British Royal Navy but was purchased by the Australian government prior to launching. It was renamed as HMAS Sydney (II), in memory of an earlier Sydney (I) that in 1914, had destroyed the German cruiser Emden.

Following her commissioning in 1935, the Sydney spent the early part of her operational history enforcing sanctions during the Abyssinian crisis prior to arriving in Australia in1936.

 

The Sydney then remained on local patrol duties after the outbreak of World War II before being assigned to the British Mediterranean Fleet for an eight-month deployment from April 1940 – during which time she encountered several engagements while receiving minimal damage and no casualties.

Following her return to Australian waters in 1941, her arrival in Fremantle on 5 February received a hero’s welcome. Upon arrival in Sydney, a few days later, her crew received a civic reception and school children were given a public holiday so they could watch her crew parade through the city’s streets.

On Armistice Day, 11 November 1941, the Sydney sailed from Fremantle to escort the troopship Zealandia to Sunda Strait where she was to be relieved by the British cruiser HMS Durban for the last leg of a voyage to Singapore. The voyage was without incident and Sydney was expected to arrive back in Fremantle on the afternoon of 20 November 1941. Having not returned to Fremantle by 23 November the Naval Board requested her to report by signal to which there was no reply.

Piecing together the events of Sydney’s disappearance, it was revealed that on the afternoon of 19 November the Sydney had come upon what was thought to be a merchant vessel but was, in fact, the German raider Kormoran. In an effort to establish the identity of the vessel, the Sydney closed the distance to a point where she no longer had any advantage of her superior armament.

When concealment of the Kormoran’s true identity was no longer possible, the German raider opened fire with all armament as well as dispensing two torpedoes striking the Sydney. In the heat of the battle the Sydney also managed to inflict severe damage to the Kormoran.

The result of the destructive engagement saw all 42 officers and 603 ratings on board the Sydney perish. The crippled Kormoran was eventually skuttled by her captain, with her German crew abandoning ship. Of her 399 crew, 318 were found following a large-scale sea and air search.

Despite the approximate position of Kormoran being known, multiple attempts to locate the two wrecks failed to find either ship until March 2008 when the wrecks of both Sydney and Kormoran were located by shipwreck investigator David Mearns who had directed a search on behalf of the Finding Sydney Foundation.

The discovery of the wrecks revealed much about the battle and lent support to the generally accepted version of events from the surviving German crew members of the Kormoran.

On board HMAS Sydney on that fateful day, was 21-year-old Ordinary Seaman, ALAN GROSVENOR EDENBOROUGH, the son of Grosvenor and Agnes Margaret Edenborough of Roseville, New South Wales and great-grandson of Arthur Edenborough, Ancestor #1.
He is remembered with honour at the Plymouth Naval Cemetery in Devonshire, United Kingdom as well as on the Honour Roll of the Australian War Memorial in Canberra, Australian Capital Territory.

Plymouth Naval Cemetery

 

Ancestor #10 – Alexandra Edenborough

Staying with the famous theme, the British jazz singer Alexandra Edenborough, was born in 1978 in Somerset, England and in 2008, married the British actor, Gary Oldman.

While there is an endless supply of articles and photographs of Alexandra (especially with her husband, Gary Oldman) on the internet, tracking down her parentage for my one name study is proving a little hard.

 

My best guess: that Alexandra is the daughter of Australian-born, Alan Edenborough and his wife, Elizabeth. If correct, Alan is one of the 2xgreat-grandchildren of Ancestor #1 – Arthur Edenborough.

Ancestor #9 – Duke of Edinburgh

When undertaking a one name study you naturally find variations and deviations to your study surname. And in my case, among the 124 variations of the surname Edenborough, is the variation Edinburgh – throwing up another problem: doing on-line searches for the surname Edinburgh resulting in endless records for the city of Edinburgh, SCOTLAND.

Then, of course, there is also the Duke of Edinburgh! So far I haven’t paid a lot of attention to the honorific title, but it does fall into the realm of a one name study.

Named after the city of Edinburgh, Scotland, it is a title that was created in 1726 for the British royal family. To date it has only been used 4 times.

It was first created by George I who bestowed it on his grandson, Prince Frederick, who would later become Prince of Wales. Following Frederick’s death, the title was inherited by Frederick’s son, Prince George, who became George III in 1760. At that time the title, Duke of Edinburgh, ceased to exist.

In 1866, Queen Victoria re-created the title for her second son, Prince Alfred. Alfred’s only son committed suicide in 1899 and, so again, the title Duke of Edinburgh was to become extinct.

Then in 1947 the title was created for a fourth time. King George VI, bestowed it upon his son-in-law, Lieutenant Philip Mountbatten, upon his marriage to the Princess Elizabeth. Until Elizabeth became Queen in 1952, the princess was known as HRH Princess Elizabeth, Duchess of Edinburgh.

Prince Philip, Duke of Edinburgh, is now the longest-serving and oldest-ever spouse of a British monarch. He is also currently the oldest-ever male member of the British royal family.

 

Frederick – Duke of Edinburgh 1

 

 George III – Duke of Edinburgh 2

 Prince Alfred - Duke of Edinburgh 3

 

 Prince Philip – Duke of Edinburgh 4

Ancestor #8 – Daisy Edenborough

The following newspaper item appeared in The Daily Inter Ocean of 17 November 1888.

 

I am pretty sure that the young Daisy EDENBOROUGH named in the article, is the same Daisy Frances EDENBOROUGH who was born 6 September 1872 in Hagar, Berrien, Michigan, USA

– the daughter of F Thomas EDENBOROUGH and his wife Olive Angeline YERINGTON.

 

And while it is not as yet known whether she managed to marry her “rough character”, what is known, is that she was married at least twice: first to George LEAVER in 1892, and then to Edward Colin ALLEN in 1898.

Ancestor #7 – Edward Edinborough

Staying with a criminal theme, the following article titled “assaulting a young woman” appeared in The Illustrated Police News of 7 November 1885:  

 

Ancestor #6 – Francis Edenborough

At the opposite end of the spectrum from Ancestor #5 is the following story of Francis Edenborough as reported in The Morning Chronicle of 6 October 1859 under the heading

POLICE INTELLIGENCE – Marylebone:

 
 
 

Francis Edenborough and his partners in crime were subsequently brought before the Central Criminal Court on 25 October 1859 whereby the jury returned a verdict of guilty against Alfred Grantham Snr, William Bland and Thomas Mead, recommending Bland and Grantham to mercy, and acquitted Alfred Grantham Jnr and Francis Edenborough.

Ancestor #5 – Alfred Thomas Edenborough

The son of a railway guard, Alfred Thomas Edenborough was born 12 January 1857 at Paddington, London, MDX. The 1871 census shows the then 14-year-old Alfred Thomas working as a telegraph messenger in the postal service. Alfred Thomas remained with the postal service until joining the London Metropolitan Police at Great Scotland Yard on 3 June 1878 where he was subsequently posted to K Division (Stepney) as a constable.

The Metropolitan Police was established in 1829 by Sir Robert Peel, the then Home Secretary, by an Act of Parliament. It must have seemed to be a worthy occupation, as within a year of establishment the force numbered 3000 men from an initial recruitment of 895 constables, 88 sergeants, 20 inspectors, eight superintendents and two commissioners of police.

By the 1881 census, Alfred Thomas had been posted to Y Division (Highgate) where he was to remain for two years before being moved on to A Division (Whitehall) for eight months.

Following his eight-month stint as a constable at A Division, Alfred Thomas was then transferred to T Division (Kensington). He would remain at T Division until his retirement on 29 April 1901 at the age of 44 years following 22 years, 10 months and 25 days of service.

Attached to his service number were the letters TR which means that Alfred Thomas was part of the Reserve Force.  The Reserve was the top class to which a constable could aspire without taking promotion.  Many older officers achieved this and they would be used on all the prestigious London events and had to maintain a higher standard of dress, conduct and turn out than other officers.

His pension record provides the following physical description of Alfred Thomas:

Height: 6 feet 0 inches

Hair: Fair turning grey – bald on top
Eyes: Grey
Complexion: Fresh
Never injured

Alfred Thomas married Mary Ann Smith, the daughter of a butcher, at St Peter’s Church, Paddington, MDX, on 24 May 1882.  Over the next 15 years they were to have seven children: Alfred E, Annie M, Lizzie J, Matilda G, Daisy, Rosa A and Harold T.

Among the many cases that Alfred Thomas was no doubt involved in, was the following murder/suicide reported in The Times of 5 February 1879¹:

 

Alfred Thomas Edenborough died at 26 Perrymead Street, Fulham, on 19 September 1923 aged 66 years and was buried at North Sheen Cemetery five days later.

¹ "Murder And Suicide", Times, [London, England], 5 Feb 1879, p11.

 

Ancestor #4 – Henry Edenborough

Henry Edenborough, fifth child of Samuel & Sarah Edenborough (née Bolton) was born on 14 May 1812 at Bruce Grove, Tottenham, Middlesex. At the age of 15 he was employed by the Honourable East India Company in the Mercantile Marine Branch as a midshipman, per Lord Lowther (1827-28), and Abercrombie Robinson (1829-30).
  By late 1833, Henry had left the employ of the HEIC and had made at least one voyage to Sydney as captain of the schooner Emma. Then in 1834, he took up the position of master of a newly-built 380-ton barque part-owned by his father Samuel.  This first voyage as the newly installed master of the Augusta Jessie was to Tasmania, arriving 22 Jan 1835 with a cargo of 210 male convicts.
  Several more voyages to Australia followed before Henry married Margaret Stedman in London in 1836. They eventually travelled to Australia, on board the Elphinstone in 1840, to take up residence at Wollogorang in the Goulburn district of New South Wales. It is believed that the impressive homestead that still stands today was built by Henry in 1846.

Wollogorang Homestead as it appeared in 2008

The first of Henry and Margaret’s six children, Henry Bolton, was baptised in Sydney shortly after his parents arrival in the colony in 1840; the remaining five children though – Charles Allen (1842), Bishop Reynold (1843), Margaret Annie (1845), Edith Jane (1846) and Spencer Neville(1848) – were all born at Wollogorang.
 The 1841 census of New South Wales shows that Wollogorang supported four ticket-of-leave men, five shepherds, eight gardeners and stockmen, and four domestic servants.
 As if running a large sheep and cattle station wasn’t enough, Henry also involved himself in the local community; gave an acre of land for an Anglican church as well as a further acre for a cemetery and became a Justice of the Peace before being appointed a Magistrate of the Territory in 1844. Henry is often quoted as being a colourful figure who owned a racehorse but this statement is incorrect and it was in fact Henry’s younger brother, Horatio who spent some time in New South Wales, who was the racehorse owner.
  The Goulburn Herald of 17 Jan 1849 stated that Governor Fitzroy, Deas Thompson (the Colonial Secretary) and party “partook of luncheon” at Wollogorang and “were much gratified at the off-handed and unpretending hospitality of Mr Edenborough, for which the gentlemen of the district know him to be so remarkable”.
  In 1854, Henry sold Wollogorang and all stock to his neighbour, J W Chisholm, and with his entire family returned to England arriving there at the end of 1854.
  Henry died at Chesham Lodge, Surrey, on 6 Feb 1855, aged 43 years. Margaret survived her husband by 14 years dying at Sheffield Gardens, Kensington on 26 Oct 1869.
  In 1992, Henry was honoured for his participation in the development of Australia by having his name affixed to a plaque located near the Overseas Shipping Terminal on Sydney Harbour.

 

 

 

Ancestor #3 – William Edenborough

The following obituary appeared in the Morning Post of 21 November 1865:

DEATH OF A VETERAN SURGEON – On the 15th inst., Mr William Edenborough, formerly of Coleman-street, departed this life at his residence, Upper Holloway, after much suffering, in his 86th year. Mr Edenborough was one of the oldest, if not the oldest, as he was also (up to his retirement from active life, 10 years ago) one of the most respected and best known City medical practitioners. The deceased, a native of Nottingham, was articled to Mr Hunt of Loughborough, a man of much eminence in his day. So far back as the commencement of the present century, Mr Edenborough entered St Thomas’s and Guy’s, where he made the acquaintance of the eminent surgeon, Mr Cline, and also that of Sir Astley Cooper, who was then commencing his distinguished career. Mr Edenborough had a large and successful practice for nearly half a century, and included amongst his patients many of the first bankers and merchants and other celebrities of the City. He was a man of great decision and indomitable energy, and, as a consequence, rarely failed in accomplishing any object of benevolence on which he once set his heart. His extensive practice – ranging over so lengthened a period – naturally presented numerous cases of distress to his notice, to which he ever lent a ready ear, and generally afforded effective aid. The deceased has left a widow to mourn his loss.

74 Coleman Street, London - surgery premises of William Edenborough

Ancestor #2 – Fanny Elizabeth Edenborough

Until the early 20th century, a man's promise of engagement to marry a woman was considered a legally binding contract. If the man was to then change his mind, he would be said to be in "breach" of this promise and could be taken to court for damages.

The following case was reported in the Evening Express on 4 May 1895.

JILTED BY HER JOURNALIST LOVER

His Love-Letters Were Many and Sweet and He Burst Into Poetry Once

Mrs Fanny Elizabeth Edenborough, a widow, living at Cadogan Lodge, Cadogan-road, Surbiton, brought an action on Friday before the Sheriffs of Surrey against Mr Lionel Rupert Brocklebank, a journalist, living at Christ Church Vicarage, Chesham, for damages for breach of promise of marriage.

 Mr Wildey Wright appeared for the plaintiff, a pre-possessing young widow of ladylike appearance.

 The plaintiff, said Mr Wright, was not yet 27 years of age. She was married when she was seventeen or eighteen, and her husband, who occupied a very good position in the City, died early in 1892, leaving her with two young children, and with an income of £150 to £200 a year.

 In July, 1894, she went to a little village near Polruan, in Cornwall, to stay with some friends, and while there she met the defendant. Defendant was very attentive to her, and took her for boating and driving excursions.

 On September 26 defendant came from Polruan to the house of his brother-in-law, now Vicar of Christchurch, Chesham. The following day he visited Mrs Edenborough at Surbiton, and then and there made a formal proposal of marriage.

 A few days after the engagement he wrote to her, addressing her as “My own darling Ponte,” a name he had given her after a river in Cornwall, and telling her that he was writing a short tale in “Tit-Bits”. He concluded, “With all my love and kisses, my own dearest darling, loved little girl, from your ever loving Rupert.” (Laughter.) In another letter which he wrote soon afterwards he asked her to “kiss the kiddies for me, my darling,” and concluded in the same endearing language.

 In the next letter, after writing to her in similar language, he said: “My brother-in-law has just gone out to marry a couple. How I wish it were you and I! I will get him to do the job for us soon. What do you think?” (Laughter.) In another letter he said his sister had “pumped” all the news of his engagement out of him, and signed himself as “Your own loving boy.”

 Other letters began in the same way as the former ones, and ended, “My own dearest, truest, darling, loved, treasured, precious pet, from your ever-loving Rupert.” (Laughter.)

 On October 28 the defendant wrote the following letter: “My very own dearest Ponte – Your darling letter arrived, which I was very pleased to receive, dear heart. I am glad you agree with my sister in thinking I will make a good husband. Dearest, I will try, and if I don’t succeed it won’t be my fault. Yesterday I had a good day’s writing. I wrote an article on – what do you think, dear – 'How to Propose'. (Laughter.) I hope 'Answers' will take it. I am sure it’s amusing enough, if not instructive. I have let out all the secrets of the trade, darling. (Laughter.) In another letter he said: I would rather spend one evening with you, my darling little sweetheart, than attend all the balls and amusements I could cram into a month.

  On November 29 he broke out into poetry:
I cannot work, I cannot play,
There’s nothing left worthwhile to say,
The hours are long, the days are dear,
Oh, how I wish my love were near –
My love’s away.
The time will come, also the day,
When I shall go down Kingston way,
To see my darling once again,
And join the links of an unbroken chain –
With love away.
(Laughter.)
  Towards the end of December the defendant’s letters got cooler. Before this, however, defendant had told plaintiff that he had previously been engaged to another lady, the daughter of a wealthy lady in Manchester. Owing to the parent’s objection, the match was broken off. The defendant also bought plaintiff two rings, which the other lady had returned to him, but she indignantly refused to accept such second-hand goods, and he apologised for offering them to her. When plaintiff wrote asking the reason of his coolness, he replied on New Year’s Day that he was afraid he had made a mistake in engaging himself to her, and his thoughts were constantly reverting to the other young lady at Manchester.
  The jury awarded the plaintiff £250 damages.
  Judgment accordingly.

 

Ancestor #1 – Arthur Edenborough

Arthur was the ninth child of Samuel and Sarah Edenborough and was born 19 Dec 1820 at 37 Milk Street, London. He was baptised the following month on 19 Jan 1821 in the parish church of the united parishes of St Lawrence Jewry and St Mary Magdalene, London. Also baptised that day was an elder brother, Leopold.

Ancestry.co.uk – London Metropolitan Archives, St Lawrence Jewry,
Register of Baptism, Guildhall: DL/T, Item Ms 10442A

 

Arthur travelled to Sydney, Australia in 1840 per Elphinstone, in the company of his elder married brother, Henry and sister-in-law, Margaret. Henry had travelled to Australia to assist further brothers, Samuel and Bishop, in the emerging Australian wool market. Continuing on with his travels we next find Arthur in Valparaiso, Chile, where in 1844, he married Jane Griffin, daughter of George Griffin, master mariner.

While Arthur and Jane’s first child Emily was born back in London in 1845, shortly after, Arthur, Jane and the infant Emily travelled to Australia, where their next three children, Claude Dudley, Augusta Jessie and Edwin, were born.

In January 1851, while in the employ of the Customs Department in Sydney as a tidewaiter, Arthur was placed at a moment’s notice on board the Emerald Isle, an American ship anchored in Sydney Harbour, in an attempt to stop the ship from leaving the port until necessary repairs had been undertaken. Instead, Arthur was “carried off in a piratical manner by the captain”.

Expecting to have only been a few hours on board the Emerald Isle, he had taken “neither bed or extra clothing of any kind with him, and was therefore obliged to sleep on the bare planks of the damp cuddy”.

Arthur was eventually put ashore in Honolulu where he obtained the assistance of the British Consul General to obtain return passage to Sydney, via New Zealand, arriving home in June of 1851.

The ordeal left Arthur in a weakened state and within a few short years he was no longer able to continue employment and was suffering extreme poverty and abject dependence due to the deprivations he experienced from the clandestine departure of the Emerald Isle.

He died in 1869 aged 48 years.

52 Ancestors

I have just heard about the 52 Ancestors in a Year Challenge and although it began last month I’m taking up the challenge to help me blog more about the Edenborough ONS. Obviously, I will have to input some ancestors quickly to catch up!