In 2015, Bram Hoonhout, then a PhD student working on the 18th century history of Essequibo and Demerara, alerted me to the existence of references to Hendrik, Jan and Nicolaas van Cooten in the letterbooks of Theodore Barrell, a merchant in Demerara.

He was able to supply images, and my transcription is available here. The page image is made available with the permission of the New York Historical Society.

These letters are fascinating. They are dated 1799-1800. The letters revolve around Theodore Barrell’s encouragement of Hendrik Van Cooten to send his sons, Jan (John) and Nicolaas (Nicholas) to England to be educated at Mr. Andrew Rae’s Academy, Islington, London.

According to his baptism record Hendrik was about to turn 50 years old. In the letters, Barrell states describes Hendrik as being of “great worth”, “an opulent cotton planter”, and “universally esteemed one of the most truly respectable characters in [the colony]”.

He is the author of a chart (confirming his map-making expertise). His written English-language skills are at a “schoolboy” level.

Jan and Nicolaas are described as “Mezties” – of mixed European and African heritage. They are 13 and 11 years old. Theodore Barrell is of the opinion that the boys will experience less prejudice in England.

An enslaved woman named Komsy, serving the boys’ mother (presumably Dorothea Nicols) escorts them. She has previously escorted two other of Dorothea’s children to Holland. I presume these to be  Cornelis and Hendrik, although Hendrik senior’s will seems to imply that these two older boys were born out of wedlock (“natural” children), and I had assumed that Dorothea was not their mother.  Komsy is introduced to Plato, implied to be also of African descent. Surprisingly, Komsy arrives in England pregnant, and gives birth in London to a boy.

Hendrik also sends a daughter to England in the care of a Madam Europa to the household of Mrs. Bennett. I’m not sure which of Hendrik’s daughters this might be.

These letters verify the assertion of Ida Gorsuch that John Van Cooten was sent to England to be educated – see John Van Cooten leaves Demerara. I’m still hopeful of finding out where he received his medical education.

Front of postcard from Annie to Mr. W. Thomas

Reverse of postcard from Annie to Mr. W. Thomas

I presume the explanation (“Annie is Puppa Thomas’ niece. Puppa Thomas’ house in M’boro was called “Henor” & he lived in Coventry St.”) in blue pen was written by Elwyn.

The original text reads:

My dear Uncle,
Many thanks for postcard received of Black boys. I am sending you a p.c. of part of our Village the house at the top of the picture is our doctors. We live right opposite there hope all are well.
Love from Annie

Mr W. Thomas
C/o G Horsburgh Co
Maryborough
Queensland
Australia

Who is Annie? Where did she live? Where is the picture of? When was it sent?

The address on the front of the card is Coventry Rd. Kingsbury. A closer look at the street image yields the name “Swan Terrace” on the row of houses, a shop sign “Cadbury’s”, and a sign with a white swan on it,

The additional information on the reverse of the card is minimal. The stamp has been removed, and so only a partial postmark remains, which reads “KINGSB” and “TAX” but no date is visible.

Doing a Google search for “UK post card Coventry Rd. Kingsbury.” and looking at the images returned results in the identical image being found at https://www.ourwarwickshire.org.uk/content/catalogue_wow/kingsbury-coventry-road-2, a map location, and a suggested date of 1900-1909. The location is (52.56551891790918, -1.6820562306851514) or https://goo.gl/maps/9au5pQ6DwWGyT8Ss8. Looking at Google Street View the White Swan is still existing, but the rest of Swan Terrace has been demolished.

Google Street View image, Tamworth, Road, Kingsbury, Warwickshire

OpenStreetMap Tamworth, Road, Kingsbury, Warwickshire

Ordnance Survey 25 inch 1892-1914 map Tamworth Road, Kingsbury, Warwickshire

The National Library of Scotland site at https://maps.nls.uk/geo/explore/ allows current and historical maps to be overlayed. The comparison here shows the current OpenStreetMap map and the Ordnance Survey 25 inch 1892-1914 maps for the same area. Tamworth Road, also labelled Coventry Road, now runs diagonally through where Swan Terrace was, and the hotel has been painted in Tudor style. The doctor’s house still exists, and is more visible in this view as some buildings to the north of the White Swan have been demolished. It’s likely that the house just opposite, where Annie lived, has been demolished, and now forms part of the car park adjacent to the White Swan.

Looking at my family history database I realise that I don’t have any details of the families of William Thomas’s brothers and sisters.

The UK Census 1861 for Little Cowarne, Herefordshire, Wales (PRO Ref: RG9 Piece: 1827 Folio: 50 Page: 8)

Household at Glebe Cottage
Philip Thomas, Head, Mar, M, 43, Labourer, Herefordshire Wool Hope
Elizabeth Thomas, Wife, Mar, F, 38, Dressmaker, Herefordshire Tarrington
Henry Thomas, Son, Un, M, 14, , Herefordshire Wool Hope
Mary Elizabeth Thomas, Daur, Un, F, 11, , Herefordshire Wool Hope
Sarah Thomas, Daur, Un, F, 8, , Herefordshire Wool Hope
William Jas. Thomas, Son, Un, M, 5, , Herefordshire Wool Hope
Philip Thomas, Son, Un, M, 2, , Herefordshire Wool Hope

A further child, Walter, shows up on the 1871 census, but the older children are no longer at home.

1901 census Class: RG13; Piece: 2653; Folio: 52; Page: 9

A quick review of the hints on Ancestry trees shows that Mary Elizabeth Thomas married Charles James at Leominster, Herefordshire on 26 Dec 1870. Their daughter Anne Maria James, born 27 Jan 1876, married Arthur James Wright at Tamworth, Staffordshire. In the 1901 census (Class: RG13; Piece: 2653; Folio: 52; Page: 9) Annie, Arthur, and their infant son Howard are living in Coventry Road, Kingsbury, Warwickshire.

In the 1911 Census the family appears with postal address 3 Church View, Coventry Road, near Tamworth Road, Kingsbury, Warwickshire. It is possible this is the same address, but given that they now have six children, it is possible that they are living in a larger house nearby to their 1901 address. Annie and Arthur are still living in Tamworth Road, Kingsbury in 1939, possibly in the same residence. Annie seems to have died in the October quarter of 1943.

So the postcard depicts Coventry Road, now Tamworth Road, Kingsbury, Warwickshire, and was sent to William Thomas by his niece, Annie Wright (nee James), daughter of William’s sister Mary. It was probably sent between 1900-1910, but possibly later.

Camille Cornwell, The Sunday Sun, 16 May 1909

I wondered if Madame Camille Cornwell had any descendants who may have been interested in the transcription of Jessie Van Cooten’s journal of her lessons with Madame.  Quite a comprehensive picture of her adult life can be pieced together from Trove, although parts of it are quite enigmatic.

An initial search of Ancestry for “Camille Cornwell” revealed two residences in Queensland, and a marriage to Thomas Charles Jones in Brisbane on 17 March 1926, but no family tree connections. A search for “Camille Jones” lists a death in Brisbane on 30 Aug 1961, and shows parents as Alexander James Mitchell and Christina Cameron, but again no family tree connections. A search for “Camille Mitchell” revealed a marriage to Percy J Cornwell at Rockdale (New South Wales) in 1898, and 15 family tree connections, so it appears that she was born Camille Mitchell, and married twice. Inspection of these trees suggests that she doesn’t appear to have any direct descendants.

I contacted one user, who indicated she was researching the previous owner of a house in Maryborough, but had no familial connection. Other Ancestry members failed to respond to inquiries.

A Trove search yields a marriage notice, and suggests a US connection:

CORNWELL—MITCHELL.—June 19, 1898, at St. David’s Church, Arncliffe, by the Rev. Charles Byng, Percy John, eldest son of John Cornwell, Esq., of Sydney, to Camille May, only daughter of the late Alexander Mitchell, Esq., of Tuxon, (U.S.). No cards.¹

I can’t find conclusive evidence of a presence in Australia before her marriage in 1898, but it is possible that she appears in a performance in Dapto in 1896 as Miss C. Mitchell.² Nor can I find any definitive immigration evidence.

The first convincing mention of Camille Cornwell performing is with the Sydney Amateur Orchestral Society on 26 November 1902³. She is then noted as singing in a Sydney Town Hall Organ recital on 13 June 1903⁴, a Sydney recital on 27 July 1903 by Miss Muriel Stanley-Hall⁵, a Chamber Music concert of 26 August 1903⁶, a benefit concert in the Rockdale Town Hall on 17 May 1904⁷, and numerous other similar concerts in the Sydney area through to mid 1908. She performed in first season of the Sydney Symphony Orchestra’s⁸  initial incarnation⁹ where she is first noted as being a pupil of musician and artist Signor Arturo Steffani. At this time she starts advertising as a singing teacher¹⁰. From September to October 1908 she goes on a singing tour to Townsville and Charters Towers^{11, 12, 13}.

From May 1909¹⁴ to June 1909¹⁵ she toured New Zealand with a vaudeville company of  entertainers, under Mr. Harry Rickards’s direction. This company was headed by the magician Chung Ling Soo.

Returning to Australia, Camille performed in several concerts in Newcastle, N.S.W., and also advertised tuition in Inverell¹⁶. In the first half of 1910 she performed in several Sydney concerts, and then toured with the Harry Rickards company at the Adelaide Tivoli¹⁷ at the end of 1910, and then through until mid 1912¹⁸. She then disappeared from Trove newspapers until March 1915 when she appeared as a silent movie cinema accompanist in Bundaberg, Queensland.¹⁹.

An article introducing Camille Cornwell to the Bundaberg public says:

… in the person of Madame Camille Cornwell, we have a most gifted and experienced instructress in the divine art of song, who has appeared in classical opera and on the concert platform with over-whelming success in America as well as in Australia, and who possesses the very highest testimonials both as singer as as teacher²⁰

She stayed in Bundaberg until October 1916, until ill health caused her to return to Sydney²¹.

Her husband, Percy, died suddenly in 1920:

The death occurred at the hospital at Bowral on Friday evening last of Mr Percy John Cornwell, a visitor to the town, who look ill suddenly at the railway station that morning, and was unconscious all day. He was 43 years of age, and was a married man without family. The remains were conveyed to Sydney for interment, Messrs J Beavan and Son having charge of the funeral arrangements at this end.²²

In July 1920 Camille arrived in Maryborough, Queensland²³ accompanied by her mother, Mrs. Richards. An article introducing her to the Maryborough community says:

Madame Cornwell has studied with many teachers of note, principally the renowned Signor Arturo Steffani, of whom she was the favourite pupil, and the only one to obtain the much coveted diploma of merit to teach. Madame Cornwell has appeared with marked success all over the Commonwealth and New Zealand and previous to the great war she fulfilled a two-years’ contract to sing in America, which was a great success and she returned to Australia in 1914.²⁴

The detail of her contract in America explains the absence from the Australian newspapers. I’ve yet to locate any US newspaper reports of her tour. The Maryborough period is described in Jessie’s journal. She gave a number of public performances, as well as teaching. She left Maryborough for Brisbane after her farewell concert in November 1922²⁵, and she appeared to be teaching in Brisbane in 1923²⁶.

Camille married Thomas Charles Jones in Brisbane on 17 March 1926^{27, 28}. Her husband, nicknamed “Coffey”, appears to have been a rugby player of note²⁹, and possibly worked in the Stores Section of the Brisbane City Council³⁰. Named as Madame Camille Jones, Camille is promoted as demonstrating Beale Ampico reproducing pianos³¹ – see http://www.pianola.org/reproducing/reproducing_ampico.cfm. She disappears from Trove articles in mid-1926.

Her husband Thomas died in Brisbane on 27 March 1938³², and Camille died in Brisbane in 1961³³. Camille’s mother Christina Richards died in Brisbane in 1945³⁴.

The photo in this article is the only one that I have found, and accompanied an article advising of Camille’s New Zealand tour in 1909.³⁵

Jessie Van Cooten 1913

Jessie Miriam Van Cooten was born in Ipswich, Queensland, Australia, on 30 December 1890. She was the youngest daughter of John Hughes Van Cooten and Elizabeth (nee Berry).

John Hughes Van Cooten arrived in Brisbane aboard the “Indus” on 20 December 1874 at the age of 19. He worked for a short while as a shop assistant. He married Elizabeth Berry on 22 July 1880 at her father William Berry’s residence in Ipswich.

By the time of Jessie’s birth, John was working as a traveler for the Ipswich Woolen Mills. This work took him up and down the Queensland coast by ship. The family was living at 3 or 4 Park St, Ipswich, and was active in the Ipswich Central Congregational Church.

Jessie was musical from a young age. A report of the Congregation Sunday School anniversary in 1897¹⁹ notes the almost seven year old Jessie as contributing a solo part to the item “A Little Christian Pilgrim.”

Jessie attended West Ipswich Primary School, and received a prize for “tables” in class II in 1898³⁰. This would have been a sad time for the family, as Jessie’s four-year-old brother Leonard died suddenly of sun stroke after attending an Ipswich Congregational Church picnic.³⁶

The family moved from Ipswich to Maryborough at the end of 1899. John Hughes entered into a partnership with Fenwick White to carry on business at the Adelaide Street, Maryborough, premises of White Bros. I don’t know how this arrangement was established, but it must have been a more settled life.

Birthday book entry

The family was actively involved in the Maryborough Congregational Church in Alice Street, and also in the temperance movement. Jessie received Sunday School prizes, and performed at Sunday School and church functions³⁸. Jessie’s birthday book entry for 3 March 1905 indicates that she contracted polio.

John Hughes Van Cooten seems to have been managing White Bros. store in Biggenden in 1901³⁹, but the partnership dissolved in 1904⁴⁰. He seemed to have a short-lived involvement in a boot-making enterprise in 1905⁴¹, and then became Maryborough agent for the General Accident Assurance Corporation Limited⁴². By October 1906 he has purchased the business of Mr. H. J. Stoodley in North Ipswich, and the family return there to live.⁴³

Jessie resumes her involvement with the Congregational Church, this time the North Ipswich Congregational Church in Downs St, presumably not far from where the family store and house were. She is active in the Christian Endeavour⁴⁴, sang at Sunday School Anniversary concerts⁴⁵, and was organist at Sunday School Anniversary services⁴⁶ and weddings⁴⁷.

“The Pines”, Maryborough

By May 1912, the family was on the move back to Maryborough. John Hughes Van Cooten once more entered into partnership with Mr. F. White, in the general store business at Howard. The family lived at “The Pines”, corner of Howard and Tooley Streets, Maryborough. This property had been purchased in late 1899 coinciding with the first venture to Maryborough. Jessie reconnects with the Maryborough Congregational Church, but also sings at the Fort Street Baptist Church⁴⁸, and is active in the Maryborough Sunday School Union⁴⁹ and Congregational Church Sunday School⁵⁰.

In 1922 Jessie is noted as being a performer at a concert arranged by Madame Camille Cornwell⁵¹. When exploring old family documents handed down over the past years, we discovered a note pad of Jessie’s, full of cuttings and poems, but also a journal of her singing lessons with Madame Cornwell. My mother, Merle, has transcribed these notes, and they make fascination reading.

My father, Graham, recalls that Jessie had an office on the verandah of “The Pines”, and used to do the books for the Van Cooten and Sons in Howard, and also his own father’s business in Maryborough in the 1930s. She would slowly walk the 800m to the shop in North Street (corner of North and Tooley), sometimes aided by her sister, Maggie, or one of Graham’s parents

In later life, as care needs grew, “The Pines” was sold and Jessie moved into a home in Brisbane run by the Assemblies of God, named “Beth Eden”. It was a lovely gracious old property on the banks of the Brisbane River. She initially had a hostel room, but then the time came when she needed to move to nursing care. She passed away in 1972.

I find the Ancestry ThruLines feature very useful in exploring matches, and I’ve been gradually trying to confirm the relationships and link the matches into my tree. It was a ThruLines connection that suggested that William and Margaret Berry (nee Greig) may have been accompanied to Australia by William’s sister Barbara. I reached out to Barbara’s descendant, who kindly replied, and I also explored the Hints for William Berry. One of these was a photo of a William Berry. I contacted the submitter of the photo, Lis Dempster, and she confirmed that she was a descendant of Barbara Berry,

Lis very graciously sent me a higher quality copy of the photo, and also the accompanying letter, transcribed below.

Burnett St. Ipswich 30/8/82
Mrs. W. Biddels
Dear Madam
I duly received yours of Decr. last and felt interested in your Narrative there are often many ups and downs in a lifetime & the early part of yours has not been an exception. I hope you are in better health than when you wrote & that husband & family are all well. When we enjoy this blessing we have heart to Brave trials that we think insurmountable – may you enjoy the fortitude not only to bear patiently present trials but to press toward the mark for the prize of the high calling, striving to bring up yours in the fear and admonition of the Lord.
The power of Sir Henry has brought your country under the notice of the world – his has been an eventful life and I reckon he is as poor as a church mouse as the saying is he nevertheless stands before kings and not before mean men.
I have been rather poorly lately but am pretty well again. I cannot expect robust health after 72 years I have had the alloted span, many and good days, many & great mercies and blessings which I cannot recount.
William has not wholly recovered yet he had to leave the Grammar School. He is secretary to our gas company. He has also taken his degree of M.A. We are all ploding along after a few unpropitious years but we must hope on. I have nothing particular to relate. We have had no news from Abdn. lately. I enclose my Photo. to show what I am like-it is a month old. Please show it to your mother. Give her my best respects. Her brother and sister would be glad to hear from her if she would condescend to write.
Wishing best blessings to you all
I remain your affectionate uncle
Wm. Berry.

William dies on 18 April 1887, so this letter is written just under five years before his death.

Mrs. W. Biddels is Barbara McKenzie Biddles (nee Munro), who married William Biddles on 15 August 1872 in Sydney, New South Wales. Barbara was the daughter of William Berry’s sister Barbara, who married William Munro on 3 August 1848 in Sydney, New South Wales.

The other William mentioned is his son, who died in 1884 at the age of 35. William, junr., was academically gifted, was one of the first pupils at Ipswich Grammar School, and became a staff member there. He obtained a B.A., and then M.A., from the University of Sydney, but suffered from ill-health.

William Berry, senior, clearly has contact with his family back in Aberdeen, and the brother and sisters referred to are likely to include John, Elspet, Isobel, and Jean.

The Sir Henry referred to is Sir Henry Parkes, father of Australian federation.

Consulting my research, I determined that this must have been drawn by John Atrill Van Cooten, whose Declaration of Intent to become a US citizen dated 23 May 1917 states that he is a Commercial Artist. This Declaration stated that he had been living in the US since 1914, and was obviously part of the process of volunteering to serve with the US forces in WWI. John’s service abstract indicates that he enlisted in ERC (Enlisted Reserve Corps), Company B, 17 Reserve Engineers, Nashville, Tennessee on 23 May 1917, served overseas from 25 Jul 1917 to 25 Mar 1919, and was discharged 11 Apr 1919, having been promoted to Corporal. He wasn’t fully naturalized until 30 June 1943.

William’s obituary⁵² enlightens us little:

Queensland Times, Ipswich Herald and General Advertiser (Qld. : 1861 – 1908), Tuesday 19 April 1887, page 2

---

LOCAL AND GENERAL NEWS It is with regret that we record the death of Mr. W. Berry, sen., who died very suddenly of appoplexy at his residence, Denmark Hill, at half-past 4 o’clock yesterday afternoon. Mr. Berry had been ailing for some time past, and was rather feeble, being in his seventy-seventh year. Still, with the aid of walking sticks, he was able to walk a considerable distance, and his sudden decease was not expected by those who saw him in Brisbane-street a few days ago. However, yesterday afternoon, while sitting on his back steps he suddenly fell backwards, apparently in a fit. Mrs. Berry, who happened to be close by at the time, at once came to his aid, as did also a neighbour, who carried him inside the house. All present instinctively felt that the hour of death had come, and when Dr. Von Lossberg arrived, about five minutes later, he entered a home of mourning. Mr. Berry was a native of Aberdeenshire, in Scotland, and had been a colonist of forty years’ standing, having, during the whole of that time, been engaged in the grazing and dairying business, mostly in the vicinity of Ipswich. He and his good lady have brought up a large family, six of whom, with a widowed mother, are left to lament their loss, though, fortunately, they are all adults, and they are not sources of anxiety to their remaining parent. Mr. Berry’s funeral takes place to-day, and, being an old and respected resident, there will, doubtless, be a large gathering of sorrowing friends and acquaintances to assist at the last sad rites.

EXCEPT: The death of John Berry in Scotland⁵³ is reported in the Queensland Times,

DEATHS. On the 19th May, at Springburn, Kintore, Scotland, John Berry, formerly of Crossroads, Durris, only brother of the late William Berry, of Ipswich, Queensland, aged 79 years.

only six weeks after William’s death, and Williams obituary, with the addition of

We may add that Mr Berry was born at Mill of Blelack, Logie-Coldstone, and went to Australia on his marriage day over 40 years ago. It was his brother, Mr John Berry, late of Cross Roads, Durris, whose death was reported only six weeks ago.

is reported in the Aberdeenshire Aberdeen Press and Journal⁵⁴. We now have a connection for William in Scotland. A search of ScotlandsPeople gives⁵⁵:

May 20th 1810
Berry: William Berry in Mill of Blelack by his wife Jean Masson had a son baptized named William

and⁵⁶

Oct 9th 1808
Berry: William Berry in Mill of Blelack, by his wife Jean Masson, had a son baptized & named John

and⁵⁷

1807-8
William Berry in Mill of Blalack & Jean Masson in Collurdon both in this Parish having contracted in order for marriage & consigned pledges hereto were proclaimed on the 20th and 27th of Decr. 1807 & married after sermon.

and the following baptisms:

At this point I need some more definite information to be able to find birth or baptism information for William and Jean.

Elizabeth Berry married John Hughes Van Cooten at her father’s residence, Berry House, Ipswich, on 22 Jul 1880⁵⁸. The marriage certificate lists her parents as being William Berry, Farmer, and Margaret nee Greig.

In a newspaper article in 1909⁵⁹ Margaret reflects on her life in Australia.

Queensland Times (Ipswich, Qld. : 1909 – 1954), Friday 9 April 1909, page 2

---

Glimpses of Early Ipswich.
OLD PLACE AND INCIDENTS.
LINKS WITH THE PAST.
1909 THE JUBILEE OF QUEENSLAND.
THE PIONEER FEMALE RESIDENT OF IPSWICH.
MRS. WM. BERRY, OF “BERRY’S HILL.” BURNETT-STREET.

…
Anent pioneer female residents, one of the oldest—if not, indeed, the oldest—is Mrs. William Berry (relict of the late Mr. William Berry), of “Berry’s Hill,” Burnett-street, who has resided continuously in Ipswich for 62 years, she, with her husband, having arrived here on the 8th of April, 1847. She is now in the 89th year of her age. Always a homely-inclined woman, Mrs. Berry never moved in public life : hence, I suppose—to a large extent, at any rate±is her presence being overlooked. Still, her name will always be an honoured one, from the fact that she was the parent of that brilliant Ipswich Grammar School scholar, the late Mr. William Berry, M.A., who was one of the first 19 pupils to attend that school, in 1863, and who, under the guidance of the late Mr. Stuart Hawthorne, M.A. (the first head master of the Ipswich Grammar School, gained the highest honours attainable up to 1866, and was “dux” of that institution. Here it might be stated that the four scholarships awarded, at the first examinations held, in February of 1864, in connection with the Ipswich Grammar School, were obtained by William Berry and T. B. Cribb (equal), Michael Connor, Francis Ewen Forbes, and Edward King Ogg. As regards Mr. and Mrs. William Berry, however, this worthy Scotch couple (just after their marriage) left Aberdeenshire, Scotland, on the 10th of October, 1846, the minister of the Church (the Rev. Robert Sedgewitch) in which they were joined in matrimony giving them a reference to the effect that they were leaving Aberdeen with “an unblemished reputation.” Mrs. Berry’s maiden name was Margaret Greig. Another unique document in the possession of Mrs. Berry is the receipt, signed by one David Moore, of the money paid for a passage to Port Jackson (Sydney), on which is an embossed duty-stamp, bearing the figures ’46. They sailed for their destination over seas in the ship Fifeshire (Captain Punchard) on the 15th October, 1846. The voyage to Sydney, a very rough one, occupied between four and five months. The Fifeshire was a cargo-boat, and among the few passengers on board—other than Mr. and Mrs. Berry—were two brothers of the name of Broughton, one of whom (Mr. Alfred Delves Broughton) subsequently came on to Moreton Bay and, at a later period, settled in Ipswich, having been the head of the firm of Messrs. Broughton, Fattorini, and Co. ; he was also one of the first members of Parliament to represent West Moreton in 1860. On their arrival in Port Jackson, Mr. Berry, after having a brief look round, decided upon exploring still further “fresh fields and pastures new.” Moreton Bay was the chief topic of conversation in Sydney in those days, and to that destination Mr. Berry, accompanied by his wife, steeered his barque—or, rather, they journeyed to Brisbane in one of the then small steamers which ran between Sydney and Moreton Bay, the name of which vessel Mrs. Berry could not recall to memory. This she does recollect—that, on their arrival in Brisbane the story of the wreck of the steamer Sovereign, in Moreton Bay, was on everybody’s lips, the lamentable incident having occurred on the 11th of March, 1847. This event was indelibly impressed on Mrs. Berry’s memory owing to the fact that the small steamer in which she and her husband had journeyed to Brisbane experienced a terribly rough run to Moreton Bay, the voyage lasting nearly five days. Now the distance can be accomplished in 36 hours! Among their fellow-passengers from Sydney were Messrs. Gould and Munroe, who, subsequently coming on to Ipswich, were the contractors who erected the original stores, for Messrs. Walter Gray and Co., at the corner of Bell and Bremer Streets (the site, now, of the Central Girls’ State School). After a brief stay in Brisbane Mr. and Mrs. Berry came on to Ipswich in the old steamer Experiment, and landed, as stated above, on the 8th of April, 1847, that date being written in their family Bible. Their first place of residence in Ipswich was in a small cottage, in Bell-street, owned by the late Mr. John (“Schemer”) Smith. The date of the birth of their eldest son, William, is recorded as June 23, 1848.

The mention of Alfred Delves Broughton seems inconsistent. The arrival of the Fifeshire in Sydney is variously reported, for instance

March 21.— Fifeshire, ship, 472 tons, Captain Punchard, from London, having left the Downs the 25th October. Passengers — Mr. and Mrs. Berry, Miss Berry, Mr. Foster, Mr. Carter, Mr. Walker, Mr. Caruthers, and Mr. Belvidere.⁶¹.

but no passenger by the name of Broughton is listed. Curiously, no mention is made in the memoir of a Miss Berry, who I presume to to be William’s sister Barbara. Alfred Delves Broughton seems to have been active in New South Wales, being appointed Clerk of Petty Sessions in 1851, and appointed to be clerk to the Assistant Commissioner of Crown Lands at Sofala, but doesn’t appear to be active in Queensland until 1857, although marrying in Sydney on 23 March 1858.

The wreck of the steamer Sovereign took place on 11 March 1847⁶² which would seem to correspond to the Berry’s arrival in Port Jackson, rather than in Brisbane. The 8th of April, 1847 was a Thursday. The steamer Experiment was advertised to be running from Brisbane on Monday, Wednesday, and Friday, and from Ipswich every alternate morning⁶³, so this date recollection is slightly inconsistent.

William Berry’s birth on June 23, 1848 does not seem to have been officially registered.

Subsequent research revealed that he had been a baker or confectioner, had become bankrupt in 1848, and died in 1858. Ancestry suggested a few hints today which seem to have filled in this gap, and possibly explained how Emma Hewes and her family came to be living in Oxford.

Henry appears in the 1841 census⁶⁴ in the household of Elizabeth Braggs:

High Street, Colchester, Essex, England
Elizabeth Braggs, Female, 35, Confectioner, Not Essex
Matilda Simpson, Female, 15, ?, Essex
Henry Hewes, Male, 20, Baker, Essex
Elias Taylor, Male, 15, Baker, Not Essex
Sarah Pullin, Female, 15, ?, Not Essex

Elizabeth is probably the wife of William Braggs, who appears in Pigot’s directory of 1823-24, and whose death is recorded in Colchester in 1850.

Henry, of full age, bachelor, baker, son of Stephen Hewes, marries Emma Griggs, of full age, spinster, daughter of John Griggs, at Holy Trinity, Colchester, Essex, England on 19 May 1844.⁶⁵

Henry William Hewes is listed as both a confection and a baker and flour dealer in White’s Directory of Essex in 1848⁶⁶.

Henry is listed as bankrupt in 1848⁶⁷, but declares a dividend⁶⁸.

Henry is listed in the household of Catherine Horn, in Oxford, in the 1851 census⁶⁹.

Household at 15 Corn Market St, Oxford, Oxfordshire, England
Catherine Horn, Head, W, F, 61, Confectioner employing 4 men and 1 boy, Oxford
John Horn, Son, U, M, 32, Hatter, Oxford
Edward Horn, Son, U, M, 30, Confectioner, Oxford
Mary M. Horn, Daughter, U, F, 26, Assistant, Oxford
William H. Horn, Son, U, M, 20, Cook, Oxford
Thomas R. Bolton, Grand Son, U, M, 21, Surgeons Assistant, Oxford
Elizabeth Millson, Serv., U, F, 23, House Servant, Berks. Staniford
Henry Hewes, Serv., Mar, M, 29, Confectioner, Essex Colchester
John Phillips, Serv., U, M, 26, Baker, Oxon. Barton
Charles Fox, Serv., U, M, 20, Baker, Oxon. Aston.

More details of 15 Corn Market St, Oxford

It is possible that Henry found work in Oxford as a solution to his financial difficulties, or to establish a new reputation. His wife Emma, and their four children, are living with her mother, Margaret, at Eld Lane, Colchester, in the 1851 census. Presumably Henry has recently moved to Oxford, and Emma and the children at some point after March 1851 follow him to Oxford. This explains Emma’s presence in Oxford in the 1861 census.

The death on “June 20, in London, aged 40 years, Mr. Henry Hewes, late of 4 Head Street, Colchester, baker” is reported in The Essex Standard, and General Advertiser for the Eastern Counties 2 Jul 1858.

• https://vc.id.au/blog2/2007/07/emma-hughes-conundrum-solved/
• https://vc.id.au/blog2/2007/07/emma-hewes/
• https://vc.id.au/blog2/2007/08/hugheshewes-update/
• https://vc.id.au/blog2/2007/08/hugheshewes-update-2/

A lot has happened since then. Building on information supplied by descendants of Margaret Hughes Van Cooten I have been able to extend the family tree for her descendants.

The advent of DNA testing has introduced the ability to match the genetic tree with the genealogical tree. In this case, there are good matches between John Hughes Van Cooten’s descendants and those of Margaret Hughes. This confirms that they are siblings. A match with a descendant of John and Margaret’s half-brother John Rhodolphus Van Cooten confirms their relationship as being descendants of John Lucius Van Cooten.

I’ve yet to identify a match with descendants of Emma through her first husband Henry William Hewes.

Berry House was built by William Berry, father of Elizabeth Berry, who married John Hughes Van Cooten.

Berry House

A Wikipedia article is at https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/William_Berry_residence

The Queensland Heritage Register listing is at https://apps.des.qld.gov.au/heritage-register/detail/?id=600570

The photographs from the real estate listing show that the house has been stunningly renovated.

The history contained on the Queensland Heritage Register citation indicates that William Berry arrived in the colony by 1843, but my research indicates that this is unlikely, and suggests that this may be a conflation of two William Berrys, but that’s the subject of a future post.

In my post “Van Cooten Jail Keeper”, I talk about finding a reference to H. Van Cooten, Keeper of the County Prison in Berbice, in the application of Alexander Cameron for a position in the Public Service of Queensland.

Who was Alexander Cameron? From the letters he implies that he was born in Berbice, and arrived in Australia in 1854. He had worked as a clerk and book-keeper in an extensive mercantile enterprise, eventually becoming a partner. He held a number of official positions in the colony, before moving to Moreton Bay (Queensland) upon the advice of his father. He initially was engaged in farming at Redbank, but this ultimately was unsuccessful.

His obituary of June 18, 1881 says:

Mr. Alexander Cameron, an old resident of this town, died on Thursday morning last. Though he had been ailing for some considerable time, and was confined to his bed, his death was rather sudden. He had for many years, suffered from chronic rheumatism, particularly at intervals during the past eight years ; but for the last fifteen months he has been confined to his bed, and suffered very much. The deceased gentleman held the post of secretary to the Ipswich Hospital for over thirteen years, and evidently stood high in the estimation of the committee, as we ourselves are in a position to testify. With this exception of attending committee meetings at which his son Mr. C. C. Cameron, took his place the work of the office was performed by him up to the day of his death—in fact, he did a little clerical work only a few hours before he passed away. Mr. Cameron was sixty-nine years of age, and had been in the colony twenty-seven years, most of which time he spent in Ipswich. He commanded the respect of a large circle of friends and acquaintances, many of whom followed his remains to the cemetery yesterday morning.⁷¹

A photo and pen portrait of Alexander’s son Charles Christopher, says:

The above is a portrait of Cr. Charles Christopher Cameron, who, on Wednesday last, was unanimously re-elected chairman of the Ipswich Traffic Board. Cr. Cameron is well and favourably known in Ipswich business circles, and in connection with local government. He is a native of New Amsterdam, Berbice, British Guiana, South America, where he was born on the 13th September, 1840. His father was Mr. Alexander Cameron (eldest son of Mr. John Cameron, of Glen Nevis and Ben Nevis in the highlands of Scotland), and his mother a daughter of Count Matthias von Rodder, of Bavaria. Five or six years of his early life Cr. Cameron spent in England, Jersey, and France, at school, and when still a boy, came with his parents to Australia, arriving in Ipswich, via Sydney, in July, 1854. Ipswich was then in its infancy, and did not possess a single school!⁷²

The obituary of Alexander Cameron’s son Glen gives further information:

Mr. GLEN CAMERON died at his residence, Eagle-terrace, Sandgate, on June 1, in his 78th year. He was born at British Guiana, South America, in 1849, his father being Mr. Alexander Cameron, the eldest son of Mr. John Cameron, of Glen Nevis and Ben Nevis, in the Highlands of Scotland, and his mother a daughter of Count Matthias von Rodder, of Bavaria. With his family, Mr. Glen Cameron came to Queensland in the ship Panthea, landing in Brisbane on July 25, 1854, he being then five years of age.

His uncle, Mr. D. Cameron, was on what was then Tarampa station, but the family settled at Ipswich. Mr. Glen Cameron was educated there at the Grammar School, and having been intended for the Bar was preparing to go to the Sydney University, but the smash of the old Queensland Bank occurred, and his father was a heavy loser.⁷³

Fox’s History of Queensland⁷⁴ contains similar information in the biographical sketch of Pearson Welsby Cameron, first mayor of Greater Ipswich, and his father, Charles Christopher Cameron, son of Alexander.

Alexander died in 1881:

DEATH. On the 16th June, at Ipswich, Alexander Cameron, formerly of New Amsterdam, Berbice, British Guiana, aged 69 years.⁷⁵

Alexander’s wife Ellen died in 1887:

On the 19th June, at her residence, South-street, Ipswich, Ellen, widow of the late Alexander Cameron, formerly of Berbice, British Guiana, aged 74 years.⁷⁶

The Australian Clan Cameron web site details Alexander Cameron’s family.

Lola Tarnawski’s book on the Cameron family⁷⁷ (from which the photograph of Alexander and Ellen is taken) makes no mention of Alexander obtaining an appointment to the Public Service, and that he was an accountant. I can find no other mention in the Colonial Secretary’s correspondence of him being appointed, nor to the circumstances of his appointment as Secretary to the Ipswich Hospital.

Examination of Item ITM846746 shows that H Van Cooten is referred to in an application for employment in the public service from Alexander Cameron to the Colonial Secretary.

A transcript of the letters is:

Alexr Cameron 28 Decemb. 60/2440  Application for employment
Redbank near Ipswich
27^th December 1860
[[To] The Honorable G. W. Herbert Colonial Secretary]
[Alexr. Cameron Esq.
18th January
Council
[indecipherable signature]
The council advise that Mr. Cameron be informed that his Application has been received and will be taken into consideration.
John Bramston
9/1/61 Clerk of Council
Inform accordingly
A. White
61.1.10]
Sir,
In doing myself the honor to address you I take the liberty to solicit at the hands of His Excellency the Governor, employment in any of the various Public offices for which my previous business habits or avocations may have qualified me.
In youth (1828) I became clerk and book-keeper in an extensive mercantile in Berbice, British Guiana, and (1835) a partner of the same.
On the dissolution of the firm (1840-1) I was employed in the Vendue Office of the County (a patent office under the Crown through which all Judicial and other public sales were effected) until its abolition in, I think 1847, but continued winding up its affairs until 1848.
In July 1848 I became a paid servant of the Colony, under circumstances detailed in the accompanying correspondence, numbered to be 4—Copies of which are respectfully submitted.—when I sailed for Europe on leave of absence, pending which, at the instigation of my Father, I decided on coming to Moreton Bay.
I have now been resident in this district upwards of six years, for five of which I have been engaged in agricultural pursuits, but these, from exhausted means and other untoward causes, I have recently been compelled to relinquish.
Being unknown to any of the Heads of Department in Brisbane I can only meantime hope for employment in a subordinate capacity, though desirous it should be such, that I may reasonably look forward to preferment according to merit.
Trusting that some suitable opening may be at the disposal of His Excellency’s favorable consideration
I have the Honor to be
Sir
Your most obedient
humble Servant
Alexr Cameron.

 

No. 1. (Copy)
Berbice 24^th June 1848
[To The Honorable W. B. Wolseley Acting Government Secretary]
Sir,
Having heard from authority which I consider to be quite undoubted, that Mr. H. Van Cooten, the Keeper of the County Prison who has been some time very unwell, is now beyond all hope of recovery, I trust the present application to His Excellency the Lieutenant Governor through you will not have the appearance of indelicacy, which in other circumstances I feel persuaded it would have.
It is in a few words that I may, in the absence of any more worthy in His Excellency’s estimation, be appointed successor to Mr. Van Cooten in the event of his decease.
I do not accompany this with any credentials, but for the information of His Excellency I may mention that from His late Excellency, Governor Sir James Carmichael Smyth, I received a Commission in the County Militia, and from his successor in the late Governor (Sir Henry Light) a Commission as a Justice of the peace and a Coroner of the Colony, besides which I have for some time served as a member of Vestry, and an Auditor of Accounts to the Supreme Court, under appointment of the Government.
These several appointments being more honorary than remunerative I am induced to urge upon His Excellency this my first application for remunerative Public Service; and should it be deemed necessary to obtain testimonials from either the resident Officials of the County, or the merchants and principal planters, I have no doubt I could procure such as would be most satisfactory to His Excellency.
I have the Honor to be
Sir
Your most obedient humble Servant
(sgd) Alexr. Cameron.
Note—In the following month the vacancy was conferred upon me, and due notification thusly inserted in the Government Gazette, by Lieutenant Governor W. Wallis.

 

No. 2 (Copy)
B. Guiana Government Secretary’s Office
October 17^th, 1848.
[To His Honor C. R. Whinfield Sheriff of Berbice.]
Sir
I am directed by His Excellency the Lt. Governor to communicate to you for the information of Mr. Cameron the Keeper of the Jail at New Amsterdam, the following extract of a Dispatch received by His Excellency from the Right Honable. The Secretary of State.
“I have to convey to you my confirmation of the appointment of Mr. Cameron, but you will acquaint Mr. Cameron that he must accept it subject to any reductions that the Combined Court may consider it necessary to make in the Annual Estimates.”
I have the honor to be
Sir
Your most obedient
humble servant
W. B. Wolseley
Ag. Govt. Secty.
A true Copy (sgd) Charles R. Whinfield, Sheriff.

 

No. 3. (Copy)
Berbice 30^th October 1850
[To The Honorable W. B. Wolseley, Government Secretary]
Sir,
I have the honor through you to approach His Excellency the Governor with an application for preferment to an office in this County, that of Assistant Receiver General, vacant by the decease of the recently appointed incumbent, Mr. Hollingsworth.
Already holding an office under the Government it may be necessary to state what motives impel me to intrude on His Excellency’s notice.
At the time of my appointment as Keeper of the County Gaol in 1848 the salary attached to the situation, twelve hundred dollars, might (with residence) have sufficed for the maintenance of a family, and it was understood a person with a family and possessing the requisite qualifications would be preferred by the Lieutenant Governor.
At the meeting of the next Combined Court however it was moved and affirmed that the salary (with many others) should be reduced by twenty five per cent. That is to only nine hundred dollars per annum, a sum—without reference to the great hardship of having to refund from the reduce stipend, two hundred dollars paid me as salary at the higher rate—so inadequate to the wants of an increasing family as to have caused me to be on the watch for more remunerative employment; and in the absence of anything better presenting itself I have seriously thought of removing from this to one of the distant Colonies in Australia.
A more responsible and at same time more lucrative post would however induce a preference for my native country, and it is with this view and a reliance on my ability satisfactorily to fulfil the duties of such an office as the one under consideration that I take the liberty to trespass on His Excellency’s time and attention.
I have the Honor to be
Sir
Your most obedient
humble Servant.
(sgd) Alexr Cameron.

 

No. 4 (Copy)
B. Guiana.
Government Secretary’s Office
November 6^th 1850
Sir
His Excellency the Governor* directs me to acknowledge your letter of the 30^th ultimo, and to inform you that should the office of Assistant Receiver General be filled up, the claim of the Gentleman now acting are superior to yours. His Excellency would be sorry however if the colony lost the benefit of your services, and will be glad to promote your views should a proper opportunity offer.
I have the Honor to be
Sir
Your obedient Servant
(sgd) I. Gardiner Austin
Actg. Asst. Govt. Secretary
[*Mr. now Sir Henry Barkly]
[To Alexr. Cameron Esquire
Berbice.]

Ipswich, 5 March 1861
Dear Sir,
I beg to introduce to you Mr. Alexander Cameron a candidate for office in the Government Service of this colony.
I have much pleasure in stating that I feel certain Mr. Cameron will give every satisfaction in any office he may be appointed to by the Govt.
??fully,
?? Panton.
W. Manning Esq

61/52? Alexander Cameron 6 March
Further application for employment
Ipswich 5^th March 1861
[To: A. W. Manning Esquire
Principal Under Secretary]
Sir
I trust you will not deem me importunate in addressing you with reference to my letter to the Executive of 27^th December last, soliciting employment in the Public Service of this Colony.
Earnestly desiring active occupation my object in now writing is to state that under existing circumstance, almost any employment would be thankfully be hailed by me as a boon. I fear chiefly that the Executive Council are beset with applications from various quarters, and that parties at a distance have the least likelihood of being considered in the filling of vacant, or creative of new posts, but if zeal and assiduity are essential in a public Servant, I pledge myself in all sincerity they shall not be wanting in any trust, to which I may have the honor to be appointed.
Craving your reference to the accompanying few lines of introduction from Mr. I. Panton of this town.
I have the honor to be
Sir
Your most obedient servant
Alexr Cameron.

I’m not sure who H. Van Cooten is, but clearly he died in 1848, and was not an arrival in Australia. I suspect he is one of Hendrik Van Cooten’s grandchildren, and most probably his father would have been Nicholas, Anthony, Lucius, or Theodorus Hermanus Hilbertus Van Cooten.

He  was a stalwart of the Forest Street Methodist Church, including being a trustee, chairman of the Bendigo Chamber of Commerce, active in the Bendigo Horticultural Society, and an amateur photographer, including being president of the Bendigo Photographic Society.

An article in Trove entitled, “A PRESENTATION FROM BENDIGO.”, (1901, May 2). The Bendigo Independent (Vic. : 1891 – 1918), p. 2. relates:

This presentation album was sold at Bonhams auction house in May, 2006, for AU$ 1,635, described as follows:

Stereoscopic views: Goldfields: Australia

Six glass views of The Goldfields of Victoria G. M. Bendigo (An English Co.) taken by J. B. Edwards and captioned showing men underground using mining machinery, the views, together with a Holmes type viewer in a fitted velvet lined polished wood presentation box with a plaque ‘Their Royal Highnesses The Duke and Duchess of Cornwall and York. Views of Underground Mining Bendigo at Victoria Australia By J.B. Edwards, Bendigo 7/5/01’.

This item seems to have been purchased by the Sate Library of Victoria – it appears in their catalogue as http://search.slv.vic.gov.au/permalink/f/1cl35st/SLV_VOYAGER1800111. The images have been digitised and are freely available at https://viewer.slv.vic.gov.au/?entity=IE1409431&mode=browse. An example appears below. If you are good at crossing your eyes you can view it without needing the viewer. I think that J. B. would have been amazed that his images had gone around the world, returned to Victoria, and then become available to the world! He would have been fascinated with this technology.

• He has a father named Walter Barrell, alive in 1799
• He has sisters Abby, Polly and Charlotte
• He has an uncle Theodore
• His mother is deceased in 1799
• He has an uncle Joe, who has a daughter Hannah
• He has an uncle Colborne
• He was educated at Mr. Andrew Rae’s Academy, Islington, London

It is likely that Theodore is the Theodore Barrell listed at https://barrell.one-name.net/getperson.php?personID=I40&tree=T014

A description of archives at Columbia University “Barrell family papers, 1751-1929 bulk 1791-1889”  http://www.columbia.edu/cu/lweb/archival/collections/ldpd_4078972/ says:

The Barrell Family were noted merchants and businessmen in London and in Colonial Demerara, now part of Guyana. Theodore Barrell, the son of Walter Newberry Barrell, a London-based businessman, was both in Boston in 1771. He spent most of his career working as a merchant in the Americas, including in Barbados where he met his wife Elizabeth Beckles Barrell (born November 18, 1783) and in Demerara. Theodore Barrell died in Saugerties, New York in 1846.

Theodore Barrell has a brief biography in Bram Hoonhout’s “Borderless Empire : Dutch Guiana in the Atlantic World, 1750-1800”.

The New-York Historical Society hold a “Letter book, 1798-1803” by Theodore Barrell – https://bobcat.library.nyu.edu/primo-explore/fulldisplay?vid=NYHS&docid=nyu_aleph001507649&context=L  described as

Summary: Letter book, 1798-1803, with correspondence to business associates in London, Barbados, etc., as well as letters to relatives and friends on personal affairs, and life in Guiana. Includes many letters to William and Samuel Jones, London; Walter Barrell, London; William Gill and Samuel Went, Barbados.
Language: English
Publication Date: 1798
Description: 1 v. (182 p.)

Looks like I need to make a trip to the Columbia University archives!

Spagnoletti Code

This turns out to be a form of the Single Needle Instrument developed by Charles Ernest Spagnoletti. I’ve found details of this at Sam Hallas’ page at http://www.samhallas.co.uk/railway/single_needle.htm. He gives an explanation and diagram of the code, which is a representation of morse code.

This confirms William’s recollection of the signalling code he learned as a youth.

The will says that Hendrik junior has “absented himself from Holland where he had been for his education so that no tidings from him have been received by me for several years.”

It turns out that Hendrik senior wasn’t the only person concerned about Hendrik junior’s whereabouts.

I’ve just found the following in Amsterdamse Courant of 10 May 1800, found in the MyHeritage Netherlands Newspapers, 1659-1899 collection.

William Taylor a respectably
dressed young man, was charged with stealing a hat on
the previous Sunday, at the Independent
Chapel, High-street, the property of Mr. George Gorman,
ship’s steward. Mr. Gorman attended service at the
Independent Chapel, High-street, on Sunday evening,
the 30th of June, and placed his hat, of the value of 13s.,
on the window ledge near where he was sitting. The
prisoner, a stranger to the congregation, was present, and
at the conclusion of the service, took the hat and walked
off. About an hour afterwards he was apprehended by
P. C. Littlefield, in the street, with the hat on his head.
He said he took it by mistake, but which could not be the
case, as he had only a cap with him when he went into
the chapel. He pleaded guilty, and was sentenced to six
weeks’ imprisonment with hard labour.

Just a random vignette, but which conveys much information about George Gorman and either pointers to further sources of information, or sufficient to match this person with other events  – his name, occupation, the date, and his place of worship.

I have always wondered what the connection was between the Mr Rusher and the Van Cooten family.

I have recently discovered that Mr Rusher spent time on Guernsey. He was a student at Elizabeth College. His alumnus entry reads:

Trinity Term, 1835. 526. William Eaton Rusher, born Oxford, Jan 13th 1820, son of Dr. William Rusher (Oxford). Left 1837 Magdalen Hall, Oxford, B.A. (3rd class Classics) 1842, M.A. 1852. Afflicted with blindness and unable to follow any profession.

This makes William Rusher a contemporary of John Lucius Van Cooten. John Lucius’ eldest son John Rodolphus Van Cooten became a teacher at Elizabeth College from about 1878.

Sarah Ann Caroline is obviously the person I had always heard referred to as “Annie”. Doing a search on deaths, I found:

This confirms Annie’s full name, and also gives the names of her parents. Doing a search for births to David Jones and Amelia Williams gives:

Thus “Annie” was born in Queensland along with three other brothers, one who possibly died at birth. Continuing this further, I decided to look for an immigration record for the Jones. These are available online for the years 1848 to 1884 in pdf form.  In the pdf for “Johnston to Jones” I found that an Amelia Jones and a David Jones both arrived aboard the “Silver Eagle” on 7 June 1882. I then consulted the microfilm of the Queensland immigration records held at the State Library of Victoria.The “Silver Eagle” skippered by Captain Bright departed Plymouth 2nd March 1882 and arrived at Maryborough 7th June 1882. On board were:

This shows that the family were quite well established before emigration, and also gives an idea of ages for David and Amelia. I then looked in the British census records and found the family in the 1881 census for Newport, Monmouthshire, Wales. The residents of 11 Victoria Place were:

These ages correspond quite well with those given in the immigration record, and the census also indicates that the family were all born in Wales.The final step I took was to look at the electoral records for Queensland. These show Amelia and David living at Macadam St, Maryborough, Queensland during the period 1913 to 1925. Amelia’s occupation is “home duties” and David is a carpenter. No other family members appear at the same address. Amelia and David would have been in their 70s at this time.

Although this family is a “dead end” as far as Van Cooten descendants goes,  it was an interesting exercise to see how much information could be obtained, and gaps filled, in a relatively short space of time using resources readily available on the internet, and State Library of Victoria holdings.

The next documented information I have is from the 1851 census for 9 Draycott Street, Chelsea where Martha K. Van Cooten, 61, Annuitant, born in Surrey Southwark is presumably being looked after by Anna M. Van Cooten, 38, born in Monmouthshire Newport. No occupation is listed for Anna Maria. Anna Maria’s death certificate on 12 December 1873 states her occupation as “gentlewoman”. M. A. Painter is listed as the informant, present at the death. Martha died in 1854.

Anna Maria divided an amount of £300 in her will. In today’s money this is the equivalent of about £20,000 or about $AUS45,000. The income of £15/annum from the investment of this money is worth about £1000 or $AUS2,200 – which wouldn’t seem enough to live on. Anna must have had some other form of support.

In her will she appointed Sarah Jane Primrose as her executor. She refers to Sarah as ‘friend’, although Sarah Jane was the sister of Anna’s brother Eugene’s wife Emily. Anna leaves money to her sister Rosalie Virginia Gooman or Goonan (as best as I can make out) widow of Hubits, St Martins, Guernsey. In an old family letter, Ida Gorsuch says that Rosalie Virginia “Married a Mr L Garnham”. I’ve never been able to validate this, and it is now possible that Ida heard the name and assumed the spelling. I need to recheck the Guernsey census information for 1871 to see if I can find her. Neither of these names seems common on Guernsey.

Anna also left money to her cousin Elizabeth Smithers residing at Villa Marina, Promenade des Anglais, Nice. I’ve not come across Elizabeth before, but presume that she is the daughter of one of Martha Keane Smithers’ brothers – Henry, John or Sydney as far as I currently know. Promenade des Anglais is a current street in Nice.

Anna left money to two other cousins on the Van Cooten side. These are Alice Playter and Eliza Van Cooten who are residing together at Plaisance, East Coast, Demerara. I presume that Alice is the daughter of JLC Playter and Cornelia Bennett Van Cooten – both referred to in Hendrik Van Cooten’s will. This bequest seems to indicate that Anna Maria has some communication with family in British Guiana. I don’t know who Eliza’s parents are.

The remaining legacies are all to friends in England – Georgina Elmer in Pimlico, Alice Lee in Sussex, and Mary Ann Painter residing with Anna Maria in Gravesend. I need to check census information for these people to verify that I have correctly deciphered these names. I also need to find the 1871 census information for 57 Milton Road, Gravesend to see who is residing there – I’ve been unable to locate Anna Maria in the 1861 or 1871 censuses.

On the 21st inst. at St Martin’s church, Strand, London, Mr. H. K. Smithers, of the Adelphi, London, to Miss Pitman, of Barnes, Surrey.

This event was not publicised in the London Times, as far as I can tell from the Digital Times archive, so this suggests that the marriage was of more significance to people (i.e. family) in Monmouthshire, rather than London. The second item was from 25 April 1812, included in the “Bankrupts from Tuesday’s Gazette”:

H. and H. K. Smithers and G. Buck, Newport, Monmouthshire, coal-master, April 25, May 12, June 2, at Guildhall; Attornies, Colins and Waller, Spital-square.

I’m presuming that the ‘Gazette’ referred to is the Welsh Gazette, as no bankruptcy notice of this nature appears in the London Gazette for Tuesday 21 April 1812 in the London Gazette online archives. I have previously assumed that this Smithers family originated in and around London, as they appear in London Post Office directories from 1817 onwards. Maybe this is where H. K. Smithers moved to re-establish himself after experiencing financial difficulties in his home of Newport. I need to discover if there are any Smithers birth, marriage, or death events around Newport. I also need to find a copy of the Welsh Gazette for 1812.

Ida Gorsuch wrote in 1893:

He [John] married a London merchant’s daughter (rather to the disgust of his father & his royal mother). She his wife was a “Miss Martha Keane Smithers”. Miss Smithers was considered a great beauty. I never saw my grandmother. She went out to the “West Indies” when Uncle Eugene was a baby and although she returned to England, she refused to return to her husband and children.

Her youngest sister Mrs Hannah Green, the widow of a Col. Green kept house for her. I should say for Grandpapa & the boys & girls. After a while Aunt Maria (fathers eldest sister) joined her mother, and never again returned to her Fathers house. I believe Grandmama had several very handsome brothers & sisters. The brothers were London and Colonial merchants and their offices were in the Minories. Anyway Uncle Henry Smithers were. I believe our grand parents had ten children, but I only knew the following, namely – Uncle Sydney Silicae Van Cooten, Eugene Hampden Van Cooten, Anna Maria Van Cooten, Rosalie Virginia Van Cooten.

…

And I have since been told that the Van Cooten family were reputed wealthy. I do not know the cause of the loss of property. The reasons have been variously stated by different members of the family (I mean our father’s property). The Smithers branch always blame Grandpapa & our Dad as extravagant etc etc. But I once heard Grandpapa Van Cooten say to my mother that his Father in law (his wife’s father) had led him into much money trouble & difficulty and that the Smithers had made a deal of mischief for him with his father (old Mr Van Cooten). He said “no doubt I may have erred in judgement” but he finished with the following words, “believe me dear Fanny I was more sinned against than sinning”. And I know that my mother always believed him.

In 1885 John Lucius Van Cooten writes:

I often heard my father say the property was worth £100,000 or more & when in London walking with my Uncle Henry from Peckham to his chambers No. 8 London Bridge & his remarking how much he regrets our reverse of circumstances on my account

He must be referring here to Martha’s brother Henry Keene Smithers.

I have found the marriage of John and Martha at St Woolas, Newport, Monmouthshire, Wales on 23 Jul 1808. This register entry says that Martha was ‘of this parish’. I can’t find any Van Cooten events in the Baptism Register for St Woolos 1769-1837 and the Burial Register for St Woolos 1769-1843 transcripts. I had been suspicious that a marriage in Newport was an elopement, as to the best of my knowledge the Smithers were a London family. I have, however, discovered some evidence that indicates that the connection to Newport or Monmouthshire may be substantial. Indexes to ‘The Cambrian’ newspaper published in Wales from 1804 to 1930 are available online. A search for ‘Smithers’ reveals two relevant entries – a marriage notice on 28 January 1809 for Mr H.K. Smithers of London to Miss Pitman of Surrey, and a legal notice on 25 April 1812 involving H.& H.K. Smithers of Newport. A list of Monmouthshire wills includes 26 Keen/Keene wills. Maybe this is where the Keene forename originates.

The 1817 London Post Office directory lists a H. K. Smithers, Auctioneer & Accountant, 1 Castle Court, Birchin Lane. I suspect that this is Martha’s brother. Johnstone’s London Commercial Guide for 1817 lists a H. K. Smithers, Accountant & Merchant at 1 Castle Court – Birchin Lane.

The Times, London, for 15 December, 1835 contains a notice for the Commercial Dock Company signed by H. K. Smithers, Jun., Chief Clerk. I suspect that this is Martha’s nephew. The Times, London, for 13 June 1836 lists the marriage “On the 11th inst., at St Mary’s Newington. Mr Henry Keene Smithers, Jun., to Alice, eldest daughter of Mr. Benjamin Lance.” The 1845 London Post Office directory lists Smithers & Co. merchants at 3 Crescent, Minories, 1 Hammet St. This is also the address recorded for the “Society for relief of Widows & Children of Dissg. Mnstrs, Hen. K. Smithers, sec”. The Commercial Directory listing records “Smithers & Co. merchants & Genl. agts. 3 Crescent, Minories”.

The 1850 Post Office London directory lists “Smithers, Hy. Keene, jun., sec. to Coml. Dock Co, 106 Fenchurch St”. The street directory section lists at 106 Fenchurch St “Commercial Dock Co.’s Office, H. K. Smithers, jun, sec”. Mr. H. K. Smithers is listed as a member of a deputation from the Commercial Dock Company to Lord Stanley of Alderley, in the Times, London for 22 January. 1858.

In the Times, London, for 15 June 1858, the trial of Henry Keene Smithers, embezzlement from his employers, the Commercial Dock Company. Henry Smithers pleaded guilty to three indictments, and was sentenced to six years imprisonment. Henry is described as “45, a gentlemanly looking man”. This implies that he was born in 1813, and thus likely to be the nephew of Martha. A report from the Commercial Dock Company to its shareholders describing its investigation of the Smithers embezzlement is reported in the Times, London, issue of 19 October 1858.

Ida had to have been aware of this sad event, but very tactfully remained silent.

Ida Gorsuch says that John “was sent to England and was educated in the then highest class schools and afterwards finished his studies at Oxford University. This I know for a fact as I have seen several of his books with the stamp of the College upon them.”

I can find no record of John being educated at Oxford or Cambridge. I have consulted “Alumni Oxonienses” [“Alumni Oxonienses : the members of the University of Oxford, 1715-1886”, Foster, Joseph, Oxford : Parker, 1891] and “Alumni Cantabrigiensis”. It is possible that was educated elsewhere in the United Kingdom.

The transcripts of the parish registers for St Woolos (Newport), Monmouth, Wales covering the period 1754-1823 show a marriage of John Van-Cooten of Chelsea, Middlesex to Martha Smithers of St Woolas, Newport on 23-Jul-1808. Their children, according to census records, appear to have been born in the Newport and Bristol area until about 1820.

John is named in Hendrik’s will but not mentioned when apportioning extra responsibilites so this suggests that he is not in the colony at the time (1825).

I have found no record of John until the 1841 census where he is residing in Guernsey as a physician.

So… where was John educated – in London? or in Bristol? How did he get trained as a physician? Where did he practice?

The one for John Hughes showed a birth date of 23 August 1856 to parents Thomas Hughes and Frances Hughes formerly Applebee. Not a match.

The one for Margaret Hughes showed a birth date of 22 Dec 1858 to parents Emma Hughes formerly Griggs and Henry William Hughes (deceased). This is clearly a match, and the information for the mother is consistent with that for Lucius Cooten born in 1862.

FreeBMD shows a death registered in March 1858 for a Henry HEWES in Watford. This is possibly Emma’s husband.

Searching FreeBMD for the births of John Hughes in Berkshire between 1850 and 1865 shows births in Reading in March 1853 (ref 2c 351), June 1855 (ref 2c 326), September 1856 (ref 2c 306), and September 1861 (ref 2c 319). The best information that I have at the moment for the birthdate of John Hughes VC is 7 Nov 1855. I guessed that the September 1856 registration seemed most likely. I’ll order the March 1853 one next and see what it shows.

Three seemingly unconnected pieces of information were the clues that led me put this story together. The first was the discovery in 1999 in the International Genealogical Index (IGI) maintained by the Mormons at their FamilySearch site of the marriage of a Jane Vancooten to a John Wilson on 20 Sep 1836 in Old Cumnock, Ayr, Scotland. I was unaware at that time of any Van Cooten connection to Scotland for this time period, so I filed the information away for future reference.

The second piece of information was the discovery on the Victorian Public Record Office Unassisted Shipping Index of Inward Passenger Lists or British and Foreign Ports 1852-1889 of a J Cooten, aged 40, arriving in June 1853 on the “Sarah Hooper”. I have come across the occasional Cooten surname that is probably a variation of Cotton or Cotten and isn’t related. I also had no idea how I might pursue this further, so I filed it away for future reference. There were no Wilsons aboard.

The third piece of information was the discovery on a clandestine copy of an Australian Vital Records Index CD produced by the Mormons (and not for sale in Australia) of the death of a Jane Van Cooten in Victoria in 1879, aged 80, born in Scotland. This was enough to prompt me to order a copy of the death certificate to try to find out who this person was.

The death certificate was a mine of information, as most Australian certificates are. Jane Van Cooten died on 6 July 1879 at Barry St, South Yarra, aged 80 years (born about 1799). Her parents were Alexander McGlashan and Abigail nee Patrick. The informant was her grandson Hilbert Wilson, and she was buried on 8 July 1879 in St Kilda Cemetery. She was born in Old Cumnock in Scotland and had been in Victoria for 29 years (arriving about 1850). She was married at the age of 19 (about 1818) in Old Cumnock to Hilbert Van Cooten, and had one child, Jane aged 61 (born about 1818). At this point I had no idea who Hilbert Van Cooten was.

Based on the information above, it seemed as though looking for a Wilson family arriving in Victoria, with husband Jane and wife John might be sensible. Trawling through the shipping registers I found a set of Wilsons arriving in September 1852 on the “Europa”. They were Anna M aged 8, Dorathea aged 10, Hubert (an understandable misreading of Hilbert) aged 5, Jane aged 14, Jane aged 34, and John aged 42. At this stage I was still not convinced of a connection.

In 2002 I came across a site transcribing Scottish births and Marriages. In the Wilson transcriptions for Cumnock I found the following births to parents John Wilson and Jane Vancooten: Jane Vancooten, christened 11 Mar 1838, Dorthea Nicols, christened 6 Feb 1842, Anna Maria born 26 Jan 1844 and Hilbert Herminu? born 20 Aug 1846. These names match so well to Hendrik Van Cooten’s family that I was now convinced of a connection. About the same time on the Scots Origins transcripts of Parish Registers I found a birth date for Jean Vancooten christened 24 Apr 1818, child of Hilbert Vancooten and Jean nee McGlashan in Old Cumnock, and also confirmation for the marriage date of Jane Vancooten and John Wilson.

I then dredged the CD-ROMS of Victorian Births, Marriages and Deaths held in the State Library. I found: the death of Dorothea Wilson daughter of John Wilson & Jane Van Cooten, in 1891 age 49 (born about 1820); the death of John Wilson son of Hilbert Van Cooten and Jane, in 1897 age 79 (born about 1818); The death of Jane Wilson, daughter of John Wilson & Jane Van Cooten, in 1912 aged 73 (born about 1840); and the death of Hilbert Wilson, son of Jno (sic) Wilson and Jane Cooten, in 1911 aged 65 (born about 1846). I didn’t find the death of Ann, or John, nor did I find any obviously connected births or marriages.

I proceeded to order the death certificate for Hilbert Wilson. It told me that he died on 23 Dec 1911 at 43 Perth St, Prahran, age 65. He was a retired grocer. He was the son of John Wilson, School Teacher, and Jane formerly Cooten. He was buried on 24 Dec 1911 a St Kilda Cemetery, was born in Ayrshire Scotland, had been in the colony 59 years, and had never been married. I then decided to see if any St Kilda cemetery records would tell me more. I consulted the St Kilda Cemetery headstone transcripts held be the Genealogical Society of Victoria, but drew a blank.

A couple of years ago I discovered that the St Kilda Cemetery records are now online. A search of these revealed two Wilson plots. In the Presbyterian Monumental Grave Section, Compartment B, Grave 74 are Jane Cooten buried 7 Jul 1879 aged 80, Anne M Wilson buried 6 Feb 1870 aged 25, Jane Wilson buried 9 Feb 1912 aged 73, and John Wilson buried 5 Apr 1876 aged 65. In the Presbyterian Monumental Grave Section, Compartment B, Grave 76 are Dorothea Wilson buried 21 Oct 1891 aged 49, Gilbert Wilson buried 23 Dec 1911 aged 65, and Jane Wilson buried 1 Aug 1897 aged 79. This accounts for the whole family. It would seem that none of the daughters married, and that there were no other children. This is a bit disappointing, as I had hoped that there might be some living descendants. I went to St Kilda cemetery but I couldn’t find any headstones, nor could I work out where the grave plots were. I contacted the Cemetery again and was able to obtain a more precise map of the location. The two grave plots are adjacent to each other. I need to go back with a camera to examine the location again.

In the 1841 census of Scotland on FreeCEN I have found a Wilson household consisting of John age 30, Jane age 20, Jane age 3, Jane Cootan age 40, and Abigail McGlashin age 40. This is consistent with the other information. I suspect that Abigail McGlashin is Jane Cootan (Van Cooten’s) sister. This is confirmed by the death register transcript showing the death of Abigail McGlashan daughter of Alexander McGlashan, (dec) and Abigail Patrick, age 67 on 16 May 1861 at Old Cumnock, Single, Pauper.

I’m fairly convinced that Jane McGlashan was married to Hendrik Van Cooten’s son Theodorus Hermanus Hilbertus. Hendrik’s will of 1825 says:

That my son T.H.Hilbertus shall act as doctor and daily visit the sick and those who have sores he is to prepare and administer the necessary medicines or remedies for which he is to receive eight hundred guilders per annum. The necessary medicines are to be furnished to him by the administrators at the expense of the plantation. He is to have a boy to serve him and the administrators are to take care that his and the overseers clothes are properly washed.

and also

The four sons Nicholas Anthony Lucius and Theodorus Hermanus Hilbertus shall be bound to have the hereafter named coloured children instructed in reading writing arithmetic and a Trade and to maintain them until the age of 18 years viz. Nicholas the Boy Dan born from my slave Mietji, Anthony the Girls Henrietta born from my slave Christina and Petronella born from my slave Brunol Lucius the Boy Edward born from my slave Eve, and Theodorus Hermanus Hilbertus the boy Wilson born from my slave Charlotte.

This is a curiously coincidental name for a slave. Theodorus Hermanus Hilbertus was clearly known more commonly as Hilbertus. His death is reported in the Guiana Chronicle on Wednesday 7 June 1837: Died – On Monday afternoon, on Pl. Vryheid’s Lust T.H.H. VAN COOTEN, Esq., Surgeon. The thing that really clinches it for me is Dorothea Nicols Wilson being named after Hendrik’s wife.

I can’t quite work out what scenarios might match the facts. It would be good to determine if Jane McGlashan resided in Demerara, or if Theodorus Hermanus Hilbertus went to Scotland. There is no mention in Hendrik’s will of him being married at that point, or having descendants, although other sons with known offspring don’t have them mentioned either. It would be understandable if Theodorus Hermanus Hilbertus died in 1837 for his widow to be in Scotland with her family in 1841. What is more puzzling is that his possible daughter Jane Van Cooten was christened in Old Cumnock in 1818. I’m almost totally convinced that the children of Jane Van Cooten and John Wilson were the great grandchildren of Hendrik Van Cooten, and thus the first of Hendrik’s descendants to arrive in Australia in 1852 – 22 years before John Hughes Van Cooten.

It has been fascinating to have some research to do on my own doorstep. There are some small projects to do in obtaining the death certificates for the other Wilsons and confirming that none of them married or had children. It might also be interesting to examine local records to identify occupations and places of residence. I’m not sure how to verify the connection to Theodorus Hermanus Hilbertus Van Cooten.

Margaret Greggs, Head, Widow, Female, 62, Nurse. Almswoman, Essex West Bergholt
Emma Hewes, Daughter, Married, Female, 30, Bakery Wife, Essex Colchester
Emma Hewes Jr, Grand daughter, Female, Unmarried, 6, Scholar, Essex Colchester
Isabella Hewes, Grand daughter, Female, Unmarried, 4, Scholar, Essex Colchester
Henry W. Hewes, Grand son, Male, Unmarried, 3, Scholar, Essex Colchester
William I. Hewes, Grand son, Male, Unmarried, 1, At home, Essex Colchester

This definitely matches very well, however it seems that Emma’s maiden name might be Greggs rather than Griggs. FreeBMD shows no Greggs/Hughes marriages at all. There’s a birth registration for an Emily Hewes in Colchester in December quarter 1844, but no births for Emma Hewes anywhere in the approximate time range. FreeBMD doesn’t show a death for a Margaret Griggs/Greggs of the right age in the right area to give a clue as to which might be right. FreeBMD tells us that Henry W. is Henry Walter.

I can’t find a Henry Hewes in the 1851 census that looks as though he is the husband of this family. Presumably he is still alive at this point as Emma’s condition is reported as married, rather than a widow.

I’ve ordered birth certificates for the birth of John Hughes registered in Reading in the September quarter of 1856, and the birth of Margaret Hughes registered in the March quarter of 1859. If Margaret was born in 1859 she would have been 2 in 1861. I can find no trace of her in the 1861 census. This is a bit of a puzzle.

The story so far is that John Lucius Van Cooten married firstly Frances Mary Theresa Kent, and secondly a Mary Hughes (according to one old family letter) or Emona Hughes (according to John Hughes Van Cooten’s marriage certificate). The first marriage ended in separation as Frances Mary Van Cooten is a witness at the marriage of her son John Rhodolphus in 1860. I suppose that the second marriage should really be considered a de facto relationship as divorces weren’t really obtainable at this time. I’m not expecting to find any formal documentation regarding this relationship.

The known children of JLVC and Mary/Emona Hughes were John Hughes VC born in Reading, Berkshire in about 1855 according to a variety of sources, and Margaret Hughes VC born in Oxford, Oxfordshire in about 1859. I have never been able to find a marriage for JLVC and Mary Hughes, and a search for the birth of John Hughes Van Cooten in Reading drew a blank.

A search of the 1861 census shows a family living in George St, St Mary Magdalen, Oxford, Oxfordshire, England

Emma Hughes,Head,Wid,F,38,Waistcoat Maker,Essex Colchester
Isabella Hughes,Dau,Unm,F,15,,,Essex Colchester
Henry Hughes,Son,Unm,M,13,Errand Boy,Essex Colchester
William Hughes,Son,Unm,M,11,Shop Boy,Essex Colchester
John Hughes,Son,Unm,M,5,,Berks Reading

and nearby at Beaumont Buildings No 9

John Cooten,Lodger,Mar,M,44,General Agent,Sommerset

This looks as though it fits. John Lucius Van Cooten is living less than 200 metres from the Hughes household. The children above were born in about 1846, 1848, 1850 and 1856 respectively.

By the 1871 census we find living at 38 Maine Street, Chalgrove, Oxfordshire:

John Cooten,Head,Mar,Male,49,Schoolmaster,“Somerset, Bristol, Hot Wells”
John Cooten,Son,unmar,Male,14,Scholar,”Berks, Reading”
Margarett Cooten,Dau,Female,12,Scholar,Oxford

So it looks as though Mary/Emma is no longer alive.

At this stage I had been unable to find any evidence of a Hughes family matching the one above in the 1851 census. Nor was I able to find a Emma marriage to a person with the surname Hughes in the Colchester area, nor any children with the surname Hughes matching the names above in Colchester. Something didn’t seem to fit!

I checked out the archives of the Rootsweb mailing list for Essex to see if anyone had posted a query for Hughes in Colchester. This alerted me to the possibility that an alternative spelling of the name in this area was ‘Hewes’. I also had another look at a birth certificate I had ordered in 1992 and had discounted as having a connection. This birth certificate was for a Lucius Cooten born on 6 March 1862, child of John Cooten and Emma Cooten, formerly Griggs. Even though the birth was in Bendington near Wallingford, the surname Griggs didn’t make any sense.

On the assumption that this certificate was in fact relevant I did a FreeBMD search for an Emma Griggs marrying someone with the surname Hewes. Bingo! In the June 1844 marriages there is a Henry HEWES marrying in Colchester with a possible partner of Emma Griggs! And this entry was only added in this month’s update! A FreeBMD search for Hewes births in Colchester results in

Hewes, Isabella registered in Jun 1846
Hewes, Henry Walter registered in Sep 1847
HEWES, William registered in Sep 1849

These are the only children with these names, and the dates match really well.

So, it seems that our Hughes family in Oxford in 1861 was originally the family of Henry and Emma Hewes (born Griggs) of Colchester, Essex. It also seems that John Hughes and Margaret Hughes VC had another brother – Lucius, born in 1852, who possibly died in infancy.

Now to find the Hewes family in the 1851 census. What happened to Henry Hewes? How did they get to Reading? Is it worth getting the birth certificates for John Hughes born in Reading in 1856, and for Margaret Hughes born in Oxford in 1859?

I don’t know where he lived, or where he was educated. I do know that by 26 April 1771 Hendrik van Cooten was officially recognized as a chartered land surveyor (“landmeter”) by the provincial government of Utrecht. In his testimony at the John Smith trial he indicates that he arrived in the colony in February, 1773. By 1775 he has assisted in the production of a map of the plantations lying along the west bank of the Demerara River. How did he get to Demerara? What was his motivation?

• Finding Hendrik Van Cootens origin in the Netherlands
• Establishing contact with the descendants, if any, of Margaret Hughes Van Cooten
• Establishing contact with the descendants, if any, of John Rodolphus Van Cooten

Over the past few years all of the goals have been met, largely as a result of people contacting me after finding information on my web site! So, I need some new goals. I’ll be working on:

• Who was John Hughes Van Cooten’s mother? It looks as though it was Emona Hughes, but where did she come from? And what was her story?
• John Hughes Van Cooten’s birth certificate.
• Margaret Hughes Van Cooten’s birth certificate.
• Do any descendants of Hendrik Van Cooten exist in Guyana? What happened to Hendrik’s other children and their descendants?
• Are any of the Van Cootens living in and around Vryheids Lust in Guyana descendants of Hendrik, and what do they know of their history?