Smithers mini-update

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With assistance from family in the UK (you know who you are!), I sent away for copies of the Smithers articles that I found in the online indexes to ‘The Cambrian’ newspaper. Unfortunately the text contains little more information than that revealed in the index. The entry from 28 January 1809 says:

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.

Physician reveal thyself!

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I’ve mentioned before that John Van Cooten was a physician.

There are a variety of sources of biographical information on medical practitioners in England, but I will focus on those that are relevant to find out more about John Van Cooten.

The Cyndi’s List category for doctors contains some useful links for online resources, but paper resources are still significant. The British Medical Association has an excellent page detailing information sources. Alex Glendinning’s “Was Your Ancestor a Doctor” provides important background and sources. The Royal College of General Practitioners “Tracing Your Medical Ancestors” page is good.

John Van Cooten was in practice from about the early 1800s to about the 1840s possibly on Guernsey for all of this time. I have yet to consult the Medical Directory. This directory commenced publication in 1845, so an unsuccessful search may not mean much. The genealogical collection of the State Library of Victoria holds copies on microfiche for 1848-1869. The GSV Library holds a copy on microfiche for 1847.

I have consulted the University Alumni documents for both Oxford and Cambridge with no result. I need to find publications for other Universities active in the early 1800s.

I have searched W. Munk, Roll of the Royal College of Physicians both in hard copy at the University of Melbourne, and on line without success. Unfortunately Munk covers Fellows only for 1826-1997, and it is probable that John was not a Fellow.

A Transcript is not the original!

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Some time ago I obtained an 1881 English Census household entry from the LDS transcripts on CD for Thomas and Ida Gorsuch. The other day, having access to ancestry.com at the GSV Library I obtained a scanned copy of the actual census book page. In the last column of the entry for Ida, recording whether the person was (1) Deaf-and-Dumb (2) Blind (3) Imbecile or Idiot (4) Lunatic, was an entry reading “Partially blind from accident”. This information was not on the census transcript, and sheds a little more light on her personal history.

Also a reminder that the transcript is not the original! A quick check of my sources list indicates that there are a couple more LDS 1881 transcripts that I need to obtain the original for.

Those Scandalous Smithers!?

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John Van Cooten, eldest son of Hendrik, married Martha Keane Smithers.

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.

Trawling Google Books

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Google Books contains a surprising mine of genealogical information, particularly when searching for a relatively uncommon name like “Van Cooten”. I occasionally check Google Books to see what might pop up. For full text books in the references below, search for “Van Cooten” in the “Search in this book” field at the bottom of the right-hand pane.

There are a variety of books containing references to Eugene Van Cooten and his work as a missionary in Nigeria e.g. “Abbeokuta, Or Sunrise Within the Tropics”.

There are numerous books about the trial of John Smith, missionary, and Hendrik Van Cooten’s evidence at his trial e.g. “Report of the Proceedings Against the Late Rev. J. Smith, of Demerara”.

There are references to Di Van Cooten’s books on health in Indonesia e.g. “The Village Woman”.

Harold Van Cooten was the defendant in a legal case regarding tenancy, and is occasionally cited e.g. “The Solicitors’ Journal”.

I show up in a number of references to clinical trials involving quality of life assessment e.g. “Effect of Cancer on Quality of Life” .

Two surprising references I found today were a reference to a Lucius Van Cooten of Petersham as a subscriber to “An Easy Introduction To The Mathematics; In Which The Theory And Practice Are Laid Down And Familiarly Explained” published in 1814. I’m not sure who this is. Also in what would seem to be the 1828 edition of “The Royal kalendar, and court and city register for England, Scotland, Ireland, and the colonies” is a reference to “Assistant Master, J. Van Cooten”. This is possibly John Van Cooten. I need to find a way of accessing the text of this book.

Both ends of the voyage to Canada

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The Genealogical Society of Victoria Library provides members free access to findmypast.com – a commercial site specialising in British family history records, including complete birth, marriage and death records for England and Wales from 1837 to 2004, fully transcribed census records, overseas and consular records, and military records.

I have recently explored their shipping records for Van Cooten voyages. The shipping departure records are indexed.

I found Edwin Van Cooten departing for Canada in 1903, Thomas Van Cooten departing for Canada in 1907, Mrs W. Van Cooten departing for Canada in 1918 accompanied by her children Margaret, Mary and John (this must have been a very sad journey as Edwin was killed in WW1 in 1917), and Miss M.W. Van Cooten departing for a holiday in Gibraltar in 1931.

Arrival records for Canada are available at Library and Archives Canada. These are not indexed by passenger, however they are searchable by ship, arrival port, and date. If you use the information from the British emigration register, you can call up the Canadian immigration register, and gain a few snippets of information!

John Van Cooten leaves Demerara

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John Van Cooten was possibly the eldest son, or the eldest legitimate son, of Hendrik Van Cooten. By inference from English censuses, and from his death certificate, he was born in about 1775-1781, most likely 1780, in Demerara. This is not that long after Hendrik arrived in the colony.

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?

Hughes/Hewes update 2

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I ordered the birth certificates for John Hughes born in Reading in March 1853 (ref 2c 351) checking that the mother’s forename was Emma, and June 1855 (ref 2c 326) again checking the mother’s forename. Both drew a blank. Fortunately, checking that the details matched meant that the process was faster, and also cheaper as a certificate wasn’t actually posted. I’ve also checked in the FreeBMD images for the March quarter of 1856 as its only partly transcribed, but there doesn’t seem to be any relevant entries there. I’m now a bit stumped as to where to look next!

Hughes/Hewes update

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The birth certificates I ordered 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 turned up in the mail today.

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.

First Van Cootens in Australia?

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John Hughes Van Cooten arrived in Australia on 20 Dec 1874 – almost 133 years ago. But it is highly likely that he wasn’t the first of Hendrik Van Cooten’s descendants to arrive in Australia!

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.