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.

Orphan Chambers

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The Orphan Chamber (Weeskamer) was a Dutch practise that made provision for the collection and administration of the property of persons who died intestate and left heirs absent from the Colony or were under age and therefore unable to take the duty upon themselves. The existence of notices from the Orphan Chamber to creditors implies that an estate has come under their administration, and that there are under age heirs to be provided for.

Emma Hewes

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I’ve now checked the 1851 census for a Hewes family in Colchester. At a household at 14 Eld Lane we find:

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.

FreeBMD

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I referred to FreeBMD in the previous post. FreeBMD is an ongoing project, the aim of which is to transcribe the Civil Registration index of births, marriages and deaths for England and Wales, and to provide free Internet access to the transcribed records. It is a collaboration of thousands of people world wide transcribing to estimated 100 million entries from the start of civil registration in 1837 through to 1900 and presently up to about 1920. I’ve transcribed records for them in the past. Coverage is now getting really comprehensive, and scanned images of the original indexes are also available from the site.

Emma Hughes conundrum solved?

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I think I’ve worked out who John Hughes Van Cooten’s mother was.

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?

Hendrik Van Cooten’s early years

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I’ve been trying to think about what is knowable about Hendrik Van Cooten’s early years. I know that he was christened in Doorn Reformed Church on 5 Jul 1750. He was the son of a carpenter, and had six living brothers and sisters. He was the second child of the family, and the eldest son.

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?