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.

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 1897¹ 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 1898². 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.³

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 functions⁵. 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 1901⁶, but the partnership dissolved in 1904⁷. He seemed to have a short-lived involvement in a boot-making enterprise in 1905⁸, and then became Maryborough agent for the General Accident Assurance Corporation Limited⁹. By October 1906 he has purchased the business of Mr. H. J. Stoodley in North Ipswich, and the family return there to live.¹⁰

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 Endeavour¹¹, sang at Sunday School Anniversary concerts¹², and was organist at Sunday School Anniversary services¹³ and weddings¹⁴.

“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 Church¹⁵, and is active in the Maryborough Sunday School Union¹⁶ and Congregational Church Sunday School¹⁷.

In 1922 Jessie is noted as being a performer at a concert arranged by Madame Camille Cornwell¹⁸. 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.

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.

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.²⁰

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!²¹

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.²²

Fox’s History of Queensland²³ 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.²⁴

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.²⁵

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

Lola Tarnawski’s book on the Cameron family²⁶ (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.

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.

I’ve found some interesting tidbits already. These include:

• Report of the death of Leonard Van Cooten – we were previously unaware of these circumstances
• Various listings (for example) of John Hughes Van Cooten traveling by sea along the coast of Queensland
• Reference to John Hughes Van Cooten working for Ipswich Woollen Mills
• Reference to John Hughes Van Cooten being involved in a horse-drawn vehicle accident
• Reference to William Neuendorf being involved in a horse fall
• Reference to the premises of Walter Neuendorf being burnt down

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.

A search of the Guille Alles Library catalogue for Guernsey shows that they hold “A Guernsey commercial directory for 1826 : from A guide to theisland of Guernsey, 1826”, and “Guernsey Commercial Directory for 1834 / edited by J. Stevens Cox.”. I’ll try to find if someone can consult these for me.

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.

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.

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?

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.

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?