One more piece of information as we try to find Edward Atkins.

As of today we have one more piece of information which helps to cross the t's and dot the i's as we try to establish if there is only one Edward Atkins or two.

I have had a response from the Anglican minister for Clare, the Reverend Joan Reed, regarding my query and  she says:

I have checked the church burial records and have found a record of the death of a Joseph Atkins who died on November 28^th 1855 aged 3 ? years who is buried at Bundaleer.? I didn’t find any record of the death of Hannah McLeod Atkins or Henry.

So now we know that young Joseph did not live to adulthood, marry and have children but Henry may have done. It does not take us far but it does take us further because we have one more piece of information about the family of Hannah and Edward Atkins.Little Joseph, born in 1851 must have been four when he died and was buried at Bundaleer. His sister Emily, born 1854 in Bundaleer, means the family moved to Bundaleer from the Clare Valley sometime between 1851 and 1854.

It is pretty clear at this point that Hannah and Edward moved to Bundaleer and it looks likely that Henry lived to adulthood and could well be the 'one son' mentioned in the death notice for the Edward Atkins who died at Whyte's Park, Wirrabarra Forest. 

The Reverend Reed has passed my query on to the Reverend in charge of the Ministry District of Southern Flinders which includes Wirrabarra so fingers are crossed that there might be some further information which comes to light. A death notice for Hannah Atkins would help enormously or a second death notice for another Edward Atkins would solve the mystery once and for all.