The devil is in the detail with Devon dabblings

We have come a long way in terms of knowing more about the origins of Elizabeth Mashford (Lewis) Atkins and I only hope we can do the same with Edward Atkins. But the devil is in the detail when it comes to finding information.

Of course it is wonderful when a family line can be traced back through countless generations but I am not sure it proves much. It is interesting to know the origins of one's family and names, dates and places of birth in order to have a better feel for the genetic and experiential inheritance.

But, the genetic inheritance becomes diluted over time with two becoming four and four becoming eight and eight becoming sixteen and sixteen becoming thirty-two and thirty-two becoming sixty four by the time you reach great-great-great-great grandparents or grandparents 4X removed. At this point you have 126 ancestors which makes my head spin a tad. It is impossible to trace them all conclusively.

Which is why ancestry research tends to head in a particular direction and focus on 'some' not all of one's ancestral inheritance. The goal of this research is to discover Charlie Ross's Greek origins and that is the main focus.

The detours have however been necessary so far and interesting. I knew nothing about the Mashfords except the name, the illegitimacy and the supposedly 'noble' links. The research has thrown up information we did not have and photographs we never expected to see.

While the 'finer details' can be hard to put in place, it is fascinating to explore the 'bigger picture' of the times in which my ancestors lived. If poverty sent my Mashford's to Australia I suspect it was war which sent them to Devon... although it could also have been poverty. The Mashfords are thought to belong to one original family, established in Lincolnshire, which sent off a Devonshire 'branch' sometime in the 17th  or 18th century.

I suspect the reason for that may have been the English Civil War in 1643. The citizens of Lincolnshire and Devonshire were, in the main, on the side of Parliament. Very early in the piece the Royalists took Lincolnshire and held it for the duration of the First Civil War.

Between 1642 and 1651, Lincoln was on the frontier between the Cavaliers and Parliamentary forces. The city 'changed hands' a number of times but basically the Royalists held sway. The city of Lincoln was badly damaged  and as a result, while the rest of the country prospered as the 1700's arrived, Lincoln continued to suffer.

Did our Mashford decamp south to Devonshire hoping to continue the fight against the Royalists?  Was there a difference of opinion in the Mashford family with our man siding with Parliament and his brother or father siding with the Royalists? There is no doubt that the English civil war split families as well as country.

But there are no Mashfords ....or Partridges for that matter ..... in the Zeal Monachorum Protestation Returns of 1641-2 in the early days of the war. By the end of 1640, King Charles I had become very unpopular. Parliament forced him to make changes in the Constitution which gave them a bigger say in how the country was governed. From then on, Parliament was split into two factions - Royalists (Cavaliers) who supported the King and Parliamentarians (Roundheads) who wanted political and religious reform.

On 3 May 1641, every Member of the House of Commons was ordered to make a declaration of loyalty to the king and to Parliament. This was ratified next day by the House of Lords. They called it their Protestation against 'an arbitrarie and tyrannical government' and another order was made that every Rector, Churchwarden and Overseer of the Poor had to appear in person before the JPs in their Hundred to make this Protestation Oath in person.

It was to be a declaration of their belief in the 'Protestant religion, allegiance to the King and support for the rights and privileges of Parliament.'

The war would drag on untill 1651 claiming nearly one million lives, many of those dying from disease, famine and from religious genocide.  King Charles I was beheaded on January 30, 1649 for high treason against the realm and people. His son (the future Charles II) would continue the war untill 1651 untill he was defeated at Worcester and fled to France.

In 1660 Charles II returned to London in 1660 with popular support. He was crowned in May 1661. As was the way, he sentenced to death the surviving men who had voted to execute his father.  An uneasy peace settled on the land but it marked a turning point in history - never again would a monarch confront parliament in any real sense.

No doubt some divided families made peace and others did not. Perhaps our Mashford was long settled in Devon, or perhaps not. He may well have only left Lincolnshire at the end of the 17th century or early in the 18th because times were tough in Lincolnshire?

Either explanation may be right or neither explanation may be right. However, a John Mashford was certainly living in the parish of Zeal Monachorum in 1723. Zeal Monachorum was a nearby parish to Coldridge and Mashfords were registered in both during the 1841 census.

The Devon and Exeter Oath Rolls of 1723 show that a John Mashford registered and signed his allegiance to the king. Nearly one hundred years before  the illiterate Elizabeth Mashford (Lewis) Atkins was born, here is a Mashford who could sign his name. It's an indication that our Mashfords may have gradually slipped down the social ladder during the 18th century.
The oaths were sworn at The Blue Anchor, Crediton on September 23, 1723 before Bampfylde Rodd and John Gibbs esq.Along with John Mashford some twenty-five Partridges also stepped up to pledge allegiance to King George I.

These Rolls were compiled in the aftermath of the Jacobite Atterbury plot of 1720-22 and contain the names of over 25,000 Devonians, amounting to some one in five of the adult population of the time. Both men and women signed the Rolls in front of Justices of the Peace.

There is no sign of any Mashfords on the pre: 1723 rolls and no sign of any Mashfords in Winkleigh. The fact that one Mashford appears in the midst of more than two-dozen Partridges does indicate that the Mashford presence in Devon was far more recent than the Partridges. And given the preponderance of Mashfords in Lincolnshire at the time it is a very good bet that the Mashfords made their way to Devon in the early 1700's.

Whatever the reason the Mashfords, at least on our side, were showing themselves to be willing to take a risk in their bid for a better life. Although, perhaps by the time our Mashfords left for South Australia the circle was turning and the Mashfords, like so many others, were leaving the worst of poverty behind. In White's Register for Zeal Monachorum in 1850 there are no Mashford's listed.

LEFT: Village life in 19th century Devon.

While in White's 1850 register for Coldridge there is a Josiah Mashford, shoemaker and a Joseph Mashford, schoolteacher.

There's a good chance that these Mashfords form some part of the family tree and the fact that one of them is educated enough to be a schoolteacher stands in stark contrast to our illiterate lot.

A Reed and William Partridge are listed on the same register as farmers ... but not as owners. Perhaps now it was the turn of the Partridges to slip a little down the ladder. By 1893 there are no Mashfords listed in Coldridge (Coleridge) but there is one Partridge :  A Mrs Frances Partridge, farmer and miller of Park Mill.

Coldridge is a small parish situated on the River Taw, 10 miles (16 km) north-west of the ancient market town of Crediton between Brushford and Nymett Rowland.  It is situated deep in the heart of Devon, and still remains pretty much a country village. The hamlet of East Leigh which lies ½ mile (3/4 km) south of the parish is also part of Coldridge.

In 1801 the parish had 697 people; in 1851, four years after Elizabeth and her family had left, the number was down to 607 and by 1901 it was nearly half that and parish numbers wouldstill hovers around this point  today.

And one of the local Mashfords, another John Mashford, possibly our own but possibly not,  has popped up in my search as: Bigamist of Ugborough &Truro! But bigamy was not uncommon at the time given the divorce laws which made it easier to simply 'walk away' and marry again and hope that the paucity of records would keep your secret safe.

Devon, or Devonshire is bounded on the north by Briston Channel; on the north-east by Somerset; on the east by Dorset; on the south-east and south by the English Channel and on the West by Cornwall. The only English counties which are larger in size are Yorkshire and Lincoln.

ABOVE: Clay mining was a part of life in 19th century Devon.

The landscape is varied from mountainous in the east, to rocky along the coast and lush, green rolling hills and valleys across the centre. It is a land of rivers, springs and brooks ... very different to northern South Australia where Elizabeth would make her home. But, like South Australia, Devon was also a place of mines; tin, copper, lead, iron ore, silver, gold, cobalt, manganese and coal.

And, like much of South Australia Devon is a place of clay soils ranging in colour from yellow to pure white and from heavy to light with areas of rich loam. It was the rich loam which made Devon a land of rich produce and an agricultural 'basket' for England.



LEFT: Fishing off the Devon coast.

In the 18th and 19th centuries it was agricultural in the main with good fishing along the coast. Just like South Australia when Elizabeth and her family arrived.

Living in Wirrabarra Forest it was highly unlikely that the Atkins family spent much time fishing.

Daughter Mary Atkins would of course marry a fishmonger but living in Gladstone, so far from the coast, they would not have gone fishing either. Or perhaps she accompanied Charlie Ross when he went to buy his fish to sell and they sat on the docks at Port Pirie, casting a line, while waiting for their goods to be sorted and loaded.

Perhaps Elizabeth went with them to care for the children while Charlie and Mary loaded the fish which would be taken back to Gladstone to sell. Did the sight of the port bring back good memories or bad? It is impossible to know. I like to think that she was content with her life and her family in South Australia. Her children and grandchildren seemed to grow up as reasonably sensible people and that's always a sign of reasonable parenting which as often as not results from a reasonable level of contentment.

Life in colonial Kensington.

PHOTO: Elizabeth Mashford (Lewis) Atkins with her son,  James Haynes Atkins. Circa: 1870.

Having arrived in the new colony of South Australia in March of 1847  Elizabeth Mashford married Peter Lewis in November of the same year and the couple set up home in Kensington ... now one of Adelaide's better suburbs.

The research 'fairy' has been hard at work again and new information has come from Kylie Nott whose husband is descended from Elizabeth Mashford (Lewis) Atkins' first child, George Lewis.

It seems that the family has a Bible which was presented by George Lewis  to his wife, Sarah Barber Griffiths in 1882. George was listed as a boundary rider when he signed as a witness at the marriage of his half-sister Mary Atkins to her Greek 'sailor' Charlie Ross.
BELOW: Bible Front Page.

George Lewis, the first of Elizabeth Mashford's children, as far as we know, was born July, 8, 1848 in Kensington, Adelaide.

Peter Lewis is recorded as working as a servant on George's birth certificate. It was Elizabeth's brother, George Mashford, who notified the authorities of the birth of his young nephew.

Kensington Village had been established in November 1838 within seventeen months of the first landing at Holdfast Bay. The plan for the village was created by B.J. Hughes and it was named after the birthplace of Queen Victoria. The streets were intersected by Hallet's Rivulet (Second Creek) and notices in The Register made it clear that the creek would be able to supply plentiful water to the village for at least nine months of the year. The first plan allowed for 114 allotments of one acre each which could be sold. And most of them would have creek frontages.

The colony was thriving at this time with new settlers arriving by the shipload. Many of them were from Germany, including some of my maternal ancestors and many of them were from Ireland; fleeing the terrible potato famine. The Mashfords were like thousands of others who crossed the ocean to a strange new land in the hope of a better life.

PHOTO: The Mashford family would have sailed to Australia on a ship like this.

While information about the Mashford's in England is scant, it is clear they were poor or they would have made 'better' marriages in Australia. Research so far shows Mashfords, who might be Elizabeth and her brother John, working as servants in London in the years prior to their journey to Australia. If Elizabeth Mashford married a servant there is a very good chance that she was a servant as well and an even better chance that they met and fell in love while working together.

By the time  Elizabeth and Peter's second child was born they were living in Marryattville. This is an adjacent suburb to Kensington but, in the 1840's would have been a nearby village. By July 1853 the villages of Kensington and Marryattville along with Norwood were incorporated into a town. This was the first Municipal Town, outside of the city of Adelaide, to be proclaimed in South Australia.

It was a first in the new colony's electoral history when the new council election was conducted using an electoral roll, independent poll clerks and scrutineers and voting papers. The first mayor, Charles Bonney, was elected through a secret ballot - believed to be the first such ballot in Australia's electoral history. In 1856 the village of Kent Town was added to the municipality and in 1859, South Australia's first Town Hall was built on The Parade at Norwood. But by this time Elizabeth Mashford Lewis would be remarried and living with Edward Atkins in the mid-north of the State.

The move which Elizabeth and Peter made to the nearby village of Marryattville was probably because of Peter's work. Either he had changed jobs or his employers had moved house.

Elizabeth and Peter may well have set up home in the outbuildings of one of the grand homes of Kensington or Marryattville or in a little cottage on the estate. Or Peter may have worked for less gentrified settlers and he and Elizabeth and their children may well have lived in a hut made of daub and wattle. In those days it was common for servants to either live in accommodation near or in the house of their employer.

PHOTO: Wattle and daub homes were common in Australia's early settlement.

Elizabeth and Peter could have lived in something like this in Kensington and Marryattville. However, as servants they may have lived in the smaller front section while their employers occupied the larger part of the house at the back. Or, if they were lucky they may have lived in the servant's quarters of a stone house owned by gentry.

Their second son John Mashford Lewis was born at Marryatville on December 10, 1850 and their third son, Henry Lewis was also born at Marryatville on January 22, 1854.

Three years after young Henry's birth Elizabeth would marry Edward Atkins. Clearly Peter Lewis was alive in 1853 but there is as yet no evidence that he lived to see the birth of his third child. There is however an assumption that he died. One presumes that because Elizabeth entered into a lawful marriage with Edward Atkins that she was a widow but, given the times and the lack of careful recording, she may just have been an abandoned wife. 

However, if Elizabeth had been abandoned instead of widowed, her second marriage would have been bigamous because she did not wait the required seven years. Whatever the reason Peter Lewis had clearly disappeared by 1857 and Edward Atkins became step-father to a nine-year-old, seven-year-old and a three-year-old.

At the time of their marriage both Edward and Elizabeth lived at Rocky River in South Australia's mid-north. When or why they moved there is not known. Rocky River is not a town or a village, but a river of some length. They could have lived anywhere along this river but the two settlements are Charlton and Wirrabarra, in the Hundred of Appila. Both of these settlements are named as birthplaces for their children with Mary Atkins Ross being born at Wirrabarra along with her sister Elizabeth and James's birth recorded as being at Charlton.

This area was a long way north in the mid 1800's and must have taken days of difficult travel. Elizabeth must have had a strong desire or need to move from the bustling city of Adelaide to the isolation of Rocky River. Perhaps she had family living and working in the mine at Charlton or cutting timber in Wirrabarra Forest. It would not have represented a move 'up in the world' because living conditions were far more primitive than those to be found in town.

 LEFT: Living under canvas was common in the early years of Australia's settlement and throughout the 1800's in isolated areas.

Charlton and Wirrabarra may well have been 'tent towns' when Elizabeth and her sons went to live there. At best it would have been a shelter made of timber and hessian. One likes to think with the Wirrabarra Forest so close that she was living in a substantial house made of timber. The winters are cold and the summers baking in South Australia and particularly so in the mid-north of the State.

But at least they had fresh water close to hand. The Rocky River was named because of its 'rocky' bed. Hardly surprising if one thinks about it which E.J. Eyre clearly did when he discovered it in 1839. The River runs through the towns of Laura, Wirrabara and Gladstone ....  the latter being the town where  many members of the Atkins family would ultimately live and marry and in most cases, die ...and is close to the Charlton Mine.

For Edward Atkins however, the Wirrabarra Forest would be his final home.  He died on November 15, 1891 at the age of 78 and is buried in White Park Cemetery at Wirrabara.  All of his children were married and living in Gladstone by this time. We know that Mary had been there for at least fourteen years because her illegitimate son, Edward, was born at the end of 1877. One presumes that shortly after her husband's death, Elizabeth also made the move to  Gladstone in order to be with her children... particularly her daughters.

Edward listed himself as a blacksmith and there would have been work both in Charlton and the Wirrabara Forest for a man with these skills.  Charlton had a copper mine and the Wirrabara Forest, formerly known as White Forest, was used for logging. There would have been tools to repair and, in the case of the Charlton mine, structures to build.

LEFT: Edward Atkins circa: 1870's.

Although, by 1862 Edward is listed as a shepherd and not a blacksmith. At this time he was 49 years of age and had perhaps been injured or was finding the work too demanding. Becoming a shepherd may have been choice or chance but there is no doubt that at this time there was plenty of work in the area.

The Wirrabarra Sheep Station was one of the largest in South Australia and it employed numerous shepherds; for the simple reason that fences were unknown. The shepherd was required to ride and care for his horse and to follow the sheep and prevent them from straying too far.

Perhaps Edward's work drew his step-son George Lewis into a job as a boundary rider and his son, James Haynes Atkins, into his work as a groom.

Edward and Elizabeth married in Penwortham in the Clare Valley, a few hours (in those days) to the south of Rocky River. The Anglican Church of St. Marks in Penwortham was built in 1850 and may have been the closest Anglican church to where they lived. Although, given that Edward Atkins had listed Hutt River as his place of residence when he married Hannah McLeod, it is also possible, if not likely, that he had friends, or even family living there.

The marriage certificate shows that one of the witnesses,E. Greenslade came from Penwortham and the other, Abraham Cundall (farmer) from Armagh. Both villages are located in the Hundred of Clare, as is the Hutt River.


BELOW: A timber hut from the 1880's. Something like this would have been 'home' for Elizabeth Mashford 'Lewis' Atkins during her time in the Wirrabarra Forest.

Elizabeth would have had her hands full with  three young sons, the demands of a primitive, rural and isolated life and with her first daughter, Elizabeth Atkins born on November 22, in the same year of her marriage.

Mary (Polly) Atkins was born two years later on December 12, 1859 and James Haynes Atkins was born three years later on January 2, 1862.  Elizabeth and Edward would have had six children aged from infancy to 14 years  to raise. Although, given the times, this was probably considered to be a small family.

However it may have only been five children. There are no further records to date for Henry Lewis and while there are also no burial records, he may have died as a child. The ability to record his death and burial while living in the isolation of the Wirrabaraa Forest would have been severely limited.

LEFT: List of family deaths in George Lewis's Bible.

John Mashford Lewis died in an accident in 1888, the year his half-sister Mary Atkins married Charlie Ross. He is listed as being buried in Gladstone Cemetery on January 15, aged 37 years. Although is death is also recorded in the family Bible handed down by George Lewis  to his descendants where John is listed as being 31 when he died. George Lewis died on April 22, 1919 at the age of 77.

By this time Mary Atkins Ross had lost her father, her husband, her brother, her mother and two if not all of her half-brothers. Presumably the son she had with Edward Welsh in 1877, Edward Atkins, was still alive. Of her siblings, only her sister Elizabeth was still living and Mary would have another eighteen years to watch over her children and grandchildren.

Elizabeth would outlive her by six years, dying,  in 1943 at the age of 86 in the small town of Terowie, where she was no doubt living with one of her children. Like Mary and her mother, Elizabeth Atkins Cox would be buried in Gladstone Cemetery with her husband, Henry Charles Cox, who had been born Macclesfield, England in 1847 and who died at Wirrabara on the 18th ofJune,1908.

September of 1907 must have been terrible for Mary. She buried her husband on September 10 and her brother, James Haynes Atkins on September 16. Within eight month she would bury her mother and  barely a month later, Mary would be standing again in Gladstone Cemetery; this time at the graveside of her brother-in-law, Henry Cox.

But perhaps the worst day for Mary Atkins Ross was October 26, 1936 when her oldest child, Constantinus John (Jack) Ross died suddenly of a heart attack while tending his vegetable garden in Murray Bridge.  He was only 46; dying younger than his grandfather, father and brothers. The death of a child must be the worst of all deaths for a parent. Nine months later Mary was also dead.

She left behind two (and possibly three) sons and a daughter who grieved her passing along with some eighteen known grandchildren.

Definitely Devon with Lincolnshire Links?

PHOTO: Holy Trinity Church, North Terrace, Adelaide, South Australia. It was built in 1838 within two years of the establishment of the settlement. The foundation stone was laid by Governor Hindmarsh, the first Governor of South Australia.

In that way of things sometimes you are right, sometimes you are wrong and sometimes you are a bit of both.

In terms of the Mashford ancestry I think it is the latter. I have not yet heard back from Lesley Mashford but in the meantime, Luke Scane Harris has come across some crucial information linking Elizabeth Mashford (Lewis) Atkins to Devon.

 On Thursday, June 18, 1908 the Advertiser (Adelaide) printed the following death notice:


AITKENS: On the 11th May, at the residence of her daughter, M. Ross, Gladstone, Elizabeth Aitkins, nee Mashford, aged 89, late of Devon, England.
New Zealand and home papers please copy.
A colonist of 52 years. At rest after suffering.

There seems little doubt that Elizabeth is descended from the Devon Mashfords. However, research to date indicates that the Devon Mashfords are linked to the Lincolnshire Mashfords anyway so while the detail may make research easier, in some ways it is a moot point.

The spelling of the name as Aitkens instead of Atkins is not surprising. Mary was illiterate and would have dictated the death notice to someone who would have written it down and sent it to the newspaper. If the handwriting was poor, which is likely, then the typographer may have misread the word. Or, Mary's pronounciation of Atkins may have sounded like Aitkins. In truth, it was common to have varied spelling with names in earlier centuries because of the levels of literacy. And ditto for the 'mistake' about Elizabeth being a colonist of 52 years. If it is a mistake of course. We have found a record of an Elizabeth Mashford arriving at Port Adelaide on the Princess Royal, March 16 1847 but there is no way of knowing that this is our Elizabeth!

However, it does seem likely given that an Elizabeth Mashford married a Peter Lewis on November 9, 1847 in Holy Trinity Church, Adelaide.  On July 7, 1848 ... some eight months later... Elizabeth would give birth to a son, George Lewis, in the suburb of Kensington, then a village, Adelaide.  In nine years time Elizabeth would marry Edward Atkins and he would become young George's stepfather. And the descendants of that George Lewis are not about to unexpectedly appear.The marriage, it would seem, was one of necessity.  One can only presume that Peter Lewis died and this is why Elizabeth married again.

The Holy Trinity Church, on North Terrace, where Elizabeth married Peter, was also where Edward Atkins had married his first wife, Hannah McLeod some four years earlier. And it was Elizabeth Mashford Lewis who married Edward Atkins in the Anglican Church of St. Mark's in Penwortham, Clare Vally ten years later. One discrepancy is Elizabeth's age. The marriage certificate for 1847 shows her age as 26 - born in 1821; the marriage certificate of 1857 shows her age as 33 - born in 1824 and the death certificate in 1908 shows her age as 89 - born in 1819. While it may sound odd in this day and age, as cousin Luke pointed out, it was not uncommon for people at the time to be unsure of their birth date. Then again, human nature being what it is it is more likely that Elizabeth should have 'wanted to be younger' each time she married.

Photo: Adelaide in 1839 showing Holy Trinity Church.

I have found a birth record for an Elizabeth Mashford for December 5, 1819, Winkleigh, Devon, England. Her mother is listed as Elizabeth Mashford and her father, curiously as Partridg(e). There is only one name. It could be a christian name or a surname. It is common for a wife or mother to be singly named on such records but unusual for a father or husband.  Clearly this Elizabeth takes her mother's name as surname which would be the case if she was, as we suspect, illegitimate. If I can find a Haynes Partridge or a Partridge Haynes then we would have another piece to the puzzle.

When Elizabeth married Edward Atkins she listed her father's name as John. Her father's name was not listed when she married Peter Lewis. An Elizabeth Mashford was born to John Mashford and his wife Elizabeth on November 11, 1798, Winkleigh, Devon. The 'age fit' and place of birth make it likely that this is the Elizabeth who gave birth to a daughter with a man called Partridge. And a John Mashford married Elizabeth Lewis on May 22, 1791 in Winkleigh, Devon.

If this is our Elizabeth's family there is always the possibility that her first husband, Peter Lewis, was a relation. In such times it was not uncommon for people to marry first, second or third cousins. Or it could simply be chance.

The other potential 'link' is the child of Edward Atkins and Hannah McLeod. A child was born in 1843, the year of their marriage and perhaps the reason for their marriage. Henry Edward Atkins seems to have disappeared .... along with his mother. It is of course possible that both mother and child died in childbirth as was so tragically common at the time, but this leaves Edward Atkins unmarried and alone (as far as we know) for another 14 years. When Edward married Hannah he listed himself as a 'batchelor' and his rank as 'blacksmith.' The Biographical Index of South Australia 1836-1885, as shown in research done by Luke Scane Harris, shows Edward Atkins place of residence as Hutt River. The Hutt River is in the Hundred of Clare, discovered in 1839 by William Hill and now one of Australia's prime wine regions. The first settlers moved to this area in 1840 and Edward Atkins may have been there a few years later.

Neither Edward Atkins or Hannah Mcleod appear on the 1841 South Australian census and so must have arrived sometime between when the census was completed and when they married in the first days of 1843.

 However, in this week of 'breakthroughs' there is a chance we might yet find out the truth. This morning I found the following comment on Finding Charlie Ross:

Hi



My husbands GGG Grandmother was Elizabeth Mashford. She married a Peter Lewis in 1847, and had a son, George Lewis in 1848, all in the Laura/Gladstone area in South Australia. I have just had contact from Luke Harris saying that he is related to her via Edward Atkins. I believed him immediately because in our family bible we have a photo of Mrs E Atkins and son. It's about the size of a matchbox but still a photo. If you think this is the same woman contact me on noddynt @ bigpond.com.


Cheers Kylie

The wonder of the net! Connecting families across the ether. Clearly this is the same Elizabeth Mashford and how wonderful it will be to have a photograph of her. I have written to Kylie and now await a copy of the photo and hopefully some more information.

The other thing which has become clear is that Great-great grandfather Edward Atkins was one of the early pioneers of South Australia.  The Pioneers Association of South Australia offer membership to any person with an ancestor who arrived in South Australia up to December 31, 1845. Records show that Edward Atkins married Hannah McLeod at the Holy Trinity Church, North Terrace, Adelaide on January 3, 1843. A Hannah and Daniel McLeod, aged about 14 (brother or son) are listed arriving on the Eliza, on January 1, 1840.  But given that Hannah does not appear on the 1841 census there is a good chance it is not the right Hannah Mcleod. As yet there is no record of when Edward Atkins arrived but his age on this marriage certificate is listed as 30. However, there is every chance that both Hannah and Edward were residing in the new colony of South Australia for some years before they married. Given the isolation of many communities and the difficulties of travel it is highly likely that the 1841 census did not reach everyone.

At the time of his marriage to Hannah McLeod the South Australian colony was only seven years old. It was the first State to be founded by free settlers .... no convicts for South Australia. It was established in the reign of King William IV and his wife, Queen Adelaide, after which the city of Adelaide was named.  In 1843 there were some 17,196 people living in the colony. Of these 9,526 were male and 7.670 female.

You would think that with so few people it would be easy to find out more about Edward Atkins. Then again, they are both such common names and many people were illiterate. It was easy to disappear. However, I am struck by the fact that he did marry  legally and therefore had no desire to hide his whereabouts... as so many clearly did at the time.

Having trawled dozens of ship's passenger lists to no avail my next step is the South Australian Genealogy Society to see what can be found in the records pertaining to the State's pioneer settlers. We don't have a convict in the family, so far, but we do have an ancestor who was one of the first Europeans to settle this wild and wonderful land.

Of cricket balls and possibilities

I caught up with Rosemary Swincer Eldridge, the eldest child of Flora Ross Swincer this week. She is seven years older than I am and therefore remembers a lot more about our grand-parents and family history. She had some great stories to tell and I have asked her to write down everything that she remembers.

Collecting 'stories', no matter how small helps to weave together the fabric of our shared past as descendants of Charlie Ross and Mary Atkins.

Her mother, she said, always maintained that Charlie Ross had been born on Ithaca so this 'strengthens' the family 'story' for the place of origin. Flora was the eldest child and three years older than Jessie  and therefore would have been closer to the 'truth'. It seems clear at this point that Ithaca  as my great-grandfather's birth place is probably correct and that means Rossolimos is the most likely 'bet' for Charlie's original name. However, 'probably' and 'likely' do not make for truth and so the quest continues.

The postcard album which  our grandmother gave to Rosemary is a 'real' postcard album in the main,i.e. beautifully decorative postcards with messages written on the back. I did not have time to read many but hope to do so at some point  in the future. It is such a wonderful record of the times and of our grandmother's life.  Many of them are birthday wishes for Hilda Jones and notes from friends on their travels. One postcard has come from Transvaal in South Africa and suggests that a friend, or family member may have been there during the Boer War.

The album also contained a couple of interesting photographs which I hope soon to have scanned so I can add them to the file. One is probably Charles Vangelios when he was young and another Charles Harold Simper, the first husband of Hilda Jones Ross. The likeness between the photograph and my uncle, Laurie Simper, his son, is unmistakeable.

But, sadly, there were no photographs with Greek writing on the back!

It is interesting to find how much more there is to 'see' in a photograph when one knows the 'story' of the person behind the captured image. Which is why I would like to identify the soldier or soldiers in our as yet unidentified photographs. Hilda Ross Lewis was convinced that the photograph below was Chrysantheous Christus (Dan) but his daughter, Shirley Ross Benson has a photograph of him which clearly shows they are not one and the same. Chrysantheous, Charles and Constantinus are all somewhat swarthy - olive-skinned - with longer shaped faces, inherited no doubt from their mother. Spiros has a broader face but is not as fair as either of the men in these photographs. Unless a family member 'recognises' a likeness, we may never know who they are.

PHOTO LEFT: Unidentified soldier One.

But the unexpected surprise of the day was seeing a cricket ball which had been presented to our grandfather by his team, inscribed 'To Nigger Ross'..... political correctness, thankfully, not being a part of life in the past. The ball looked well used and was set upon a small stand with the copper plaque fixed to one side. So, Charles Vangelios was a keen cricket player in his day and clearly popular with his team-mates. Not only did I not know he played cricket I had no idea this memento existed.

He was, from the stories I have heard and the memories I have, a gentle, funny man. Chrysantheous Christus was also something of a trickster but I have yet to ascertain if the 'trickster' archetype has come down through Charlie Ross or his wife, Mary. I suspect it is the former because the photographs I have seen of Mary, both as a young girl and a very old lady, show her to be quite serious. But I could be wrong of course. At this point all is conjecture.

But all may not be conjecture at another point. I have had an email from the Lincolnshire Mashfords whom I first contacted a year or so ago. At that time they thought we were probably Devon Mashfords but the Haynes link made me think differently. And now, Lesley Mashford who is researching the Lincolnshire Mashfords for the family, has written from the United Kingdom to say that yes, the family did have an Elizabeth Mashford who went to Australia.  I am looking forward to seeing the information.

One more piece in the puzzle may be about to fall into place. Although the puzzle of our two photographs of unknown soldiers remains and may never be solved.

PHOTO LEFT: Unidentified soldier Two.

I did wonder if these photo postcards had been sent by members of the Atkins side of the family but my Atkins researcher, Luke Scane-Harris and his mother, Patricia, say no! Sigh.

The uniforms are clearly First World War and the full length looks more English than Australian. A driver's uniform perhaps?

Such fresh-faced young men. One can only wonder if they lived or died. Perhaps the fact that we cannot seem to find out who they were means they did not survive.

And yet there is something of a family resemblance. They look familiar. Perhaps our 'driver' was a Mashford. Or perhaps they were just family friends sending photo postcards to Constantinus John and his wife Ada.

We may never know. I like to think though,  even if they remain anonymous, that bringing their images into the 'light' is an honouring.... whether or not these young men lived long, full lives or died in the blood-drenched mud of the Belgian trenches. I have seen those trenches and the images of the cadaverous landscape where bare-stripped broken trees held the shattered bodies of horses and men. From the pristine fantasy of an artist's studio to the nightmare world of war!