Considering again the Celtic Traveller or Gypsy connections for Edward Atkins

The possibility of a connection between Edward Atkins and gypsies came up some time ago but has re-surfaced and warrants further research.

I found in gypsy records the names Atkins and Haynes (Haines) which is a link to our family. At the time we did not have the information we now do, with a marriage between Joseph Atkins and Ann  Haines/Haynes, the parents of the convict Henry Edwin Atkins and probably the parents of our Edward Atkins with the two being one and the same man.

We now have more names associated with Joseph and Ann and more names associated with Edward and his two wives, Hannah McLeod and Elizabeth Mashford Lewis and many of those names are included in the list of Celtic Travellers, Gypsies, of Irish origin.

My first thought had been that gypsy meant Romany but of course it does not - the gypsies of Ireland, Scotland, England and Wales were as often as not Celtic and known as 'tinkers' or travelling traders.

These are the connections to date where family names are listed on the Celtic Traveller register, starting with Henry Edwin Atkins. There are quite a few names which run through the three 'families' - Henry Edwin Atkins, Edwin Atkins, convict, (who did have HE tattooed on his arm and so is very likely to be the son of Joseph and Ann Haines Atkins) and our ancestor Edward Atkins.

Given the strength of connections between families and even more for those who emigrated to strange and distant lands, it is no stretch to say that these many name connections mean something. One could also argue, at a more esoteric level, that 'like attracts like' and even if there were not conscious connections there were unconscious connections.

While it might seem that there are a great many names on the Celtic Travellers Register, once studied, it is clear how many there are not. To find so many connections for Atkins is, to my mind, meaningful. Not that it means anything in concrete terms and is more curiosity than anything, but, at the same time, it is another linkage between our ancestor and the two men who are very likely to one and the same man.



Photo: Celtic travellers in the 19th century.Name connections for Henry Edwin Atkins, son of Joseph Atkins and Ann Haines.

ATKINS 1728 (Ref Journal of the Romany and Traveller Family History Society)

Edward Atkins, our ancestor, Joseph Atkins and his son Henry Edwin Atkins, Edwin Atkins, convict transported to Australia.

BOLTON/BOULTON(EN) 1873(Gypsies Passing Through)
Thomas Atkins and a Grace Boulton, possible parents for Joseph Atkins, were married on 3 June 1778 in Cirencester. Potential grandparents for Edward, Henry Edwin and Edwin Atkins.

HAINES (Ref Journal of the Romany and Traveller Family History Society)

Ann Haines/Haynes married Joseph Atkins and is the mother of Henry Edwin Atkins, born January 22, 1812 Cirencester. She is the potential mother of Edwin Atkins, convict and Edward Atkins, ancestor, both born 1812 Gloucestershire.

HAYNES (Ref Journal of the Romany and Traveller Family History Society)

Variation of the spelling of Haines.

HOLDER 1744 (Ref Journal of the Romany and Traveller Family History Society) (Con)

A David Atkins married a Hannah Holder in Cheltenham, during the September quarter of 1842. David Atkins, born March 31, 1822, Cirencester, son of Joseph Atkins and Ann Haines and brother of Henry Edwin Atkins.

LEWIS 1775 (Ref Journal of the Romany and Traveller Family History Society)

Middle name, and therefore likely family name, for third son of Joseph Atkins and Ann Haines, Joseph Lewis Atkins, born January 18, 1814 and brother to Henry Edwin Atkins.

WEBB/WEBSTER 1590-present (Aust, England)

Middle name, and therefore likely family name, of fourth son born to Joseph Atkins and Ann Haines, James Webb Atkins, born Cirencester, August 14, 1816 and brother to Henry Edwin Atkins.

PRESTON (Bedfordshire) (Gypsies Passing Through) (Lodger with Joseph and Ann Atkins)

Surname of a possible lodger living with Joseph and Ann Haines Atkins, 1841 census. Joseph Preston, 30, painter, born 1811.  Joseph is 50, Ann, 50, and their children at home are David, 15, Marian (Mary Ann), 14 and Eliza, 10. NB: Preston may be a neighbour and not a lodger but people often lived close to or alongside those they knew so a tenuous link remains even if he is not a lodger.

PAYNE (Ref Journal of the Romany and Traveller Family History Society)

From the Gloucestershire researcher: In Slater’s Directory of 1850, under Cirencester,  the researcher found one entry that may be of interest – Payne & Atkins, of Castle Street, who were listed as milliners and straw bonnet makers.  This may be a female enterprise, perhaps one of the sisters listed above in partnership with another person?

Name connections for Edwin Atkins, convict.

WALKER (Ref Journal of the Celtic Traveller History Society)

William and Amy Walker were charged with Edwin Atkins for sheep stealing. William was acquitted and Amy and Edwin sentenced to transportation after a death sentence was commuted. One presumes they were friends.

Photo: Gloucestershire in the early 19th century.


There is no Mashford, Cann or Labbett but there is:

MAY 1746 (Gypsies Passing Through),

Elizabeth's brother was George May Mashford although remembering the Mashfords are from Devon.

MCLEOD ( Scotland Census 1871) (Scource Mary McKay Genealogy)

Edward Atkins' first wife was Hannah McLeod.

McLEOD 1891 (London) (See Robert Dawson ARITF)

NEWBERRY/NEWBURY/NEWBY (Gypsies Passing Through)

Surname for a daughter of Edward Atkins and Hannah McLeod.

MCKINNON (born Scotland) ( Scotland Census 1841-1851)

Surname for a daughter of Edward Atkins and Hannah McLeod.

STACEY (Ref Journal of the Romany and Traveller Family History Society)

Surname for a daughter of Edward Atkins and Hannah McLeod.

PARKER 1592 (Ref Journal of the Romany and Traveller Family History Society)

Surname of a witness at the marriage of Edward Atkins and Hannah McLeod.

CUNDELL / CUNDY 1788-1851(int) (Yorkshire) (See Robert Dawson ARITF)

Surname of a witness at marriage of Edward Atkins and Elizabeth Mashford Lewis.

http://www.familytreedna.com/public/Celtic_Traveller.

This is what the site says about itself:

The (brand new) Celtic Travellers DNA project is primarily for individuals looking for help in identifying the origins of their own direct paternal or maternal line of descent. 

 

The project is primarily for the members and descendants of Irish Travellers, Highland Scottish Travellers, Lowland Scottish Travellers, Fairground Travellers and other Non-Romani travelling families. However if you are Roma or mixed Traveller race you are welcome to join.

You may suspect that you have Celtic Traveller ancestry in your family and not yet have a suitable surname project to join due to many reasons which could include distant surname changes, forced adoptions and forced resettlement.

NB: I think this is relevant in terms of consideration given the many names which connect to the Atkins family.

Scottish and Irish nomads (Celtic Travellers) are more commonly and disrespectfully referred to as Tinkers, Pikeys and Gypos. We are probably distantly related the sedentary Celtic folk, but have split from the general population way back in time with our own proud cultures, languages and unique genetic history still waiting to be told.

Here is some of the earlier material I posted in regard to gypsy connections for the Atkins family.

While doing a search on the Atkins's of Gloucestershire I came across a William Atkins listed as a Hawker on the Romany/Gypsy website. He was aged 25 and listed in the 1841 Census as born in Gloucestershire, no address, Lamb Street, Clifton.

He was born 1816, within nine years of the birth of Edward Atkins depending on which age for him is correct, given differences between the age he put when he married Elizabeth and the age of 84 as recorded on his death notice in 1891.

Interestingly, very interestingly in fact I have found the name Ann Haynes on the same Romany site where I spotted William Atkins. She is listed in the 1881 census of Hawkers born in Gloucestershire: Ann Haynes, Bc 1801 St George, Gloucestershire, England Inmate Stapleton, Gloucestershire.  This Ann Haynes is not likely to be the one marrying Joseph Atkins because she is too young, but there is every chance she is a relation.

The Haynes' are listed as gypsy basketmakers and the Stapleton Workhouse, which I believe is close to both Clifton and Cirencester, is likely to be where Ann was an inmate.

In an extract from The National Gazetteer, 1868:
"STAPLETON, a parish in the hundred of Barton Regis, county Gloucester, 2 miles N.E. of Bristol, of which it may be considered a suburb. The Midland and the Bristol and South Wales Union railways have stations here. This parish is situated at the north-western angle of the South Gloucester and Somerset coalfield, and is bounded on the N. by a range of hills 200 feet high, to which elevation the strata of the coal measures has been lifted up by a mass of millstone grit. It is traversed by the river Frome flowing through a glen, and contains the villages of Stapleton and Fishponds. The hat manufacture formerly carried on has declined, but there is a flock manufactory, coal mines, and stone quarries. The palace of the Bishop of Gloucester and Bristol, the diocesan training institution for National schoolmistresses, and the Clifton union workhouse, &c., are in this parish.

In a 1797 report on the poor in England, Stapleton was thus described:

STAPLETON lies about two miles north-east of Bristol, and has 1,377 inhabitants. There are 254 houses; 84 pay tax, 170 exempt so that it appears there is very little more than 5 and two-fifth persons to a house. Day labourers earn from 8s. to 10s. 6d. a week. Provisions are purchased in Bristol market. Farms are small and chiefly pasture. The common was enclosed in 1783, when half an acre was allotted to each cottage. There is now no wasteland, and labourers find great difficulty in getting habitations, and when anxious to set up house have to migrate to other parishes. Land lets at from £2 to £3 an acre. Some of the Poor are maintained at home, some in the Workhouse. Bill of fare in the Workhouse—Breakfast—Sunday—6 oz. of bread, 1oz. butter, and beer; other days—Broth. Dinner—Sunday—Boiled beef, potatoes, bread and small beer; Monday, Wednesday, Saturday—6oz. of bread, ½oz. of cheese, and beer; Tuesday, Thursday—Boiled beef, potatoes or carrots, and beer ; Friday—Milk broth or rice. Supper, every day—Bread and cheese and small beer. The children's allowance of bread at dinner is 4oz. On Christmas Day and Whit Sunday the dinner is baked veal and plum pudding. There are in the house 3 men, 5 women, 5 children. In 1795, 5 men, 7 women, 8 children. The children are employed in spinning flax and hemp, but their earnings are very inconsiderable. 




In the 1841 census of Gloucestershire Hawkers there is:

Charles Haynes aged 50 born circa 1791 Licensed Hawker born in county No address Northleach Northleach & Stow On The Wold
So along with a William Atkins, gypsy hawker of no address, we have a Charles Haynes, gypsy hawker, of no address.

In the 1881 census of Bristol City Workhouse, Stapleton inmates are listed:

Elizabeth ATKINS

U

57

F

Inmate

Domestic Servant

Bristol

Harriet HAYNES	U	56	F	Inmate	Domestic Servant	Imbecile

In the late 19th century imbecile was a term used to describe the uneducated, feeble-minded and mentally ill. If Harriet had worked as a domestic servant then she could not have been too much of an imbecile, but perhaps after the drudgery of probably fifty years of virtual slavery, she had become a tad feeble-minded.

Ann Haynes is not listed here but she may well have been at the Clifton Union Workhouse and with a bit more searching, there she is at Barton Regis Union Workhouse, in the Clifton section:

Ann HAYNES

W

80

F

Inmate

Hawker

St George, Gloucester

The Clifton Workhouse was known as Barton Regis from 1877 and has this excerpt regarding it in the 1777 parliamentary report:


The Poor of the out-parishes of St. Philip and Jacob, and of St. George, which contain about 16,000 inhabitants, are partly relieved at home, and partly in a Workhouse in which there are at present 85 persons. The number of out Poor is about 200. It is singular that here it is thought most beneficial to the parishes to maintain the Poor at home, and that the Poor want to get into the house. It is pleasantly situated and appears to be clean and comfortable. There are 2, or 3 beds of flocks and feathers in each room. Bill of fare in the Workhouse: Breakfast—every day, milk pottage. Dinner—Sunday, Thursday, bread and cheese; Monday, rice milk; Tuesday, Friday, pease soup; Wednesday and Saturday, pickled beef and vegetables. Supper—every day, bread and cheese or butter. 3 pints of beer are allowed to each person on meat days, and a quart on other days. One lb. of bread is given out daily and 9oz. of cheese every week. Once a month 12lbs. of butter are distributed, and at particular seasons better fare is provided, more especially for the sick.

And some information on Irish Traveller history.

Irish Travellers sometimes are referred to as ‘Minceir’ or

‘Pavees in their own language known as Cant/Gammon,

the survival of this language is a testament to the

resilience of this minority group in the face of numerous

pressures and threats.

Martin Collins, Irish Traveller and Assistant Director of Pavee Point, has said

"Research demonstrates that we are a people with a unique and turbulent history and

underlines how resilient we have had to be to survive”

(Independent on Sunday, 27/5/2005).

It is difficult to identify the exact origins of Irish Travellers. Some claim they are the

descendants of the dispossessed from the war with Cromwell in the seventeenth

century or the ‘Great Famine’ in Ireland in the mid nineteenth century. However there

are some who contest such claims and propose much earlier origins. O’Riain claims

there is evidence which points to the existence of nomadic groups in Ireland as early

as the fifth century AD and by the twelth century the name Tynkler or Tynker is said

to have been given to a group of nomads who had maintained a separate identity,

social organisation and dialect (O’Riain, Solidarity with Travellers, 2000, 8).

Robbie McVeigh has stated:

Irish Travellers have their roots in a Celtic (and possibly pre Celtic) nomadic

population in Ireland. They are very definitely not Roma (or Gypsies), neither are

Travellers the product of ‘An Gorta Mor’ (the Great Hunger) of 1843 - 50. While the

original Irish nomadic population may have been supplemented at various times in

Irish history by dispossessed labourers and other marginalised people, there was

clearly a distinct Traveller population before the famine” (McVeigh, Third World on

Our Doorstep, 1997)

Like many poor and excluded groups in Ireland Irish Travellers have emigrated in

order to secure better material conditions. One of the first reports of Irish Travellers

in Britain appeared in 1850 (Kenrick and Bakewell, On the Verge: The Gypsies of

England, 1990, 10).

http://www.irishtraveller.org.uk/find-out-about-irish-travellers/problems

Irish travellers, long derided as anti-social itinerants rather than "true" Gypsies, are an ancient people in their own right, researchers say. Irish travellers, long derided as anti-social itinerants rather than "true" Gypsies, are an ancient people in their own right, researchers say.

Academics claim they could even be the last surviving remnants of a pre-Celtic Ireland, with their own distinctive language called "Cant" or "Gammon". Commonly known as "tinkers" because of their tin-smithing past, Irish travelling families have never enjoyed the romantic associations of Romany Gypsies.


Research by an Irish socio-linguist, Dr Alice Binchy, suggests that more than half the surviving Cant/Gammon lexicon may be derived from a long-lost language spoken in Ireland before the Celts arrived. "A partially pre-Celtic origin would have substantial implications for the way we look not only at traveller history, but at early Irish history as a whole," said Dr Binchy, a delegate at a conference of linguists, historians and anthropologists to be held at the University of Limerick.

Pre-Celtic Ireland started to disappear 3,000 years ago. Irish travellers may first have been recorded in the 13th and 14th centuries. Surnames suggest that many are descended from medieval poets - the Irish bards. Others were metal workers. Significantly, both were separate "castes".

It is probable that numbers greatly increased in the late 16th and early to mid-17th centuries, when English occupation forces dispossessed the Irish aristocracy. At some stage, the newly enlarged community appears to have begun to develop a secret form of verbal communication. Many academics - though not all - believe that words were altered, with syllables inverted and letters transposed, to make it impossible for enemies to understand.

The language remains a source of dispute, with some scholars arguing that any link with the pre-Celtic era is unlikely. But most accept that travellers date back at least to medieval or Tudor times.

The Scottish Celtic Travellers would have originated in Ireland because the Scots are believed to have come from Ireland originally.

Cirencester, Ceylon, convicts and conjectures.....

We know that the father of Edward Atkins was called Joseph and we established in previous research that a Joseph Atkins married Anne Haines (Haynes) in Cirencester, Gloucestershire, in 1809 which fits the time-frame for parents of our Edward.

This time-frame would also fit for parents of the convict Edwin/Edward Atkins, from Cirencester, Gloucestershire, who is a possible ‘same man’ fit for our Edward.

The link between them was made on the presence of the Haynes (Haines) family name for Edward Atkins and Elizabeth Mashford’s son, James Haynes and grandson, Haynes Mashford; the fact that Edward had Gloucestershire links or family and the relevant time-frame.

Any absolute connection remains unproven, but, as research continues, we have learned a little more about Joseph Atkins who married Anne Haines and who is still our best bet yet as the father of a man called Henry Edwin Atkins, and  potentially the father of the convict Edwin/Edward Atkins who came to Australia in 1831 and  possibly, our Edward Atkins.

Joseph and Anne have been found in the 1851 and 1841 censuses for Cheltenham,  Gloucestershire. He is listed as shoemaker and Chelsea Pensioner, the latter giving him a military connection which has now been confirmed and expanded.

The names and ages of children listed are just a little at odds with previous information but ages, as we know, can be a moveable feast and names can also change.

In the 1841 census, Joseph Atkins, 50, shoemaker, is living in the Parish of Cheltenham, St. Mary’s, Cheltenham, with his wife Anne, also 50.

The children are:

David, 15, labourer, born 1826.

Marian, (Mary Ann) 14, born 1827.

Eliza, 10, born 1831.

Joseph Preston,  30, painter, born 1811. NB: although he is probably a lodger and possibly a relation. Preston could be a middle name but it is not likely. At his age he would be independent and the lodger theory is most likely.

 Elizabeth, 30 (Joseph’s wife presumably)

Photo: Governor's House, Ceylon.

In 1851, Joseph Atkins is recorded in the census as living  at 3, Charlton Place, Charlton Kings, Gloucestershire, born Cirencester, Gloucestershire. He has aged considerably and is now 67, with a birth year of 1784 as opposed to his age of 50 just ten years earlier which would have given a birth year of 1791. Anne is now 65 with a birth year of 1786 as opposed to the 1841 census where she was the same age as Joseph.

They have two children still living with them. Their daughter Mary, one presumes the earlier Marian,(probably a phonetic spelling of Mary Ann) is living with them and is aged 25, which gives a birth year of 1826, also in Cirencester, and she is a servant out of place – or unemployed.

Daughter Eliza is also an unemployed servant and unmarried like her sister, and is aged 20, with a birth year of 1831 which accords with the earlier census, and a birthplace of Birlingham Worcestershire. Information on Eliza may have slipped under earlier radars because she is listed as Altins not Atkins.

The earlier data provided by a Gloucestershire researcher had the following:

Joseph Atkins married Ann Haines on August 14, 1809 in Cirencester in the county of Gloucestershire.  All the children were baptised in Cirencester, Gloucestershire:

Charles Atkins baptised (abbreviation bp.) 1 July 1810 – he would be 31 in 1841 so not living at home.

Henry Edwin Atkins bp. 23 February 1812 – he would be 29 in 1841 so not living at home but also possibly in Australia. NB: Our Edward has a birth year of 1811 if his age at death is correct. With baptism in February of 1812 he was probably born a couple of months earlier, December of 1811.  Family trends show baptism between 4-8 weeks after birth. James Webb nearly 8 weeks later; David nearly seven weeks later; Thomas Haines five weeks after birth; Mary nearly four weeks;  Susannah five weeks later and Joseph Lewis nearly four weeks after birth. It is a good bet if Henry Edwin was baptised at the end of February that he may have been born at the end of the previous December. NB: Our Edward called his first son by Hannah McLeod Henry Edward.

Joseph Lewis Atkins b. 18 January 1814, bp. 13 February 1814, bur. 3 April 1814. Died as a baby so not likely to be the Joseph (Preston) registered in the 1841 census. Preston could be a second name but it is not likely. Lewis must be a family name, maternal or paternal. NB: Our Edward called his second son by Hannah McLeod, Joseph.

James Webb Atkins b. 14 August 1816, bp. 5 October 1816 – he would be 25 and not living with his parents in 1841.  Webb must be a family name, maternal or paternal. NB: Our Edward called his son by Elizabeth Mashford, James.

Susannah b. 30 November 1817, bp. 3 January 1819 – In 1841 she is 24 and either married or working away as a servant.

David Atkins b. 31 March 1822, bp. 19 May 1822 – He would be 19 in 1841 and not living at home but the David Atkins who is, is only 15, so this first David may have died between 1822 and 1826 when the David recorded in the 1841 census was born.

Thomas Haines Atkins b. 20 June 1825, bp. 24 July 1825, d. 30 October 1825 – this child did not survive but the name Haines, a maternal surname, now appears.

Mary Ann Haines Atkins b. 10 January 1827, bp. 4 February 1827 – Mary Ann must be the Marian mentioned in the 1841 census with a birth date of  1827 in the 1841 census and one of 1826 in the 1851 census. Marian is probably  a phonetic mistake from Mary Ann.

Eliza Atkins was born in 1831 and not mentioned in this earlier list.

St. Mary’s Church, Cheltenham which the Atkins family would have attended and where Joseph and Ann were probably married and their children baptised, had been dedicated in 1190 by William Bishop of Hereford as a chapel of ease to St. Mary’s Cheltenham which at that time belonged to the Augustinian Abbey of Cirencester.

The following comes from the website of St. Mary’s Charlton Kings which drew upon the research carried out by Mrs Mary Paget M.A.,and published in the book “A History of Charlton Kings”.

 

 Photo: St. Mary's, Cheltenham.

It originally consisted of a nave, a chancel, two short transepts and, it is believed, a small bell tower at the crossing. Towards the end of the 13th century the south transept was adapted to become a chantry chapel and was dedicated, like the high altar, to Our Lady. A room was created above this to accommodate a visiting, or resident chantry priest.

In the late 14th/early 15th century the tower was rebuilt with a very high chancel arch. A south aisle was added at a similar or slightly later time.
In 1629 an agreement was made with Jesus College, Oxford whereby they would nominate three celibate, graduate members of the college from whom the patron of St Mary’s would select one to serve in Charlton Kings for a maximum of 6 years. Soon after this pews and, very possibly, the 3-decker pulpit (removed in the 1860s) were installed.

At the beginning of the 18th century the south porch was rebuilt and around this time the church clock was installed.

The early 19th century saw the first major building alterations for 400 years. At around 1800 a south gallery with an external staircase was built and between 1822-24 the north aisle was built and the church was repewed. The Rose Window was installed at the west end between two new 3-light windows.

But some of the most interesting new information, courtesy of family researcher, Kylie comes from records of Joseph’s service in the East India Company.

 Joseph was in the 66^th Foot Berkshire Regiment and served in Ceylon between 1804 and 1807.  He spent five years in the regiment, joining at 18 in Cirencester, Gloucestershire, and being discharged at the age of 23 after five years and one month of service.

His discharge, on September 10, 1807 records ‘contraction of the right leg,’ which translates to lame and was a condition which often resulted from ulcers – not uncommon in the tropics of Ceylon. This gives a birthdate of 1784 for Joseph which correlates with his age in the 1851 census.

The military records show that Joseph Atkins of the 66th Regiment of Foot, landed 18th July 1804, Trincomalee, the isle of Ceylone in the East Indies and left East Indies 11th September, 1807.

What an adventure it must have been for a ‘boy’ from Gloucestershire. Trincomalee boasts a magnificent harbour. The District was captured by Portugese in the 16th century. The destruction and looting of the Koneswarar Temple by Constantine De Saa on a New Year day in the beginning of 1620 was a turning point in the history of the District. The Dutch conquered this district from the Portugese in 1693 and it fell into the hands of British in 1796.

It was very strategic and in that gift came the curse as great European powers fought to control it. The Portuguese, the Dutch, the French and the English, each held it in turn, and many a sea fight was staged off the cliffs of Trincomalee. It looks today, largely as it did when Joseph Atkins first saw it. The placid waters and gentle breezes made it a haven for ships and men alike. More like a lake than a sea, the harbour is guarded by two projecting headlands.

Among the sights are the seven hot springs of Kanniyayi, on the road to Trincomalee. The water is mildly hot and it is a good bet that Joseph and his fellow soldiers, used it more than once.  He probably also visited the Konēsvaram temple, which attracts pilgrims from all parts of India even today.

The Konēsvaram shrine itself was demolished in 1622 by the Portuguese (who called it the Temple of a Thousand Columns),  in that thuggish and barbaric way of conquest, and who fortified the heights with the materials derived from its destruction. Some of the artefacts from the demolished temple were kept in the Lisbon Museum including the stone inscription by Kulakottan (Kunakottan) It has an emblem including two fish and is engraved with a prophesy stating that, after the 16th century, westerners with different eye colours will rule the country for 500 years and, at the end of it, rule will revert back to Vadugus.  And they got that pretty much right.

The 66^th Berkshire Foot would land at Trincomalee just a few years after the British had taken control. The original uniform was a red coat lined with white and faced with yellow-green; lace for officers and white, with one crimson and green and one green stripe for the men. Waistcoat and breeches were white. The uniform did not change its green facings until 1880 and would have been what Joseph wore as a soldier.

Joseph had joined the Regiment in 1802 and in that year it received orders to proceed to Jersely where it landed on November 3 and occupied Fort Henry and Granville Barracks. The Regiment has been based overseas and now had eleven months of well-earned rest. For Joseph it would have been an easy start to army life.

In 1803 Napoleon broke the Peace of Amiens and hostilities broke out with war formally declared against France on May 18, 1803. In just couple of months the Regiment, with Joseph, would be sent to Ceylon, no doubt as part of a greater plan for power and defence against the French, who had already tried to take the island previously. It was also a time of intense recruitment and depending upon when Joseph joined the Regiment, and the reality that there would have been whisperings for a time, he may well, like many of the English, been indignant at French aggression and sought to fight for his country.

Within a year the First Battalion would embark for Ceylon and services on the Madras Coast.  On March 3, 1804 the 1^st Battalion 66^th Regiment left Winchester to be billeted in the neighbouring towns during the Spring Assizes, but on the following day, orders were received at Bishop’s Waltham, where they were headquartered, for the Regiment to proceed to Portsmouth and await transport to Ceylon.

Three days later the 66^th marched into Gosport, over 1000 bayonets strong, and went on board the Brunswick, Canton and Marquis of Ely – three merchant ships engaged in the China trade – who would carry them to the East Indies.  But it would be two weeks of laying off the Mother Bank before the winds arrived which enabled the vessels to weigh anchor. Sailing down the Channel they began a journey which would take them nearly four months, arriving at Trincomalee on July 16, 1804.

When they disembarked some had the luxury of Barracks but for others it was life under canvas. As a ‘new boy’ it was probably tents for Joseph. They rested for six weeks, following, as the records attest, ‘the tedious voyage around the Cape,’ and then the Battalion was broken into detachments.

The Commanding officer, Major-General Wemyss, expressed regret at breaking up the Battalion and declared himself ‘highly pleased with the handsome and soldier-like appearance of the men.’ For the next two and a half years the soldiers were on duty across Ceylone and also on the Indian mainland, in the Madras Presidency.

In 1807, Colonel Hatton, who had the Regiment in his charge, returned home on leave and was replaced by Lieutenant-Colonel Blakeney. On September 3, 1807, just a couple of weeks before Joseph Atkins would take ship for home after being discharged from the service, the following Order was issued by Lieutenant-General Maitland, on the occasion of his visit of inspection at Trincomalee.

" Lieutenant-General Maitland felt great satisfaction

at the whole state of the Garrison of Trincomalee

and its dependencies, at his visit to that important

post. His Majesty's 66th Eegiment, he is happy to

observe, has not suffered by the temporary loss of

that excellent officer. Colonel Hatton. The steadiness

and appearance of the men is highly reputable to

Lieutenant-Colonel Blakeney and the officers of the

Corps. The general character and good conduct of the

officers does credit to the Regiment, and the whole

state of the Regiment does honour to the Service.**

Interestingly, while Joseph’s military career was comparatively brief, he had, by the time of discharge, risen to the rank of Corporal. Not bad for a labourer in just five short years. And if his ‘contracted right leg’ had been due to ulcers, Joseph must have recovered good health as he would live another 54 years, dying at the age of 77 years – a goodly innings.

Photo: 18th century Gloucestershire. Where Joseph Atkins grew up.

Perhaps the ‘limp’ with which he was left was why he became a shoemaker. One presumes that four years with the East India Company in Ceylon, with little on which to spend wages, would have left him enough money to retrain and set himself up in business. He would have nearly two years from the time he returned to England the time that he married – more than enough time to train as a shoemaker, perhaps, as was the way, with a relative or family friend.

While at this stage we do not know if Edwin/Edward Atkins the convict is either our Edward Atkins or the son of Joseph Atkins and Anne Haines (Haynes), Henry Edwin Atkins, there is a reasonable fit on either count or on all three counts.  Henry Edwin Atkins may be our Edward Atkins or he may be Edwin/Edward Atkins the convict – or the three may be one and the same man. If this is the case then we have in the material to hand for Joseph Atkins and Anne Haines a wealth of new material for the family ancestry.

I am employing a Gloucestershire researcher to attempt to resolve the questions.

The connections so far between the convict Edwin Atkins and our Edward Atkins are:

1. Edward Atkins gives his father's name as Joseph on both of his marriage certificates, firstly to Hannah Mcleod and secondly to Elizabeth Mashford Lewis.

2. His obituary has a note asking that Gloucestershire papers  be notified, when he died in 1891 at the age of 80.

Edward Atkins was born circa. 1811 or 1812. - Henry Edwin Atkins was baptised February1812 so may have been born 1811.  A few weeks or a couple of months has been recorded between birth and baptismal dates for two of his siblings.  Joseph Lewis Atkins was born January and baptised February; James Webb Atkins was born August, baptised October.  The convict Edwin/Edward Atkins has in most records, a birth date of 1811.

Image: Gloucester Assizes, court report on the conviction of Edwin Atkins.

There is an age discrepancy in  one convict record to date but we have the following, and it is probably wise to ignore the one discrepancy regarding age:

Edward Atkins    1830  Florentia    - on convict muster record but not transcribed to ship record.   24 yo Gloucester. (This may be another Edward or the age may be incorrect and this is most likely given the other records which give a correct age for Edwin/Edward the convict and our Edward.)

Edwin Atkins      1830  Florentia  (transcribed to ship record)  19 yo  from Yas Plains.

Convict Registers

Edwin Atkins              Gloucester Assizes      7 April 1830    7 years                        

Convict & Passenger Records

Edwin Atkins    19      Florentia          1830    7 yrs  Protestant          Hy O’Brien  ‘Yass Plains’

NSW Muster Rolls

Edward Atkins           20        Florentia          1830                Gloucester

3. The convict, Edwin Atkins arrived in NSW in April 1831, having departed August 1830, after having been convicted At Gloucester Assizes and given a seven year sentence, which would have ended in 1837. He was found guilty of sheep stealing. Edward Atkins appears in South Australia definitely in 1843 and possibly in 1840, both dates occurring after Edwin/Edward would have completed his sentence.

4. Edwin Atkins worked as a shepherd on NSW properties whose owners later had links with South Australia. There were numerous cattle drives between the area where Edwin served his sentence and South Australia between 1837, when Edwin finished his sentence and 1840 when an Edward Atkins appeared in South Australia.  Edward Atkins worked as a shepherd and both Edwin and Edward had trade recorded as blacksmith.

5. Description of (Henry) Edwin Atkins is a good match for a photograph of Edward Atkins, circa 1860, when he would have been about 49.

Photo: Edward Atkins with his daughters, Mary (left) and Elizabeth (right), circa 1870.

The Certificate of Freedom report on Edwin/Edward Atkins says he  had dark grey eyes, sandy hair, a ruddy-freckled complexion, eyebrows meeting and he was 5ft. 71/2 inches and had a tattoo HEA on his right inside wrist.

6. Edward Atkins 'appeared' officially in South Australia in 1843 when he marries Hannah McLeod. There is no record of him arriving in the colony by ship.

7. An Edward Atkins is mentioned in an assault record in SA in January 1840, aged 27 which is a birth date of circa. 1813 - in the region of 1811, the same age as our Edward and Edwin Atkins.

8. Edward's son by his second marriage to Elizabeth Mashford is named James Haynes (Haines) Atkins. James called his son Haynes (Haines)  Mashford Atkins.

9. His first son to his first wife Hannah McLeod was called Henry, not Edward, which was a common tradition of the time, and his second son was called Joseph.  We have found nothing beyond the birth notice for Henry but we have a death notice for Joseph as a child.

10. The name Edwin Henry appears for one of Edward's grandsons. Sarah Atkins, daughter of Edward and Hannah McLeod,  who married Walter James Stacy in 1872 at St Marks Church in Penwortham. They had 11 children ) and one of they was called Edwin Henry Stacy DOB 31 Mar 1882 Bundaleer Springs  DOD 08 Apr 1882 Bundaleer Spring.

Photo: Life as a convict was harsh. 

Further information from the Gloucestershire researcher is as follows:

James W. Atkins and his wife Jane, and son George aged 1 were living in Cheltenham.

Figure 1 - James Atkins, 1841 Census of St Mary, Cheltenham

The researcher found possible deaths for Joseph in Cheltenham in 1860 and Ann in Cheltenham in 1865. These records had them both aged 74, which would give a year of birth c. 1791. NB: The 1851 census which fits with the age of Joseph on discharge from the military, and birth dates respectively of 1784 and 1786, for Anne,  would have him aged 76  or 77 at death and Anne 79 or 80. Certainly good ages for the times.

In Slater’s Directory of 1850, under Cirencester,  the researcher found one entry that may be of interest – Payne & Atkins, of Castle Street, who were listed as milliners and straw bonnet makers.  This may be a female enterprise, perhaps one of the sisters listed above in partnership with another person?

Subsequent censuses revealed George Atkins and David Atkins with their spouses, but not ‘Edward’ Atkins at all, which seems to suggest that he was elsewhere.

Figure 2 - David Atkins, 1851 Census of Cheltenham

Figure 3 - George Atkins, 1861 Census of Lutterworth, Leicestershire

Figure 4 - David Atkins, 1861 Census of Stroud, Gloucestershire

Figure 5 - David Atkins, 1871 Census, Stroud, Gloucestershire

                                                                                                                                             

A David Atkins married a Hannah Holder in Cheltenham, during the September quarter of 1842, which seems to tally with the above.

Further research in the Cirencester family also found possible further siblings for Joseph Atkins.  A Thomas Atkins married Grace Boulton on June 3, 1778, Cirencester, Gloucestershire.

A Thomas Atkins was cited as the father of the following children:

Joseph Atkins, who was baptised 22 June 1788 in Cirencester. NB: This is four years too late for Joseph Atkins who married Anne Haines but the records are often very hard to transcribe accurately and the year may well be 1784 and not 1788.

Mary Ann Atkins b. 26 June 1795, Cirencester.

Thomas Howell Atkins bp. 26 June 1796, born Cirencester, d. 28 August 1797

Thomas Atkins bp. 1 July 1798, Cirencester.

NB: It is a longshot but given the habits of the time, the presence of the name Lewis as a middle name for Joseph and Ann’s son indicates a connection to family with the surname of Lewis. If Joseph and Ann are found to be the parents of our Edward Atkins, there is always the possibility that there was a connection between the Peter Lewis that Elizabeth Mashford married, and that this played a part in her meeting Edward Atkins at a later date, in South Australia.