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From Porthallow to Australia
The Mystery of Josiah White
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This article is a sequel to the one
that I wrote for the June 2005 edition of the
CFHS Journal (the story of Mrs Amy White) and
hopefully shows how fascinating family history
is, even if, at times, we do not always like what
we find.
Most families have skeletons in the cupboard
which have been kept under wraps for generations
but then, suddenly, a discovery is made whether
it be illegitimacy, lunacy or criminality by an
interfering family genealogist who stumbles
across the truth.
The story of the mysterious Josiah White is
possibly one of these. Josiah White was born at
Porthallow near St Keverne on 10 February 1846,
the son of Edward White (carpenter) and Loveday
nee Guy. Josiah was baptised at his parent's
house in Porthallow by the Bible Christian
minister of the Helston Circuit on 26 February
1846.
He grew up in a family of five children and
followed in his father's footsteps by
becoming a carpenter.
By the 1861 census, Josiah was the only child
living at home with his parents but on 25 May of
that year Edward White died after a short
illness.
On the 1 December 1865 Josiah White aged 19,
carpenter of Porthallow, married Amy Harry at the
Wesleyan Methodist Association chapel in Helston.
Amy was the daughter of John Harry, carpenter of
Roaring Stile, and Amia (nee Richards) was aged
24.
Over the next few years six children were born to
Josiah and Amy - Thomas Henry 1867, Alfred John
Harry 1869, Josiah James 1871, Arthur 1875 (who
died young), Ernest 1876 and Samuel 1878. This is
where the apparent mystery begins.
In the 1871 census for Porthallow Amy White is
listed as Head of household and married with
three children - Alfred John Harry aged 2, Thomas
Henry aged 4 and Josiah James aged 3 months.
By 1881 Amy was still at Porthallow with four
children living at home - Thomas Henry aged 14,
Alfred aged 12, Ernest aged 5 and Samuel aged 3.
The fourth son, Josiah James aged 10, was living
in Porthallow with his maternal grandmother Amia
Harry.
In 1881 Amy White was described as a widow and in
1882 emigrated to USA with her four children. A
year later she remarried in the USA to Charles
Vogt and had a second family.
Josiah White was not listed on the 1871 Census
and neither was he buried at St Keverne between
1871 and the 1881 Census when Amy was styled as a
widow. In fact, his death does not appear to have
occurred in England but in Australia.
Did he work as a ship's carpenter (which
could explain his absence from home on the 1871
Census) and then later jumped ship in Australia?
On 26 September 1874 Josiah White aged 25, a
bachelor and a wheelwright was married at St
Matthew's Church Broadford, Kilmore District
in the Colony of Victoria to Emma Louisa
Brucewater.
Josiah's parents are listed as Edward White
and Loveday White nee Guy and his birthplace
"Cornwall", England.
In Australia Josiah and Emma White produced a
large family of possibly nine children - Edward,
Emma, Frederick, William, Loveday, Josiah, John,
Alice and Henry Claude.
These names are listed on Josiah's death
certificate. Josiah White died on 13 December
1924 aged 84 years at King Edward Avenue,
Sunshine in the state of Victoria. His occupation
was that of a wheelwright and it was stated that
he had lived in Australia for 60 years, 20 years
in Victoria and 40 years in other states (the
other states included New South Wales where at
least six of his children were born).
The names of his children and their ages were
also listed in birth order ranging from Emma aged
46 to the youngest Claude aged 28. Two children,
Edward the eldest child and William (the fourth
child) were deceased by 1924. Josiah was buried
on 15 December 1924.
This then is the mystery - possibly there may
have been two Josiah Whites but no other
birth/baptism entry relating to a Josiah in the
right period of time in the right area of
Cornwall has been found.
There seems to be no burial record for Josiah
White in England. There also appears to be no
passenger entry for Josiah White on a ship
sailing from England to Australia - possibly, as
a ship's carpenter and, therefore, a crew
member, he would not be on a passenger list.
Could he have decided to stay in Australia and,
therefore, jumped ship in order to do so?
Where was Josiah in 1871 when Amy was the Head of
the household in Porthallow? Was he way at sea?
Did he and Amy both commit bigamy?
In Amy's case she may have considered herself
to be a widow when she remarried in the USA for,
without doubt, she believed that Josiah had been
lost at sea.
Was it possible for Josiah to have children in
England and Australia at the same time?
Both Amy White in Porthallow and Emma White in
Australia were having children over a similar
period - Amy had three children in the 1870s
(Arthur 1875, Ernest 1876 and Samuel 1879) after
Josiah had married in Australia (1874) and Emma
White had her first three children (William the
eldest 1876? Emma 1878 and Frederick 1880).
Children who have fathers at sea can often
correlate their birth dates to the period nine
months before when he was home on leave - this is
certainly true in my father's family when I
compare the births of his brothers and sisters
with my grandfather's naval record!)
Family history always throws up intrigue,
dilemmas (nothing exciting ever happened in our
family really means "there are skeletons in
the cupboard and I am not going to tell
you") and unanswered questions.
Josiah White and his second wife Emma are buried
together in Australia (I have a copy of a
photograph showing the grave and headstone) while
Amy White (later Mrs Vogt) died in 1919 and is
buried in the USA. Both Josiah and Amy had their
roots in St Keverne parish in the small fishing
village of Porthallow. Both emigrated to the
"New World" and started second
families. Both left behind an interesting family
history, even if there are no definite answers to
the questions posed in this story. In fact, does
the lack of answers really matter?
Cans of worms may be opened but that's family
history for you!!!
Feel free to email me - Terry
Moyle - St-Keverne Parish Genealogy Clerk |
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