Family History Mysteries

Patrick John Daly, a showman, who was born at Barnawartha Victoria, had a string of horse stealing charges in the early 1900s in several states of Australia. He went by the professional names of P.H Montogomery, W.G Kemp and Professor Kemp.

Mrs Thompson, a mother of five daughters and a son, accusedher newly acquired son-in-law of having married her 15 year old daughter without her consent. The Melbourne Herald reported on the same day the mother informed the police that it was “a serious charge.” Who was her daughter and who was the newly acquiredson-in-law and how did this occur without consent?

George Selth Coppin was a comedian, impresario and entrepreneur, and was a driving force in early Australian theatre.

George Selth Coppin was a comedian, impresario andentrepreneur, and was a driving force in early Australian theatre.  

In Jan 1901 at Grenfell NSW, William Woodfall, the accountant at the Union Bank, disappeared. The bank found a discrepency of 4100 pounds.

I was chatting to a member of my local historical societyand he mentioned how in the research of his books in local pubs in our area (Deniliquin NSW),that one publican was a circus owner! It immediately captured my attention andI had to know more! Henry Burton was born in Horncastle, Lincolnshire, England,in Mar 1825. After training as ringmaster with the circus of James Cook, which toured Scotlan...

Amy Stone was born Amanda Porter in 1840 in Massachusetts, USA. She married, Henry F. Stone, known as Harry, on the 16 Sept 1857 in Boston, Massachusetts, USA. Harry was her personal manager and she used the stage name Miss Amy Stone. She toured Australia twice and her second tour was widely reported in the papers of the day in 1875.

Frederick Richardson had four marriages, six children, a fling with a fifteen-year-old that led to  a seventh child, two divorces, one bigamy prosecution, a charge for wife desertion, and another charge for child maintenance! Thank you to Mélanie Méthot who allowed me to use her blogas a basis to this episode. https://www.thebigamyproject.com/

The eldest of 15 children, William Eric Hamilton was born inDecember 1907 in Emmaville NSW. His father was a tin miner until 1928 when the family moved to Surry Hills. He was the only child who seemed to have trouble with thelaw. Thank you to Mélanie Méthot who allowed me to useher blog as a basis to this episode. https://www.thebigamyproject.com/

Daniel Doran had a string of small offences in SA and NSW, but his biggest offence was bigamy – several times!!

The title of this episode indicates this story is about royalty – it couldn’t be further from the truth! Lilian Grace Dorothy Gibson was born in 1886 in India to James and Julia Gibson. Lilian used a number of aliases: Charlotte Gibson, Grace Gibson Herbert, Charlotte Grace Tyrer, Lilian Grace Tyrer and The Heiress!

In 1926, Emily Claughton left an estate worth nearly 130,000 pounds to charities and churches. Who was Emily Claughton, how did she come to be sowealthy and why did she not leave anything to her family members?

Between 1879 and 1882, His Royal Highnesses Prince Albert Victor and Prince George (the future King George V), sons of the Prince of Wales (later King Edward 7th), served as a midshipman on-board  HMS Bacchante , an ironcladscrew-propelled corvette of the Royal Navy.  The princes’ tutor, John Neale Dalton, accompanied them as tutor and chaplain for the duration of the journey. During their time ti...

*Warning - this episode contains reference to deceased Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islanders* Billy Jonas was a buckjumper and roughrider with Martini’s Buckjumping Show in the early 1900s.

Anne Hanson got in touch as she not only uncovered mysteries in her family research but wrote a fantastic book on her discoveries! It is a gripping journey into forgotten history, identity, and the power of family. This true story will resonate with anyone who has ever wondered what mysteries might lie within their own family tree. “Buried Secrets is as suspenseful as a detective novel." ~ Ak...

In 1944 in court, Karl Adolph Ernst Schultz’s criminal history was summed up by describing 35 previous convictions. Karl had six aliases by this time, including surnames such as Rafferty and Sinclair. He had almost as many weddings as he had aliases, “marrying” a total of five times, committing bigamy three times!  Thank you to Mélanie Méthot who allowed me to use her blog as a basis to this episo...

Tommy Freeman was an Echuca based paddle steamer captain and as a youth was coined the Echuca Blondin! He was a born adventurer, a hard taskmaster and an impatient man – he was said to have served the worst meals on all the paddle steamers on the Murray and his enemies called him ‘Tear Arse Tommy’!

Joseph Hawdon and Charles Bonney were pioneers and overlanders who took cattle from Albury NSW to Adelaide in 1838. This venture helped to fill in the map and would be the impetus for a succession of other parties making the long journey, and for pioneering alternative routes.

Joseph Hawdon and Charles Bonney were pioneers and overlanders who took cattle from Albury NSW to Adelaide in 1838. This venture helped to fill in the map and would be the impetus for a succession of other parties making the long journey, and for pioneering alternative routes.

Andrew Stenhouse owned a grand home called 'Willyama' in St Kilda Victoria. He owned a successful sawmill in Broken Hill NSW prior to purchasing this property. Legend had it that Andrew hid 2,000 gold sovereigns in this home.

In the 1850s Christopher Bagot was considered one of the most successful squatters in the Riverina region of NSW.

George S Melville, nicknamed ‘Frenchy’, was born in about 1815 in Scotland. He was a convict who was involved in the famous McIvor Diggings gold escort robbery in July 1853.

The Murray Downs Homestead is a heritage-listed homestead at Moulamein Road, Murray Downs, NSW, just over the bridge from Swan Hill on the Murray River. In 1848 the Murray Downs Station was a vast expanse of land. Bell and Wilson applied to lease this from Crown Land. It was originally 150,000 acres. The Officer brothers purchased the property in 1862.

American Charles Sherwood Stratton, a small statured man, achieved international fame as a member of PT Barnum’s touring sideshow troupe and named himself Tom Thumb – he appeared in Melbourne in 1870 which encouragedAustralian versions. This episode covers the stories of two Australian 'Tom Thumbs'. *Warning – there will be terminology used in this episodethat does not reflect modern accep...

Born Thomas Henry Augustine Penney, Cecil Pierpont was one of a number of aliases he used in Australia. Others included Cecil Rowe, Professor Gordon Rowe and Cecil de Vere, Gordon Vane Tempest Simpson, Gordon Tempest, Gordon Burge, Gordon de Burgh, Cecil Royal Aubrey, Cecil Devine, John Soames, Sydney Bruce Burge. He was also married a number of times, including to several women at the same time.