Thursday 31 October 2013

"A Real Trick" – Larry O'Toole

I don't know much about Laurence and Anne's third child, Laurence, but I'll put down what I have. Apologies in advance for this being largely raw details.

Laurence was known to the family as Larry, and to save confusion with his father and grandfather I'll refer to him as this.

Larry was born on 29 June 1860 in Kent Street. The address is not given, so I don't know if he was born in 2 Kent Street or in the house off 7 Kent Street.

I don't find another reference to him until 1882, when his name appeared in The Christadelphian, along with his parents and younger brother, Archer1. Then, in 1883, his name appeared in the Sands Directory, living in Evans Street, Balmain, the home of his late father. No occupation was given. But the next year he had moved to Bartsup Terrace in Mansfield Street (which was then Balmain but is now Rozelle) and was working as a printer2. This was also the year, 1884, that his brother Archer started running his print works in Darling Street, Balmain. I have a strong suspicion that Larry was working for Archer as he doesn't appear in the Trades section of the Sands. He stayed at Bartsup Terrace (now 110 Mansfield Street) until 1889 when the Sands showed him now living at 26 Lawson Street, Balmain. Again he stayed put for a few years, before moving to Percival Street, Leichhardt3. Sands doesn't give a house number, but he was always on the east side between Piper and Brennan and the 7th house from the Brennan Street corner. That would make him around about 39 or 41 Percival Street (it is now in Lilyfield). And there he stayed for many years. His occupation is variously listed as a printer and as a compositor.

In 1882 Larry married Margaret Deuchars, daughter of James and Mary Deuchars of Balmain. She was the second of eleven children (three boys and eight girls) and was born in Glebe in 1861. her family moved to Balmain some time around 1870, when her brother Robert was born4. I should know more about Margaret's family, but at the moment I don't.

Larry and Margaret had five children:

Laurence (yes, another one) born and died in 1881
Archibald, born and died 1883
Walter Laurence, born 1885 and died in 1953 (married Alice Wellsted)
Ada Caroline, born 1892, died 1963 (married John Henry Chidgey)
Frederick Wallace, born 1898, died 1953 in Cairns (married Alma Marguerite Cleary)

From 1894 to 1901 Larry served as a councillor on Leichhardt Council. He was, according to the newspapers of the day, a very vocal councillor, often speaking strongly for or against a particular matter. Amongst other things, in 1901 he pushed for "Life Saving classes" in all the schools in Leichhardt, with a desire to see them in all schools in Sydney. These days our children have the opportunity to join Swimming Schemes in primary school. Was Larry the start of this movement? Put "Laurence O'Toole" into Trove, or the phrase “Leichhardt Council” and see what pops up. It makes for entertaining reading. He certainly worked for his constituents.

Leichhardt Town Hall. Image courtesy of Wikipedia Commons
After Archer left for Queensland (see his post when I get to it), there was still a printery running with the O'Toole name – O'Toole and Wise Federal Printing Works at 52 Beattie Street, Balmain. I assume Larry took over from Archer, as he continued to work as a printer and compositor and when he died, his home address was given as 52 Beattie Street. But I only found out this yesterday (good old Sands) so I have to look into it a bit more to confirm this.

Margaret died on 22 Feb 1935, at her daughter Ada's home in Kingston Street, Haberfield5. She was buried in Rookwood Necropolis on 23 February in the Anglican area, section 12, grave 14696. Larry followed her a little over two years later, on 9 April, 1937 and was buried in the same plot on 10 April, 19377.

I was lucky enough to meet and interview Robert O'Toole, grandson of Archer, at the beginning of this year. He remembered his father, Keith, talking about Uncle Larry:
He was a real trick, Dad used to say... he loved practical jokes and... Dad would sort of, well, not roll his eyes, but Dad would say, oh he was a real mischief sort. He'd get up to tricks and he loved playing practical jokes on people... people he knew, even. He wasn't backwards in playing a joke on them8
It is this type of information that really makes family history come alive for me – finding out what my ancestors and relations were actually like. I cannot express how grateful I am to Bob for this little nugget of genealogy gold.

From time to time pieces would turn up in the Balmain Leader that had a mischievous humour to them – the piece on William's trousers, the following about ice skating, and others. Now I wonder if Larry was behind them, having a laugh and relishing the faces of the readers.

"Skating" The Balmain Leader, reprinted in The Bowral Free Press, 26 June, 1889, page 4, column 6. From Trove (http://trove.nla.gov.au)
1(“The Christadelphian Doctrine of Fellowship” Stephen Genusa, Spring 2009 http://www.genusa.com: accessed 29 Oct 2011), citing The Christadelphian 1882
2 John Sands, The Sands Directory (Sydney, New South Wales: John Sands, 1859-1932), 1884: 690; microfiche.
3 John Sands, The Sands Directory (Sydney, New South Wales: John Sands, 1859-1932), 1893: 793; microfiche.
4 New South Wales Government, "BDM Index," database(http://www.bdm.nsw.gov.au : accessed 26 Oct 2012), entry for birth of Robert Deuchars in 1870.
5 "Deaths," The Sydney Morning Herald (New South Wales), 23 Feb 1935, p. 14, col. 2; digital images, Trove (www.trove.nla.gov.au : accessed 26 Oct 2012), Digitised newspapers and more.
6 Rookwood Cemetery - Anglican & General Cemetery Trusts, "Deceased Search," database, Rookwood Anglican & General Cemeteries (http://www.rookwoodcemetery.com.au/ : accessed 13 Nov 2012), database entry for Margaret O'Toole (1861-1935).
7 Rookwood Cemetery - Anglican & General Cemetery Trusts, "Deceased Search," database, Rookwood Anglican & General Cemeteries (http://www.rookwoodcemetery.com.au/ : accessed 13 Nov 2012), database entry for Laurence O'Toole (1860-1837)
8Interview with Robert O'Toole, 1 February, 2013

Sunday 27 October 2013

Which O'Toole is Which? - Addendum

Yesterday my notice I had sent to RSVP in the Sydney Morning Herald was published (Thank you, Herald, an invaluable service).

Imagine my excitement when I received an email response yesterday afternoon! It turns out the respondent is from what I have dubbed the Pyrmont O'Tooles, but she has been very generous with her information and hopefully this will help unravel the two families.

One important thing I learnt from her this morning is that Tobias O'Toole was also from Wexford, not Wicklow as I had presumed. There goes one distinguishing feature, but every puzzle piece is necessary.

I love how the genealogy community is, generally, a sharing lot. We all know the frustration of wrong leads, brick walls, etc. Tobias' descendant and I are more distantly related than we both had hoped, but that hasn't stopped her, and it won't stop me.

Thursday 24 October 2013

Tobacco and Madness - William O'Toole

The next few posts will be a bit sketchy. I apologise in advance. There are lots of documents I still need to get for the O'Toole family - Christmas and birthdays are my times for getting birth, death and marriage certificates, and I am researching more than just the O'Toole line so those are a bit sparse at the moment (Christmas will fix that) and I need to make time to go to State Records - made so much harder now that our incredibly short-sighted NSW Government has closed the Reading Room in The Rocks. Mind you, they don't value our future, so why do we expect them to value our past?

So what I have on the sons of Laurence and Ann will be what I have gleaned from family, newspapers and some research at Wyong Family History Group. But it will get the basic facts out and hopefully clear up some of the confusion between this family and the Tobias O'Toole family (they are the other O'Toole family in Sydney in the C19th - see Which O'Toole is Which).

I will deal with Matthew Joseph Anthony when I have done his half-brothers, simply because I have so very, very little on him. He seems to have led a quiet life. Isabella's short little life was dealt with in Vale Isabella O'Toole. I hope her two years were happy ones. Which brings us to the next child born to Laurence and Ann - William.

William was born in 1858 in 102 Kent Street, the house from which his sister ran and was crushed by the dray.

The family moved from The Rocks to Balmain in 1880 and William started O'Toole Brothers, Tobacconists and Hairdressers sometime between 1880 and 1884. The shop was situated at 273 Darling Street, between MacDonald and Mort Street. It is now occupied by Blooms the Chemist.

Blooms the Chemist, Darling Street, Balmain, originally O'Toole Bros. Tobacconists and Hairdressers. Photo from personal collection of Megan Hitchens.
On 14 April 1884, William came to open the shop and found that it had been burgled1. Goods to the value of £3 were taken. I don't know if they were recovered.

On a happier note, 1884 was also the year that William married. He had met a young woman named Emily Butler. She lived in Cove-street, Balmain, with her mother, Frances ni Rainy, and stepfather, George Henry. Her brother and William's father, Laurence, were both members of the Naval Brigade (forerunner of the Naval Reserve). Whether William and Emily met through proximity or through the Naval Brigade I don't know, but meet they did.

Emily was the daughter of Lawrence Ormond Butler and Frances Rainy, and the granddaughter of Irish exile, Lawrence Ormond Butler. For an excellent history of the Butler family go to Barbara Butler's series of blogs - http://butlerfamilyhistoryaus1.blogspot.com.au/2012/09/lawrence-butler-jnr-introduction.html . The link will take you to Emily's father's story, but if you work your way around you will also find the posts on her grandfather and his wives and children. Barbara's blog shows us how family genealogy blogs should be done. Outstanding research, impeccable source citations, clear and engaging writing. Seriously, go and have a look.

Just to demonstrate the confusion with the O'Toole families of Sydney, William O'Toole, son of Laurence O'Toole, married Emily Butler in 1884 in Balmain2, while William O'Toole, son of Tobias O'Toole, married Emily Pulbrook in 1884 in Pyrmont3. And to further complicate matters, my William O'Toole's brother, Thomas, married Emily Donohue in Balmain in 1892. So there were three Emily O'Tooles running around (or should that be Emilies O'Toole? Take your pick).

As far as I can tell, William and Emily had only one child – Elsie May O'Toole, born 14 January 1893, above the shop in Darling Street, Balmain4. Until two nights ago I thought there were four children, but I have since applied my brain and realised that three of those four were born to Pyrmont William and Emily ni Pulbrook.

My William's next brother down, Archer, ran the Balmain Leader, a weekly newspaper for the Balmain area. Their younger brother, John, also worked as a journalist for the Leader. In January of 1888 a small piece appeared in the Balmain Leader, ribbing William. There is no way to tell who wrote it, Archer or John, but I am sure it was the work of one of the brothers. It has a joke at William's expense but also reveals something of his character:
Burglaries in Balmain
BY OUR OWN DETECTIVE
During the week, another of a series of petty larcenies which have lately occurred in the borough has been reported to the local police. A worthy citizen whose good wife is all anxiety for her spouse's cleanliness and comfort industriously soused a pair of William's pantaloons and placing them conspicuously beneath Sol's drying influence felt satisfied of having achieved a master-piece of tidiness in the way of spotless breeches for her good man's acceptance on the following morning. But the Fates willed otherwise. During the night, it is supposed the gang of predatory individuals who invest our sea-girt suburb swooped down on the quiet home of Wm. O---- and marched off with his nether garments. But this writer would point out that a fierce gale passed over the village on that night – and it chanced to be----
----Their washing day
And all the things were drying;
The storm went roaring thro' the lines,
And set them all a flying;
Until both shirts and petticoats
Went riding off like witches;
Bill lost – and now is left to mourn -
His well washed working breeches.
And instead of being stolen as supposed, were he about he might have seen them:-
----Straddling thro' the air,
Of course too late to win them;
They were his darlings and his pride
His manhood's help to riches,
Mentally he “farewell” cried,
“My breeches.” “Oh my breeches.”
Could he now see them e'en in dreams,
How changed from what he knew them!
The dews have steeped their faded threads,
The winds have whistled thro' them.
He could see wide and ghastly rents
Where demon claws had torn them;
With large holes in their amplest part,
As if an imp had worn them.
The Sydney Morning Herald reported on a spate of thefts in the Balmain area leading up to the loss of the trousers. People had had shoes, trousers, pipes and shirts stolen, so William was not so unreasonable in his assumption. Clearly, however, his brothers thought he had taken things a little too far.

Then, on 16 July 1888, William and Emily's house was broken into and some of Emily' jewellery stolen. From the description of the items in the Police Gazette, William and Emily were doing quite well. The items stolen were “Lady's gold hunting keyless watch; hair guard, mounted with gold; pair gold ear-rings; pair gold ear-rings, set with a sapphire and four or five white stones; gold ear-ring, oval shape; gold ear-ring, set with a diamond”5. Again I don't know if anything was recovered.

But the thieves weren't finished with Mr. O'Toole. On 3 February 1891, Robert Johnson, a hairdresser employed by William, arrived to open the shop for the day. He found that the shop had been burgled and that a rear window had been forced. A tobacconist and hairdresser from Woolloomooloo, John Latimer, was later seen hanging around6. Stolen were “a case and a half of tobacco, 19 boxes of cigars, 10 boxes of cigarettes, 10 razors, 8 meerschaum pipes, 3 dozen meerschaum cigarette-holders, 3 block pipes, a box of tobacco, and 3s in copper money, the whole being valued at about £51”7. In other terms that 1700 cigars, 5200 cigarettes and a bit over 48kg of tobacco.

A meerschaum cigarette holder in case, image from Wikipedia Commons. Meerschaum is a soft mineral which hardens when warmed. It has long been a prized material for pipes.
Two days later William accompanied Detectives Roach and Goulder to John Latimer's shop, where William positively identified his tobacco (he had put his name on the bottom of the blocks) and other items. Latimer claimed first that William couldn't identify tobacco (the name was pointed out), then that he had bought everything from some reputable dealers, then that he had been sold it all by a couple of men he had met “in the stir”. Lastly, he took the search warrant from Detective Roach, tore it up and threw the pieces away (Roach collected them)8. Latimer was arrested and charged with “burglariously breaking and entering...and stealing”. The case went on for several weeks with a number of adjournments, with William required to give evidence. On 12 March, Latimer was found guilty of receiving and on 20 March 1891 he was sentenced to three years hard labour at Darlinghurst Goal9.

It was stated in a number of the newspaper reports on the burglary that William O'Toole did not live on his shop premises. However, by the time his daughter was born in January of 1893, he and Emily were living there. Clearly William had felt the need to safeguard the place.

The shop was called O'Toole Brothers and while William seems to have been the main proprietor his brothers had a financial interest in the business and some of them worked there. John certainly did work there are one point, and Benjamin was employed as a hairdresser. Thomas had had an interest until his finances went awry. I don't know about Archer, Laurence and James, although I suspect so. Another thing to add to a long list of records to check at NSW State Archives.

On 6 October 1894 William placed an advertisement in the Sydney Morning Herald for a hairdresser “at once, good hand, no other need apply”10. His young brother, Benjamin, was in the late stages of a terminal illness (he died less than a month later). It seems William had finally accepted that Benjamin could not come back and so was looking for a replacement.

Then there was another notice in the paper:
TO HAIRDRESSERS, TOBACCONISTS, and PARTIES on the LOOK-OUT for a FIRST-CLASS BUSINESS.
THE CHANCE OF A LIFETIME.
THIS DAY, THURSDAY, October 10, at 11 o'clock. UNDER INSTRUCTIONS FROM W. O'TOOLE, HAIRDRESSER and TOBACCONIST, THE STRAND, DARLING-STREET, BALMAIN. CLEARANCE SALE by PUBLIC AUCTION, ON THE ABOVE DATE.
The whole of the very extensive Stock of a TOBACCONIST and HAIRDRESSER, consisting of SHOP AND COUNTER FITTINGS, SPLENDID NICKEL-PLATED COUNTER SHOW-CASE, large Stock of PIPES, TOBACCO, and CIGARETTES, BARBER'S CHAIRS, MIRRORS, &c., &c.
JAMES COWAN (266 Pitt-street) has been favoured with instructions to conduct the above highly important sale.
The Auctioneer specially invites purchasers to attend this important sale, as this is a splendid opportunity to secure one of the best businesses in this rising suburb.
The present proprietor has been established 15 years, and is only giving up business owing to ill-health.
The whole of the STOCK and FIXTURES will be offered in one line, and if not disposed of will then be sold in lots to suit buyers.
TERMS, CASH, NO RESERVE
Sydney Morning Herald, 10 October 1895, page 3
Initially I thought this meant that William was physically ill and therefore could not continue to work. However, earlier this year I started searching the Police Gazettes for entries regarding William's burglaries and discovered the real nature of his illness.

Sometime around the time of the Auction, William was admitted to Callan Park Mental Hospital. State Records has the admission records and medical casebooks, so yet another thing to look for (I swear, I am going to need a week in that place). Until then I don't know why he was in there. Suddenly his stress over the loss of his trousers doesn't seem quite so amusing, although in defense of his brothers I have grown up with a family member with mental health issues and as a sibling you take your laughs where you can get them.

William's sale of the business and his admission to the Hospital must have been a big change for Emily and Elsie. They seem to have been quite comfortable up to that point. Hopefully they got enough from the sale to see them through the times ahead. But worse was to come.
In the 9 December 1896 edition of the Police Gazette, on page 43111 appeared the small notice:

The Police Gazette, 9 December 1896, p431, collection of State Records Authority of New South Wales

At the time of the inquest the matter was widely reported in the newspapers in Sydney and beyond. William remained in Callan Park, pending trial until 1917. On 28 March the Gazette reported that the matter had finally been settled12, although probably to the satisfaction of few:

The Police Gazette, 28 March 1917 p143, collection of State Records Authority of New South Wales

William O'Toole died in Pattamatta Mental Hospital in June of 1919. He is buried in Rookwood Cemetery, section 4 of the Anglican area, grave no. 4375, next to his mother. There is no surviving headstone. Emily survived another 10 years, dying on 5 October, 1929. She is buried in Section 10 of the Anglican area of Rookwood,  in grave no. 3039. Again there is no surviving headstone. The woman in the Anglican office in Rookwood told me that where Emily was buried was considered to be a poor part of the cemetery, although not destitute. I don't know why they weren't buried together.

There is nothing I can say of this couple's end that won't sound trite, so I will comment no further.

1 State Records Authority of New South Wales, "Police Gazettes 1854-1930," database, Ancestry.com (http://www.ancestry.com : accessed 11 Jul 2013), William O'Toole burglary 1884; citing State Records Authority of New South Wales; Police Gazettes 1862-1930; Roll: 3138; Year: 1884; Page: 166.
2 New South Wales Government, "BDM Index," database(http://www.bdm.nsw.gov.au : accessed 10 Oct 2012), etnry for marriage of William O'Toole and Emily Butler in 1884. (NSW BDM Marriage Certificate 2095/1884)
3NSW BDM Marriage Certificate 1676/1884
4 "Births, Deaths and Marriages," The Sydney Morning Herald (New South Wales), 6 Feb 1893, p. 8, col. 5; digital images, Trove (trove.nla.gov.au : accessed 27 Aug 2012), Digitised newspapars and more.
5 State Records Authority of New South Wales, "Police Gazettes 1854-1930," database, Ancestry.com (http://www.ancestry.com : accessed 11 Jul 2013), William O'Toole theft 1888; citing State Records Authority of New South Wales; Police Gazettes 1862-1930; Roll: 3139; Year: 1888; Page: 256.
6 "Charge of Breaking and Entering," The Sydney Morning Herald (New South Wales), 14 Feb 1891, p. 13, col. 4; digital images, Trove - Digitised newspapers and more (http://trove.nla.gov.au : accessed 20 Oct 2013).
7 "Burglary at Balmain," The Evening News (New South Wales), 6 Feb 1891, p. 2, col. 2; digital images, Trove (trove.nla.gov.au : accessed 27 Aug 2012), Digitised newspapars and more.
8 "Alleged Breaking and Entering," The Sydney Morning Herald (New South Wales), 13 Feb 1891, p. 3, col. 5; digital images, Trove (http://trove.nla.gove.au : accessed 5 Nov 2012), Digitised newspapers and more
9 "Yesterday's Brevities," The Evening News (New South Wales), 21 March 1891, p. 6, col. 1; digital images, Trove (trove.nla.gov.au : accessed 20 Oct 2013), Digitised newspapars and more.
10 “Professions, Trades, &c.” The Sydney Morning Herald (New South Wales), 6 Oct 1894, p.16, col. 6; digital images, Trove (trove.nla.gov.au : accessed 28 Aug 2012), Digitised newspapars and more.
11 State Records Authority of New South Wales, "Police Gazettes 1854-1930," database, Ancestry.com (http://www.ancestry.com : accessed 11 Jul 2013), William O'Toole, Murder, 9 Dec 1896 p431
12 State Records Authority of New South Wales, "Police Gazettes 1854-1930," database, Ancestry.com (http://www.ancestry.com : accessed 11 Jul 2013), William O'Toole, Murder, 28 Mar 1917 p143. 
 

Monday 21 October 2013

Which O'Toole is Which? - the children of Laurence and Ann O'Toole

Okay, I am slack, I know that. I was supposed to have profiles for these children written already, but I have only started a couple so far. There is nothing like writing these things to highlight the holes in the research, but it is a good way to update my to-do list.

So a quick exercise which will hopefully spur me on - a list of children of Laurence and Ann O'Toole. I know this list is given elsewhere in other posts, but look on it as an indication (fingers crossed) of things to come:

Matthew Joseph Anthony (child of Ann Groves Leonard and her first husband, Matthew Gambell Anthony), born 1849, Stepney, Middlesex, England; died 28 May 1880, Sydney, New South Wales.

Children of Laurence and Ann:

Isabella O'Toole, born 12 May 1855, The Rocks, New South Wales; died 31 March 1858, The Rocks, New South Wales

William O'Toole, born 1858, The Rocks, New South Wales; died late June 1919, Parramatta, New South Wales, Australia

Laurence O'Toole, born 1860, The Rocks, New South Wales; died 9 April 1937, Balmain, New South Wales, Australia

Archer O'Toole, born 15 November 1862, The Rocks, New South Wales; died 16 November 1938, Rockhampton, Queensland, Australia

Frederick George O'Toole, born 1865, The Rocks, New South Wales; died 4 May 1867, Redfern, New South Wales

John O'Toole, born 22 June 1867, Redfern, New South Wales; died 24 June 1940, Balmain North, New South Wales, Australia

Thomas O'Toole, born about 1870, The Rocks, New South Wales; died 31 October 1925, Canterbury, New South Wales, Australia

Benjamin O'Toole, born 1872, The Rocks, New South Wales, died 2 Nov 1894, Balmain, New South Wales

James O'Toole, born 1875, The Rocks, New South Wales; died 30 July 1956, Balmain, New South Wales, Australia

We'll see how many I get to.

Monday 14 October 2013

Which O'Toole is Which? - Celebrating Family History Month

October is Family History Month, so to celebrate I am going to put down what I know of the O'Toole family. It will take a while, so it is a good project for a whole month.
There were two main O'Toole families in Sydney in the last half of the nineteenth century, one was Protestant (my branch), descended from Laurence O'Toole, the other Catholic, descended from Tobias O'Toole. When you go looking on Ancestry family trees there seems to be a bit of confusion between the two, so I am going to put down the outlines of what I know of my O'Tooles in the hope of making things clearer.

My O'Tooles started in Australia in 1854 when Laurence O'Toole arrived in Sydney aboard the Syria with his wife, Ann Groves ni Leonard and her son from her first marriage, Matthew Joseph Anthony. Laurence is my most frustrating brick wall simply because he is my great great grandfather and I think therefore that I should know more about his origins. Here are the facts, sparse as they are:
Laurence O'Toole was born in WEXFORD in about 1820 and was most definitely a Protestant. Most O'Tooles seem to have been Catholics from Wicklow. This certainly seems to be the case with the other O'Toole family in Sydney. (O-oh, no it isn't. See Which O'Toole is Which? Addendum)

Counties of Ireland. Note Wexford and Wicklow on lower east coast. From Irish Genealogy Toolkit

(And yes, religion does have to be brought into it as it helps sort out which family is which. Both O'Toole families in Sydney had children with the same name, and which Church they were attending helps track the correct people.) 

Laurence's dad was also Laurence. On his son's marriage certificate he stated his occupation as "gentleman". I have looked about for what Gentleman meant in 1853, when young Laurence married Ann Groves Leonard. There are varying definitions. The Encyclopedia Britannica stated it was a man without title who bore a coat of arms, while the Oxford English Dictionary gives as one of its definitions of the term gentleman "a man of superior position in society, or having the habits of life indicative of this; often, one whose means enable him to live in easy circumstances without engaging in trade, a man of money and leisure"1 Other sources state that it meant a man of independent means who did not work. Conversely, Laurence Jnr was a merchant seaman (amongst other things) who worked hard throughout his married life. I don't know if there were brothers and sisters and am not sure of his mother's name - it may have been Margaret, but I have no idea where this notion came from.

The name Laurence causes confusion. Laurence is probably the most common name to put with O'Toole, thanks to bishop Laurence O'Toole of the C12th. Practically every O'Toole family has at least one Laurence in it, usually more. I'm already up to four and I haven't looked that much into the family.

So, back to Laurence O'Toole b.1820. I don't know how or when he ended up in England, but in July 1853 he was in Whitechapel, marrying my great great grandmother, Anne Groves Leonard. He was already a mariner (ticket no. A4.119, in 1855 he is also listed as ticket no.35). On 3 November 1853 Laurence, Ann and Joseph left London on the ship Syria, captained by Thomas Mesnard. Laurence was boatswain on the voyage. They sailed for Sydney via Rio de Janeiro. The voyage was slow "never having had a steady wind for three consective days"2, and the ship beset by difficulties. It had sprung its foremast and lost the cross-jack yard in a gale a few days out from London, and then lost the cross-jack yard again later in the voyage (the cross jack yard is the lower yard on the mizzenmast). There were also problems with supplies on board, the biscuits that were the crew's main food were found to be of poor quality and mouldy. This later led to some of the sailors withdrawing their labour in Sydney3(Sydney Morning Herald 7 Apr 1854 p5). Despite everything, the Syria docked at Campbell's Wharf on 7 March 1854. Campbell's Wharf is the area between Circular Quay and the Sydney Harbour Bridge, just up from the Museum of Contemporary Art.

Custom House & part of Circular Wharf, Sydney N.S.W., 1845, George Edwards Peacock, Oil on board, DG 38, property of the State Library of NSW
The O'Tooles started out in The Rocks area of Sydney, in a small house in Cumberland Street. This was a two room affair – not two bedrooms, but two rooms, with a lean-to kitchen in the back. In September, Ann's older sister, Lucy arrived aboard the Hanover, with her husband, George Puzey and their infant son, also George. George Snr had signed up as steward on the Hanover. For a while all six people lived in the little house until Lucy and George were able to find a place to rent. A lot of the properties in the area were rentals and both families were often on the move as rents went up and down. But as George and Laurence were both mariners it made sense to stay near the docks.

Laurence and Ann were members of the Holy Trinity Church in Lower Fort Street, Millers Point. It has always been more popularly known as the Garrison Church, simply because the local Garrison used it as the place of worship. Isabella O'Toole was christened there, before her untimely death (see Vale Isabella O'Toole). Later they changed to St Phillips where Archer was a bellringer at the age of about 14 years4. At some point the O'Tooles became members of the Christadelphian Church, where they remained as active members of the congregation.

The City of Sydney Archives has kindly put its assessment books on line. I found Laurence and Ann's various addresses from the Sands Directory, and I was then able to look up their addresses in the assessment books and get basic descriptions of the houses they lived in and who their landlords were. The assessment books only cover the city, Redfern and Camperdown, but they are well worth looking at if you have ancestors in these areas or if you are interested in the history of inner Sydney.
For instance, in 1861 the O'Tooles were living in a house “off 7 Kent Street”. It was a house of stone with an iron roof, 1 story, 2 rooms and was owned by William Andrews5.

Sometime in the early 1860s Laurence and his brother-in-law, George Puzey began working at the AGL Gas Works at Millers Point. George was a gas purifier, a job that saw him dead by 1863. He died in the Tarban Creek Asylum (now Gladesville Hospital) from arsenic poisoning6.

Gas Works, Millers Point, c. 1873, Samuel Elyard, Watercolour, DG D5, property of the State Library of New South Wales
Laurence meanwhile worked as a fireman, which means that he tended the furnaces. He was still working at the gasworks in 1867 when his son John was born and the family had moved to Redfern7. They continued to live around the City, renting small houses, everyone crammed into four rooms, until 1880 when suddenly we find Laurence and family in 289 Clarence Street, the only occupants of a two-storey, 10 room, brick and shingle residence8. The big change here was that the probate had finally come through from the estate of Ann's first husband. It wasn't a fortune, less than £200, but that was enough to make a difference to the family. Shortly after this they moved to Balmain, a newer, healthier suburb.

Poor Laurence didn't have long to enjoy the delights of Balmain. About 20 September 1882 he was admitted to Callan Park Hospital in Leichhardt, suffering from severe diarrhoea. By 27 September he was dead. Unfortunately the law stated that the death certificate had to be filled in by the doctor who treated him, H. Blaxland, and he made a pig's breakfast of it. His son, John, is listed as his father and missing from the list of children. There is no mother's name at all.

Lawrence was buried in the Rookwood Necropolis in Section G, Grave 163 of the Anglican section. Unfortunately no headstone remains. 

Laurence O'Toole's grave site, no. 163, Anglican Section G, Rookwood Necropolis, between the Fusedale and Douglas plots. Photo in private collection of author
1 from "Horace and the Construction of the English Victorian Gentleman" Stephen Harrison From: Helios Volume 34, Number 2, Fall 2007 pp. 207-222 | 10.1353/hel.2008.000
2 “Shipping Intelligence”, Empire (Sydney), 7 March 1854, p2, col 1-2; digital images, Trove (http://trove.nla.gov.au : accessed 8 Oct 2013), Digitised newspapers and more.
3 “Water Police Court”, The Sydney Morning Herald (Sydney), 7 April 1854, p5, col 3-4; digital images, Trove (http://trove.nla.gov.au : accessed 8 Oct 2013), Digitised newspapers and more.
4Interview with Robert O'Toole, Hunters Hill, 1 Feb 2013
5 City of Sydney, "City Assessment Books 1845-1948," database, City of Sydney Archives (http://www3.photosau.com/CosRates/scripts/home.asp : accessed 26 Feb 2013), entry for Laurence O'Toole Rates assessment 1861; Citing City of Sydney Assessment book CSA 027328.
6 “Death at the Gasworks” #1313 These Walls Have Ears: My Place, All The Best; fbi 94.5fm Archive (http://allthebestradio.com/shows/1213-these-walls-have-ears-this-place/ accessed 1 Oct 2013)
7 New South Wales Department of Attorney General and Justice NSW, birth certificate 3699 (1867), John O'Toole; NSW Registry of Births Deaths and Marriages, Chippendale.
8 City of Sydney, "City Assessment Books 1845-1948," database, City of Sydney Archives (http://www3.photosau.com/CosRates/scripts/home.asp : accessed 26 Feb 2013), entry for L O'Toole Rates assessment 1880; Citing City of Sydney Assessment book CSA027194. 
 

Tuesday 1 October 2013

Bankrupts and Smugglers - George Valentine Leonard

We've looked at George's death. What about a bit about his life? George Valentine Leonard was born in Little Hampton in Worcestershire in about 1798 to John Leonard and Elizabeth Groves. George was one of eight children (five boys and three girls). His father was a landholder and Tory voter1.

George Valentine first substantially appears in the records in 1824 in court proceedings pertaining to his and his late relative's bankruptcy (Thomas Valentine Leonard – I don't yet know if he was a brother or uncle or cousin). At that time, only traders could declare bankruptcy. Everyone else had to be declared insolvent, a state that usually resulted in debtors’ prison (read "Little Dorritt" by Charles Dickens for an account of a debtor's prison. Actually, read it anyway. It's a great book). It was not uncommon to find farmers and others conducting trade in order to qualify for bankruptcy, should the need arise. However, this could be as simple as selling seeds or plants, not a big leap but enough to safeguard themselves.

George, however, was a genuine trader, and listed his occupation as Commercial traveller. He owed in excess of 600 pounds to a creditor, Joshua Payne, who had a warehouse in London. On committing his act of bankruptcy, all George's goods were assigned to a Mr Carlisle. Under law, the goods were now the possession of Mr Carlisle. In the meantime, Joshua Payne got a writ for the debt and had a local officer, William Parr, serve it on George and seize goods to the value of the debt (known as fieri facias or fi. fa.). Two letters were then received by the officer, one from George saying take goods rather than money and then one from Payne's agent, John Williams, saying the debt had been satisfied, so leave the goods alone. The agent and a bailiff, William Restarick, retired to the Three Cup's Inn in Lyme, to decide how to settle fees.

The Three Cups Inn, Lyme Regis. From Save the Three Cups Hotel
Williams paid Restarick all the fees for the Sherrif, minus five pound, which it was agreed would be recovered by seizing some of the parcels and selling them. Goods to the value of five pound were sent to Bridport for Mr Restarick, (Restarick received payment some two months later and sent the parcels on to Joshua Payne). A further thirteen parcels were seized on the day and were sent to Joshua Payne in London. The parcels were intercepted at Carpenter Smith's Wharf, London, by a wharfinger named Richard Wilson. As there was an act of bankruptcy in place, Wilson refused to release the goods to Payne until the matter of their ownership was settled. There they remained.
In June of 1825, Carlisle, the asignee in George Leonard's bankruptcy, was in Poole, where he ran into the Sherrif and his assistant. He demanded the return of the parcels, but this was refused. Carlisle then took the Sherrif to court to recover the value of the goods taken (an action known as trover). He was ultimately successful (the matter being settled in the middle of 1826) and the case became a precedent in law, appearing in full in a number of journals over the years2. The interest had been caused by the matter of whether or not the Sherrif was criminal (found not so) or liable (deemed thus), as he had not known of the act of bankruptcy when directed to serve the writ for recovery of the debt.
A record of the discharge of Bankruptcy has yet to be uncovered by this researcher, but it must have occurred at some time prior to 1841 when George was working as a woollen draper.
The story of the bankruptcy and the events surrounding it do not, however, end there, as Lyme Regis was hardly an innocent little holiday town.
At the time of the bankruptcy, George was based in Lyme, with premises and a warehouse, and employing at least one other person, Farrant, “a shopman of [GVL]3”. Lyme was, in the late eighteenth and early nineteenth centuries, a centre for smuggling. The local council even passed statutes making the job of customs official almost impossible, such as a restriction on searching goods as they were unloaded onto The Cobb (the main dock for the town - go watch "The French Lieutenant's Woman" or read Jane Austen's "Persuasion"). Customs officials could not approach said goods until they were at least half a mile removed from the waterfront. As there were a number of large warehouses right on The Cobb, some of which still survive today, goods could come in and out of the dock without customs ever laying eyes on them.

The Cobb, Lyme Regis. The building on the left is an old warehouse, now the Marine Aquarium. Photo from Lyme Regis Marine Aquarium
Practically everyone in business in the town was involved in or receiving benefit from smuggling4. In the midst of this was George Valentine Leonard. I know he sold tea, one of the main contraband items.
Furthermore, Poole, where George's assignee, Mr Carlisle, met the Dorset Sherrif and his deputy, was a notorious town, feared for the brazen and ferocious behaviour of the smugglers operating from it. What was Carlisle doing there? And how were the Sherrif and deputy safe, when Poole was known for the murder of customs officers and other officials of the law?
During his time in Dorset, George met Ann Allen, from Taunton in Somerset . They were married on 12 Sept 1824 at St Mary Magdelen Church, Taunton. He inherited Thomas Leonard's bankruptcy in October of that year, which must have come as something of a shock to Ann.
While Carlisle was still fighting through the courts, George and Ann moved on. Children were born in Hoxton, Middlesex (Lucy, 1825), Islington East (Frederick, 1827 and Alfred, 1828), Pentonville, Middlesex (George, 1831), Kingsland, Middlesex (Ann, 1832), Bristol, Gloucestershire (Charles, 1836 and Emma, 1837) and finally back in Islington East (Joseph aka John, 1839). It is possible that Alfred and George were one and the same. Their birth details come only from the Census and they never appear on the same Census return together. More research is required.
The 1841 Census lists the household as still residing in Islington, with George’s occupation given as “Wollen draper” (sic)5. A woollen draper was a shopkeeper who sold wools and woollen fabrics. Interestingly, one of Joshua Payne's major import items was wool and woollen cloth from New South Wales, Australia. Was George still using his connection with Payne?
1 Worcestershire, England, UK, Poll Books and Electoral Registers, 1538-1893, 73, John Leonard; digital images, Ancestry.com Operations Ltd, "UK, Poll Books and Electoral Registers, 1538-1893 [database on-line]," Ancestry.com (www.ancestry.com : accessed 6 Dec 2012).


2Such as “Cases Argued and Determined in the Courts of the Common Pleas and Exchequer Chamber, and in the House of Lords: from Hilary Term, 1834 to Trinity Term 1834 both Inclusive”, John Bayly Moore Esq and John Scott Esq, of the Inner Temple, Barrister at Law, Vol IV, S Sweet, Chancery Lane Fleet Street, London and R Milliken & Son, Grafton Street, Dublin, 1834


3Ibid p.27

4 See "Smuggler's Britain" for details on smuggling in Lyme Regis and a history of smuggling in Britain.

5 1841 census of England, Middlesex, St Mary's Islington East parish; Ossulstone hundred Finsbury, folio 38, page 9, George Leonard household; digital images, Ancestry.com Operations Inc, AncestryInstitution.com (http://www.ancestryinstitution.com); citing PRO HO 107/664/2.