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Old 30-12-10, 09:03
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marquette marquette is offline
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Default Two successes at NSW State Archives !

Seeing its so quiet, I thought I would like to spread some good news.

I have been a-hunting my Brazill family of maritime workers through TROVE , the Australian newspapers and the GALE newspapers website - I am especially interested in my ggg grandmothers brother-in-law and cousin (ie he married her sister, his cousin).

Samuel Custins Brazill was employed as a harbour pilot for Port Jackson (Sydney Harbour) from 1835-1838.

I knew quite a bit about him from the TROVE, even finding a notice of his appointment and plenty about his financial and shipping woes and then his death.

The only thing I don't have is his baptism - he should have been baptised about 1794 in either Great Yarmouth or possibly in London. I think his parents should be Jacob Brazill and Mary Custins (or Custance).

I thought I would like to find out how he became a harbour pilot, and why. A slim chance I thought, as the 1830s are a difficult period to research in NSW - the Colonial Secretary ran the whole bureaucracy and there are some indexes, not collated anywhere except in each year of correspondence. Few passenger lists and fewer crew lists.

However, among the correspondence from the Master Attendant (Harbour Master) to the Colonial Secretary, was the recommendation to appoint Samuel Custins Brazill as a pilot, and his letter of application, in his own handwriting, and a description, to be included on his pilot licence. Also a leter of recommendation from Charles Mallard !

Samuel Custins Brazill (as he spelled it) declared that he had been a pilot at the River Plate (in Argentina) in 1824 and 1825. He came to NSW as second mate on the ship PERSIAN in 1834 under Captain Mallard. His licence describes him as 5" 7" and of dark complexion.

After his stint at the River Plate, he returned to London and married his cousin Elizabeth Brazill in Aug 1825 at St Dunstans in the East. Passenger lists are poor for the 1830s, but I found a list for the Persian, with Mrs Mallard aboard, but Elizabeth did not come out with Samuel, but was in Sydney by Nov 1838, when he died.

The other success was determining that a Frederick Reid mentioned in the Sydney Morning Herald as arrested for drunk and disorderly and sent to the Darlinghurst Reception House (for lunatics) was indeed OH's great-great-grandfather. In the records it gives his full name Frederick Moffat Read, although the spelling varies, it sadly says he was sent to Gladesville Asylum after 7 days.

The records of Gladesville Asylum show they kept him there for 18 months due to epilepsy due to drunkeness. He was much addicted to Colonial Beer, but the doctor thought he could be released after a year and a half, as long as he stayed away from alcohol. In his time there he was considered slow and quiet, quite useful in the woodyard, and over time the epileptic fits subsided.

It also described that he had been supported by his mother for the last 2 years before his commital, makes no mention of the "wife" and three children he was charged with neglecting in 1869.

I don't know what happened to him after his discharge from Gladesville, and am still searching for a definite death registration, although I have narrowed it down to just a few possibles.

Five hours well spent.

Di
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Old 30-12-10, 09:51
ElizabethHerts ElizabethHerts is online now
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Wow, Di, what a wonderful amount of information! No wonder you are chuffed. How sad that Frederick Reid had to be committed to an asylum. It must have been so tough then having any type of mental illness.

We visited the Sydney Records Centre in the Rocks District when we were in Australia in 2006 and the staff were extremely helpful and aided us in some lightning research on my great-grandmother's brother who shot himself in his head with a revolver. They provided a very good service.
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Old 30-12-10, 20:33
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Quote:
Originally Posted by ElizabethHerts View Post
Wow, Di, what a wonderful amount of information! No wonder you are chuffed. How sad that Frederick Reid had to be committed to an asylum. It must have been so tough then having any type of mental illness.

We visited the Sydney Records Centre in the Rocks District when we were in Australia in 2006 and the staff were extremely helpful and aided us in some lightning research on my great-grandmother's brother who shot himself in his head with a revolver. They provided a very good service.
The staff are so helpful and know so much about the system, its amazing. Also the retrieval staff are so efficient when getting obscure records - I got through heaps of boxes and bundles.

Poor Frederick, such a sad part of his life, and I don't know whether he straightened himself up or just went back to his old ways.
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Old 31-12-10, 01:42
tenterfieldjulie
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Di, Great work sorting and persevering it must be so satisfying. II will make notes on what you did as I still have to finish a story on a ship's log I transcribed, she traded between Sydney and Richmond River (there was no Ballina) but that is another story. What I wanted to ask "Do you know where the Moffat came from in Frederick's name? Why I ask is, I compiled an article for our TFHG Newsletter on James Moffat Reid 1881-1915. His father was John Holmes Reid son of James Johnstone Reid. JM Reid was named after JH Reid's business partner John Moffat. They became very wealthy from tin mining at Emmaville (outside Tenterfield) and then in North Qld. Thank you. Julie
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Old 31-12-10, 02:38
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Hi Juilie
No relation I think.

Frederick Moffatt Read (the family spelling) was born in 1837 in Dublin Ireland to George READ (born Kent 1813, died 1842 Jamaica) of the Royal Engineers and Eliza Fanny nee RICE (father Frederick Rice of the Longford Militia and Anne nee MOFFATT).

He had only one sister, Jemima Jane READ - Jemima Jane seemed a very unusual Irish name which led me to their Kent ancestors (she was known as Minnie). Mother Eliza Fanny (sometimes known as Fanny) married Edward Capps after they arrived in NSW. She was matron of the Hyde Park Barrarcks Immigration Depot and then ran a very successful domestic servants registry in Sydney after Mr Capps was goaled and then disappeared.

Di
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