|
Victoria, Australia
James Adams Charlotte Maria Hamilton
[1839-1895] [1847-1934]
Miner, of Sandhurst, Victoria, Australia
formerly of South Australia, previously of Devonshire, England.
Above: James Adams taken at Mt. Savi Mine
near Sandurst just before his death in 1895.
[Family Photo]. Click on image to enlarge.
|
Biography
JAMES ADAMS was baptised on the 15th September 1839 at Eastacott, Devonshire, England, the eldest son of John Adams a farmer and his wife Elizabeth ‘Betsey’ [nee Williams].
Family: His parents, John Adams & Betsey Williams were married in Milton Abbott 1838, a year before James was born.
Several siblings followed;
Mary, Henry Hopper Adams, Tamzen, Maria and William Thomas Adams.
James' brother, 'Henry Hopper Adams' carried the name of his grt, grt, grt grandfather Henry Hopper [born 1708],
a tradition handed down in the Adams Family for several generations.
Father: John Adams was born in Werrington the son of 
Leonard Adams by his wife Maria nee Squire.
The Adams Lineage extends 4 generations prior to 1680.
Mother: Betsey Williams was born in Tavistock 1813 the daughter of Thomas Williams by his wife Elizabeth.
1852 James was twelve years old when his Family immigrated to South Australia during the Gold Rush Days in the
early 1850’s. See Father's Biography.
1860-c.1868;
While his parents, siblings and paternal grandmother remained in South Australia, when James came of age
he began to work as a Miner, working his way via various diggings to the Gold Fields in Victoria.
By 1869 he had arrived at Pleasant Creek;
About Pleasant Creek:
William McLachlan discovered a small amount of gold at Pleasant Creek in May 1853,
a very isolated area, water was scarce and there were no food supplies.
Hearing news of the small strike some people did arrive although the main stream were
those passing through there from South Australia on route to the Victorian goldfields
at Bendigo & Ballarat, who stopped and washed small quantities of gold.
The original town center and administration buildings were later established near the
Pleasant Creek goldfields. However, the alluvial gold began to diminish in the 1860's.
The township was later renamed Stawell
http://home.vicnet.net.au/~shsinc/golddiscovery.html |
1869 James Adams marries;
Working at the diggings that, at the age of thirty James Adams married Charlotte Maria Hamilton
on the 22nd Nov. 1869 at Pleasant Creek in Victoria. Both Bride and Groom signed the Document.
Charlotte Maria Hamilton
Baptised on the 25th July 1847 at Hobart Tasmania, the daughter of James Hamilton
a Coach Builder, previously a Soldier and his wife Fanny [nee Gowlett].
In mid 1869, following the death of Charlotte's father three years before, the entire
Hamilton Family had moved from Horsham, South Australia to Pleasant Creek, Victoria,
a distance of around 750 kms.
It is possible that perhaps both the Adams & the Hamilton Families knew each other in
South Australia and James moved to Pleasant Creek simultaneously.
Charlotte's mother Fanny Hamilton [nee Gowlett] and her younger children;
Lucy, Henry, James, Eliza, Alice, Mary Ann and John and also her married daughter
Elizabeth Francis Bass [nee Hillyard] by Fanny's 1st marriage. All played an integral role
in the life of James and Charlotte.
|
1870 The Hamilton Family were certainly at Pleasant Creek early in the year, when Charlotte's sister
Eliza Adella Hamilton married Frederick James Sargent at Pleasant Creek seven months
prior on the 18th April 1870.
James and Charlotte remained living close to the Hamilton Family and the events below indicate the close
connection that James, Charlotte and their children shared with Charlotte’s family.
1870 Child 1: Frances Elizabeth Adams born 7th October 1870 - Pleasant Creek, Victoria.
1870 The two families had remained at the diggings.
Charlotte's sister Eliza Hamilton married Frederick James Sargent on the 18th April 1870 at Pleasant Creek.
1870 Charlotte's half sister Frances Elizabeth and her husband Thomas Bass registered the birth of their son
Alfred George Bass at the same venue that year.
1870 It was at Pleasant Creek six months after her sister’s child was born that Charlotte gave birth to her first child
Frances Elizabeth Adams born 7th October 1870, her father was recorded at a Miner, aged 35yrs,
Dr. Bennett attended the birth.
1870 Charlotte’s sister Lucy married John Hill at Gordon just east of Ballarat on the 24th October 1870,
the couple settling at Gordon where their first child, Thomas Henry Christopher Hill was born 14th August 1871
This implies that the families were beginning to move a little further northwest, closer to the then booming
goldfields near Bendigo.
1871 The move to Ballarat then on to Sandhurst, Bendigo;
It was then that the entire Hamilton Family and all extended families including James and Charlotte moved to
Sandhurst in Bendigo.
1871 Charlotte's sister Eliza Adella and her husband Frederick Sargent were first to record an event in the the birth
of their first child, Frances Margaret Sargent 1871 recorded at Sandhurst, Bendigo.
1872 Mother dies;
Bestsey Adams [nee Williams] died 28th July 1872. [Date of death taken from the Bible of ' brother-in-law
Henry Hopper Adams].
Details in Civil Registration for South Australia is as follows;
Elizabeth Adams died 28th July 1872, age 59 years, married, John Adams [H = Husband],
Residence: nr Mount Barker, Place of Death: nr Mount Barker.
1875: Father remarries;
Three years later John Adams married Caroline Jury [nee Waypool] at the Registry Office, Adelaide
on the 27th February 1875.
Noted: John Adams, widower, age 58yrs - Father's name Leonard Adams.
Caroline Jury, widow, age 42yrs - Father's name Joseph Waypool.
A mixed bunch: Descriptions of James Adams and his brothers-in-law, who shared their lives at Bendigo;
James Adams was a big man, he had a large moustache, a real rough diamond so to speak,
but a pleasant face. His father, equally a mountain of a man, a farmer.
His father was still living in Adelaide South Australia with James' siblings at this time.
James was used to hard work and now a miner, the diggings where he worked of a day were
often in isolated and in inhospitable remote areas, which dotted the outer regions of the township.
Some Treasured Family Photos exist of some of these diggings.
Frederick Sargent, Charlotte's sister, Eliza’s husband was more reserved.
A freemason, his parents were both early convicts and although he also worked the mines,
he was known to work in his father’s grocery shop when he was a child and later became a builder.
More of Frederick Sargent's childhood and lineage can be Accessed here.
John Hill, the spouse of Charlotte's sister, Lucy on the other hand was in a class on his own.
As Irish as ‘Paddy’s Pigs’, they called him ‘Gentleman John’ so called because he wore yellow kid gloves
and drove a sulky.
Although coming from a farming background 'GJ' he was extremely well educated, well spoken and
worked as a teacher.
John Hill was born in Ireland c. 1844 and at the age of twenty-one he left his home via Belfast with two
brothers for Melbourne around 1865. His brothers returned to Ireland and the farm, which the Hill Family
still run to this day, whilst John remained in Victoria and married Lucy Hamilton.
A mixed bunch to say the least but this was a full and happy time, with frequent visiting and all the extended
families were very 'close knit'.
Charlotte’s mother, Fanny Hamilton [nee Gowlett] was also living at Sandhurst with Charlotte’s three younger
siblings Alice Kate, Mary Ann and John who also regularly shared in family events.
Her brothers Henry Yeoman Hamilton and James Pelham Hamilton [jnr] appear to have settled in NSW.
1873 A busy Year;
The three sisters were still living in close proximity at Sandhurst when each gave birth to their second child,
all sons and all in 1873!
1] Lucy now twenty-nine gave birth to Harold John Hill recorded in 1873 at Sandhurst;
2] Eliza now twenty-two giving birth to Frederick James
3] Charlotte now twenty-six had moved to a different house in Lily Street, Sandhurst, where their son
James Pelham Adams was born on the 5th July 1873. Again James was recorded as a Miner.
Dr. Hood and Charlotte’s mother were recorded attending the birth.
Also noted was Charlotte's mother ‘Mrs. Hamilton’ assisting.
1875 More births;
Remaining at Sandhurst by 1874 two of the sisters were pregnant again and again both would give birth to sons.
1] Lucy gave birth of Albert James Hill also in 1875.
2] Charlotte & James had moved to another house in Rowan Street, Sandhurst
where John Henry Adams was born on the 4th May 1875.
The birth was assisted by Dr. Arkinson and his nurse Mrs. Jenkins
Again Charlotte's mother was recorded on the document as ‘Mrs. Hamilton’ assisting the birth.
It would appear that Fanny assisted with all the births of her grandchildren.
John Henry would not survive early childhood.
1876 - 1877 - Deaths in early childhood;
By 1876 Charlotte and her sisters were again neck and neck with their pregnancies.
1] Eliza again was first with the birth of a daughter, Florence Eliza Sargent in 1876.
Sadly the death of her five-year old daughter Frances Sargent was also recorded in that year.
2] Charlotte and James were still living in Violet Street and Charlotte was entering the third trimester
of her forth pregnancy when her young son John Henry contracted Typhoid Fever.
John Henry Adams died on the 30th May 1877 just 27 days after his 2nd birthday.
The duration of his illness was 9 days. He was buried at Sandhurst Cemetery.
Ten weeks following the death of their young son, James and Charlotte had moved to Frost Lane
also at Sandhurst where Charlotte's pregnancy came to term with another son Alfred Hamilton Adams
on the 17th August 1877.
The birth attended by Dr.Atkinson and Mrs. Jenkins.
Charlotte's mother's name does not appear on the document.
3] Charlotte’s sister Lucy gave birth to a daughter Lela Frances Hill in 1877.
1877 It was during this year that Charlotte’s family began to disperse.
Her mother now aged fifty-nine moved to Melbourne taking with her Charlotte’s younger siblings, Alice Kate -
nineteen, Mary Ann seventeen and John fifteen to Melbourne.
Charlotte's older brothers Henry and James appear to have already moved to NSW.
Lucy and her Irish husband John Hill were the only members of Charlotte’s family to remain at Sandhurst.
The Family Legend;
Family Legend tells that Charlotte took particular pride in her cooking and that James came home from
work one day and picked up a piece of apple tart, which Charlotte had freshly baked.
He was said to have remarked “Perhaps a little too many cloves!”
Charlotte was said to have retorted; “Really! Well you shall not ever have another!”
The legend continues "and he was never offered one again!"
1879-1880 - The pregnancies continue;
1] Three years later in 1879 Lucy gave birth to another son Edgar Hamilton Hill.
2] Charlotte was close behind giving birth to a daughter Mabel Maud Adams 6th January 1880.
The birth attended by Dr.Atkinson and his nurse Mrs. Davey.
James and Charlotte had moved to Bancroft Street in Sandhurst by this time.
1881 Remaining at Sandhurst Charlotte's sister Lucy and her Irish husband John Hill were recorded a son
Oswald Stanley Hill in 1881.
1883 James and Charlotte were living at Bernard Street Sandhurst where Norman Stanley Adams was born
on the 28th January 1883.
Dr. Atkinson practicing at this time but he appears to have changed midwife.
Charlotte appears particularly fond of Mrs. Davey and doctor's were changed Dr. Baumgatwell was in
attendance with the former doctor's midwife, Mrs. Davey who was now in his employ.
Lucy gave birth to a son Horace Norman Hill that same year in 1883 and a daughter Clarice Lucy Hill
on the 4th February 1884.
Charlotte's niece young Clarice Lucy died the following year.
1885 By now James was forty-six & Charlotte was approaching the age of thirty-eight.
Charlotte's next birth would be her last.
Their youngest child Ruby Septemia Adams born on the 5th November 1885 born at Henster Street Sandhurst,
the birth attended by Dr. Herly and Mrs. Anna Master.
1886 Lucy's husband 'Gentleman John' Hill dies as a result of an accident;
Lucy and John Hill were still living at Sandhurst.
Lucy now forty-one would record her last born child Hedley William Hill in 1886.
This child would not survive more than a year.
1886 To add to Lucy’s tragedies, her husband John Hill died the same year [1886] as a result of injuries from a
fall from his sulky, which had occurred three months prior.
1887 The following year on the 10th of February 1887 that Lucy faced the death of her youngest son Hedley.
It was soon after that Lucy moved, with all her surviving seven children to Perth W.A. where she worked as
a teacher. Lucy would remain in Perth for the rest of her life.
See the Epilogue in her father's Biography.
The Rational Dress Picnic - Photos;
James and Charlotte continued to live at Sandhurst where between the years of 1890-1895.
At some time either during these years or prior James’ family visited from South Australia.
It was at this time that ‘The Rational Dress Picnic’ was held and a photo of the family including James parents
John and Betsy was taken on route on the Road to Fernshaw [Victoria].
It is unknown if the photo also included Charlotte and if the children may have followed in another vehicle.
It is assumed that the photo included some of James’ siblings. PHOTO
When his parents and siblings returned to South Australia his younger brother William Adams remained
at Sandhurst and lived with or near James and Charlotte establishing himself as a Land Agent.
1895: James Adams is killed in a Mining Accident and his father dies that same year;
On the 18th February 1895 James was working at nearby Mopoke Gully with his son young James Adams jnr.,
now twenty one.
The mine filled with gas and the two scrambled to the top, young James the first to ascend and when he had
reached the top he heard his father call out that he was in trouble. He then heard his father fall to the bottom
of the shaft. Young James ran for help.
Family Legend tells;
“Charlotte was sitting in the kitchen on that day and suddenly placed her hands on her face!”
she was said to have called out "Something is wrong with James!”
Some hours later James' body was carried into the kitchen, carried on a door, which was used as
a stretcher, all the bones in his body were broken."
James never regained consciousness. His broken body was said to be taken on a wooden door used as a stretcher
to the nearby hospice.
The Mount Alexander Mail: Wednesday 20th February, 1895;
ITEMS OF NEWS
'A very sad mining accident occurred yesterday afternoon to an old and respected resident of Castlemaine,
Mr. James Adams, whilst engaged at Frenchman's Reef, Mopoke Gully, Campbell's Creek.
The deceased was working with this eldest son, James, in a shaft 130ft deep. They had fired a hole and
afterwards cleared the debris away, but the air becoming foul, they desisted and decided to knock off
work for the day. The son of the deceased then ascended the shaft by means of footholds in the sides
and reached the surface safely. He waited at the mouth of the shaft for some time, then he heard a noise
as if his father had fallen down the shaft.
The young man descended and was horrified to find his poor father lying on the bottom of the shaft,
still alive. Assistance was speedily procured and Mr. Adams was speedily brought to the surface, placed
in a cab, and conveyed to Castlemaine.
En route thereto Dr. Hutton examined the deceased and found the body lifeless. The remains were then
taken to the residence of the deceased in Lyttleton Street East.
It is surmised that Mr. Adams was ascending the shaft by means of the footholds in the sides when he
missed his footing and fell to the bottom.
The skull was fractured and one arm and leg broken. Deceased who was related to Mr. W. Adams,
auctioneer, leaves a widow and large family. An inquest will be held at 6 o'clock this evening.'
The next day;
The Mount Alexander Mail – Thursday 21st February 1895.
THE RECENT FATAL ACCIDENT – Inquest.
Last Evening an inquest was held at the Police Court before Mr.C.Tolstrup and a jury of five, relative
to the death of the late Mr. James Adams, who was accidentally killed at the Old Frenchman’s mine
on the previous day.
The jury consisted of Messrs. Edwin Bennett [foreman], Q. Crawford, T. Odgers jnr., C. Dale
and P. Broderick.
The following evidence was taken:-
James Pelham Adams, miner, deposed that he was a son of deceased, with whom he worked.
They were, on the day of the accident, engaged in sinking the shaft, which was 150ft in depth.
In the morning fired a shot and after “crib” witness descended to the bottom to send the stuff up,
the deceased remaining on a plat 30ft above to work the windlass.
After working for a while the fumes of the powder began to affect him so that he had to be hauled up
to the plat. They remained there for an hour to allow of the fumes clearing away.
Deceased was then lowered to the bottom.
After remaining there a few minutes deceased said he would not remain there any longer.
Witness then hauled him up to the plat, and deceased said they would leave work.
Witness then started for the surface … Reached the surface and then lay down for three or four minutes.
Then pulled up the powder cans, which they had attached to the rope before leaving the plat.
Then laid down again at the mouth of the shaft and saw his father coming up the shaft.
Then heard a fall.
Called to his father, but got not answer.
Then went down to the bottom of the shaft where he found his father.
Spoke to him but he did not answer.
Tried to place him in the rope, but could not secure the ropes.
Sat him up in the corner of the shaft, and went up for assistance and deceased was brought up to the surface.
Deceased never regained consciousness nor spoke.
There were no ladders in the shaft, but there were stops cut in the side of the shaft between the first and
second plat.
As a rule witness pulled deceased up the shaft by means of the windlass, but he used the foot holes
every day to go up to “crib”
The Coroner: “Did it not occur to you that it was a risky thing to ascend and descend by such means?”
Witness: “I did not trouble about it. Deceased said it was not right and that they should have ladders.”
The Coroner: “”Was anyone else interested in the claim besides yourself and deceased?”
Witness: “ We were backed by a small syndicate. Deceased acted as manager and did not to his knowledge
complain to the members of the syndicate about the absence of ladders.”
To Sergeant Salts: “As an experienced miner it was of course the duty of his father to see that everything
was safe before attempting to work.”
Dr. Hutton deposed that he made an examination of the body of the deceased, which was brought to his
surgery in a cab. He found that the vertex of the skull had been fractured and both legs broken.
Death had occurred before the examination.
P. Quarp, miner, Mopoke Gully, deposed to having assisted to raise the deceased to the surface.
Went to the bottom of the shaft.
Deceased was then breathing, but could not speak.
Fastened the rope around him and he was then brought to the surface.
To the police: “It would be dangerous for a man in an exhausted state to attempt to draw another to the
surface by means of a windlass.”
The Jury, without retiring, brought in a verdict of accidental death.
The Inquest was retrieved and reads almost the same as the Newspaper Article.
The Funeral of James Adams;
James' funeral at the Carlile’s Hospice, Mt. Buffalo Victoria.
The nurses and mourners were at background, James's younger children are standing on a horse drawn cart and
Charlotte dressed in Black with presumably her eldest daughter Frances also dressed in mourning in the
fore-front.
Many people were pictured who resembled miners who had come to pay their respects.
Mr. A. Splitter [in the previously mentioned photo at the mine] was recognised.
James was survived by his wife Charlotte aged 49yrs of twenty-six years marriage and his six surviving children,
Francis Elizabeth 25yrs [unmarried], James Pelham 22yrs, Alfred 18yrs, Mabel 15yrs, Norman 12yrs and Ruby ten.
James Adams was buried at Campbell Creek Cemetery the 21st February 1895 aged fifty-six.
1895: That same year James' father John Adams died in Adelaide in 1895, his mother survived him to an advanced age.
Charlotte was now left with a young family and no income.
It is almost certain that James’ brother William who was living with the family would have probably helped
Charlotte cope during this period.
Family Legend tells that Charlotte transformed the house in which she was living with her children into a
boarding house. Renown for her scrupulous housekeeping, she took in boarders to support her young family.
Her sons James Jnr. and Alfred were forced to work in a local foundry to help support the family while the
younger children completed their education.
Epilogue
The outcomes for James's parents and sibling
are more appropriately placed in the Epilogue Relating to his Parents.
The outcomes for Charlotte's mother and siblings
are more appropriately placed in the Epilogue of The Hamilton Family.
Charlotte Maria Adams [nee Hamilton] - Wife of James, baptised 19th September 1847 - Hobart, Tasmania;
Charlotte continued to live in Victoria. After her children had left home she would visit her son Alfred in Sydney
who kept in constant contact. It is assumed she lived with her unmarried daughters Frances and Maud during
her later years. She died of 1] Myocarditis 2] Cardiac Failure in 1835. Details withheld.
Frances Elizabeth Adams – Eldest child of James and Charlotte – Born: 7th October 1870;
A strict Methodist, Francis never married and lived all her life with her unmarried sister Mabel.
They had a dressmaking shop in Melbourne.
Frances Elizabeth Adams died unmarried & without issue on the 24th February 1956 at the Royal
Melbourne Hospital in Parkville of a fractured femur, gross emaciation and arteriosclerosis and general debility
at the age of eighty-four. She was buried at the same venue as her mother.
James Pelham Adams [1873- Eldest son of James and Charlotte - Born: 5th July 1873;
James Adams married Harriet Gaylord in 1905 at Albert Park Victoria.
They four children Pelham [1906], Dorothy [1907], Norman [1909] and Ida [1910].
James was recorded as an Engineer.
James Pelham Adams died in later life, succumbing to Myocarditis and resulting Heart Failure.
Alfred Hamilton Adams - son of James and Charlotte - Born 17th August 1877;
After his father’s tragic death in 1895 with his mother struggling to make ends meet Alfred was forced to
work at the local foundry. is health suffered greatly. It was due to this that his dreams of a Military Career
were thwarted when at the age of twenty-one he could not pass the mandatory medical examination.
Learning the skill of shorthand & typing he worked for several employers in Melbourne.
Albert eventually met a young German by the name of Raoul Van Der Luft who led him to a career as a
Salesman in which he became highly successful.
At the age of thirty-four he married twenty-four-year-old Olive Pendennis Riley in 1911, the daughter of
John Riley [the younger] and his wife Amelia [nee Wright], by whom he had issue.
Alfred died at his home at an advanced age, succumbing to Carcinoma of the Stomach. Details withheld.
Mabel Maude Charlotte Adams – daughter of James and Charlotte - Born: 6th January 1880;
A strict Methodist, Mabel never married and lived all her life with her unmarried sister Frances.
They had a dressmaking shop in Melbourne.
Diagnosed with Carcinoma of the stomach for one year, her condition deteriorated and she suffered [inanition?]
for six weeks before she died unmarried and without issue 19th June 1955 at the age of seventy-four.
She is buried at the same venue as her mother and sister Frances.
Norman Stanley Adams – son of James and Charlotte - Born: 28th January 1883;
Norman married firstly Charlotte Marie Gartner in New Zealand in 1910 by whom he had issue.
He later remarried. There was no issue from this union.
Norman devoted many years of his life working as a Salvation Army Officer.
He was known to be in contact with his brother Alfred whose family holds a letter written by him.
Norman died at an advanced age, at his home at 29 Wellman St., Box Hill Sth resulting from a Coronary Occlusion.
Ruby Septima Thomas (nee Adams) – son of James and Charlotte - Born: 5th November 1885;
At the age of thirty-seven Ruby Adams married Benjamin James Thomas [a widower] on the 19th April 1922.
A copy of their Wedding Photo and another of Ruby is held by the family.
They one child.
Ruby was recorded as suffering Arteriosclerosis during her later years.
She died a widow at an advanced age, succumbing to a cerebral hemorrhage.
Main Sources:
The National Archives, Kew, Surrey, England [TNA]
The National Burial Index – Edition 2 [NBI]
Cornwall Online Parish Clerks [COPC]
Phillimore's Cornwall Parish Registers
Devonshire Family History Society
Devonshire Wills Index - Genuki
Latter Day Saints Online International Genealogical Index [LDS-IGI]
The Ships Lists
South Australia Genealogy & Heraldry Society – BDM Index.
Index to Historical Births, Deaths & Marriages in Victoria [also available CD].
Index to Historical Births, Deaths & Marriages in New Zealand.
Funeral Notices - New Zealand
Newspaper Archives: Australia - http://ndpbeta.nla.gov.au/ndp/del/home
New Zealand - http://paperspast.natlib.govt.nz/cgi-bin/paperspast
England - http://access.gale.com/newstrial/
World-wide - Google News
Other Miscellaneous Sources are quoted on relevant pages.
Family Members as quoted.
