Who was on the Chyebassa, September-October 1885? Mrs Stafford and Matron

There are references to Mrs Stafford in the autographs, about her stylish mode of dress and her run-ins with Matron. Looking through the passenger list, we find that Mrs Stafford appeared to be travelling with a number of young children:
STAFFORD, Annie E (28)
STAFFORD, Alexander (8)
STAFFORD, Mary (6)
STAFFORD, Ralph (5)
STAFFORD, Phoebe (3)
STAFFORD, William (2)

Were they coming out to join Mr Stafford? There is a likely candidate that came out in February 1885, but the Brisbane burial records suggest differently. When one looks at the Brisbane City Council grave location website, things become a little more exciting.

There is a grave in Toowong cemetery containing:

Stafford Alexander	NR*	13 / 02 / 1933	86 years
Stafford Annie Elizabeth	F	12 / 10 / 1943	87 years

So maybe Alexander Stafford, 8, wasn't 8 years old at all, but 38. A birthdate of c.1847 would make him 38 in 1885.

Looking for Ralph Stafford, born c.1880 in the BCC cemeteries gives us this:

Stafford Ralph Milligan	M	18 / 08 / 1948	68 years
Murphy-Stafford Violet	F	05 / 12 / 1984	81 years

Spot on for date of birth. And we know the name of his partner, now.

William Stafford is a little more problematic. This is the closest, in South Brisbane, although the calculated date of birth is out by about 2-3 years.

Stafford Ellen Cathleen	F	14 / 08 / 1972	81 years
Stafford William	M	08 / 04 / 1958	78 years

Alternatives are, in Bald Hills:

Stafford William

M

1913

Unknown

and, in Toowong,

Stafford Edward	NR*	23 / 05 / 1913	Unknown
Stafford William Thomas	NR*	14 / 08 / 1916	Unknown

Looking at marriages for Alexander Stafford in the years before the birth of Mary, no registered marriage has an Annie E on the same register page.

The only Alexander and Annie couple in the 1881 England Census, with about the right dates of birth, do not have the correct children. Other Annie E Stafford listings are either unmarried or otherwise unsuitable candidates.

Anyhow, there is a basis for further investigation of this family, through death certificates of Alexander and Annie E, and of Ralph.
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The Matron on the voyage was a Mrs Priscilla A Symes. The passenger lists show that she was quite the seafarer.
SYMES - (Mrs) (Matron) Duke of Westminster 8 Dec 1884
SYMES - (Mrs) (Matron) Duke of Buckingham 27 May 1885
SYMES - (Mrs) (Matron) Chyebassa 21 Oct 1885
SYMES - (Mrs) (Matron) Waroonga 28 Mar 1886
SYMES Priscilla A (Matron) 50 Waroonga 28 Mar 1886
SYMES - (Mrs) (Matron) 50 Selkirkshire 18 Dec 1886
SYMES - (Mrs) (Matron) Duke of Devonshire 13 Sep 1887

There is one likely candidate for Priscilla Ann SYMES in the 1871 Census.
Living at 1 Alexander Cottages, Tottenham, Middlesex, we have:
Priscilla Ann SYMES, wife, married, 28, Husband at sea, born Stepney, Middlesex.
Francis Henry do, son, 18 months, born Shackelwell (sic), Middlesex.
Herbert Oliver do, son, 5 months, born Tottenham, Middlesex.
Peter PETERSON, father, widower, 63, Watchmaker, born Stepney, Middlesex.

In the 1861 Census, Priscilla A PETERSON is a Teacher of Music, living in Shacklewell Road. Her mother, Ann, was born in Calcutta, and her brother Peter was a Mariner. Father was a Watch Dial Maker.

There are marriages for Priscilla Ann PETERSON in 1867 (Hackney) and 1872 (Ware), but apparently not to SYMES. Cannot find a likely marriage.

Who was on the Chyebassa, September-October 1885? Frances Crago

From Ella's autograph book.

Mistranscribed on the passenger list.
CRAGS, Frances (21)

And there ends the story, as Queensland BDM records to 1914 do not record a marriage or death. The only Crago births after 1885 have either Francis Crago or John Crago as father. So, what happened to Frances J Crago?

A Frances Jane CRAGO was born in Holborn, Middlesex, in the March Quarter of 1863, which is close enough to the stated age. Nobody of that name, age, and birthplace shows in 1871 or 1881 Census indexes.

Who was on the Chyebassa, September-October 1885? Ellen Smalley

From Jen's autograph book.

The passenger list has them misspelled as SMALLY.
SMALLY, Ellen (17)
SMALLY, Ralph (11)
SMALLY, W E (male) (10)

In the 1881 Census, we have:

Name:	Ellen Smalley
Age:	12
Estimated birth year:	abt 1869
Relation:	Daughter
Father's name:	John
Mother's name:	Elizabeth
Gender:	Female
Where born:	Crawshaw Booth, Lancashire, England
Civil parish:	Blackburn
County/Island:	Lancashire
Country:	England
Street address:	16 Alder Street

Name:	Ralph Smalley
Age:	9
Estimated birth year:	abt 1872
Relation:	Son
Father's name:	John
Mother's name:	Elizabeth
Gender:	Male
Where born:	Crawshaw Booth, Lancashire, England
Civil parish:	Blackburn
County/Island:	Lancashire
Country:	England
Street address:	16 Alder Street

and

Name:	William Smalley
Age:	8
Estimated birth year:	abt 1873
Relation:	Son
Father's name:	John
Mother's name:	Elizabeth
Gender:	Male
Where born:	Crawshaw Booth, Lancashire, England
Civil parish:	Blackburn
County/Island:	Lancashire
Country:	England
Street address:	16 Alder Street

On the image:
John SMALLEY, Head, married, 44, Labourer at Cotton Mill, Born Yorks. Grindleton
Elizabeth SMALLEY, Wife, married, 45, Born Yorks. Bashalleaves
Sarah SMALLEY, Daughter, unmarried, 19, Cotton Weaver, Born Lancaster Burnley
Thomas SMALLEY, Son, unmarried, 14, Cotton Weaver, Born Lancaster Burnley
Ralph SMALLEY, Son, unmarried, 9, Scholar, Born Lancaster Crawshaw Booth
William SMALLEY, Son, unmarried, 8, Scholar, Born Lancaster Crawshaw Booth
Ellen SMALLEY, Daughter, unmarried, 12, Cotton Weaver, Born Lancaster Crawshaw Booth

Burial record, Toowong Cemetery:

Smalley William Edward

NR*

02 / 10 / 1933

60 years

Buried with members of the STARKIE family

Barkus Edith Rose	NR*	08 / 07 / 1930	7 years
Starkie Mary Alice	F	08 / 03 / 1951	79 years
Starkie William Robinson	NR*	29 / 10 / 1926	58 years
Starkie Peter	NR*	29 / 11 / 1937	67 years

No burial record found for Ralph SMALLEY in Brisbane City Council cemeteries.

So, from "the dark satanic mills" of Lancashire to sunny Brisbane, a teenager and her two little brothers. Wouldn't I like to know their full story!

I 've had a thought - I am looking through the list of assisted passengers. Really should get down to the Archives and look at the microfiches. Was it possible for only part of a family to travel as assisted passengers?

Who was on the Chyebassa, September-October 1885? Jessie and Rosina Juster

From Jen's Autograph book.

From Ella's autograph book.

It looks from the notes around the autographs that Jen and the Juster girls were involved in a certain amount of high jinks, and some of that involved Matron (Mrs Symes) and Mrs Stafford, and the girls' grandmother.

From the passenger list:
JUSTER, William R (50)
JUSTER, Charlotte (48)
JUSTER, William R (23)
JUSTER, Emily (21)
JUSTER, John W (Inf)
JUSTER, Jessie (18)
JUSTER, Rosina (16)
(William Richard Juster married Emily Rebecca SHARP, March Quarter 1884, in Mile End Old Town, Middx. John W has no birth record in FreeBMD, so maybe born on the voyage and possibly also died at sea.)
and
WAUGH, Catherine (80) - lets not forget Grandmother who was nearly washed overboard.

Going to the 1881 Census, we find them mistranscribed as Justor:

Name:	Jessie Justor
Age:	14
Estimated birth year:	abt 1867
Relation:	Daughter
Father's name:	William
Mother's name:	Charlotte
Gender:	Female
Where born:	Bethnal Gr., Middlesex, England
Civil parish:	West Ham
County/Island:	Essex
Country:	England
Street address:	9 William St

and

Name:	Rosina Justor
Age:	12
Estimated birth year:	abt 1869
Relation:	Daughter
Father's name:	William
Mother's name:	Charlotte
Gender:	Female
Where born:	Bethnal Gr., Middlesex, England
Civil parish:	West Ham
County/Island:	Essex
Country:	England
Street address:	9 William St

From the image:
William JUSTER, Head, married, 48, Carpenter, Born Surrey Merton.
Charlotte JUSTER, Wife, married, 48, Born Middlesex Bethnall Green
Isaac JUSTER, Son, unmarried, 17, Packer, Born Middlesex Bethnall Green
Jessie JUSTER, Daughter, unmarried, 14, Dressmaker, Born Middlesex Bethnall Green
Rosina JUSTER, Daughter, unmarried, 12, Scholar, Born Middlesex Bethnall Green
Catherine WAUGH, Grandmother, Widow, 79, Silk Weaver, Born Middlesex Bethnall Green.

I cannot find the younger William in the 1881 Census. There is a William H Juster of the right age, visiting the Huxter family in Lewisham, with a birthplace of Stepney, Middlesex. There are two good candidates for Emily Sharp in the census.

I can imagine Samuel Drew and William Juster sitting on the deck talking carpentry, while the girls had the run of the ship, eyeing off the young Constables and chuckling over the antics of Mrs Stafford and Matron Symes.

So, whatever happened to this big family? Again, one day I will have to search some more and find out. In the meantime, some burial records from the Brisbane City Council:

William Richard and Emily Rebecca Juster are buried in Dutton Park Cemetery, South Brisbane.
Name Sex Burial Date Age

Juster Emily R	NR*	04 / 09 / 1931	Unknown
Juster William R	NR*	13 / 03 / 1930	Unknown

William S (?) and Charlotte Juster are in the same cemetery

Juster Charlotte	NR*	09 / 04 / 1918	Unknown
Juster William S	NR*	20 / 05 / 1926	Unknown

No burial record of John W Juster in any Brisbane Cemetery. No registered death between 1885 and 1914. Possibly born, died and buried at sea.

Who was on the Chyebassa, September-October 1885? Lilly Avon

So who were the people that travelled with the Drew family when they set out on their journey to the Colonies? From the Autograph books of Great-aunts Ella and Jen, we can glean several names; Avon, Juster, Smalley, Crago, Mrs. Stafford, and Matron.

Let's take "Lilly Avon" as the first for this little series of stories.

From Jen's autograph book, a message that Jen appeared not to heed.

From the transcriptions of the passenger list of the Chyebassa, we find that there were two AVON girls travelling:AVON, Emma (17) and AVON, Lydia (15). We can assume that Lydia is "Lilly".

From their ages, it is reasonable to assume that they can be found in the 1881 Census records. Sure enough, there they are:

Name:	Lidia Avon
Age:	13
Estimated birth year:	abt 1868
Relation:	Daughter
Father's name:	Francis
Mother's name:	Ann
Gender:	Female
Where born:	Middlesbro, Yorkshire, England
Civil parish:	Linthorpe
County/Island:	Yorkshire
Country:	England
Street address:	No 39 Carter Street

The age is wrongly transcribed as the image shows:
Lidia AVON, Daughter, unmarried, 11, Scholar, Yorks. Born Middlesbro
and

Name:	Emma Avon
Age:	13
Estimated birth year:	abt 1868
Relation:	Daughter
Father's name:	Francis
Mother's name:	Ann
Gender:	Female
Where born:	Middlesbro, Yorkshire, England
Civil parish:	Linthorpe
County/Island:	Yorkshire
Country:	England
Street address:	No 39 Carter Street

Census image shows:
Emma AVON, Daughter, unmarried, 13, Servant, Born Yorks. Middlesbro.

The rest of the family residing at 39 Carter Street were:
Francis AVON, Head, married, 39, Puddler - Iron, Born Somersetshire Frome.
Ann AVON, Wife, married, 35, Born Somersetshire Frome.
Jane Ann AVON, daughter, unmarried, 9, Scholar, Born Yorks. Middlesbro.
Albert AVON, son, unmarried, 5, Scholar, Born Yorks. Middlesbro.

So, what sent these young ladies off on a trip across the world to Brisbane? Did Jen and Ella stay in touch with them? What happened to them after they arrived? I suppose, one day, I will dig into the local marriage and death records to find out.