The Largest Cork Tree in Australia

[tenterfieldjulie]

When many of our ancestors migrated they took with them souvenirs of home. This small souvenir is now a humungous cork tree and started life in C 1861 so now over 150 years old. This tree is now quite a tourist attraction in my home town of Tenterfield.
I am sure that if I go tracking down rellies I will get answers, but I am rather short of time at the moment and have a deadline in production of our TFHG newsletter, the cork tree is on our cover page. What I really would like to discover is where the sapling may have come from .. reputedly Edward's home town.
The current information I have is that Edward Parker brought the cork tree as a sapling in a jam tin to Australia by sailing ship in 1861. He would have then caught a steamer and then a horse and coach over rough roads to a tiny town in the New England mountain ranges. Tenterfield had only been gazetted in 1851.
Edward Parker was buried C of E 14/10/1913 Tenterfield, his father also Edward. Edward was married to Rose Smith the daughter of Samuel Smith and Anne Gibson. I presume they married in England.
When Rose Parker died on 23/10/1919 her age was given as 70 so born C 1849. Four of their children were born in Tenterfield - 1866 Georgina; 1870-1872 Annie; 1873 Richard Edward Winsett; Clarence Arthur 1881-1946.
I thought I could access the local newspaper database but it is not co-operating.
Thanks. Julie
In the 1895 Electoral Roll Tenterfield - Edward Parker - carpenter; Richard Edward Parker - postal assistant.

[Merry]

If Edward travelled in 1861 and his wife was born in about 1849 I can't see how they could have been married in England.

[Merry]

Oh, did you mean Samuel Smith and Ann Gibson were married in England?

[tenterfieldjulie]

Yes something doesn't add up , thanks Merry.. I can't find a marriage in NSW, but I'd say they were definitely married by 1866. I'd say that it is a possibility that the age of 70 is wrong, a this age is in a cemetery book which has numerous errors unfortunately. I had hoped that I could find their shipping but it hasn't jumped out at me.

[Merry]

Edward Parker was buried C of E 14/10/1913

Was an age given?

[tenterfieldjulie]

We crossed Merry no, I did mean that I thought Edward and Rose married in England but that is only a guess.

[tenterfieldjulie]

No age for Edward.

[Merry]

There's an Ann Gibson/Samuel Smith marriage in Sydney in 1846 (Family search).

[tenterfieldjulie]

Ooh really .. going hunting here .. be back ..

[Merry]

There's also one in Derby in 1827.

[tenterfieldjulie]

Found the Smith/Gibson marriage at St. Andrew's Scot Church (Presbyterian) Sydney in1846 and birth of Rose A Smith in 1848, but there is nary a sign of a marriage in Qld or NSW between Edward and Rose and Georgina's birth is recorded in Tenterfield in 1866... parents Edward and Rose... I do know that a number records were lost prior to compulsory registration which started in 1856. Some of these marriages were recorded in Trove .. but this is in the 1860s so should have survived .. maybe her age had something to do with it .. Or if they married in the old Presbyterian way .. mmh .. I'm pleased that I couldn't contact a descendant tonight on the phone or I could have put my foot in it ..

This of course doesn't help my story of the cork tree and where it came from ..
It would probably been much easier as a single man to come out with his carpenter's tools and a sapling in a jam tin, rather than as a family man ..

[Shona]

The story of the cork sapling in a jam jar is really sweet. But...sorry to do this...the cork oak is a tree of south-west Europe - Spain, Portugal and the like.

[anne fraser]

If your cork tree is a cork oak it is not really an English variety of tree. I associate them with Portugal. I think the name comes from the latin for oak which is quercus.

[tenterfieldjulie]

www.youtube.com/watch?v=AvntXDn9kHg

Have a look -

also includes some historic buildings etc

lesleybray.smugmug.com/Travel/New.../Tenterfield/11179027_jc5SwR

[tenterfieldjulie]

This is what I have written to go with the photo of the cork tree .. or am I wrong? Julie

"Souvenir of Home –
Many of our ancestors brought souvenirs of their homelands,
but rarely something which started out so small and has now grown so large.
Tenterfield’s historic cork tree in Wood Street,
was brought from England in 1861 by sailing ship
in a jam tin by Edward Parker.
Mr. Parker’s profession was a carpenter
and so having his own supply of cork would come in very handy in this new world.
The cork tree is 150 years in the making, so if only this tree could talk, what tales it would tell -
like the relief to finally reach land and for the world to stop moving,
only to be off again by packet steamer up the coast,
then to reach land again only to find it was starting another journey…
this time by horse and coach over rough, hardly made, dirt roads ..
more rocking and rolling and the strange smells of gums trees and heat ..
the cracking of stock whips and the smell of camp fire smoke ..
and what was the strange accent that these humans spoke with …
and if an axle broke, a tree was over the road, or rain had washed out the road ..
well the language was colourful to say the least ..
If only it could talk of the changes in 150 years of Wood Street where it was finally planted."

[kiterunner]

Lovely piece of writing, Julie, but I agree with Shona and Anne, it is unlikely to have come from England.

[Merry]

I agree with the others - cork is/was grown in SW Europe and North Africa - not in the UK.

[Shona]

Unlike other species of oak, the cork oak is evergreen. Is the Tenterfield tree evergreen, Julie?

[Shona]

Ah - there were some cork oaks in the south of England - brought back by plant collectors.

http://www.bbc.co.uk/gardening/flower_shows/chelsea_2007/plants_cork.shtml

[Merry]

Ah - there were some cork oaks in the south of England - brought back by plant collectors.

http://www.bbc.co.uk/gardening/flower_shows/chelsea_2007/plants_cork.shtml

Well if that's the case, I would imagine he came from a family with some connection to the gardens of the 'well off'!

[Olde Crone]

I am scratching my head here and wondering WHY anyone would go to the trouble and nuisance of taking a sapling on a sea journey - how did he water it for a start? It's difficult enough trying to get a sapling home from the garden centre today, let alone 150 years ago. Why a cork oak and not an english oak, or ash or anything else. Seems really odd to me.

OC

[Merry]

Maybe he brought seeds rather than a sapling?

[kiterunner]

I can't find an Edward Parker travelling to Australia in 1861 on the passenger lists etc, but there is an E Parker arriving at Sydney 12 Nov 1861 on the Lochiel. No information shown about him / her. There are plenty of Edward Parkers in other years. The newspaper death notices for him don't give any useful info.

[Olde Crone]

Merry

that seems much more likely - or someone else brought seeds and gave him a sapling. I know that animals and seeds and even trees were taken on voyage but I doubt if the baggage allowance for a carpenter would include room on the deck for a jam tin full of sapling!

OC

[Olde Crone]

Oh hang on a minute....jam tins in 1861??

OC

[Merry]

Oh hang on a minute....jam tins in 1861??

OC

I think that would be OK, OC, but he wouldn't have needed the can if he had seeds in his pocket.

[Olde Crone]

Oooh, gosh, tinned food started much earlier than I thought - about 1813. Somehow in my mind it is associated with the North Pole Expedition, lol.

OC

[marquette]

I can't find an Edward Parker travelling to Australia in 1861 on the passenger lists etc, but there is an E Parker arriving at Sydney 12 Nov 1861 on the Lochiel. No information shown about him / her. There are plenty of Edward Parkers in other years. The newspaper death notices for him don't give any useful info.

If he came as a full fare paying passenger, then E Parker might be the only information recorded. Assisted migrants were much better recorded, but they did not need to keep records of anyone who did not owe a bounty or service.

According to Trove, the Lochiel seems to have come from the Otago goldfields (Dunedin NZ) so, maybe Mr Parker came to Tenterfield via NZ? Could have got his cork Oak from there ?
http://trove.nla.gov.au/ndp/del/article/111169639?searchTerm=lochiel%20news&searchLimits=l-decade=186|||l-year=1861|||l-month=11


On the AFRICANA, arriving 15 Mar 1866, there is an Edward and Rose Parker, but he is a blacksmith ! He says he is 23 of Romford Essex and she is 26 of Plaistow. I guess you have discounted them ?

Di

[Merry]

If
On the AFRICANA, arriving 15 Mar 1866, there is an Edward and Rose Parker, but he is a blacksmith ! He says he is 23 of Romford Essex and she is 26 of Plaistow. I guess you have discounted them ?

Di

Oh, I ignored this because I thought EP was already in Oz:


Marriages Mar 1865
Hayward Harriet W Ham 4a 24
Parker Edward W.Ham 4a 24
Ridpath George Thomas John W. Ham 4a 24
Smith Rosa W Ham 4a 24

[Merry]

I suppose that's all a red herring?

There's even an Edward P born in Romford, aged 9 in 1851. He is an adopted son.

[tenterfieldjulie]

Oh everyone thank you for your interest .. I will have to contact the family to make sure of the family and let you know. I think the parents of Rosa are wrong in the cemetery book. I too was thinking the story of the tree in a jam tin a bit far fetched myself .. makes a good story. Also thinking that he probably brought a seed/nut too. I won't tell the family the story about the tree in the tin is wrong ... unless they say something. It is certainly an impressive tree. There is a tree in Melbourne that is about the same size. I'll let you know what happens. Julie

[Shona]

Is it definitely a cork oak? If it sheds leaves, then the tree isn't cork oak, but another species.

Also, I was wondering about the voyage from England. It can't have been non-stop. Ships must have docked en route to get water and other supplies. If a ship docked in Lisbon, someone could easily have picked up some acorns from a cork oak.

[anne fraser]

I would not discount the acorn in a jam jar story altogether. A couple of years ago I went to a talk at Bristol university botanic garden on their Australian collection. They are particularly proud of their Banksias. ( a type of flowering shrub first brought back by Mr. Banks who was the botanist who travelled with captain Cook.) One reason they survived the journey was that he planted them in empty wine bottles which stoped the salt water penetrating into the soil.

Maybe your man took a jar of jam with him which he had eaten by the time he reached Portugal and rather than throw it away he picked up an acorn and poped it inside. I think some of the sailors would have known this was the best way to transport plants as they brought plants in the other direction to make extra money.

[marquette]

In 1833, the Wardian Case made its first voyage to NSW. This was a sealed glass case which became popular for transporting plants around the world, particularly for plants which have not survived voyages before. Maybe his jam tin was a sort of primitive homemade version.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wardian_case

Why do I know this obscure fact ? An ancestor was the first mate of the ship it came to NSW aboard. I wondered if in fact the ancestor looked after it on the voyage.

Unless Georgina was born very early in 1866,they could have arrived in March and and had a baby before the end of the year.


Di

[tenterfieldjulie]

Well girls three long phone calls later .. and I am trying to remember all what was said.

First thing I know for sure, is that they were married in England and it is thought they come from Essex. The family really don't know a lot about the family in England. I was speaking to an elderly grandson and two grandsons wives (of Edward and Rose.)

I think Di is right and that they came to Aus in 1866 on the Africana. The grandson thought they came in 1858/9, but only a guess. I think Merry is right too and that is their marriage in 1865. Where is W. Ham please?

What R. could tell me was that originally the Parkers owned both blocks of land either side of Wood Street (the blocks went from one street to the other.)

The grandson remembered a walnut tree that had wonderful walnuts, also they remembered two huge chesnut trees, and an orchard of apples, pears, cherries, plums, apricots and medlers. He said they loved the meddler fruit, but because they were brown others thought they were rotten apples.

What was of interest is that R's wife said that a lot of people over the years had tried to propagate the cork tree by cuttings and seed and had never succeeded, which adds to the interest of the tree in the jam tin. What she did suggest was that we have a competition to see if the tree can be propagated!!

Now we know for sure that what was written in the cemetery book is wrong and looking at the death certificate indexes. The only information on Edward is that his father's name is Edward and with Rose it says her maiden name was Smith and her age 70. (the age sounds very like a guess).

I don't think therefore that the certificates will shed any light, so the only thing is if our local paper has an obituary.

The only thing that confuses me about the couple on the Africana is that his occupation is given as blacksmith. However this was in 1866 and in the 1897 Electoral roll he is a carpenter, maybe by then he could make more money out of carpentry and he was 30 years older.

The other piece of interesting information that A told me was that was when the Parkers arrived in Tenterfield, not many could read and write but that the Parkers could. It was a very tiny community and everyone knew everyone else and so the locals came to Rose to write their letters home and when they received mail Rose would then read the letters to the people who received the letters. Rose would have been a huge of source of information .. knowing everybody's business !!

I wish her letters had survived so we knew where she came from .. Rose Smith .. if you were so good at writing letters why aren't there any?

I wonder if the boy you found Merry is the right Edward? If he was adopted we won't find anymore will we? Julie

[Merry]

W Ham is West Ham in Essex.

Edward Parker is shown as adopted son in 1851 aged 9 and living with a couple called George and Amelia Wimsett. In 1861 he is still with them (George is now married to Ann, not Amelia, though I've not investigated them at all), but called Edward Wimsett.

In 1841 (ie before Edward's 1842 birth) there is a couple living in Romford called Edward and Ann Parker with one daughter, Eliza (hope this is right as I'm remembering it from earlier!! lol). In 1851 Edward sr is in the Workhouse and Ann and her daughter are visitors somewhere (forgotten that!). Obviously, I don't know these are his parents, but possible.

In 1871 George and Ann Wimsett are living alone, but I've not yet looked for their Edward Parker/Wimsett to see if he can be eliminated.

I have had no luck with making Rose/Rosa Smith the child of Samuel Smith and Ann Gibson.

No sign of Edward and Rose Parker in 1871 (ie if the ones who married in West Ham are not the people who went to Australia).

[Merry]

Now we know for sure that what was written in the cemetery book is wrong and looking at the death certificate indexes. The only information on Edward is that his father's name is Edward and with Rose it says her maiden name was Smith and her age 70. (the age sounds very like a guess).


Sorry, I must have missed this - what was wrong with the cemetery book entries?

[Olde Crone]

Not important but I think a carpenter, maybe a blacksmith, would need to be able to read and write and have some basic numeracy skills.

OC

[tenterfieldjulie]

Merry .. I think you are spot on .. the third child they have in named Edward Richard .. ta da .. Winsett Parker (see my original post) Isn't that great giving him the name of his adopted parents as well as his natural .. oh I've got goosebumps.
What was wrong with the cemetery book is that Rose's parents names were the names of the Rose Smith born in Sydney in 1846. He did a lot of that ... filled in blanks that weren't on death certificates and made lots of blunders.. matching wrong people. So we don't know the name of Rose Smith's parents only that on her shipping in 1866 she says that she was 26 of Plaistow.
Yes OC as an apprentice it would be necessary to have those skills for sure.
Many thanks .. this is very interesting and the family will be intrigued. Julie
1st dau - Georgina Parker after George Wimsett
2nd dau - Annie Parker after Annie Wimsett and Parker
1st son - Edward Richard Wimsett - Edward Parker father and son
2nd son - Clarence Arthur - I wonder if this maybe a Smith name?

[Merry]

Oh, lol!! I'd played around with that name (Wimsett or whatever the correct spelling is!) when I was first looking at this, but having got nowhere, had obviously forgotten about it by the time I looked again!

Time for someone to purchase the marriage cert?

So, was the tree planted later but still by Edward, or did someone else plant it?!!!

*checks whether Romford and West Ham are known for their horticulture* lol

[Merry]

There's a Rosa Smith b Plaistow in West Ham in 1861 she is 21 and a servant.

She is 12 in 1851 and her parents are Moses (carpenter) and Maria.

Obviously she might not be the one though!

[Merry]

I know Parker is a fairly common surname, but is it just a coincidence that in 1861 Moses and Maria Smith are living nextdoor to John Parker, gardener, b Plaistow! (Yeh, pity he isn't Edward senr lol)

No sign of any Clarences yet!!

[tenterfieldjulie]

I think the tree would have been planted by Edward, but not in 1861, more likely in 1866 or after. What I think I need to do is to buy the birth certificate of Georgina Parker .. although I think putting the name Wimsett into Edward Richard's tree proves we have the right family. Such a distinctive name Wimset...
Knowing how many inventive stories my ancestors made up in Australia about their roots .. .. there is usually some truth in there somewhere but sorting the fact and fiction .. another story!!
The truth is that it is very hard to propagate which probably accounts for the jam tin story .. but possibly true .. but planted after 1866 if by Edward Parker .. and it was only a wee village so not a lot of contenders ...
Maybe he worked on an estate as a blacksmith where he got the sapling .. he certainly knew a lot about trees and not the Australian kind .. Maybe he knew someone at Kew? Julie

[tenterfieldjulie]

Fact or Fiction - a pamphlet which goes with the Tenterfield Cork tree says this:rolleyes::

"The Legend. Known as The Wishing Tree as well as Cork Tree in English folklore, it is said that the trees are surrounded with a strange power to bring good luck to those who observe certain rituals dating back to the time of the Great Plaque of London 1665. At that time people came from all parts of the country to walk around the tree three times and as they walked, to make a wish. Some came for better health, some for better fortune and others for a wife or husband! It was said that few were disappointed.

Fortune favours those who see
More in me than just a tree
Look at my cork
And three times walk
Before my girth for all to see."

Julie

PS I am wondering if cork has been substituted for oak?

[Olde Crone]

I think the story would be more believable if it were any other tree. Cork oaks are pretty useless other than for making wine corks, lol and I think personally I would have taken an ordinary oak tree, or ash, or elder...or absolutely anything more useful than a cork!

Maybe he did have connections at Kew. Maybe he THOUGHT he was taking an English oak, lol.

OC

[tenterfieldjulie]

I thought so too OC, but reading literature it says - in addition to stoppers for wine, champagne and fortified wines the bark from the tree's first two harvests is used to make corkboard insulation and cork tiles. Cork from subsequent harvests is used for whole cork products - gaskets, hockey & golf balls, floor tiles. Cork is also found in nose cone of NASA space shuttles (not that would have been a consideration in 1860s !!!) Maybe he just liked the look of it .. prunings and old trees provide charcoal and firewood and various chemical products are made from tannins and natural acids contained in the wood. Maybe it had something he thought useful as a blacksmith or carpenter ..

[Merry]

In 1861 he was a dock labourer.

I've never heard of a Cork tree in English folklore, but I could see people wishing whilst walking round an old oak tree. The first line of that rhyme only appears on sites about Tenterfield!

Wouldn't they have used cork products on ships? It's very buoyant.

Perhaps Edward had a Jack and the Beanstalk moment when a mystery traveller who claimed to be a native of Portugal, but who had travelled the world, offered him a magic bean (acorn :rolleyes:) from Edward's home country and so, because he hadn't thought to bring anything to Australia to remind him of England, he paid a fortune for the magic bean, only for it to grow into a cork oak and not an English oak!! :D

[Sussex Maid]

Marriage at St Mary Plaistow 27 Feb 1865
Edward Parker, full age, bachelor, (occupation difficult to read - Hann...man?), residence Plaistow, father Edward Parker, farrier
Rosa Smith, full age, spinster, residence Plaistow, father Moses Smith, carpenter.
by Banns
both signed and the witnesses were William Smith and Elizabeth Smith

[tenterfieldjulie]

Sussex Maid you gorgeous thing you .. that ties in what everyone else has found beautifully.. yeah .. fathers' carpenter .. farrier ... Edward comes to Aus as a blacksmith and then becomes a carpenter .. Could Edward's occupation be Handyman? Was there such a thing in those days?
Merry I wonder if the info centre .. cobbled a few things together .. noooooooo I didn't say that lol

[Olde Crone]

Hammerman? That would tie in with being a blacksmith.

Merry

I like your thinking! Scams in 1865, love it.

Yes, cork would be very useful on a ship, but even the longest sea voyage wouldn't be prepared to wait for the cork tree to mature - takes about 25 years before it is useful in any way!!!!!

OC

[Merry]

Yes, cork would be very useful on a ship, but even the longest sea voyage wouldn't be prepared to wait for the cork tree to mature - takes about 25 years before it is useful in any way!!!!!

OC

lololol!!!! I wasn't really imagining them waiting for the crop to be produced!!

Glad to see the marriage ties in with the people we've seen.

[Merry]

The Edward Parker I had hoped was Edward's father (married to Ann) was a blacksmith in 1841 and a smith journeyman in 1851 (when he was in Romford Union Workhouse), so that's looking very possible.

Here's Ed junior's birth reg:


Births Mar 1842
Parker Edward Romford 12 230
Parker Edward Romford 12 236
Parker Edward Romford 12 3_0

I think the page number is actually 230 from the Ancestry version of the page.

[tenterfieldjulie]

Ladies I can't thank you enough for all your help and interest. You have now supplied me with more than enough information for an article on the Parker family, but that will have to wait until the next newsletter, as I feel I should tell the family about the Wimsett connection before I publish an article.
From contact with the family, I have a distant family connection with the wife, who also writes poetry and has historical photos of Tenterfield which she is happy for me to use in our newsletter, so it is a win win situation.
The history of the tree .. well nothing is certain, apart from it is a beautiful very old (for Australia) large tree, which is admired by many and is quite rare in Australia and not too common in the UK. Cheers. Julie

[tenterfieldjulie]

Merry a possible but probably far fetched scenario I wondered about.
Is it possible that Edward Parker Sen died and Amelia Wimsett died and that Ann Parker then married George Wimsett? Julie

[Merry]

Hmmmm....I hadn't thought of that!

You mean like this?!!!


Marriages Jun 1858
Parker Ann W. Ham 4a 20
Springford William W Ham 4a 20
Tebbutt Hannah W. Ham 4a 20
Winsett George Edwin W. Ham 4a 20

[tenterfieldjulie]

Awh Merry .. you are a doll .... I'd hug you if I wasn't on the other side of the globe .. Many thanks.. You've saved my sanity .. I might even get to Perth for my holidays in one piece ..

[Merry]

Ann Parker/Wimsett was b Westminster across a variable number of years (say 1810-1820!). In 1851 when her husband is in the workhouse she and her daughter Eliza (13) are visitors in the household of John and Sarah Golding in Finchley, Middlesex. I do wonder if they are her relatives? John Golding was not a local, coming from Ringwood in Hampshire, but Sarah Golding (30) was b in Islington, so maybe it will turn out she is Ann's sister?

[Shona]

This thread has been a delight to follow - all the twists and turns. Great research, entertaining stories, educational asides. Great work.

Saw this:

A George Edwin Winsett died in the Oct-Nov-Dec quarter of 1914, age 76. Death registered in the Pancras district.

[tenterfieldjulie]

Merry I have just finished our 14 page TFHG newsletter so I am rather ...... to say the least..

Thank you all very much again, you have all been wonderful .. and what Shona said above ..ditto.

I can't remember whether the marriage of Edward & Ann Parker was found ...
Noo .. go to bed Jullie ... I'll look ..well yes later today .. after some kip .. Night all. Julie

[Merry]

The first known child of Edward and Ann Parker was registered in Q3 1837, so I guess they married before civil registration. I couldn't see anything to fit on the LMA records.

I can't find a death for the George Edwin Winsett or varients who was born about 1805 in Kent. He was alive in 1871. I also can't find a death for his first wife Amelia (didn't look hard!) before he remarried in 1858. I noted he wasn't baptised until an adult (LMA records, which I think give his dob as 2nd Sept 1805) in the same year he was married to Amelia Jones, which, from memory, was 1826 (LMA).

[Merry]

Don't know why it didn't appear the first time!!


Deaths Dec 1882
WINSETT George Edwin 76 Pancras 1b 64

[Shona]

The first known child of Edward and Ann Parker was registered in Q3 1837, so I guess they married before civil registration. I couldn't see anything to fit on the LMA records.

I can't find a death for the George Edwin Winsett or varients who was born about 1805 in Kent. He was alive in 1871. I also can't find a death for his first wife Amelia (didn't look hard!) before he remarried in 1858. I noted he wasn't baptised until an adult (LMA records, which I think give his dob as 2nd Sept 1805) in the same year he was married to Amelia Jones, which, from memory, was 1826 (LMA).

George Edwin Wimsett married Amelia Jones at St George the Martyr, Southark, on 20 February 1826. Bachelor and spinster, both of the parish. Both signed their names. Three witnesses - Alexander Morgan, Elizabeth Delegal (?), Amelia Collins.

http://search.ancestry.co.uk/cgi-bin/sse.dll?indiv=1&db=lmamarriages&rank=1&new=1&MSAV=1&msT=1&gss=angs-d&gsfn=george&gsfn_x=NN&gsln=wimsett&gsln_x=NN&cpxt=1&catBucket=rstp&uidh=fpy&cp=11&pcat=34&fh=0&h=3451184&recoff=9+11&ml_rpos=1

Banns were read on 5, 12 and 19th February.

George was baptised on 18 February 1826 at St George the Martyr. Parents, James and Sarah.

[Shona]

Don't know why it didn't appear the first time!!


Deaths Dec 1882
WINSETT George Edwin 76 Pancras 1b 64

So the George Edwin Winsett who died in 1914 could be a son of the one who died in 1882?

Which George got hitched to Ann Parker - father or son?

[Merry]

I don't think they are father and son, but probably related. I couldn't see that George and Amelia ever had children.

[Merry]

It was the 1805 George who married Ann Parker in 1858. (at least that's what it looks like from the census etc)

[Shona]

It was the 1805 George who married Ann Parker in 1858. (at least that's what it looks like from the census etc)

Thanks, Merry.

[Shona]

Moving back to the trees...

In 2003, correspondence between tree experts John Hawker and Dr Robert Boden, led to an article in 'The Botanic Gardens' newsletter in which they claim that the earliest known record of Quercus suber in Australia is in a NSW Botanic Gardens report of 1853-4 which records cork oak received from Acton Sillitoe Esq.

In July 1840, Acton Sillitoe Esquire was a merchant in Phillip Street. In April 1842 he was an actuary who was criticised at a meeting of the Mutual Insurance Association but was re-elected actuary in August. In January 1844 he advertised boxes of tea for sale at his King Street premises. He was chairman of the general meeting of the Proprietors and Assistant Drapers held at the School of Arts in October 1844. In the late 1840s, he built The Willows in Darling Point Road. He won a prize at the Floral and Horticultural Exhibition in January 1845 and was credited with introducing cork oaks to New South Wales. In June 1852 he was declared insolvent.

[Sussex Maid]

Julie - happy to help
OC - thank you for the hint, looked at the copy again and of course it is hammerman
Also found a baptism St Edward the Confessor Romford, 30 Jan 1842, Edward s.o Edward and Ann Parker, abode Romford, occupation Blacksmith
and
marriage St Mary Plaistow, 15 Apr 1858
George Edwin Winsett, full age, widower, labourer, residence Plaistow, father James Winsett, farmer
Ann Parker, full age, widow, residence Plaistow, father William Woods, tallow chandler
after Banns, both signed, Witnesses - George Williamson and Jane Williamson
Regards

[Shona]

Julie - happy to help
OC - thank you for the hint, looked at the copy again and of course it is hammerman
Also found a baptism St Edward the Confessor Romford, 30 Jan 1842, Edward s.o Edward and Ann Parker, abode Romford, occupation Blacksmith
and
marriage St Mary Plaistow, 15 Apr 1858
George Edwin Winsett, full age, widower, labourer, residence Plaistow, father James Winsett, farmer
Ann Parker, full age, widow, residence Plaistow, father William Woods, tallow chandler
after Banns, both signed, Witnesses - George Williamson and Jane Williamson
Regards


Brilliant - another piece of the jigsaw fits in place.

I was just looking at a public tree on Ancestry which gave Ann's maiden name as Woods. The tree was unsourced, though.

[Olde Crone]

Shona

Ann Woods....unsourced tree.......sorry, I have to let it out....

YOU CAN'T SEE THE WOOD FOR THE TREES!!!!


Haaaaaaa!

OC (who is easily amused)

[Merry]

YOU CAN'T SEE THE WOOD FOR THE TREES!!!!





You can't see the wood for the cork trees! :D

[Shona]

shona

ann woods....unsourced tree.......sorry, i have to let it out....

You can't see the wood for the trees!!!!


Haaaaaaa!

Oc (who is easily amused)

:d:d:d

[marquette]

Shona

Ann Woods....unsourced tree.......sorry, I have to let it out....

YOU CAN'T SEE THE WOOD FOR THE TREES!!!!


Haaaaaaa!

OC (who is easily amused)

:d:d:d

Totally unrelated, but I thought it was amusing........

A few weeks ago, I was chasing a HOLZHAUER family, and wondering why they changed their name to WOOD around 1900

Holzhauer means Woodcutter

Di (who also easily amused)

[HarrysMum]

It is a really beautiful tree.

Can't add anything else...

[tenterfieldjulie]

Wow girls at the rate you are all going I will be able to write a book ... not on the Cork tree ..

When I was in Canberra recently I went to the National Library and bought a number of books on botanical art, of which I have a great love ..(no comments Libby .. well I did have my car, so at least I din't have to post them) - "Collecting Ladies" Ferdinand Von Mueller and Women Botanical Artists by Penny Olsen, "Women of Flowers" - Botanical Art in Australia from the 1803s to the 1960s by Leonie Norton, "The Flower Hunter - Ellis Rowan" by Patricia Fullerton - collecting, painting and sending plants etc back to England in the interests of science etc was promoted privately and by government .. keen to be the first to have something new ...

The following is what I wrote in our newsletter about what was happening in the tiny remote village of Tenterfield in the 1866, which was just emerging from being a cattle station of 120,000 acres to a rural community village:

Why did the Parkers come to Tenterfield?
this remote area in the wilderness ..
A possibility is that they saw advertisements for the sale of Tenterfield and Clifton Stations
which were being advertised in the newspapers in glowing terms.

Portions of the advertisements are as follows from The Sydney Morning Herald -

“THE PICK OF THE NEW ENGLAND DISTRICT.
FOR POSITIVE SALE.
BY ORDER OF THE MORTGAGEE.
IN ONE OR TWO LOTS.
Those truly magnificent first- class Pastoral Properties,
TENTERFIELD
and
CLIFTON,
(formerly belonging to Sir Stuart Alexander Donaldson),
together with
48,000 SHEEP (more or less)
2714 HEAD of CATTLE (more or less)
Stores, Drays, Teams, Working Horses, Implements,
Machinery, and all belongings necessary for carrying on such an important property to be taken by valuation in the usual way by arbitration.”

TENTERFIELD is described: … with a very good road .. quite a lot of poetic license here ..

“This station is situated on the table-land of New England, on the head of the Severn River, or Tenterfield Creek, and 110 miles from the shipping port of Grafton, to which there is a very good road. Some parts of the country consists of open plains, the principal portion being lightly timbered, well grassed, undulating ridges, and on all parts of the run are well sheltered ridges.
It contains an area of about 120,000 acres, and is estimated as capable of depasturing 31,000 sheep and 2500 cattle, and their yearly increase in all seasons.”

And note my highlights -

“THE IMPROVEMENTS at the head station comprise a commodious and handsome cottage residence, containing 9 rooms, and verandahs, arranged and finished in superior style, well stocked gardens, orchard, and vineyard, also, a beautiful grove of English forest trees.

The out-buildings include kitchen and servant’s rooms, laundry, stores, & stall stable, groom's quarters, harness rooms, coach-house, &c

Among the other improvements are the following -Wool-shed, 100 feet long, shingled, with sawn and slabbed floor, battened catching pens, powerful screw press, sheep-room capable of holding 1600 sheep, shingled, and the necessary yards attached. Washpool with yards, large brick built store, containing office and six other compartments, one of which is used for storing wool, and one for wheat, &c. Storekeeper's cottage of four rooms, with kitchen and meat house.

Blacksmith's and carpenter's shops, men's huts, mostly built of brick, small stockyard, horse ditto, milking ditto, slaughtering ditto, & c, boiling down establishment with the necessary pots, yards, and other conveniences. Grass paddock, subdivided, of about 400 acres. Cultivation paddock, of about 100 acres.”

I wonder what the Parkers, fresh from London thought, when they finally arrived, after travelling the “good” road, which even today is a nightmare to the uninitiated, of steep bends and curves, deep ravines and unfenced from wandering native animals etc etc Cheers. Julie

[Janet]

Good reason for someone to entertain ideas of propagating the old cork tree on new soil:

Western Mail, Perth
Thursday 9 February 1939

HERE AND THERE.

I have seen such an unusual Christmas card,
which was sent from England. On the outer
fold was the picture of a large tree, entitled "Ye Old
Wishing Cork Tree." On the inner fold was a small
leaf, and an old legend. This is what it said: —'For
the past 300 years a fine old cork tree has flourished
in the village of Coombe-in-Teignhead, and has sur-
rounded itself with a mysterious power to bring
good luck to those observing certain rituals dating
back to the time of the great plague of London, in
1665. At that time people came from all parts of
the country to walk around the tree three times,
and, as they walked, to make a wish, which in-
variably materialised. Some came for better health,
some for better fortune, and others for a wife or
husband, as the case may be. It was said that few
were disappointed. As its powers became more widely
known, many people suffering from ill-health, and
unable to make the journey to South Devon, wrote
asking for a piece of cork from its bark, in order
that they might walk around it three times in their
own homes. Others wrote asking for a piece of cork
in the hope that it would bring fortune in its wake,
which, judging by report, appears to have been very
satisfactory. Whatever one may think of charms
and lucky omens, the fact remains that this fine old
tree has been the means of bringing amazing luck
to those possessing a piece of its cork. The legend
runs: —'Fortune favours those who see, More in me
than just a tree. Take my cork, and three times
walk around my girth for all to see.' How such
a wonderful old tree came to grow in its unusual
setting, weathering the storms of hundreds of years,
remains a mystery, particularly in view of its present
robust and healthy condition. It is hoped that it will
continue to flourish and yield its lucky cork to
future generations as in the past. Isn't it remark-
able that such an old superstition should survive?"

ROY DAVIES, North Cottesloe.

http://trove.nla.gov.au/ndp/del/article/41698607

This writer doesn't appear to be aware of the Tenterfield tree.

[Janet]

Aha!

COOMBE IN TEIGNHEAD YE OLDE WISHING CORK TREE
Devon OLD RP PHOTO POSTCARD

http://i.ebayimg.com/t/COOMBE-IN-TEIGNHEAD-YE-OLDE-WISHING-CORK-TREE-Devon-OLD-RP-PHOTO-POSTCARD-/00/s/NTY0WDM4Ng==/z/AB8AAMXQ83xSDUh1/$T2eC16ZHJHMFG+4KMQZbBSDUh0vv(Q~~60_35.JPG

COOMBE-IN-TEIGNHEAD-YE-OLDE-WISHING-CORK-TREE-Devon-OLD-RP-PHOTO-POSTCARD (http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/COOMBE-IN-TEIGNHEAD-YE-OLDE-WISHING-CORK-TREE-Devon-OLD-RP-PHOTO-POSTCARD-/221268532582?lgeo=1&clk_rvr_id=513608988181&vectorid=229508)

Same here:

wishing cork tree postcard (http://ie.picclick.com/ROMA-ROME-TEMPIO-DI-FLORA-E-CUPIDO-300940599672.html)

[Shona]

Sir Stuart Alexander Donaldson was also a plant collector.

http://www.anbg.gov.au/bot-biog/bot-biog-D.html

[tenterfieldjulie]

Janet and Shona .. thank you ..
Janet The tree in Devon there for 300 yrs, so going back to the 1600s, so they were in UK for a long time. I wonder if the Parkers had a Devon connection.
Shona I am very interested in that list .. Donaldson while he owned the Stations .. was the first Premier of NSW and there was doubt that he was even here .. but often what "they" know is false and what "they" don't know is true .. You can tell I have Irish blood lol
I am interested in that Plant collectors list though .. thank you. Julie

[tenterfieldjulie]

Ladies, I've been doing a bit of Woods hunting and found a reference to what I think are marriage banns for an Ann Woods at St. Pancras on 7/5/1837 .. Can anyone find who her spouse is? Spouse is frustratingly blank.. dau Eliza born C 1838 and so it would fit.
I did find the baptism of Ann Eliza Woods on 12/5/1811 at St. Mary the Virgin, Norwood Green, Ealing .. parents William and Mary Woods which would tie in with her birth C 1811 Westminster, Middlesex? Julie

[Shona]

Ladies, I've been doing a bit of Woods hunting and found a reference to what I think are marriage banns for an Ann Woods at St. Pancras on 7/5/1837 .. Can anyone find who her spouse is? Spouse is frustratingly blank

That Ann Woods married William Jones Rogers.

http://interactive.ancestry.co.uk/1623/31280_195015-00080/5942780?backurl=http%3a%2f%2fsearch.ancestry.co.uk %2fcgi-bin%2fsse.dll%3findiv%3d1%26db%3dlmamarriages%26ra nk%3d1%26new%3d1%26MSAV%3d1%26msT%3d1%26gss%3dangs-d%26gsfn%3dann%26gsfn_x%3dNN%26gsln%3dwoods%26gsln _x%3dNN%26msgdy%3d1837%26msgdy_x%3d1%26cpxt%3d1%26 catBucket%3drstp%26uidh%3dfpy%26cp%3d11%26pcat%3d3 4%26fh%3d0%26h%3d5942780%26recoff%3d9%2b10%26ml_rp os%3d1&ssrc=&backlabel=ReturnRecord

[tenterfieldjulie]

Thanks for that Shona ...
I found Ann Wimsett/Winsett death Mar Q 1872 St. Pancras
There are 2 deaths of Edward Parker at St. Pancras that could be the right one, but no ages .. Dec 1851 and Jun 1852 .. I think for a blacksmith to be in the workhouse he would have been pretty severely injured and quite likely didn't live long past 1851/52.. but not sure even if a dc was purchased what it would tell me .. especially if he was from the workhouse.. Julie

[Merry]

Wasn't it Romford workhouse?


Deaths Mar 1853
Parker Edward Romford 4a 50

[tenterfieldjulie]

Merry that is correct .. for some reason I couldn't find him ...
I've been looking at the Census images and two things struck me .. one was that in 1841 Edward Parker Blacksmith of Homechurch Lane with Ann 29 and Eliza 5 is living next door to Robert Parker 50 Blacksmith Eliza 20 and Priscilla 15 .. .. quite possibly his father and younger sisters ..
in 1861 Census with George Wimsett born Biddenden, Kent - Ann born Westminster, and Edward 21 .. their address is Kent House and Cherry Orchard .. I would guess this is where Edward acquired his knowledge and love of trees, through his stepfather born in the Garden or England ..
Does this make sense? Julie

[Merry]

It makes sense, but maybe you are reading in too much?!! (re the love of trees!)

Re the Parker neighbours, I can't remember where Edward senr said he was born, but you could investigate whether he would slot in with those other Parkers if you can find any of them on the 1851 census.

[Shona]

I would guess this is where Edward acquired his knowledge and love of trees, through his stepfather born in the Garden or England. Does this make sense? Julie

Weren't the orchards already established before the Parkers arrived in Tenterfield?

From your notes: '...well stocked gardens, orchard, and vineyard, also, a beautiful grove of English forest trees.'

This may be a useful source of information:

BIDDENDEN LOCAL HISTORY SOCIETY
Visits to historic houses or museums are arranged for the summer months.

Help can be given with family or house research using the village archive collection.

For further information and membership please contact the secretary, Mrs Joanna Churton on 01580 291 925.

[Sussex Maid]

There is a burial at St Edward the Confessor Romford which appears to be for the death registration Q1 1853 Romford for Edward Parker - 1853 27 Feb Edward Parker, abode Romford, age 37.
If he was born in Romford, then the nearest baptism I can find is at St Edward the Confessor 1814 13 Dec, Edward s.o Robert and Mary Parker, abode Romford, occupation - Smith (there is no explanation in the register but on the same page there is another entry 1815 15 Jan Edward, s.o Robert and Mary Parker, abode Romford, occupation - Smith). There is no burial at St Edward the Confessor, Romford for an Edward Parker between 1814-1841 but did notice -
Mary Parker, abode Romford, age 59, buried 01 Jan 1839 and
Robert Parker, abode Romford, age 61, buried 26 May 1842
Regards

[Merry]

That all ties in perfectly!! You will have to change your name to Essex Maid! lol

[Merry]

I'm still worrying about what happened to Amelia Jones/Winsett? George remarried in 1858 to the mother of his adopted son, but did Amelia die or did she go off somewhere. There's only one Amelia from Lewisham of about the right age on the next census, but she's on the 1851 too, so must be a different person!!

[tenterfieldjulie]

Shona yes there was an orchard and vineyard at Tenterfield Station prior to the Parkers, but that orchard was in a different part of Tenterfield to where the Cork tree and Parker's orchard was. Sadly the only tree to survive is the Cork tree. I will definitely check out the museum at Biddenden next time I am in Kent.
Sussex maid those entries are wonderful thank you .. and that ties Edward sen living next to his father. It looks like three generations of blacksmiths.
Yes Merry you'd think Amelia Wimsett/Winsett would be easy to find but maybe such an unusual name it was hard to transcribe .. I tried it with one t as well but no luck.
Many thanks .. the Parkers are going to be amazed when they see what you all have found.
Julie

[Merry]

So the George Edwin Winsett who died in 1914 could be a son of the one who died in 1882?

Which George got hitched to Ann Parker - father or son?

I've just realised there is no George Edwin Winsett who died in 1914! Here's the Ancestry entry:

Name: George Edwin Winsett
Estimated Birth Year: abt 1838
Date of Registration: Oct-Nov-Dec 1914
Age at Death: 76
Registration District: Pancras
Inferred County: London
Volume: 1b
Page: 64

and here's the FreeBMD version:


Deaths Dec 1882
WINSETT George Edwin 76 Pancras 1b 64

Note the Q, Volume and Page numbers are the same and the big give away, Ancestry state "Image not available" for the 1914 entry, though the button to order a copy of it for a minimum of £22.99 (:eek:) still appears (I wonder if they would then send the 1882 cert or if the order would be rejected and who would end up with the £22.99??!)

I have sent emails to Ancestry before about this issue, but never received more than an automated reply.

[tenterfieldjulie]

Well spotted Mary. I was trying to get my head around the 1914 entry .. but how could you make 1882 into 1914 ... must have had gremlins around that day.. Thanks Julie

[Merry]

All of the misplaced entries I have come across have been erroneously entered in the period around WW1 and have come from a period decades earlier, but as I've only noticed them occasionally I have no idea of the numbers involved.

This is one of the (many) reasons I generally use FreeBMD for BMD lookups, but sometimes the way Ancestry searches can be more helpful, so occasionally I use that instead.

This time the penny didn't drop even though I had realised the 1882 entry didn't appear on Ancestry.

[tenterfieldjulie]

I use FreeBMD, familyseach and Ancestry when I can, but I'm afraid that London entries confuse me, because I am not sure of the churches/districts. Having said that I've only been looking for other people so I don't really know a lot about the families. As yet, the only London marriage for my family, was at St. Sepulchre's at Newgate and they both lived in Buckinghamshire .. I still can't really work out why, except it might be a Sarah's family church going way back, but I haven't got way back yet unfortunately..

[tenterfieldjulie]

I thought I would add the article I wrote on the family for our TFHG newsletter.
Many thanks everyone.:D

The Family of Edward and Rose Parker of Tenterfield and London

In the last issue of our Tenterfield Family History Newsletter, I wrote about the famous cork tree of Tenterfield, which was planted by Edward Parker. Talking to Parker family members made me decide to see what I could find about the Parkers’ origins.

The first place where I looked was at the death and birth records for the family in NSW. Death records are notorious for being inaccurate, so I didn’t rely too heavily on them, but they are as follows:

1. Rose Parker died 23/10/1919, Tenterfield. 2. Edward Parker died 14/10/1913, Tenterfield, his father Edward.

However, the following includes the birth records of the children of Edward and Rose Parker, born in Tenterfield, NSW and the names included clues which were very helpful to tracing the family in London:–

1. Georgina Elizabeth Parker 1866-1952 (married George Kermode in 1887 at Tenterfield); 2. Annie Parker 1870-1872; 3. Richard Edward Wimsett Parker 1873-1931 (married Jessie Glen in 1901 Perth, W.A.); 4. Clarence Arthur Parker 1881-1946 (married Vera Markwell in 1920 in West Maitland, NSW).

The 1895 Electoral Roll Tenterfield also provided further occupational information -
Edward Parker - carpenter; Richard Edward Parker - postal assistant.

It was then essential to confirm when the family arrived in Australia and it was a little later than it was thought - arriving on the ”Africana”, 15 March 1866, in New South Wales were Edward (blacksmith) and Rose Parker – Edward, aged 23, born Romford, Essex and Rose, aged 26, born Plaistow, Essex.

I then looked at the freebdm index for UK marriages and found in the March quarter of 1865: Parker, Edward married Smith, Rosa at W. Ham, Reference No. 4a 24 (W. Ham is West Ham in Essex)

One of the ladies on the genealogistsforum.co.uk of which I am a member, then found the marriage at St. Mary’s Church Plaistow, on the 27 February 1865 of Edward Parker, full age, bachelor, hammerman (blacksmith), residence Plaistow, father Edward Parker, farrier and
Rosa Smith, full age, spinster, residence Plaistow, father Moses Smith, carpenter, marriage by banns, both signed. The witnesses were William Smith and Elizabeth Smith. (Rose’s oldest brother and sister, her father having died the previous year.)

Having surnames like Parker and Smith, I did wonder if it was possible to positively find them in the Census, as London was, even then, a huge city. This is where the names of the children born in NSW were a great reference:

In 1841 Census (ie before Edward Jnr. 1842 birth) we found Edward Parker, blacksmith of Homechurch Lane, Romford with his wife Ann, aged 29 and daughter, Eliza, aged 5.

Living next door were Robert Parker, aged 50, (blacksmith) and his daughters, Eliza, aged 20 and Priscilla, aged 15 .. We later confirmed that they were Edward’s father and sisters, his mother having died.

However, by the 1851 Census things have dramatically changed:

1. Edward Parker Jnr. is shown as adopted son, aged 9, living with a couple called George and Amelia Wimsett.
(George Edwin Wimsett had married Amelia Jones at St George the Martyr Church, Southwark, on 20 February 1826. They were bachelor and spinster, both of the parish.)

2. Edward Parker Snr is in Romford Union Workhouse - a smith journeyman (meaning that he had no fixed work premises).

3. Ann Parker and her daughter Eliza (13) are visitors in the household of John and Sarah Golding in Finchley, Middlesex. John Golding is from Ringwood in Hampshire, Sarah Golding (30) was born in Islington.

Edward Parker junior's birth, had been registered in the March quarter of 1842 at Romford, Essex, registration no. 12 230.

Edward was baptised at St Edward the Confessor Church at Romford, on 30 Jan 1842, as Edward, son of Edward and Ann Parker, abode Romford, father’s occupation blacksmith.

One can only surmise, that somewhere between 1842 and 1851, Edward Parker Senior was injured and was then cared for in the workhouse, which as well housing the poor, also had an infirmary for the sick and injured.

Edward Parker Senior’s death was registered in the March quarter of 1853 at Romford, reference no. 4a 50.

He was buried at their family church of St Edward the Confessor, Romford, on 27 February 1853, abode Romford, age 37. It was the same church where he had been baptised on the 13 December 1814, Edward, son of Robert and Mary Parker, abode Romford, father’s occupation – Smith.

Also buried at St Edward the Confessor, Romford were Edward’s parents:
Mary Parker, abode Romford, age 59, buried 01 Jan 1839;
Robert Parker, abode Romford, age 61, buried 26 May 1842.

We now go back to the Census and find in the 1861, living at Kent House and Cherry Orchard - Edward Jnr, who is still living with George Wimsett, (who is now married to Ann, not Amelia), Edward’s surname is now Wimsett, aged 21, he is a dock labourer; George Wimsett, born Biddenden, Kent; Ann Wimsett born Westminster.

Further checking revealed the marriage in the June quarter of 1858 of Winsett, George Edwin to Parker, Ann – at W. Ham, reference 4a 20.
This marriage took place at St Mary Plaistow, on 15 Apr 1858 - George Edwin Winsett, full age, widower, labourer, residence Plaistow, father James Winsett, farmer and Ann Parker, full age, widow, residence Plaistow, father William Woods, tallow chandler, married after banns, both signed, witnesses - George Williamson and Jane Williamson.

So we now know that the man who originally adopted Edward (possibly unofficially), became his step father. More than likely he was the man who introduced Edward to his love of trees. Clues being the name he gave his house - Kent House and Cherry Orchard and George’s origins - being born Biddenden in Kent (the fruit bowl of England) and his father a farmer.

In 1871 Census George and Ann Wimsett are living alone, Edward and Rose having migrated in 1866.

Ann’s death was registered in March quarter 1872 – Ann Wimsett/Winsett at St. Pancras;

George’s death was recorded a further 10 years later in the December quarter of 1882 - WINSETT, George Edwin, age 76, at St. Pancras.

George was baptised as an adult (born 2nd Sept 1805) on 18 February 1826, at St George the Martyr, London, his parents, James and Sarah. His baptism took place just prior to his first marriage.

Some records I have not been able to find are: the baptism of Ann Woods, which should have been at Westminster between 1810 and 1820; and the marriage of Edward Parker and Ann Woods. However, that is not to say they are not there, just that they have not been easily found. The first known child of Edward and Ann Parker, Eliza, was registered in Q3 1837, so I guess they married before civil registration and it was probably somewhere in Westminster, where there were lots of churches to choose from, marriages usually took place in the bride’s parish.

Names can be quite helpful in confirming family connections and Edward and Rose Parker’s children’s names firmly established this:

1st daughter - Georgina Parker after George Wimsett (Edward’s adopted/step father);
2nd daughter - Annie Parker after Annie Woods/Parker/Wimsett (Edward’s mother);
1st son - Edward Richard Wimsett Parker – (Edward’s natural father, himself and his adopted/step father).

Rosa Smith (the Australian family matriarch) who married Edward Parker Jnr, was also found in the UK Census:- in 1851 - born Plaistow in West Ham – aged 12 - parents are Moses (carpenter) & Maria and in 1861 - born Plaistow in West Ham – aged 21 and a servant.

To conclude with the obituary of Rose Parker – “The death look place on Thursday morning at Tenterfield of Mrs. Parker, relict of the late Mr. Edward Parker, very old residents of the town. The deceased had been suffering for some time and her end was not unexpected. Mr. Clarence Parker, storekeeper, of Tenterfield, is a son, Mrs. George Kermode, of the same place, a daughter, whilst the eldest son, Mr. Edward Parker, is in the post and telegraph service, Western Australia.” (Tamworth Observer, 25 Oct 1919)

The Censuses are a wonderful tool for family research and essential for UK research. UK birth, marriage and death registrations have much less family detail than our Australian ones.

Maybe the cork tree’s origins were from a large estate in Kent ..
I’d like to this so, as Kent is where my Smith ancestors were from.

Many thanks again everyone for your input. As usual GF folk are amazing.

Julie

[tenterfieldjulie]

Now found on FMP - Marriage at St. George Hanover Square, London, Middlesex, by banns - Edward Parker to Anne Woods on 4th November 1836.

[Kit]

Glad you finally found it. :)