John Oakley to Australia 1852..anyone missing him? (General)
Hello!....yes, I'm ANOTHER Aussie looking for the family of one of my ancestors!!
My great great grandfather called himself John Oakley (however on the marriage certifs. of 2 of his children, they name their father as Alfred John, and on another John Alfred).
I have just 'found'reference to John Oakley here in Victoria, Australia...in a little country town named Lancefield, where he and his wife Jane nee Hamilton raised their children...one of them being my great grandmother Frances Mary Oakley b1862. It has taken a while to find but I have just bought the death certif. of John, who was sadly killed in a cart accident in 1878, having been brought to Melbourne to treat his injuries.
On our John's dc, it states that he was born in Gloucester (sadly, no other specific information), aged 56..which places his birth around 1822. Although my Frances Mary states on her wedding certif, that she was born in Melbourne, I have actually found her birth and that of her 3 older siblings in Launceston, Tasmania, begining around 1858. Family Folklore has always had 'mystery' around our John, and it is now a bit obvious that he may have been hiding a convict past. I can find a convict record for a John Oakley, born Newent, Gloucester around 1820, who was transported to Port Arthur in 1852. The convict docs. for this fellow also states that he was 'married with 2 children'. Regardless of his marital status, I can find a 'Permission to Marry' for this John who arrived in Aust on the 'Lady Montague', to another convict named Ann Reilley...who is also listed as being married with one child. The pair were married in 1854, and can be seen living at Lancefield Vic in the 1890's.
Our John states that he and Jane were married in 'England' before coming to Aust, but this may not be true at all.
Can anyone help me find the birth and perhaps his marriage to a Jane Hamilton in Gloucester...I would love to know of his parents and siblings!...and also if there is by any chance, two John Oakleys born around the same era and same place...one of which was a convict and transported to Australia in the early 1850's, and one that arrived in Tasmania with his wife Jane at some time prior to 1858.
The two 'wives' of John Oakley seem to overlap the time that a John Oakley can be found on records at Lancefield, and although I can find no children to John and Ann, they all seem to be residing in this tiny little country town.
Any help would be just wonderful!
Thankyou and best wishes
Rosie
Melbourne Aust