This is the story of Thomas and Catherine, our mother’s maternal grandparents. It is a tale of two people who travel across the world to look for a new life in Australia in the late 19th Century. They were probably encouraged by Uncle Thomas Skitteral who went to Australia in 1853 as part of the assisted passage scheme and also the propaganda about wealth and happiness that could be found there. However, after only a few years, they returned to their family homes in Norwood, Surrey where many previous generations of Thomas’s family had lived.
Catherine’s father, Francis Palmer, and her mother, Janet Damp, were both born on the Isle of Wight but moved over to the mainland and were married in Westminster in 1858. Francis was a carpenter. Janet had 4 children in quick succession after they were married but two of the three boys died before they were a year old and Janet also died soon afterwards. This left Francis with his three year old son, George, and his two year old daughter, Catherine, and the sadness of losing two sons and his wife within 4 years.
When Catherine was 5 her father married again and had 5 more children with his new wife, Emily Kendall. In 1871 the family were living in a large house in Chelsea with two other households but little George (aged 10) was staying with an uncle in Warminster, Wiltshire. By 1881 Catherine had also moved away and was boarding in a house in Streatham owned by the Barrett family. Here lies a bit of a mystery; as a boarder Catherine would have been paying rent but there is no occupation given for her so who was paying for her lodging? Her father maybe? Or some other benefactor? Or did she have a job that she didn't mention in the census return of that year? At this point, records for Thomas and Catherine are not found in Norwood but turn up in a search in the Australian newspaper archives, first a marriage announcement then a birth announcement. But when did they go there? A search of passenger lists to Australia shows Thomas Henry Skitteral travelled to Australia on the Orient in April 1888 and a Miss A C Palmer travelled to Australia on the Liguria in September 1888. Most likely is that Thomas went out first to find work and somewhere to live then sent word for Catherine to follow him. Quite an undertaking for a young lady on her own in 1888 but there may well have been other people that she knew travelling on the ship.
It would seem that they were married very soon after Catherine arrived and had two baby daughters in the next few years - Violet and Daisy. On their marriage certificate Catherine gives her name as Kate and her occupation as Lady, possibly an attempt at 'airs and graces' to raise her standing in her new neighbourhood. Later in her life she goes back to calling herself either Annie or Catherine. The announcement in a local paper for the birth of their first daughter, Violet, gives Thomas and Catherine’s address as Norwoodene, presumably naming their new home after their old home. During this time, Thomas had set up business in the building trade with Edward Woods, placing adverts in the local papers for tradesman needed to work on their jobs.
Just before this, in May 1892, Catherine came back from Australia travelling alone on the Ophir from Victoria to London but there is no sign of the children, Violet and Daisy, on the same boat. How they eventually came back is still a mystery, as is the return of Thomas, although there is plenty of evidence that they were together again as a family in Norwood from 1894 when their first son, Thomas Francis was born. Sadly, two year old Daisy became unwell and died soon after but Catherine went on to have two more children. Ivy Primrose (our grandmother) was born in 1899 and another girl, Iris Primrose was born in 1905 but became ill and died the following year. There are more stories to come about this family but that will be for another day.
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About MeI've always been interested in the Past Stories of my family and have recently found the time to delve deeper into the lives of the people who went before me. Previous Posts
1. Making a new start 2.The Qui Vives 3. From Ruby to Silver 4. A postcard and a passenger list 5. Louisa's story Part 1 6. Louisa's story - the second part 7. Three generations of Joseph Shearsbys 8. The Down-Under Adventures of Thomas and Catherine Skitteral Categories |