John Hancox b 1806/7 Kenilworth died New Zealand 1875

[KChase]

G'day from New Zealand!
So glad to find this forum. I am trying to trace the above gent - he is our 4 x great grandfather who came out to New Zealand on board the Bebington in 1872 with his wife Mary and daughter Lucy. Two of his sons had gone before him and after John and Mary arrived, the remaining three children and their spouses and children followed. It seems unusual that an entire family would come out over a period of three years to settle here. We have only just discovered this leg of the family and information is scarce. I would be very grateful for any guidance in where to find out what their lives in the UK were like and why they would have gathered their pennies and emigrated. They left behind only one daughter who was well married with children and settled. They never saw each other again.

Thank you so, so much.
Have a great day.
Regards
Kelly

 

[Astoness]

hello kelly and welcome to the forum not sure if you have this but to start this looks like johns baptism at st nicholas church kenilworth 29th of march 1807 son of james and mary if so you now know the names of your 5x gt grandparents

lyn

 

[Astoness]

also found john.. mary and family on the 1851...1861 and 1871 census in birmingham the address for all of those years is lower dartmouth st...if you do not have these and want them just let me know...i will have to add up the children again on the census years i have but it looks like mary had 8 or 9...also on the 1851 census and you may already know this mary hancox puts down that she was born on the island of scilily (could be an error) as on the 61 and 71 puts down place of birth as birmingham again sicily could be correct and maybe by 61 she just classed herself as a brummie..

also on the 1851 its got a william heath aged 9 son in law...well obviously its impossible to have a son in law aged 9 so maybe that was an error and it should have said son because on the 1871 cenus there is a son william hancox age 30...however in 1841 again in lower dartmouth st i have a mary heath marr to a joseph heath with 5 children joseph 10...mary 6..sarah 4 ..emma 2 and william aged 3 weeks.....all of these children are on the 51 census as being the children of john hancox apart from william who is down as a heath so it looks as though the children from marys first marriage took the hancox name and marys marriage to john was her second marriage..if this is correct it would mean that the only children of john hancox would be ann..james..henry..alice..harriet and lucy in total mary had 10 children .hopefully some of our better sleuths on here could double check this info and maybe find any marriages although we must always bare in mind that not everyone got married just claimed they did kelly if i am correct with this info i hope you descend from one of john hacoxs 5 children because the other 5 came from joseph heath...but as i said confirmation would be a help just to make sure i have got this right

lyn

 

[Pedrocut]

SHIPPING INTELIGENCE.

The ship, Bebington, conveying emigrants to Auckland, New Zealand was reported to have put into Algoa Bay on account of sickness on board, has since arrived at her destination. (Dundee Courier 22 Aug 1876).

April 24 was lat 20S and long 27W.

Later reported that it put into Algoa on the 24th May and due to scarlet fever. Carrying Government emigrants.

 

[KChase]

Gday - you are all so amazing! I am blown away by the kindness and time you take to reply. Thanks heaps. Lyn, we are descended from John baptised at Kenilworth. Yes Mary Newton married Joseph Heath and had a bunch of kids before he died and then married John Hancox a year later. Our line comes through from James born 1846 who married Eliza Jane Morgan. I am looking for background info on the family in Birmingham. As far as I can make out - Kenilworth John had two brothers - James and William who were, I think, baptised at St Phillips, Birmingham. His parents married at St Martins (now in the bullring?). Could I be completely wrong and have the wrong family attached? Would love to hear your thoughts.

With regards to the Bebington - I have read up that the ship was a slow transporter, completely ill fit for the carriage of passengers and a great many children died on voyage, more than considered normal. I was a little confused in my opening post - Kenilworth John's two sons, James and Henry, came out on the Bebington (incidentally losing three of the five children they were bringing with them to a new world). Kenilworth John came out on board the Tweed in 1874 and it was a better journey, better ship - he came out with his wife Mary Ann Newton and the youngest of their children - Lucy travelling with them. Both Alice and Harriet and their husbands also travelled at the same time. They left behind all the Heath children as far as I know but will need to look into them as the younger three were home when Mary married John and took his name.

Thanks so much everyone - I truelly am thankful.
Regards
Kelly

 

[pjmburns]

Re: Lyn's post #3 about son in law William. I believe "son in law" was sometimes used for stepson. ie a son by law perhaps today we would put adopted son.

 

[Astoness]

hi kelly we are only too happy to help you and it keeps us out of trouble how sad that 3 of the children were lost during that long hard voyage but a risk the family thought worth taking to find a better life...so have i got this correct..you are looking for confirmation that kenilworth john b 1807 parents james and mary had 2 brothers called james and william ? both baptised at st philips ?

lyn

 

[MWS]

There's a marriage for a John Hancox Jun qtr 1843 West Bromwch, one of the possible spouses is a Mary Heath.

 

[Pedrocut]

The Auckland Weekly News of August 19th says...Unfortunately for the immigrants by the Bebington, our fears as to the continued unfitness of that fatal vessel for immigration purposes have been fully realised. The ship had a passage of upwards of 150 days to wich must be added nearly 40 days more of confinement of the passengers in quarantine, and she arrived reporting 16 deaths during the long and disastrous voyage.

In 1872 the same ship made a voyage from London to Wellington and then 16 passengers also died, the voyage being a
prolonged one of 117 days.

(The Gazette November 1876)

 

[Pedrocut]

In November 1876 the Passengers Line advertised their ships, including the Bebington, as first-rate passenger packets, fitted and equipped up on plans founded on long experience. The ships of this line convey private passengers only, and no
Government emigrants.

 

[Astoness]

There's a marriage for a John Hancox Jun qtr 1843 West Bromwch, one of the possible spouses is a Mary Heath.

the year and names fit mws so yes i would think that is a likely contender for marys first marriage

lyn

 

[pjmburns]

There is a baptism at St Phillips in January 1801 of a William son of James and Mary Hancox - difficult to say of it is the right family as no other details are recorded.
The James Hancox baptism at St Phillips is dated 1797.

 

[MWS]

There's also a Joseph baptised 17 Feb 1806 Bham, parents James & Mary.

 

[pjmburns]

I am not convinced this is the same family. Needs more information which probably isn't available.

 

[MWS]

True, which is a shame because the James Hancox of Bham married a Mary Sedgwick who was possibly baptised in Aldridge.

A number of Sedgwick marriages take place in Bham around the same time and they appear to match baptisms in Aldridge.

 

[Astoness]

There's a marriage for a John Hancox Jun qtr 1843 West Bromwch, one of the possible spouses is a Mary Heath.

if this is the marriage we are looking for i wonder if we can find john and his parents james and mary either living together or seperate if we can we maybe able to find out if there were any other siblings in the household

 

[Pedrocut]

In March 1902 the Belfast News-Letter reports that the Belfast built Handel Lust (ex Bebington) has been sold out at Bahia for the sum of £1,750. She is 884 tons, built 1859.

 

[MWS]

if this is the marriage we are looking for i wonder if we can find john and his parents james and mary either living together or seperate if we can we maybe able to find out if there were any other siblings in the household

Couldn't spot him in 1841 in Bham, Aston or West Brom though there are few variations for Hancox.

Nothing either for the marriage except the registration.

 

[MWS]

There are a number of other Hancox/Hancocks baptisms in Kenilworth around the same time with parents James & Sarah.

Wonder if the baptism is recorded wrong. The baptism above John Hancox is an Ann Maria daughter of James & Mary Moulton. Mind wonders, easy mistake to make.

Is a recording mistake more likely than baptising 3 children in Bham before baptising 1 in Kenilworth? Do any of the other Bham baptisms list an occupation? If he's a brass founder for example why go to Kenilworth?

 

[KChase]

hi kelly we are only too happy to help you and it keeps us out of trouble how sad that 3 of the children were lost during that long hard voyage but a risk the family thought worth taking to find a better life...so have i got this correct..you are looking for confirmation that kenilworth john b 1807 parents james and mary had 2 brothers called james and william ? both baptised at st philips ?

lyn

Morning - yes - there were rather a lot of James and Mary Hancox's about at the time - I think I have it right that they had three boys but if you have a moment to have a look - I would be grateful. I have John Hancox marrying Mary Sedgwick 24 July 1797 at St Martin, Birmingham. James (1797 - 1860) and William (1801 - 1875) come first both baptised at St Phillips. Then Kenilworth John is born and baptised at Kenilworth. My question is... are James and William his brothers?

I am trying to fill in the gaps - questions like was he an only child....what did his father do....etc etc.

Thanks heaps Lyn!
Regards
Kelly

 

[Pedrocut]

“...why they would have gathered their pennies and emigrated ?”

There is a letter sent to the Birmingham Daily Post in November 1874 from a man who had emigrated to New Zealand under the auspices of the Government. He had returned after spending 13 years in the colony.

 

[Astoness]

finding it difficult to confirm brothers...will pick it up again tomorrow...just wondering if johns marriage to mary was his second marriage...

lyn

 

[KChase]

In November 1876 the Passengers Line advertised their ships, including the Bebington, as first-rate passenger packets, fitted and equipped up on plans founded on long experience. The ships of this line convey private passengers only, and no
Government emigrants.

G'day. After the voyage of 1872 took much longer than other vessels and the high mortality rate, an enquiry was held here in NZ - 16 children between the age of 7 weeks and 2 years died and this was found to be unacceptable. The result of the enquiry laid blame on a few points - the lower decks should have had 14 - 18 portholes on each side of the midship compartment between decks - the Bebington had 3 either side. The stairways/laddders were poorly constructed and inhibited movement of people, especially young ones who would need to go on deck resulting in them being below decks for days at a time, not getting the necessary fresh air or sunlight. The ships galley was too small for the cook to be able to feed everyone, evidence provided shows that getting the childrens' food cooked at regular intervals didn't happen. The single womans cabin had no ventilation at all. The conclusion in broad terms, is that the children were insufficiently fed and had a deficiency of light and ventilation. Added to all this - food that was provided or budgeted for the children, was often stolen either by ship staff or passengers working in the store rooms - the milk budgeted for was actually done on the basis of the number of adults on board - no children were taken into account and so there was a shortage before they began. To round it off, the ship set sail with insufficient medicines - confirmed by the ships doctor who had a roughtime looking after his passengers without the proper treatments.

I would think that it was a poorly planned voyage and a dismal mess. The agents who 'engaged' the emigrants had an agreement with them to work in return for passage, for a period of two years on the railways, in New Zealand. However, once they arrived, they found there to be no contractual work available, it having all been allocated. The agents (deducting one fifth of their wages for passage costs) then said they were to take work with sub-contractors but.... the sub contractors also wanted to make a one fifth deduction. You can imagine the objections. And so the agreement between agent and passenger was deemed to be broken. The passengers were then left to find employment and housing where they could and to this end, the population absorbed them into their own, helping them settle and making sure they had work and a home.

A great deal was learned from the voyage for afterwards, the Bebington was improved and had a much cleaner and more successful run of voyages, coming back a few times under a different captain.

I should say its just amazing to find out about their voyages so many years later - I am rather enjoying the journey so to speak! It makes interesting reading.....

I'm off to feed my calves - farm jobs are waiting!
Have a great day.
regards
Kelly

 

[KChase]

finding it difficult to confirm brothers...will pick it up again tomorrow...just wondering if johns marriage to mary was his second marriage...

lyn

I think it was because on the marriage bans he is a 'widower'. She is also on her second marriage, the first to Joseph Heath. I shall go hunting for the first marriage later today..... thanks heaps Lyn. Sleep well!

 

[KChase]

Re: Lyn's post #3 about son in law William. I believe "son in law" was sometimes used for stepson. ie a son by law perhaps today we would put adopted son.

Hiya - thank you - he was indeed a step son who took his stepfather's surname - only 9 when they married.

 

[KChase]

“...why they would have gathered their pennies and emigrated ?”

There is a letter sent to the Birmingham Daily Post in November 1874 from a man who had emigrated to New Zealand under the auspices of the Government. He had returned after spending 13 years in the colony.

View attachment 147693View attachment 147694

Oh thats very interesting - thank you. I thought that if they were coming out under an agreement with an agent or on a government scheme, their lot in England may well have been a sad one. If they had come out under their own funds it would have been a different story.

 

[Pedrocut]

Yes, I wonder what the "agents" said, and received, to entice people to take their chance in the Colonies.

I have come across many sad stories of the children that were sent to the "Colonies" from around 1870 onwards, but this would be different.

 

[Astoness]

I think it was because on the marriage bans he is a 'widower'. She is also on her second marriage, the first to Joseph Heath. I shall go hunting for the first marriage later today..... thanks heaps Lyn. Sleep well!

yes i knew that marys marriage to john was her 2nd but i was only guessing that maybe john had also been married before..do you know who is first wife was

lyn

 

[KChase]

True, which is a shame because the James Hancox of Bham married a Mary Sedgwick who was possibly baptised in Aldridge.

A number of Sedgwick marriages take place in Bham around the same time and they appear to match baptisms in Aldridge.

Hiya. I have James Hancox marrying Mary Sedgwick.....

 

[KChase]

yes i knew that marys marriage to john was her 2nd but i was only guessing that maybe john had also been married before..do you know who is first wife was

lyn

I don't have a name for a first wife - have been looking but its a bit needle in the haystack. Will keep on that track and see what comes up.... I thought that if I could find his siblings.....someone may have done their history and it may be revealed on another tree, might look at the Sedgwicks - you never know.....