Robert Humphries was a NSW convict.
Records state that he was born in 1810 in West Smithfield in London.
I cannot find a baptism for him in this location. There are other baptisms that fit around this area in London, but without extra information it is difficult to prove them.
He was indicted for stealing one handkerchief on the 16th February 1928, the property of William Gaven of 15 Welbeck Street, London.
He was found guilty and sentenced to be transported for 7 years. He was 17 years old.
Notes from the trial on the day, 21st February 1828:
ROBERT HUMPHRIES was indicted for stealing, on the 16th of February, 1 handkerchief, value 3s, the goods of William Gaven, from his person.
WILLIAM GAVEL: I live at No. 15, Welbeck-street.--
On the 16th of February, between three and four o'clock in the afternoon, I was in Holborn, and perceived somebody press against my shoulder, and my coat pocket lifted up; I turned, and saw the prisoner close to my shoulder; I said, "You are a thief !" he ran away; I 'pursued, calling "Stop thief!" he turned up a court - a man came down, and stopped him : I overtook him, and gave him in charge of an officer. I found my handkerchief on the ground, close to where I felt it taken : a man, who followed me, picked it up while I pursued: the prisoner begged of me to forgive him.
(Property produced and sworn to.)
Prisoner's Defence, I was in Holborn; two boys pushed by the gentleman; He turned, and called "Stop thief" I turned up Union-court, and was stopped.
GUILTY. Aged 17.
Transported for 7 years.
He is described in the charge report as being 5’3” tall, light brown hair, light grey/hazel eyes and of stout figure. He had a fair complexion, an oval visage. Born in Smithfield. A bricklayer & plasterer.
Other registers describe him as being ‘healthy’ yet his behavior is described as ‘indifferent’.
He could read & write and had a ‘tear on the left shin bone’.
He arrived in Sydney aboard the 'John' on the 22nd May 1829.
Also mentioned is that he had been in custody before, but there is no evidence of any previous convictions.
He received his certificate of freedom on the 23rd April 1835.
Robert married Bridget Considine on the 14th December 1836 in Goulburn.
Bridget had arrived on the `Duchess of Northumberland’ on 3rd Oct 1836, a little over two months earlier.
They had four children, all born in Goulburn:
1)Michael Humphries. Born 1837 and died 1859 in Goulburn.
Married 31-5-1856 in Goulburn to Elizabeth Ellen Dawes.
They had three children; Eliza (1857-1857), Robert (1858) & Michael (1860).
2)Robert Charles Humphries. Born 1839 & died 1921 in Wagga Wagga.
See below for family details.
3)Elizabeth Humphries. Born 1841.
Married in 1861 in Goulburn to Thomas Dunn.
They had two children; William (1862) & Mary (1864).
4)James Humphries. Born 1846.
Married 1865 in Goulburn to Margaret Bradley. They had 12 children.
The family appear in the 1841 census of NSW living near Goulburn, at a farm named 'Tarrago'.
By this time both Robert (jnr) and Michael have been born.
Bridget was recorded as a Roman Catholic with the other three recorded as Church of England.
Bridget had 'arrived free' in the colony.
The relationship between Robert and Bridget didn’t last.
Records show that Bridget bore five children to a man from Milbang near Collector named George Reynolds.
A newspaper report from 1870 states that George Reynolds lived in Milbang for 30 years (c1840).
The five children born to George & Bridget were:
Henry (Born 1848, Goulburn & died 1933, Sydney)
Emily (Born 1850, Goulburn)
Mary Ann (Born 1852, Goulburn)
Susan (Born 1854, Goulburn)
William (Born 1857, Goulburn & died 1937, Goulburn)
Henry and William appear in the same 1870 newspaper report where Bridget Humphries states:
I have been living there (Milbang) five or six years; I live with my sons; Henry & William; George Reynolds has been living there the last six years.
Both Henry and William had large families in the Goulburn area.
Robert Humphries died on the 20th January 1898 at Gunning, NSW at the age of 89 years.
The newspapers reported:
The coroner held an inquest on Friday on the body of Mr. Robert Humphries mentioned above. From the medical testimony it appeared that the cause of death was rupture of the heart. Deceased appeared in his usual health up to within a few minutes of his death.
He is buried at Gunning.
Bridget Humphries died on the 13th October 1898 at Milbang near Collector, NSW.
She is buried in the Church of England cemetery in Collector.
James Humphries, son of Robert & Bridget, is the informant on Bridget Humphries’s death certificate. There is no mention of the other 5 children.
George Reynolds died in 1904 at the Goulburn hospital.
His death certificate names the five children, and states his wife was ‘Bridget Consentor’.
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Robert Charles Humphries was born in 1839 in Wollogorang. Wollogorang is a locality about 30km SW of Goulburn.
He married Sophia Charlotte Povey on the 21st September 1871 in Goulburn.
They had four children, all born in Goulburn.
1)Selina Theresa Humphries. Born 1872.
2)Florence Elizabeth Humphries. Born 1875 and died 1950 in Lithgow.
Married in 1893 to Robert James Dickens in Woollahra.
They had two children; Eric (1896) & Louisa (1899).
3)Robert Humphries. Born 1876 & died 1968 in Junee.
4)Isabella Humphries. Born 1878.
By 1882 Robert Charles & Sophia have separated and Robert illegally marries Sarah Jane Phillips on the 21st October 1882.
The marriage register of St. Johns Church of England, Wagga states:
Charles Robert Hunter, bachelor, born Wollogorang, stonemason, aged 34, resides at Sandy Creek, Parents not recorded.
Sarah Jane Phillips, spinster, born Scotland, age 26, resides at Wagga Wagga, Parents George Phillips (occupation looks like 'Feeling') and Anna Breeze.
Witnesses: David Nixon & Sarah Jane Wade.
Robert & Sarah Jane had nine children, all born in Wagga Wagga.
All nine were registered under the surname ‘Hunter’ with the exception of Reginald Ernest who was also registered under the surname ‘Humphries’.
Robert appears as ‘Robert Charles’ or ‘Charles Robert’.
Robert Charles Humphries died in Wagga Wagga on the 4th July 1921, aged 85 years.
Sarah Jane Humphries died in Wagga Wagga on the 15th September 1906.
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The research into the life and ancestry of Sarah Jane Philips has been quite frustrating and unclear.
The first record we have on her in NSW is a baptism record of Mary Ann Clifford, the first child she bore to George Clifford in Wagga Wagga.
Born on the 14th November 1873 and baptized on the 17th May 1874, Mary Ann Clifford’s birth was not registered. The baptism stated the parents as George & Sarah Jane Clifford. George was a labourer from Wagga.
Next child was William Charles Clifford, born on the 7th December 1876 and baptized on the 4th June 1877. William Charles’ birth was also not registered. The baptism stated the parents as George & Sarah Jane Clifford. George a labourer from Wagga.
The final record of a child was that of Sarah Alice Clifford. Born on the 2nd July 1879 and baptized on the 30th November, Sarah Alice’s birth was registered in NSW. Details on the birth certificate state that the father was George Clifford, 30 years old and a labourer from America. Of Sarah Jane the birth certificate states her maiden name as ‘Brown’ and that she was 21 years of age from Scotland.
The certificates also states that George & Sarah Jane were married in 1872 in Victoria.
(Victoria indexes show no such marriage. However they do show a marriage between George Williams and Sarah Jane Brown in 1872. We know that George Clifford had an alias of George Williams. In this marriage George Williams was from London & Sarah Jane Brown was from Manchester. However there are two registered births following this marriage which would suggest it can be ruled out; George Alfred Williams, Nth Melbourne, 1873 & Emily Esther Williams, Nth Melbourne, 1874)
The birth certificate also states that there was one male and two females previously born, all still alive. Sarah Alice’s baptism record states the same details as the previous two, however on Sarah Alice’s baptism record George’s surname is stated as ‘DeClifford’.
It is clear though that the relationship between George Cliiford & Sarah Jane didn’t last.
In the NSW Police Gazette and Weekly Record of Crime (Sydney : 1860 - 1930), on Wednesday 21st April 1880:
Wagga Wagga.—A warrant has been issued by the Wagga Wagga Bench for the arrest of George Clifford, charged with deserting his three illegitimate children, leaving them without means of support. Clifford is 5 feet 8 or 10 inches high, age not stated, stout build, dark complexion, horse and rider on left arm; an American, a groom. Supposed to have gone to Goulburn.
Then in the NSW Police Gazette and Weekly Record of Crime (Sydney: 1860 - 1930), on Wednesday 29 December 1880:
George Clifford, charged on warrant with wife desertion, is reported to have gone to Sydney.
Then in the NSW Police Gazette and Weekly Record of Crime (Sydney : 1860 - 1930), on Wednesday 7th September 1881:
George Clifford, charged on warrant issued by the Wagga Wagga Bench with deserting his three illegitimate children, has been arrested by Sergeant Keating and Constable Grice, Sydney Police. Remanded to Wagga Wagga.
Also appearing in the Wagga Wagga Advertiser on 6th Sept 1881:
CHILD DESERTION.-George Clifford was charged as above. Sarah Jane Brown deposed that she had been living with the accused for some years as his wife, and had had three children by him; the eldest was seven years old; prisoner deserted witness and the children 18 months ago, and the only money she received from him was a one pound note; she had no means of supporting the children except by wages as a domestic servant. Ordered that the prisoner pay 12s. weekly in support of the children, and to enter into his own recognizance in the sum of £30, with two other sureties of £15 each, in default to be imprisoned in Wagga Wagga gaol until sureties are entered into.
Last known whereabouts of George Clifford is when he is released from Wagga Wagga Gaol on 4th Sept 1882, having spent just under 12 months in prison.
Meanwhile Sarah Jane obviously gets on with life without George Clifford as she marries Charles Robert Hunter on the 21st October 1882 in Wagga.
We know that she brought her daughter, Sarah Alice, into the family and she was raised as a child of Robert Humphries.
However I have been unable to locate any trace of her other two children by George Clifford. We know they are still alive in September 1881 as they are mentioned in the newspapers when Sarah Jane is seeking maintenance for her three children. By this time the two older children would have been nearing nine and five years old. There are no death records for these children in the indexes, so I can only assume maybe they were fostered to another family or taken into government care for destitute children.
As mentioned above, when Sarah Jane married Charles Robert, she includes some personal details on the marriage register:
Born Scotland, age 26, resides at Wagga Wagga, Parents George Phillips and Anna Breeze.
Given this information the most likely birth record for her in Scotland is:
Sarah Jane Phillips, born 19th January 1858 at Clashmore, District of Drymen, Stirlingshire, Scotland.
Parents were George Phillips & Hanna Brown.
I can find no previous marriage of George Phillips or Hanna Brown that fits with this birth.
Also I can find no trace of this family after 1858.
The only likely marriage is between George Phillips & Annie Brown on the 8th September 1860 in the Parish Church of St. Mary’s, Lambeth, London.
I have searched the 1861 census extensively and found only one entry that could possibly be Sarah Jane
Residing at a Boarding House at 30 Main Street, Calton, Glasgow, Lanarkshire.
Head: Sarah Phillips. Aged 50. Born Ireland. Lodging House Keeper.
John Brown. Aged 45. Born Ireland. Nail Maker.
Alice Brown. Aged 23. Born Scotland.
Sarah Brown. Aged 3. Born Scotland.
Alexander Brown. Aged 4mths. Born Scotland.
There is a birth of an Alexander Brown Phillips in 1860 in the district of Milton (Glasgow) that could be the Alexander Brown above.
Considering also that Sarah Jane Brown named one of her daughters Sarah Alice this Alice Brown above could very well be Sarah Jane’s mother.
Sarah’s death certificate states that she had been in NSW for 37 years, which would mean she was about 10 years of age when she arrived.
There is a story from one line of her family that states she was a nurse maid, and assisted a Mr. and Mrs. Warren out from Scotland. She came with Mrs. Warren from Scotland and one child.
This is what we know about George Clifford:
His name was most likely George DeClifford.
He was a native of Mauritius (Isle de France), although his nationality is often recorded as ‘American’.
He was born c1842.
He is described in various records as being dark in appearance or labelled as a ‘half-caste’.
It appears he was probably African American (there is some suggestion this has been backed up by subsequent DNA analysis).
He was 5 feet, 8 or 9 inches high, stout build, clean-shaved except heavy black moustache.
He was also known as ‘George Williams’.
He was a ‘seaman’.