John was the tenth and last child to be born to Thomas and Alice Hope in 1853. He was their fifth son.
I've been looking at why Thomas and Alice named their children the way they did. Scottish Naming Patterns only took into account the first three sons and the first three daughters, as to how they would name their offspring and so research is ongoing as to who "John" was??? I note that Alice has a brother "John", was it after him, that she and Thomas named their ninth child? Or did Thomas have either a brother or half-brother called John? Ah! More avenues and reasons for researching our family's history!!!
Young John was only 3 years old when the family decided to migrate to the warmer climate that Australia promised. It was because of John's frail health that the family uprooted and transferred their life to the unknown new country. The family had already lost little Alice to measles at the age of 5, they didn't want to lose another child, if it could be prevented.
He was an invalid all his life, dying at the age of 33 on 15 September 1886 at Boikerbert, in far Western Victoria. John is buried with his parents at the Hynam Cemetery in South Australia.
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Thomas Hope (father)