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| Above: William BLACKMAN's GRO birth entry for the third quarter of 1844 |
1821Blackman Info 1 |
William BLACKMAN origins
The records of the General Registrars Office shows the marriage of William BLACKMAN's parents as:
Source: GRO Marriages Blackman John 2nd Quarter 1843 Bromley vol.5 page 73 Clackstone Charlotte 2nd Quarter 1843 Bromley vol.5 page 73 1
with two of their children recorded as:
Source: GRO Births Blackman William 2nd Quarter 1844 Medway vol.5 page 354 Blackman George 2nd Quarter 1846 Dartford vol.5 page 94
From 1837 the district of Bromley spanned the boundaries of Beckenham, Bromley, Chislehurst, Orpington, Penge and Sidcup in Kent.
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| Above: William BLACKMAN's GRO birth entry for the third quarter of 1844 |
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Though christened in Wilmington it appears that William BLACKMAN was registered in
the district of Medway, which comprises of the towns of Chatham, Gillingham, Grange,
Lidsing and Rochester. Wilmington is in the registration district of Dartford.
Left: William BLACKMAN's baptism record of 13 October 1844 from Wilmington showing his father, John, (1821-1865) o be a labourer |
| Right: A composite image of the next child George BLACKMAN's baptism record of 12 July 1846 from Wilmington showing his father, John, to be a labourer |  |
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Left: An overview of the Medway area of Kent showing Wilmington in relationship to Dartford |
| Right: A modern map locating Wilmington |  |
1851 Census Sun/Mon 30/31st March 1851
Source: FHL Film TNA Ref H1O7
Piece 1607; Folio 281; Page 54; Sched 288;
Dwelling: London Road
Place: Crayford, Kent, England
Name Rel Mar Age Occupation Birthplace
Blackman John Head M 30 Ag Lab Kent, Wilmington
Blackman Charlotte Wife M 30 Essex, Basleton (phonetic Basildon?)
Blackman William Son 6 Scholar Kent, Wilmington
Blackman George Son 5 Scholar Kent, Wilmington
Blackman Mary A Dau 3 Kent, Wilmington
Blackman [Lucy] Dau 1day Kent, Crayford
Allen Betsey Nurse Serv 65 Nurse Kent, Wilmington
Haskins James Lodger U 55 Game Keeper Kent, Lee
Cooden Thomas Lodger U 18 Print works Lab Kent, Meopham
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| Above: London Road, Crayford 1896 This is now rows of modern three storey shops with accommodation above. |
1861 Census Sun/Mon. 7/8th April 1861
Source: FHL Film TNA Ref RG09
Piece 466; Folio 129; Page 26; Sched 128
Dwelling: Slades Green [Howbury Farm?]
Place: Crayford, Kent, England
Name Rel Mar Age Occupation Birthplace
Blackman John Head M 43 Ag La Kent, Wilmington
Blackman Charlotte Wife M 45 Essex, Redmdon (?)
Blackman William Son U 16 Ag La Kent, Wilmington
Blackman George Son U 15 La B???kfield Kent, Wilmington
Blackman Mary A Dau U 12 At home Kent, Wilmington
Blackman Lucy Dau U 9 Scholar Kent, Crayford
Blackman Joseph Son U 7 Scholar Kent, Crayford
Blackman Charlotte Dau U 5 Scholar Kent, Crayford
Blackman John Son U 5 Scholar Kent, Crayford
Blackman Henry Son U 3 Kent, Crayford
Blackman Emma Dau U 8 MO Kent, Crayford
On 21 April 2011 Karen Walsh of Cairns, Queensland, perhaps of the Joseph BLACKMAN, in the 1861 census below, wrote:
I am descended from Joseph BLACKMAN who we believe was related to William somehow. Perhaps a cousin. My grandmother was born and raised in Miners Rest (Dowling Forest) and my mother always said Lyle, James and Leslie were Nana's cousins. They were also related to the Cox family.
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| Above: Howbury Farm 1897 said to be the source of Herbert Howbury, William's nephew's second name |
Harry's (Henry) birth certificate records the family living in Bexley Lane, Crayford in 1857. At that time, William aged 13 would be at the same address. With thanks to Kaye Smith.
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| Above: The earliest OS map locating Bexley Lane, Crayford in 1896, which is 'round the corner' from London Road'. This is now a development of post war and 1960-70 homes |
| REGISTRATION DISTRICT DARTFORD UNION | ||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1874 Birth in Sub-district of Bexley in the County of Kent | ||||||||
| No | When and where born |
Name | Sex | Name of father |
Name of mother |
Rank or Profession |
Informant | When Registered |
| 274 | Twenty eighth August 1857 Bexley Lane Crayford | Harry | Boy | John Blackman | Charlotte Blackman formerly Claxton |
Agricultural Labourer | Her mark X of Charlotte Blackman Mother Bexley Lane Crayford | Eighth September 1857 |
| Slades Green is 2.5 miles (4km) north-north-east of Wilmington.
Right: A modern map locating Wilmington, Crayford and Slades Green |
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End notes
William's arrival in Australia
| William BLACKMAN, is believed he emigrated, from Howbury Farm, Slades Green;
William and his brother George arriving in Australia on 24 August 1863 aboard the
1003 tons clipper Whirlwind on the Australia run.
William and George's mother Charlotte, followed arriving with eight other children on 15 May 1866 aboard the clipper Golden Empire of the Golden Line. Her husband, John BLACKMAN, had died on 22 February 1865 at Crayford, Kent. More information about John and Charlotte's family 1 Charlotte died on 29 April 1883. Source: Index to Unassisted Inward Passenger Lists to Victoria 1852-1923 (Accessed 17 July 2017) Right: Believed to be Charlotte Blackman in old age. Courtesy: Llyris Hill copied from a glass plate |
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William settled at Miners Rest, north of Ballarat, married and raised a large family. William BLACKMAN chose to marry Frances Emily CROMPTON, the fourth child of Caleb Crompton, against her mother's wishes.
Although the family enjoyed the simple country lifestyle none wished to remain on the farm later. Mother always said that they were not rich but they always had sufficient food and the basic necessities because her parents worked so hard to provide for them all. They grew a lot of their fruit and vegetables and they had milking cows. All the girls and two of the boys pursued careers as teachers. My Mother, Ida May BLACKMAN, was very talented musically and learnt the piano, singing, and elocution now called speech and drama. She won many prizes for elocution at competitions and later during my primary school years in Mildura performed publicly at concerts. Her star turn was a musical monologue. 1
The loss of Leslie and the virtual loss of [Walter John] Thomas, whose health never improved, and the loss of John, a younger brother who died from appendicitis at 11 years of age, led to serious depression in my Grandmother BLACKMAN. After the war her health deteriorated very quickly as she grieved over these losses and eventually she was hospitalized in Elsternwick and according to the family died of a "broken heart" in 1923. ... I do remember visits to Ballarat in the 1920s to see Grandfather BLACKMAN, then retired from the farm at Miners Rest and who lived with Aunt Emily, a teacher and a spinster until she was nearly 60 years old and married Joseph COX.
Grandfather filled in his time as caretaker of the Ballarat showgrounds. He died at the age of 88 years having suffered severe burns from setting his night shirt and bed clothes alight smoking a pipe in bed. He was a very gentle man with snow white hair and a beard, frustrated by the fact that Aunt Emily was so deaf. ... Grandfather had to shout down her trumpet to communicate with her. He tended his hens in the back yard and looked after his garden and worked part-time at the showgrounds: a very simple lifestyle after so many years on the farm. He was a lonely man after the loss of his wife and three sons. 2
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| Above: The Blackman family in 1914 - with permission of Pat
Wellington's son, Geoffrey Hutson
Standing left to right: Louisa (Mrs Wines) of Middle Park, Harry, Lyle, Thomas, Emily Sitting left to right: Ida May, William, Francis Emily, Mabel (Mrs Pearson), Leslie |
End notes
| More information 1 |
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John BLACKMAN's children
George, the third child of John and Charlotte, married Mary Jane at the United Presbyterian Manse Ballarat. He was buried in Stawell Cemetery, Victoria in 1936. Mary Ann (Annie), the fourth child of Charlotte and John, married James KENNEALLY (Vic BMD 1881/14442). Their third son Thomas, of the 13 Light Horse Regiment, was born February 1886 and died on 27 September 1915 of shrapnel wounds received seven days earlier in Gallipoli. He is buried at Chatby War Memorial Cemetery, Alexandria, Egypt. (Also spelt KENNEALLY) Lucy and Joseph, were the fifth and sixth twin (?) children of John and Charlotte. Charlottes
1883 death certificate lists them as twins even though they were baptised 24 days apart. |
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| This page was created by Richard Crompton and maintained by Chris Glass |
Version A2 Updated 30 March 2021 |
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