In 1864 a large family group from Cornwall arrived in Moreton Bay, Queensland aboard the Flying Cloud. The leaders of the extended family were John Dennis and his wife Mary Ellis, who married on 27 November 1830 at Morvah parish church, near the Lands End tip of Cornwall. Their picture was taken around 1860.I've just discovered this online story about that same Dennis family. Apparently an excerpt from a book by an uncited author, the story relates to three of John & Mary's grandchildren. The infants were buried within a couple of years of the family's arrival in Queensland, in the God's Acre Cemetery at Beatty Rd, Archerfield, Brisbane.
Another story about the same immigrant family, those who eventually settled at Brisbane's south-eastern suburb of Daisy Hill, has been published by Veronika Farley, Archivist, Queensland Memory, State Library of Queensland.
Further information about the Dennis family in Queensland, their family of origin in Cornwall and their Dennis relatives in NSW and Victoria is contained in my own book. Published in 2008, From Buryan to Bondi, the Dennis Family of West Penwith, Cornwall and some Australian Descendants is available online from BookPOD. The articles cited above add a great deal of flesh to the bones of the 'Queenslanders' in my Dennis book, and in several cases provide an updated version of death records.
Hi, I am a descendant of Mary Ann Dennis - she is the grand daughter of John and Mary and came out to Australia as a baby (daughter of George and Elizabeth). In 1880, when she was 17 she gave birth to an illegitimate son to an aboriginal man in Brisbane. The baby was George Charles Dennis - my great-grandfather. We are trying to find out who his father was however no name is listed on the birth certificate. I am trying to find a Dennis relative who knows about this. Can you please help?
ReplyDeleteHi Sheridan. Lovely to hear from you.
ReplyDeleteYour great grandfather's birth to Mary Ann Dennis came as a surprise to me. I don't know what to recommend, other than DNA testing. I know of another family, descendants of the 1848 daughter of George Forrester and an aboriginal woman, who confirmed their identities that way. But they knew the aboriginal side, just weren't sure that George Forrester was the father. I know that they were helped greatly by the Tyndale or Tyndall records for aborigines, which I think are held in QLD State Library.
My other suggestion would be to closely follow the life of Mary Ann's mother and stepfather in the 1870s and 1880s and Mary Ann's life with her husband Henry Slade. You may get some clues from their locations and activities - on a farm, in a town, working at a trade? Was your gggf working for them in some capacity? Was your ggf brought up with his mother? Sometimes you have to spend a lot of time recreating a life before something jumps out at you as your 'answer'.
Hope that helps.
Regards
Louise