A letter - answered!!

When I wrote a note to Arthur McArthur, I never thought I would get a reply. But, very recently, I did get a reply .... from the other side.

Yes, I know, it's a bit unreal. I had the opportunity to see a clairvoyant recently and out of the blue, Arthur barged his way into my session indicating that I was looking at the family tree. At first I was confused about an Arthur because I personally have no Arthur's in my family but then I realised that it could only be Arthur McArthur.

So, with great hesitation, I asked him some questions (through the clairvoyant of course) and here are his answers and my thoughts:

DP: What happened to you?
AM: Ship Madagascar although this was said as a sort of word game and the letters could be jumbled. There was also Madeline.
I have since found that the Madagascar ship did sail from London to Melbourne in mid 1853 but Arthur would only have been 13 years of age. There were plenty of 'children' on board ships in those days so it is not unrealistic to think that Arthur could have been on this ship. There is also the conundrum that his parents cannot be found in the 1851 England Census - there was a cholera outbreak in London in 1849 when some 14,000 Londoners were killed and there were mass burials. His parents could have died then which would have made him an orphan. However, there is a family story that Arthur walked the halls of Guys Hospital in London - his father was a tailor and Arthur may have done this as a very young boy, delivering clothing to the hospital. It is certainly possible. It is also possible that he may have been on that ship. More work is needed.

AM: Arthur then indicated a date circa 1898.
Well, it was around 1900 that I have 'lost' Arthur which was around the time of the death of his father-in-law who's Will stated categorically that Arthur was not to receive anything from his Estate.

DP: Why did you leave?
AM: To escape the tyranny of injustice. He also said he feels remorse about leaving.
As mentioned earlier, the injustice could have been with regard to the Will.

DP: Can you give me some names? (I thought here that he would say Esther, his wife)
AM: Adelaide. Josephine Montgomery. Bethany, Ann, Joseph. He also said "Unrequited love".
I can understand the Adelaide reference as this comes out also in his son, George's life. George enlisted in Adelaide and we don't know why. Perhaps he was with his father in Adelaide? Certainly there are McArthur's in Adelaide but we haven't established a link or found anything else here.
With regard to the names, they are names I have never heard before and I will do more research to see if I can find anything. But...

It's still a mystery to be solved - I hope.

The Silly Grasshopper poem

The Silly Grasshopper

This is a poem which was recently recited at Bon McArthur's funeral by his granddaughter, Sarah.
This was a poem taught to the three McArthur children Monica, Joan and Bon by their mother, Beatrice (Birdie) and it has been passed down through the generations.

The poem is actually known as The Conceited Grasshopper and it has been found in newspapers in Australia, NZ and America from early 1881.

We presume that Birdie was taught the poem by her parents as a child back home in Somerset but we can't be certain.

A Letter – Never to be Sent, Never to be Read ...

Dear Arthur

I have been looking for you for about 9 years! Please help as I’m sick of looking frustratingly at the computer and doing hundreds of searches of every database I can find. Seriously though. I know a lot about you but I don’t really know you. So, it’s really quite simple!

Who are you?

Where did you go and what happened to you?

Were you born Arthur McArthur in 1840 at 12 Robert Street, St Andrew, Holborn (above the Bars) in London and baptised on 18 May at St Andrew Western, Holborn? This is the only reference I can find of an Arthur McArthur who was born in London between 1835 and 1855. If this is you, then your parents were Sechibald McArthur and Martha Morris – did they ever marry and where were they born? Sechibald was a tailor and you all lived Above the Bars in Holborn which I believe was a place where solicitors had their offices. As a tailor, did your father work for the solicitors. Did he also make suits and clothes for doctors at Guys Hospital because a family story says that “Arthur walked the halls of Guys Hospital”. Were you delivering your father’s wares?

If all this is wrong, then who were your parents and where/when were you born?

When did you come to Australia and why? I cannot find a shipping record of when you arrived in Australia, or none that I’m absolutely certain is you.

You were on the Electoral Rolls for The Bogan in 1876 with a residence in Forbes. But you were not on the Rolls for 1875. Were you living at Esther’s place in 1876? If so, how did you meet and why was Esther in Forbes?

You married Esther Kirby on 18^th August 1877 at Esther’s residence In Forbes although your Marriage Certificate gives me no clue as to who you are. You and Esther had three children:

·      Florence, born 1 December 1871 in Stokes Hill, Forbes (3.5 months after your marriage)

·      George Kirby, born 28 January 1880 in Forbes

·      Victoria Sylvia, born 3 March 1886 in O’Connell Street, Parramatta

When Florence was born, you gave your age as 39 years and born in London which would give you a birth year of 1838. But when Victoria Sylvia was born 9 years later, you said you were 35!! For a bookkeeper, your figures leave a lot to be desired.

There is a family story that you abandoned your family after your father-in-law’s Will was read in mid 1894 as he left quite a bit of real estate and personal estate to his daughter Esther, his son and his grandsons for their sole use. Is this true? Did you leave your family because you were not to inherit anything?

You disappeared off the face of this earth! Where did you go and what did you do? What were the circumstances of you leaving the family?

Your living family would really like to know about you. There are just so many questions that we would like answers to. So, please come and sit on my shoulder and have a chat! It’ll be quick, just a few questions. Maybe 4 to 5 hours!!  That’s not much time to ask for.

Thank you.

He Could Ride, and Shoot

It was freezing on the veld as the Australian troops rode night after night to enforce British policy across the Boer territories of the Orange Free State and eastern Transvaal. This was what we now know as The Boer War.

Their mission was to “Sweep” the country to cut the Boer guerrillas off from the support of their families and farms. They rode at night and attacked the Boer farmhouses or encampments at dawn, destroying the farms, confiscating horses, cattle and wagons, and rounding up inhabitants, usually women and children who were taken to concentration camps where thousands died due to malnutrition and contagious diseases.

Horses and riders were exhausted from spending long periods in the saddle, trekking almost 3000kms and with little opportunity to bathe or change their clothes. Lice were a constant problem and temperatures on the veld ranged from relentlessly hot during the day and freezing cold at night.

George was an ideal recruit, having grown up on the outskirts of Sydney on land in the Kenthurst area. He was both good with a rifle and could rise a horse superbly, In fact, he was an amateur jockey at one point in his life. (We also know that during enlistment for WWI, he did the riding test for some of his mates). For enlistment, the troops needed to be aged between 20 and 40, 5’6” or taller, have a chest measurement of 34” or larger, and be unmarried.

George had enlisted with the Imperial 3^rd Regiment N.S.Wales Mounted Rifles in Sydney on 27 February 1901. His Regimental Number was 2136 and he was a Trooper with B Squadron. His pay was 4 shillings a day or £6 – £6 4s per month (the national basic wage of £2 2s was introduced in 1907) and was assigned to Mrs Esther McArthur, his mother of Kenthurst via Parramatta. He was noted as being 19 years (he was actually 21), 5’8”, fair complexion, blue eyes and brown hair with no marks or scars. The Regiment consisted of 37 officers, 980 other ranks and 1000 horses.

The Imperial 3^rd Regiment N.S.Wales Mounted Rifles had embarked at Sydney on the transport “Maplemore” on 15 March 1901 and had arrived at Port Elizabeth, South Africa, on 12 April 1901 with 8 officers and 251 others troops. They saw just over 12 months service, leaving Cape Town on 4 May 1902 and reaching Sydney on 3 June. A total of 7 had been killed or died of wounds and 32 died of disease.

George was discharged on 13 June 1902. He was awarded the Queen’s South African Medal and was eligible for 3 clasps: Cape Colony, Orange Free State and Transvaal.

BRIEF OUTLINE OF THE BOER WAR

The British acquired the southern tip of Africa during the Napoleonic Wars which caused ongoing tension between them and the independent republics of Dutch-Afrikaner settlers who were known as Boers. The Boers moved north to settle new lands which became known as the Orange Free State and the Transvaal. Tensions continued throughout the 1800’s and in 1880/81, the two sides fought a war in which British army suffered several costly defeats. With the discovery of gold and diamonds in the Boer republics, tensions again rose with many British subjects flocking to the area seeking wealth. This tension led to the Boers attacking the British in 1899 to stop the influx and the possibly takeover of their republics. This second war was known as the Boer War, starting on 11 October 1899 and ending on 31 May 1902.
As part of the British Empire, Australia offered troops who were mainly mounted units but they were poorly trained. Our first contingents were raised by the Australian colonies and were made up mainly of men in the militia. The second contingents were bushmen, recruited from the public ad paid for by public subscription or wealthy individuals. The third were imperial bushmen were paid by the imperial Government in London. Then there were contingents raised by state governments after Federation and finally, close to the end of the war, the Australian Commonwealth Horse contingents were raised by the new government.
The conflict was divided into three phases: October to December 1899 when the British infantry army was defeated by the mobile Boer mounted troops; December 1899 to September 1900 with a British counter-offensive capturing most of the major towns and cities of South Africa; then the longest from September 1900 to May 1902 with guerrilla warfare between the British mounted troops and Boer irregulars.

Approximately 16,000 Australians took part in the Boer War.