From Tasmania to Trunch
I was intrigued by an entry in the 1851 census for Trunch. In a cottage on the Hill there lived Theophilus Rump a 22 year old school master from Norwich, with Thomas Hastings a 10 year old boy from Mundesley and John FREEMAN a 7 year old visitor who was born in Evandale, Van Diemans Land. Evandale is a small historic town in present day Tasmania. It seems likely that the boys were getting some private education, but how had John arrived in Trunch from Tasmania?
The answer came from following John in the census records. In 1861 he was 17, still a scholar, and living with his father Whiteman FREEMAN (1800-1873) and mother Mary (nee Campbell Weatherhead) in Bacton, Norfolk and his father was a coastguard. In spite of his Australian sounding name Whiteman was born in Swanton Morley in Norfolk and while John was in Trunch in 1851 Whiteman was working nearby as a coastguard in Trimingham. So presumably in 1843 the family were in Tasmania when John was born, but why?
The records of Whiteman FREEMAN, John's father, show that he was a sailor. He was one of a large family of farmers and his mother's maiden name was Whiteman. Why someone from central Norfolk turned to sailing I do not know but he did very well becoming a master of the ship Edward Lombe and taking it to Australia and Tasmania in 1830 and 1832 carrying convicts, passengers and cargo. However in 1834, under a different master, the ship was wrecked off the Australian coast with the loss of 11 lives.
On the 18th. June 1836 Whiteman married Mary Campbell Weatherhead in Limehouse in London. Her parents were from Scotland and Newcastle. Then on 20th. July 1836 he sailed to Australia again, as master of the ship Tam O'Shanter with passengers and a cargo of building materials for Adelaide and hopefully with his new wife! Having bought land in Adelaide he divided one of his acres into 28 allotments for poor immigrants.
Then in 1838 Whiteman sold all his South Australian properties and moved to Danby Park on the south coast of Tasmania. By the time John was born in 1843, the family were living in Evandale a bit further inland. On John's birth certificate it looks as though Whiteman gave his occupation as farmer. You can click on the image to enlarge it and see what you think.
Sometime between 1844 and the 1851 census the family were back in England and Whiteman was working as a coastguard. Perhaps he had been influenced by his knowledge of shipwrecks such as the Edward Lombe. Whiteman and Mary retired to London and died in 1873 and 1875 respectively.
John meanwhile married Emily Cooper in Lambeth in 1868, had a daughter in London in 1870, was then in the USA when their son John was born and in Manitoba, Canada when their other 2 children were born. 1891 found the family back in England living at 181 Anerly Road, Penge, London. John was only 47 but was "living on his own means" and his son John was a stockbroker, while George went on to be a chartered accountant. So the little boy from Tasmania who spent a short time in Trunch (I wonder if he remembered it) did very well for himself.
Please contact me if you have anything to add or would like more details.