Name: Jonathan Nicholls

Name: Jonathan Nicholls

Student No: 2054380

ARCH 2002 Australian Historical Archaeology

Tutor: Carol Fort

Topic: Research the life history of a person who once lived in the Adelaide area. Information that should be collected includes biographical information (e.g. birth dates, death dates, marriage details, where they lived, and occupation), and wider contextual community details (e.g. their family – how many children did they have?).

Aims:

The purpose of this research project was to research Joseph Woodroffe. Specifically, the intention was to ascertain as much biographical information, and wider contextual community details about Joseph Woodroffe as was possible in the time allocated.

Examples of the type of biographical information that was to be collected include, for example, birth dates, death dates, marriage details, where Joseph Woodroffe lived, and his occupation. Examples of the wider contextual community details about Joseph Woodroffe include, for example, details about his children, his wife or wives, and biographical details about his children and wife or wives.

There were personal reasons behind the choosing of Joseph Woodroffe as the subject for this research endeavour. Susan Jennifer Nicholls (the mother of this papers author) is a direct descendent of Margaret Jane Wright, who married Edward William Woodroffe – a grandson of Joseph Woodroffe. It was initially suggested by Susan Jennifer Nicholls that the author research Joseph Woodroffe so as to aid in the developing of the Wright family tree and to prevent researching an ancestor that had already been researched.

Methods:

Aside from Joseph Woodroffe’s name, the author had little information initially to use for research purposes. In order to obtain useful information, the South Australian Birth, Deaths, and Marriage Indexes that were published by the South Australian Genealogy and Heraldry Society Inc were consulted. Most of these indexes were located in Adelaide, at the South Australian Genealogy and Heraldry Society building, and revealed very specific information about Joseph Woodroffe.

The information that was obtained from these aforementioned sources included birth dates, the names of the child’s parents, the district that the child was born in, and the parish that they were born in (this is for the Birth Indexes). The Death Indexes entries gave information concerning the date of the individual’s death, the individual’s age at death, where they died, and sometimes a relatives name is also listed. The Marriage Indexes gave information concerning the bride and grooms names, the date that the marriage occurred on, the place of marriage, and the father’s names.

Although the South Australian Genealogy and Heraldry Society’s Birth, Deaths, and Marriage Indexes are published books, there are factors associated with them that make them awkward to use as sources. One of the most obvious flaws in the Birth, Deaths, and Marriage Indexes is that some of books in the series lack page numbers. This makes if difficult to find information, and makes it necessary to search the Indexes entry by entry. Another factor that makes these books odd is that they are organised by District, Month, and Year (e.g. District of Adelaide Deaths, April 1923). This makes these Indexes difficult to reference using the Harvard System, in addition to making the Indexes hard to search through.

Also, as the South Australian Genealogy and Heraldry Society hold the complete Indexes, there is a cost involved in accessing these materials. For members of the South Australian Genealogy and Heraldry Society, access to the materials is free, but a yearly fee of fifty dollars is required. For non-members, the cost of accessing the collection is twenty-five dollars a day, or thirty-five dollars for the week (South Australian Genealogy and Heraldry Society Inc. 2009: 52). This makes the documents somewhat difficult to access, especially for people who are not members of the South Australian Genealogy and Heraldry Society.

In addition to the Birth, Death, and Marriage Indexes, it was decided that the West Terrance Burial Register (1840-1900)would be consulted. The reason for consulting the West Terrance Burial Register (1840-1900)was that the West Terrace cemetery is the oldest cemetery in Adelaide. This revealed that several members of the Woodroffe family were buried at West Terrance Cemetery. After consulting the West Terrance Burial Register (1840-1900), it was possible to go to the cemeteries and to consult the headstones for additional information about the individuals mentioned in the West Terrance Burial Register (1840-1900).

In order to ascertain the accuracy of the Birth, Death, and Marriage Indexes held by the South Australian Genealogy and Heraldry Society, primary sources were needed. The primary sources that were consulted included birth certificates, death certificates, and marriage licences. Not only did this allow for the accuracy of the Birth, Death, and Marriage Indexes to be determined, but the primary sources also revealed other information not given in the Birth, Death, and Marriage Indexes.

For example, the original birth certificates, like the Birth, Death, and Marriage Indexes, gave the name of the child born, the date that they were born on, and the parent’s names. It also gave the occupation of the father, and the date that the birth was registered on, whom registered the birth, and where the birth occurred. The death certificates gave the names of the deceased, their age at the time of their death, their occupation or former occupation, the date of their death, where they died, where they were born and how old they were when they married, and what their cause of death was. The marriage licences gave the names of the bride and groom, their respective ages at the time of their marriage, the date of their marriage, the occupation of the bride and groom, where they were married, the names of the bride and grooms fathers, and the names of the witnesses who signed the licence.

The information given on the primary sources (the birth and death certificates, and the marriage licences) give information that overlaps with each of the sources. This allows for the accuracy of the information given to be verified. It also allows for the movements of the family to be traced if the family moved from place to place, and allowed for the Birth, Death, and Marriage Indexes entries to be scrutinised for accuracy.

To recap the research process that was followed, first the Birth, Death, and Marriage Indexes as published by the South Australian Genealogy and Heraldry Society were consulted. This gave initial biographical details that were used to consult other sources. Although these Indexes were a valuable source, the complete Indexes are often only available at the South Australian Genealogy and Heraldry Society’s building of the same name in Adelaide, and a fee or membership is required to access the South Australian Genealogy and Heraldry Society’s collections. Next, the West Terrance Burial Register (1840-1900) was consulted to determine if any members of the Woodroffe family were buried in the West Terrance Cemetery. Finally, primary sources were consulted in order to ascertain the accuracy of the information given in the Birth, Death, and Marriage Indexes.

Once source that was not consulted due to time constraints was the South AustraliaSupreme Court Probate Index. This would have revealed if any death duties had been payed by members of the Woodroffe family on inheritances. It would also have potentially had copies of the last will and testaments written by members of the Woodroffe family. This would have added additional information to the Woodroffe family’s story.

Results/Findings:

By collocating the sources of information, it is possible to tell the following story of Joseph Woodroffe.

It seems that Joseph Woodroffe, his wife Clara Ann Woodroffe (nee Gree or Guel Gree), and their first two children Edward Bertram and Mary Ann Woodroffe were not born in South Australia. There are no entries for these individuals South Australian Genealogy and Heraldry Society’s Birth Indexes.

This leads to the possibility that the aforementioned individuals were born in England and immigrated to the then colony of South Australia. Although no entries could be found for Joseph Woodroffe in the Official Passenger Lists Mainly of Immigrants Arriving in South Australia under United Kingdom Assisted Passage Schemes (1847-1886) – it may be that the passenger list for the ship on which they may have arrived in South Australia on may simply not have survived. It may also be that they were born in one of the other colonies of Australian and then moved to South Australia.

It also seems that Joseph Woodroffe and Clara Ann Woodroffe were married before they came to South Australia, as they are not mentioned in the South Australian Genealogy and Heraldry Society’s Marriage Indexes.

Joseph Woodroffe and Clara Ann Woodroffe had three children whilst in South Australia. Their names were John Charles Woodroffe, Amelia Woodroffe, and Clara Anne Woodroffe, and all were born in the district of Adelaide.

John Charles Woodroffe was born June 4 1852 (South Australian Genealogy and Heraldry Society 1997: 3352), however, John Charles Woodroffe died of gastro enteritis on December 15 1852 aged six and a half months (District of Adelaide Deaths Book 2: 172). The death certificate of John Charles Woodroffe states that his father was a Coach Builder of Waymouth Street, and listed the informants as being "William Frederick Harrison, son of Frederick Harrison, Carpenter, Waymouth Street" (District of Adelaide Deaths Book 2: 172). The death was registered on December 17 1852.

Amelia Woodroffe was born on November 2 1853 (District of Adelaide Births Book 4: 246). She died of Cirrhosis of the Liver at the Adelaide Hospital on January 30 1873, aged nineteen (District of Adelaide Deaths Jan 1873). She was buried in February 2 1873 (West Terrace Burial Register 1840-1900)

The last child of Joseph Woodroffe that was born in South Australia was Clara Anne Woodroffe. She was born on October 13 1855, and her birth certificate gives her father’s occupation as being a Coach Builder (District of Adelaide Births 1855: 235).

Although not born in South Australia, it is known that Edward Bertram Woodroffe was a Plumber of Childers Street, North Adelaide. He died from enlargement of the spleen and gangrene on January 17 1897 (District of Adelaide Deaths January-March 1897). The age of death and date of death given on his death certificate allow for his approximate year of birth to be calculated. It seems that he was born circa 1848, outside of South Australia. He was buried on January 18 1897 (West Terrace Burial Register 1840-1900).

Interestingly it seems that the person who registered Edward Bertram Woodroffe’s death (Undertaker H. LeCornu) made some mistakes when registering the death, as the certificate states that corrections were made to the certificate in the presence of his widowed wife Martha Annie Woodroffe and the district registrar on May 10 1897 (District of Adelaide Deaths January-March 1897).

Like her elder brother William Bertram, Mary Ann Woodroffe was not born in South Australia. She was however married in South Australia. She married William Graves (a grocer of Melbourne Street, North Adelaide) at the age of twenty three on August 6 1879; the wedding took place at the Baptist Church on Tynte Street, North Adelaide and was witnessed by Edward Bertram Woodroffe (whose occupation is given as being a Plumber from Archer Street) and Annie Maria Ellis of Hindley Street (District of Adelaide Marriages August 1879). The information given on the marriage licence puts Mary Ann Woodroffe’s year of birth at 1851.

It is possible to calculate the approximate year of the Woodroffe family’s arrival in South Australia from the birth dates of their children. It seems that Edward Bertram and Mary Ann Woodroffe were born circa 1848 and 1851 respectively. It is also known that John Charles Woodroffe was born in 1852. This seems to indicate that the Woodroffe family (Joseph Woodroffe, his wife Clara Ann Woodroffe, and their children Edward Bertram and Mary Ann Woodroffe) arrived in South Australia sometime between 1851 and 1852.

It is also a possibility that Joseph Woodroffe went to the goldfields during the 1850s. This theory is proposes as Joseph Woodroffe did not die in South Australia – proven by the fact that his name is not registered on the Death Indexes – and because Joseph and Clara Ann Woodroffe had their last child in South Australia in 1855. This time coincided with the gold rushes in the eastern colonies. Where Joseph died, how he died, and when he died are not know; nor is it known if he abandoned his wife and children.

Unlike her husband, Clara Ann Woodroffe died in South Australia. When she died at the age of seventy-two, she was a widow; She died on November 11 1890 at Melbourne Street, North Adelaide, due to senile decay and influenza (District of Adelaide Deaths November 1890).

Discussion:

While it was possible to collate the sources of information in order to reveal the story of Joseph Woodroffe, there are limitations associated with the use of written sources (both primary and secondary) during archaeological investigations. These limitations range from what the written sources actually record, to certain people being more prominent in the written record than others, to whether or not a given document survives to the present day. Also, all written documents may be affected by the personal biases of the author or authors.

Written sources, especially governmental records, are likely to give limited information – as opposed to complete information about a person or event. Written sources of information are also likely to be affected by the biases of the author or authors; this in turn may affect what information a given author or authors record, how they record it, and why they record it. Such factors impact on the usefulness of a written document, and make it necessary for historical archaeologists to carefully scrutinise all sources of information.

Because of the limitations of written sources of information (such as what is recorded, how it is recorded, why it is recorded, and the personal biases of the author or authors), certain people are less visible in the written record than others. It could be argued that the people most visible in the written record will likely be of or from the dominant culture, who conform to what the dominant society (at the time) considered to be the ideal exposé of its citizens. This could lead to prominent citizens, such as politicians, members of the middle classes, and citizens with political influence or economic power, being well documented in the written record. It could also, however, lead to other groups, such as working class people, indigenous people, women, and others, being absent from the written record or being poorly documented.

Also, not all written documents are likely to survive to the present day; nor is there any guarantee that the document will be available to researchers. In the case of Joseph Woodroffe, no information could be found regarding when he was born, where he was born, who his parents were, where he and his wife were married, when he died, when he was buried, or where he was buried. Although it is likely that much of this information survives, there is the possibility that not all of this information may have survived to the present day. Most likely the information could not be found as be was not born, was not married, and was not buried in South Australia. And if it does still exist, then there is the matter of locating and accessing the information.

While there are limitations associated with written sources, the sources of information that pertained to Joseph Woodroffe were arguably useful. The sources revealed key details about the life of Joseph Woodroffe, his wife, and his children that may not have been possible to ascertain from an archaeological excavation alone. Examples of these details include Joseph Woodroffe’s occupation, the dates of birth for his children, the cause of death for his wife, and the names of his children. It can also be argued that the types of sources that could be found did not limit the research – rather it may have been limited by the amount of information and the type of information that the documents recorded. For example, the Birth Indexes and birth certificates utilised did not state where the individual was born, nor do they give any details about the parents. In order to learn more about the parents of an individual who lived in the nineteenth century, it is necessary to consult the birth certificates for each parent. My contrast, modern birth certificates give these details, so only one source needs to be consulted.

Although a wide variety of sources were utilised, there were some sources that would have been useful to consult in an ideal situation. These sources include the South Australian Supreme Court Probate Index, and any living relatives or descendants of Joseph Woodroffe. As stated before, the South Australian Supreme Court Probate Index could have revealed if any death duties had been payed by members of the Woodroffe family on inheritances. It would also have potentially had copies of the last will and testaments written by members of the Woodroffe family. Living relatives would have been an ideal source of information, and could have potentially revealed where Joseph Woodroffe was born, where he died, if he and his family emigrated to South Australia via a government assisted passage scheme, and if he went to the goldfields during the gold rush era. This would then have allowed for further research to be conducted in the appropriate Australian state, or country overseas.